The day starts with the smell of coffee serving the dual purpose of covering up the cigarette smell in the hotel room and getting me caffeinated for the road. We’ve finally gotten caught up on our blog last night. Heather stayed up late working on it so I’ll take the first shift driving.
As we pack up, Orzo, seeing the writing on the wall finds the only “hiding place” he can in this ratty room at the Blue Bell Inn of Fort Nelson, BC – our most expensive room to date at $122, but beggars can’t be choosers (and it’s better than the discounted AAA rate of $161 at the Super 8 across the road). Not looking forward to another day in the truck, Orzo hides by noodling his way under the ruffled bed-spread. Heather nearly has a heart attack looking for him in every corner she can think of, and even looking around outside, before finally figuring out the lump on the bed is not just blankets. We give him a quick rub under the chin, and try to calm our nerves, before leaving him in his “hiding place” as we pack the rest of our stuff into the truck.
As much as he doesn’t want to get into the noisy, rumbling truck again, it seems he doesn’t want to get left behind even more. When we come back into the room he is right by the door, looking at us expectantly.
We don’t leave anyone behind in Fort Nelson, the lowest place on the Alaskan Highway, as we head north towards Summit Lake, the highest point on the Alaskan Highway. Once we’re on the road, we realize today is the day of the animal. We see a moose, a bunch of caribou, a herd of endangered wood bison, a woodchuck, bald eagles and of course hawks.
Endangered Wood Bison grazing and lounging beside the road
We’re fully into the Canadian Rockies now and trying our best to heed Heather’s mom’s advice of “keeping the rubber side down.” A task made difficult by the 9% grade and hair-pin turns.
This section of the road is reputed to be one of the most beautiful, and as the sun even decides to make a strong appearance today, we stop a few times for photo opportunities.
Muncho Lake, British Columbia
The highway skirts along Muncho Lake – the copper oxide giving it a tropical-looking blue green color – and then enter Yukon Territory, “Larger than Life.”
We stop in Watson Lake, to visit the Sign Post Forest. This random collection of signs has been growing here since 1942 when a homesick GI working on the Alaskan Hwy decided to post a sign to his hometown of Danville, IL. The trend has apparently caught on, as there are now more than 60,000 signs decorating this small town.
Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory
Afterwards we have an early dinner at Bee Jays truck stop, accompanied by many interesting characters. Some sample snippets of conversations over-heard: “Isn’t it amazing how a person gets a promotion and they immediately gain 6 hat sizes.” “ You and Dave have been having a pissing contest for as long as I’ve known you.” “Aren’tchu the man with deep pockets?” “I have deep pockets… with nothin’ in ‘em.” We are also entertained by the photos decorating the walls – pictures of semi wrecks in all seasons as various forms of 18-wheeler yoga – it’s a little macabre.
We travel on towards the setting sun of the Yukon to a lodge just outside of Teslin, YT. Teslin gets its name from a Tlingit word, Teslintoo, which means “long, narrow waters.” The town is situated on Teslin Lake, which stretches for 92 miles. Our little cabin has a view of the lake, and we have just enough daylight left when we arrive to enjoy the view before tucking in for the night.
Amazing critter day. Always listen to the Mom.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Mom