Aug. 9th A surprise ending.

I pulled out of the park drive way to see a sign that let me know I was heading in the right direction. I was heading to Atlin which was going to be another long day of driving but I was going to be doing most of that driving in the Yukon. It would be my first time out of BC in my X country tour so I felt  like I was actually making progress.

The road was narrow and still had no lines on it. I was getting used to it though and hardly noticed. Not many vehicles on my side of the road but lots of great big campers heading south past me. I love the size of Vincent. I am not sure I would want to drive one of those monsters. I wonder how much gas they use. I met a guy pulling a large 5th wheel in the park and he said he was getting 9 miles/gallon. Whew. I haven’t done the math and don’t know what Vincent is getting but it is more than that.

I was excited and had to jam on the breaks when I got to this sign:

And then there was a change in the road. We had lines again. I was so glad to see them. The road just seems bigger and easier to navigate with them. Funny, I thought I had learned to cope but my relief was really noticeable.

When I reached the Alaska highway I had a decison to make. I thought that the town of Watson Lake was at the junction. I now realized that it was 22 km to the east. It would take me WAY out of my way and I am getting really tired of long days of driving. On the other hand, I had no campground info or anything for the Yukon yet and the Watson Lake Info centre was supposed to be BIG. I will be making my way back through WL on the way back so I didn’t need to go now. I sat and dithered at the junction for a few minutes and then, held my nose and went East. In the end I was glad I did. The info centre was great. They had a film about the building of the Alaska  HWY and lots of camping stuff.  The woman there gave me all of the rules and regs about driving in the Yukon (the only thing that threw me was she used miles instead of km in everything she said. I guess she deals with Americans most of the time) All very useful. Also, it is the location of the sign forest.

After lunch I headed for Atlin which I have to access along the Alaska Hwy. It is south back into BC. I drove and drove. I got out and circled the car and did stretching exercises. Finally I reached Teslin. I still hadn’t passed the road to Atlin. I wondered if I missed it.

Finally I reached the road. Whitehorse was so close. I didn’t make the turn and arrived in Whitehorse half an hour later. Everyone was happy and surprised to see me 2 days early but I had had enough. I drove 565k that day and I was tired, stiff and ready to settle for a bit. I will go to Atlin later or catch them when I am here for the baby in January.

It was good to have Story give me a hug before bed and to roll into a real bed after a hot bath. I am settling here for a few days to try and pull some money together, give Vincent a good cleaning and plan the rest of my Yukon junket.

I want to thank those of you who are passing my website around. Yesterday I got note from someone who I have never met and who would like me to visit her in Alberta. I love that.

Until next time.