Selected Trip Journal entries:
10:38 AM = 2105.3 miles on trip; 11162 miles on odometer. Put in the Roadtrip CD's again for this part of the trip -- perfect "road songs" on those.
There are a few drops falling from the sky and I put on my socks, shoes, and white jacket. The Alaska map is out!
10:44 = Started driving towards the land of the midnight sun.. "The Promise" on Roadtrip CD #1 in shuffle mode... Gas was already filled up yesterday so I'm good to go!
10:51/2108 = Fort Nelson is 377 km from here. "Summer is gone..."
I have this romantic idea of Alaska built up in my head over the last several years -- expectations of what it will be like -- sometimes having a preconceived idea about a place can be a dangerous thing on a roadtrip, but in this case I'm fully expecting (TBC...)
10:59/2115 miles = Whitehorse is 1342 km from here
(...continued...) fully expecting it to blow me away -- that nothing I can imagine can actually match it -- I'm on one of the most beautiful roads in Canada but my mind is there -- Alaska! Of course this CD's adding to that ... "Do the walk of life..."
Anyway, this trip is becoming more about the destination rather than the journey -- that's also a dangerous thing for a roadtrip (just like in "the walk of life"...)
Oh great, now it's "500 Miles..." Aaaaaaaaah torture!
I want to be there -- NOW!
I'm getting closer to Alaska at 5/6th of a mile every minute... the highway is going through some forests right now -- its nice, different -- but what lies ahead is really spectacular -- even later today! Hmmmm....
"Here I go again on my own,
goin' down the only road I've ever known,
like a drifter I was born to walk alone,
I've made up my mind,
I ain't wastin' no more time"
Very appropriate.
"Twenty twenty twenty-four hours to go, I wanna be sedated..."
I'm going to be in Alaska DAY AFTER TOMORROW! 6 days after leaving home! Wow...
Actually its technically possible to reach the border TONIGHT! But I'm not going to -- like I wrote before. I want it to be "perfect" -- go the length of the highway and enter the border near Beaver Creek crossing -- otherwise I may as well have gone four years ago from Whitehorse to Skagway -- there's a reason I didn't.
"In God's Country" by U2 now...
NOOO this is "Where the streets have no name" -- How could I miss that?!
"I wanna feel sunlight on my face..."
Okay, THIS ONE is "In God's Country"
BC is part of God's country -- there are purple flowers on both sides of the road and forest beyond... haven't seen any big animals yet but that will change later today.
"Life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long"
haha -- what night?
Now yellow, white and purple -- nice!
11:33/2149.5 = The first construction site up ahead....
11:59/2175 = The sun is out!
12:16/2191.5 = Faint outline of the Rockies far away on the left -- they're going to get closer -- MUCH MUCH closer!
12:40/2214.5 = "I come from the land down under..."
12:44/2219 = "Life in a Northern town...."
Many sections of the road have patches of loose gravel (40-50kmph) and that combined with rain = hazardous driving, BUT its a beautiful road through some low mountains now (not the Rockies yet, but they're visible in the distance)
1:21/2256 = Was that a hawk? It was HUGE!
1:34/2270 = Saw the first deer...
2:06/2307 = Saw the first Alaska plate.......
2:52 = In Fort Nelson. $45.01 = 38.177 L. 2342.7 miles. $10 (in bills, got back a lot of change) for lunch and dinner at the same subway restaurant as 4 years ago!
Now on to the Northern edges of the Canadian Rockies and southern side of the Mackenzie range -- spectacular scenery ahead!
3:11 PM/2343.2 miles = Left subway restaurant and on the road again!
3:15/2345 miles = Watson Lake = +520 km. Whitehorse = +973 km.
4:50/2428.8 = Summit Lake! I thanked the rain gods for another car wash.
5:55/2463 = Saw my first black bear in the wild -- just a cub, no mother. 2 car lengths away!! (side of the road)
5:58/2464.8 = Entered the fabulously spectacular Muncho Lake Provincial Park
That cub even looked at me for 3-4 seconds -- a moment shared in eye contact!
6:45 - 6:50 or so = 2494 miles = Took a few more tripod pictures at Muncho Lake and now I'm driving next to it -- I remember this road well!! But this time there are no boaters on the lake... "It's just another day for you and me in paradise"
7:36/2516.4 = Left Muncho Lake Provincial Park under light drizzle.
7:57/2532.2 = Crossed the Liard River suspension bridge.
9:00 - 9:10 = 2602/2603 = Saw another black bear, and this one checked me out a lot more! Even stood up to look at me. EXCELLENT close-ups with the telephoto lens -- this one may be about 20-30 feet away!
"Where the streets have no name" on the CD!! (I had turned it off for the bear though) Very close to the Yukon border right now -- maybe 10 more miles? This second bear was by no means a cub! Quiet grown up, a little cautious and inquisitive even -- or nervous, checking me out! Cute lil guy! 4 years ago this part of the road was unpaved. Right now I'm going between 45-60 MPH.
9:23 - I KNOW THAT SIGN UP AHEAD!
9:26 - 9:32 = At the border of the province that I'll be entering Alaska from -- YUKON! 2617.4 miles. Also replaced camera battery AND ANOTHER MOSQUITO BIT ME!! Is that a trend being set every time I enter Yukon?
9:54/2641 miles = The sun is 1 1/2 finger widths above the horizon at arm's length.
10:23/2662.6 = Arrived at Watson Lake Hotel (behind the Signpost Forest)
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| July 17 | Contents | July 19 |