We remind ourselves these rigs are made
for living a few days without public utilities, but it is really cold for
the 2nd night in a row – in the 20s, 30s, or 40s, depending on how much you suffered.
I turn on the gas furnace on rising figuring we need to thaw out our moods and our bodies, and we are unlikely to run down the batteries in a couple hours of operation.
The skies are clear, the view across
the lake spotless. A few people are out,
building their repertoire of how-cold-was-it stories. Suddenly there is a roar from the lake a few
feet away and a bush pilot takes off; I never even knew he was here. Others say he came in last night looking for
people interested in flightseeing.
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| There was a dusting of snow a couple nights ago. |
We hit the road and start our 215 mile
plunge south-east to Haines AK, near Skagway.
The trip is moving toward a close.
Each border crossing shifts the time either an hour forward or an hour back, and our leaders have consistently failed to deal with this understandably on our drivers manual schedules. In last night's meeting we think we've agreed to stay on Yukon time for now, as we dart back-and-forth across the border.
The scenery is beautiful and endless –
lakes on one side and towering mountains on the other. The road in the Yukon is under repair and
speeds slow to 20-45 from 55-60. Frost heaves from melting permafrost, probably. The joke is that there are two seasons in the
Yukon and Alaska – winter, and highway repair.
(In fairness, we heard the same joke in Newfoundland.) The other often heard remark is that
Americans use this stretch more than Canadians, so the Canadians spend tax money
here only reluctantly, and the Americans won’t pay anything since it is
Canadian.
The growing monotony of beautiful scenery is broken by wildlife today, as we spot eagles, a
grizzly mom and cub, and a couple trumpeter swans.
In Haines the NorCal Eight take Jane to
birthday dinner at the Hotel Halsingland, on the old Fort Seward complex. The fort was built around 1906 and never
housed more than a few hundred troops.
Now an historic site, the complex sits on a slope overlooking the bay,
with mountain views in all directions. Unfortunately not enough is being done to maintain the place.
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| Snow grass. |
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| This may be what is known as dwarf fireweed. |
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| We try not to travel in packs this large, but sometimes it just happens. Fortunately very little civilian traffic on these roads. |
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| A modern-style Indian fishing wheel. |
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| Fort Seward - Haines, Alaska |
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