Well, this was another day spent driving many miles, including some fairly challenging bits. Last night I stayed in Fort St John, BC at the Blue Belle Motel, which has its charms, but reliable Internet is not chief amongst them. I spent a couple hours this morning trying to do some e-mail, and during a rare period when I had WiFi for more than a few seconds, I posted my last blog entry. I have two e-mail accounts, one with gmail which always works, and one with Cogeco which usually works when I am at home but which has been completely problematic whilst I have been on the road. One time I managed to get it working, it ate my in-box which had at that point a dozen or so messages. Gone, forever. Even when it apparently is connected, it refuses to send out e-mails from my out-box. In other words, it really gets up my nose, big time, and it was cogeco that I was using to set up a lot of this trip with various friends and contacts. This morning I was trying to coax it into allowing me to see the messages in my outbox, so I might perhaps copy them into gmail and finally send them. No luck. I eventually gave it up as a lost cause, and cleared out of my motel room.
I needed fuel and coffee, and not necessarily in that order. My motel was just across the Alaska Highway from Tim Horton’s, so of course that was where I went. The drive-through line-up was about thirty vehicles (NO, I am NOT exaggerating), so I squeezed the truck and camper into the last available parking spot and went into the Timmy’s. The line-up inside was about thirty people long, and no, I am not exaggerating. I went back to the truck in search of Rotten Ronnies, where I found even longer lines, and an unhappy chap behind me when I had to turn around in the very full parking lot to get the heck out of Dodge. One might think he could see that an F-250 heavily laden with a camper could not exactly do a three point turn in something like two feet more room that my total length. And he was in the drive-through line-up anyways, which was going nowhere fast. I restrained an urge to make a rude gesture at the inconsiderate chretin, and decided that I would get diesel fuel somewhere and maybe make coffee in the camper (which of course I could have done at the motel).
The Petro-Canada station in town had Ultra Low Sulphur diesel fuel, mirabile dictu! So I filled the tank to the brim, and whilst so doing noted that the gas station also had a “Dumpty’s Family Restaurant.” I mean, who could resist such an alluring spot? So I parked the truck and went in, only to find that there was a line-up here as well. BUT........the smell of bacon and eggs, etc overwhelmed my feeble ability to resist, and I waited.........and waited...........and, well you get the idea. Breakfast was actually exceptional, and with excellent coffee, and the reason people have to wait in line to get in is you have to tell the waitress six or seven times that you want the bill so you can pay and depart. I waited......and waited.................etc. I tipped the waitress handsomely anyways, being in a fine mood with a belly full of good grub, and took my departure.
Larry had advised me the previous evening that I should take the scenic route through Hudson’s Hope, along the Peace River, so I re-traced my steps back up the Alaska Highway a ways to take Hwy 29 down to Chetwynd, where I would re-join the Alaska Highway. Indeed, this is gorgeous country, and the Mighty Peace is an awesome sight, as is the fertile Peace River Valley. I had not previously driven this stretch of road, and am pleased I did so today. Even with the white-knuckle bits.
At Chetwynd I got back on the now-familiar Alaska Highway, on which I have now driven a couple thousand kilometres or better. There was one section of washed-out highway just south of Chetwynd, where we were piloted through the clean-up efforts for about a half-hour or so, then a ways south we had the truly execrable mess of the Pine Pass re-construction, for a very long ways indeed. When you are going ten kph over potholes, mud, washboard, ferocious bumps, etc etc, it does not take many miles to make for a long and arduous journey. But eventually I reached the end of that, and after the Northeastern version of the BC Grand Prix, southbound, I had good going and was able to make very good time.
Those of you who know me well know that I drive like a little old lady. I am very cautious and do not drive quickly, don’t take chances, and so on. BUT!!! I had to make some good time these last couple days, when the roads were good, and so many of you will be astonished to learn that I was routinely clocking 120 kph through the mountains, with the camper on of course, and passing “slower” vehicles much more often than I was being passed. At one point I had Nelly doing 140, which believe me, was a fairly spiritual experience. But I had to get past a guy (or gal) who would do 120 in the good spots, then slow to 80 where there was no passing. At 80 kph, the truck drops into low gear for every little change in elevation, which is highly annoying when one is trying to make good time.
Did I mention that these northern highways are seriously under-policed? I think I have seen perhaps a dozen police officers in the last five or six thousand klicks. So the locals drive like fiends, and after a month I guess I have gone native.
Tonight at about 7:30 I arrived back at Mary and Larry’s place. To say the least, they were astounded to see me, based on my trip today. But I still hope to shoot an elk, and perhaps a mule deer, and my licence expires on 30 Sep. It’s do or die time now. Unfortunately, Larry has been hunting hard for the two weeks I have been away, and he has yet to see an elk. So we really need to pull a rabbit out of a hat in the next five days, please wish us luck.
It is unlikely I will post much more this week, unless we shoot something, so if you need a daily fix of Doug’s wit and wisdom, please re-read my earlier posts.
Doug
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