Day 53
Saturday, July 30
On the Road to Northern Beaver Post

When I got up this morning I saw the tops of the mountains around Skagway for the first time. They say it is rainy or extremely foggy around the mountaintops more often than not. Everyone in the caravan was glad to see fog-free roads up the mountain. When we came into Skagway a few days ago we found extreme fog for the 11 mile drive downhill into town. Fog and low-hanging clouds would not be a problem today.

Everyone was up and ready to go by 7:45 today. I think the long drive - 308 miles - got everyone busy early. Our drive today was mostly retracking roads we have already driven. Once we passed the Canadian CUstoms we found ourselves back in the Yukon Territory. The first part of the drive was a winding road along a narrow fjord and low rock-covered mountains. The water in the fjord was a beautiful green as a result of the glacial silt in the melting snow and ice. For miles the water was mirror smoothe reflecting the trees and mountains on the southern shore. I love rock formations and today I got to see miles and miles of them.

Going through Customs is usually pretty easy with just standard questions such as: "Do you have alcohol with you?, How long will you be in Canada?. Do you have and firearms or weapons?" etc. Occasionally they will choose someone at random and ask a lot more questions or possibly even search your vehicle. Today was J.W. and Mary Jo's turn to be searched. As we passed them by they were standing outside their motorhome with their dog while the agent searched their rig. They said he looked in every cabinet and drawer but didn't look in the storage bins underneath. After about 10 minutes he let them go on their way. I guess they have to randomly select rigs to kind of keep people on their toes.

At Carcross we turned right on Highway 8 which was a shortcut back to the Alaska Highway. Without that shortcut we would have had to drive another 60 miles to Whitehorse to rejoin the Alaska Highway. This 34 mile road was the only road we took today that was new to us. Once we got back on the Alaska Highway it was about 245 miles to our destination. We were in and out of light rain the whole way.

As we got close to Northern Beaver Post we noticed lots of bicyclists on the highway. We've seen bicyclists throughout Canada and Alaska. Since we are in bear country up here they call them "meals on wheels," while joggers are called "fast food." The bikers today were strung out over about 20 miles. W noticed a large number of them off to the side of the road having left their bicycles on the shoulder. Suddenly we spotted a guy walking out of a stream stark naked. He just came walking up toward the road as if no one was within a country mile. Bet said she asked Robert if that man was naked and before he could reply Jenna called on the CB and said, "Bet, did you just see what I saw?" Tonight at our travel briefing Ken, our wagonmaster, asked if anyone had seen any wildlife today. We all pointed to Bet, and she got so tickeled she could hardly talk. Two others reported seeing 5 girls bicycling in the buff in the same area. It turned out that all those bikers had spent the night last night in the building where we were meeting. Several of the men in our group offered to gather up some clothes to take to those poor girls, but our wives wouldn't give us any of their clothes, so we didn't get to go. Go figure!!

At the travel briefing we noticed two boys who didn't belong to our group. They were guests of Cindy and Ron who met up with them in Teslin - about 100 miles back up the road. The two boys - one is 21 and the other is 22 - are from Belguim and have been touring Canada and Alaska since June 20. They were hitchhiking back toward Vancouver so they can fly back home on August 30. They have been as far north as Dawson CIty and Chicken. They canoed from Carcross to Dawson City a couple of weeks back. Cindy and Ron brought them here, bought them dinner, are letting them sleep on the floor of the motorhome, and then taking them to Deise Lake, our destination, tomorrow. There are lots of hickers up here. We were asked for a ride when we were over by Denali, but they were going north and we were going south. Most of the hickers are young and look OK, but who knows for sure?

After the travel briefing I fired up the grill and cooked steaks and chicken for Roni, Bruce, Bet, Robert and us. We all went to Bruce and Roni's motorhome to eat. Everybody brought something to add and we had a very tasty dinner. I helped Robert download some pictures to a thumb-drive for the Caravan's blog. It is Robert's day to write it.

Tomorrow we go to Dease Lake - about 150 miles away, so we don't have to get up and around so early. It's hard to believe that our tour is coming to an end - only 5 more days and then it's back to HOT Texas. Until tomorrow's blog - Happy Trails!!