Day 5 of the road trip to Alaska
We are back on the Alcan as soon as we wake. It continued to snow through the night and the road is very much snow packed.
A sign on the road has alerted us to bison in the area, and sure enough we start seeing them:
We are cruising right along when I swear I can hear a clanging or rattling. I look in the rear view mirror only to realize my worst horror! The tire on the boat trailer has just shredded before my very (in the rear view mirror) eyes, the rim is touching down, and is sending a trail of sparks down the snowy highway. Elmer is oblivious to all of this. All I can vision is the guys at Mc D’s saying how we would be splattered all over the road. The air is immediately sucked out of my body as I try to scream “STOP THE TRUCK, WE LOST A TIRE !!!”…but its barely a squeak, and it takes me a few times before its loud enough to get Elmer’s attention. He pulls over to the side of the road without splattering us all over the highway. lol But omg! Can you say thank you to my guardian angel who is desperately trying to get me to Alaska by my birthday?
After an hour or so, we are back on the road but he has to take it easy because not sure if the tire has enough pressure. BUT WAIT!!! It gets even better! Remember the gas can he didn’t want to replace after it got stolen? Well, NOW we are also low on gas. AND we are into the mountainous steep winding hilly roads. We are Sooo Low on gas he is turning off the truck and coasting downhill and then restarting as we lose momentum and begin to climb the next hill. 😲 AND we can’t gather too much momentum on the downhill because of the newly changed tire. Oy Veh! 🤦 This goes on for over 2 hours!!!
NEVER TRAVEL THE ALCAN WITHOUT A SPARE CAN OF GAS ! ! !
We finally find an open gas station at Contact Creek. The proprietor hurries out to pump our gas! Whaaaa? When was the last time you saw that happen? Elmer is so impressed he wants to go in and eat breakfast (since it has a cafe inside) So we go inside and mom and pop are huddled around the cash register, and offer the restrooms. But Nooooo…. they aren’t set up for none of that eatin stuff…mmmmmm,k…. Long wooden tables and chairs with napkin dispensers, salt/pepper shakers, even menus, but Nooo, no setup for eating there. In my mind, these two either just committed a heinous crime, bodies are stacked just out of sight, and they want us the bleep out of there OR we have entered into the twilight zone. Another young couple has stopped in, ever so grateful as we were that the gas station is open, and they are treated the same way. Hurry on outta here, now, see? Its a bit odd, but hey, I guess you gotta be that in order to live way the fook out here.
After we are back on the road, I razz Elmer and tell him it was a twilight zone experience. That the place will never exist again when he passes through here. He retorts with “I got their last calendar”. Oh yes, more fodder for me (chuckles naughtily). Yep, the last one, cause it won’t exist once we cross out of this twilight zone portal. I got him thinkin…hee hee
We stop in Watson Lake, famous for this sign post forest:
except there is still snow on the ground so its like this:
We park around back so Elmer can use the showers at the rec center. Immediately we draw attention from a wandering local checking out what is on the trailer, asking where we are headed. So I turn down the opportunity for a shower since there is still things on the trailer that could be stolen while we are not around, and I don’t want to listen to Mr. Fudd bitch about it for the next 200 miles. He showers and we are back on the road, stopping for a buffalo burger in Teslin. And Yay! I am able to send out a quick text to my Alaska man, as Elmer takes more calls and informs them we will be in Alaska in 10 days!!! We have been on the road now for nearly 6 days and he is STILL saying the same thing. How could my google calculations have been so wrong? And how much time will I actually have to look around in Alaska once we get there?
Back on the road; he says he wants to try and make it to Haines Junction by tonight where he claims he has a friend who owns a Motel; which all sounds good to me since I am wanting a shower. Evening, and we come to the motel in Haines only to find out his friend has returned to the lower 48 and we won’t be staying in a motel room tonight. He ventures on and we end up pulling off the road and camping underneath this (microwave tower?)
I am noticing that it is staying lighter longer the farther north we travel, but I don’t know how far north we are. Nothing works on my phone except taking pictures and sending messages, if they are even sending.
Anywho, goodnight world. I’m sure I’ll be in Alaska in 10 days or so 🤷
Cindi