The Roar of the River

Alaska Highway, midway between Ft. Nelson and Watson Lake, British Columbia – Friday, July 15, 2011

Here we sit, 170 miles from the nearest hardware store. Our male readers will know how Frank feels. However, we are sitting right next to a roaring river, the only campers in sight, so that more than makes up for it. Hardware withdrawal and all, it’s beautiful.

Some call the Alaska Highway rough, and we have to agree with them. Our top speed today has been 45mph, averaging between 40 and 45 for the most part. In a car the road wouldn’t seem bad at all, but in a motorhome, the noise of things rattling around, will eventually drive you crazy. So you slow down until the noise becomes bearable and continue on your way. Think of the road as miles and miles of washboard and you’ll get the idea. So far as we can tell, nothing has fallen off yet.

But the Alaska highway is mostly paved, so that’s good. Canada repairs roads the way the US used to until the enviros got involved. You put down a tar base, throw a bunch of gravel on top and let the traffic beat the gravel into the tar. So the parts that aren’t paved just haven’t finished the process yet.

We had several hikes planned for today because we haven’t been getting enough exercise lately. Unfortunately, it was raining as we passed by the hiking sites. So we compensated by stopping at the Tetsa River Lodge and buying a fresh baked 6”x6”x3” cinnamon roll.

While there, we met a motorcyclist who had passed us on the way there. He was using their laundry to dry his clothes that had gotten wet in the rain. His rainproof gear had sprung a leak in the crotch seam. He said he’d rather wet all over than just in spots.

All along we have been seeing bicyclists pedaling up and down the mountains. We managed to grab a photo of this guy in the rain. If you look at the sign on his bike trailer real close you can see “Florida to Alaska”

Our next stop was the Toad River Lodge. Don’t you just love these names? The name came from the US Army having to tow vehicles across the river as they were building the Alaska Military Highway. Towed, toad. Get it? The Toad River Lodges claim to fame is that there are, as of today, 8,000 hats hanging from the ceiling. Oh, and their diesel was $1.599 Canadian per litre, which is about $6.06 US per gallon. Feeling pretty good about what you’re paying for fuel right now aren’t ‘cha?

About an hour after we left the Toad River Lodge, the motorcyclist we talked to passed us again. We honked and he waved as he zoomed past us headed toward Whitehorse.

BG Miles Today	171	BG Total Miles	4646
Eat Out total $	351.19	BG Total Fuel $	2542.47
Entertainment total $	118.82	Total Camping $	541.88
E Miles Today	0	E Total Miles	1570.45
E Total Fuel $	303.59	Day # of Trip	45