Sunday, July 7, 2013

"North to Alaska"...Day 34...Sunday, July 7, 2013

There's shouting...I can hear it. There's a male voice and a female voice...loud and angry words...it's an argument.
That's my "alarm clock" at 5:00AM this morning at our campground in Whitehorse. These people are shouting not fifteen feet from my camper. I put on my glasses and peer out my window. It's "light" outside, but I can't see them...I also can not go back to sleep.
So...at 5:05 or so, I'm up and out of the camper. Last night, I "prepped" for morning coffee...set up my stove, drew water for my pot, put freshly-ground coffee in the French Press, rinsed out my cup and Thermos. Now, all I have to do is heat up the water. At 5:20, I'm enjoying my first cup along with a morning cigar.
Then...I here the sound of feet on the gravel...I look up...there's a woman (late 20's/early 30's) standing next to me at the picnic. She's got shorts and a tank top on (nice). I'm locked out of my camper, she says. So...gentleman that I am...I get her my hoodie" to wear. Do I have a cigarette, she asks. No, I tell her, only cigars. I'll have one, she says. Would you like some coffee, I ask. No, she says, I'd rather have a beer. So, I open a beer for her. And we sit for awhile...smoking our cigars and drinking...me my coffee and her the beer. After a half hour or so of pleasant conversation, her "sister" calls out, and she disappears into a nearby RV.
Time passes...Bill is up...we pack up...we're ready to go. But no "woman" and no "hoodie". Finally, at 7:15, I see an older guy emerge from the camper...he comes over and asks for a cigarette...I ask for my hoodie. He says that "Barbie" is "napping", but he'll have my hoodie in a minute or two. At 8:00, I go over to the camper and knock on the door. Barbie's "sister" opens the door...Barbie stirs from her sleep, strips off the hoodie and tosses it into my hands. You're cute, she says, as her "sister" shuts the door. I can tell you one thing...someone in that RV has arthritis because I could definitely smell the "medicine".
At 8:05, Cousin Bill and I are "wheels up" for our 330-mile journey into and through the heart of the Yukon to Dawson City.
It's a tough drive. The weather is good, but we've got to constantly watch out for wildlife, photo opportunities, frost heaves, and other "travelers" stopped in the middle of the road for photos. We stop every hour or so to walk around and stretch...Kechi gets a walk as well.
Along the drive, we see a lot of barren areas. There have been a lot, a whole LOT, of forest fires up here over the years. There are plaques along the way for describing fires in the 40's, 50's, 60's, etc. The most recent was the "Fox River Burn" of 1996.
It's pretty country...and we're motoring right through it. After my morning "surprise", I'm really tired. Two "5 Hour Energy" bottles and two "Starbucks Double-Shot Espressos" are required to keep me alert on this drive.
Finally...a little after 4:00, we reach our campground in Dawson City. They are pretty full, but we get two sites. I let Bill have the site with power...he needs it for his fridge. I take a dry site. For once, I back into my site on the first try...unhitch, block the wheels...and immediately make a monster-size Manhattan. The Manhattan...some of my spiced pecans...leftover Korean with a bottle of "Evolution" white from Oregon.
And then...then...into town. It may not be tonight...but before Cousin Bill and I leave this town, he will partake in one of the most revolting...the most disgusting...and the most depraved "traditions" in all of North America.
It involves a bar, a shot...and a severed human "digit". It's goi8ng to be wonderful!

No comments: