Irene's been managing the blog up til now, so I guess it's my turn to post the updates.
Oh hell...where do I start. It's been a few days since our last blog, but internet is not commonplace at many of the villagehotels along the ALCAN.
DAY 1: We left Fort Richardson on Saturday, July 19th for Haynes Junction. Those of you who are familiar with Alaska, are well aware of the frost heaves in the roadway created by the Alaska permafrost; these are probably most prominent on the Alaska-Canadian Highway between just outside of Palmer and Haines Junction, Alaska. Just before reaching Tok, the bolt heads snapped off our hitch cargo basket with our cooler, storage bin and contingency gas can. Fortunately, I had some extra ratchet straps to secure the basket to the truck long enough to hobble into town. Between my toolbox and the village hardware store, I was able to re-assemble the basket with industrial-strength bolts and press on after a 2-hour delay. We reached Haines Junction that evening. With only two hotels in town, we had only one choice; the one that didn't close at 9:00. Other than the retro blue fixtures in the bathroom and stained carpet, the room was livable. As Irene walked over to the hotel bar to ask if the rooms were "pet friendly", she almost tripped on the dog sleeping next to the pool table.
DAY 2: Pretty uneventful day. We made it through the Yukon territory and into British Columbia. The Yukon reminded us of the most beautiful parts of Alaska, but was very desolate. British Columbia was mountainous and seemed to contain most of the wildlife. The roads were windy and trees/wildlife were plentiful. We gassed up in Toad River and liked the area so much that we decided to spend the night. The cabins we stayed in looked run down from the outside but were nicely remodeled inside. According to history, these same cabins were used by the crews that built the Alaska-Canadian Highway in the 1940s. As much as we loved this area, the sulfer in the water was so strong that the smell in the room was almost unbareable.
DAY 3: The ride through British Columbia was quite eventful. We took photos of a young grizzly bear feeding along the highway and less than a mile down the road had to stop for a herd of buffalo in the road. Not 2 miles down the road, a young moose was drinking from a puddle...this was all within a 5-mile stretch. As we trekked south, our surroundings became more domesticated -- we grabbed a bite at McDonald's and stayed in a Quality Inn hotel. The pet rooms doubled as smoking rooms, so we had to smuggle the mutts in the back door. You'd think the little dog would be the easiest to sneak in, but Peaches started barking within the first 5 minutes in the room. I think she's getting lonely in her kennel during the day because now she's going into Bayley's kennel with him. The look on his face would make you think we were putting a porcupine in his kennel.
DAY 4: Alberta is definitely the least appealing territory of our trip. Irene blended in with the natives, but they were looking at me like I was their next meal. Our gas stop of the day was short and sweet. It was midnight when we stopped for the night in Weyburn, Canada. We soon learned that all of the hotels in Weyburn, Canada had NO vacancy due to contruction and oil workers. We were also informed that every hotel up to the U.S. border would be full. Driving another 2 hours to the next town was not an option, so we were forced into vagrancy and slept in the truck at Walmart. You don't know hard living until you've slept in the cab of your truck in 50-degree weather. T-shirts kept the fluorscent light from coming through the windows. Ghetto fabulous.
Day 5: Dead-ass tired isn't the word for it. We crossed the border from Canada into North Dakota this morning. N.D. is very non-descript other than the two Air Force bases and farmland for miles. We made a pit stop at Minot AFB to pick up some groceries and hunkered down in a hotel outside of Grand Forks. Both the base and city of Grand Forks seem to be quite nice. By the way, if you ever get picked up for an assignment to Minot, I recommend claiming homosexuality or becoming a conscientious objector -- that place SUCKED.
We should hit Marquette, Iowa tomorrow evening. Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment