Alaska & Beyond, pt.vi

Not too long after the skies became black, lightning shot to the earth, and the skies rumbled something fierce. The rain was back. Giant drops I could feel through my gear. Drops that stung where they managed to find skin. It didn’t last long, but it would come back again and again. And again.

The temp swings were pretty insane as well. At one point it went from 67ish to 43ish in a matter of minutes. I pulled into Quesnel to near 80 degree weather that has since turned to (surprise!) rain. Seems I’ve been chasing a thunderstorm all day.

I didn’t take too many pictures because of the weather, but the sights were amazing. Some really excellent old/abandoned buildings also. Love that stuff, and wish I’d had more ability to explore a bit.

I had lunch in 100 Mile House, which was… sort of sad. I dunno. Wasn’t into it. Even so, it was an opportunity to layer up, and I’d be glad for it (see above re: temp. swings).

Wasn’t a crazy long day at only about 330 miles, but was certainly a varied one. I suppose I could have pushed a bit further, but here I am.

Here I am with a beer in hand, and a grilled cheese on its way. Not too shabby. I think I was supposed to stop here.

The downs… been in a weird mood the last few days. Normally I’d be halfway through a vacation, starting to think about work again. Now I’m not, and it feels… empty-ish. Found myself wondering if I made a mistake, but I think it’s just temporary. As much as I liked my job, and love Mazda… I needed this more.

Alright, enough sappy stuff. I’m gonna go figure out where to go tomorrow…

Additional comments from the present (Oct. 9, 2019): This was a hard day for me. I had a small crisis, to be honest. Sometimes being alone with your thoughts isn’t really the best, but it’s hard to avoid on a motorcycle. It all worked out in in the end. Below you’ll see an excerpt from my personal journal that sort of expands on it. For whatever reason I think it’s important to share this part of it. Experiences like this aren’t all sunshine, rainbows, and positive. I feel it’s a thing people should understand, so…

June 26, 2019 (Personal Journal Excerpts)

Today… today was a bit up, a bit down, a smattering of sun, and a healthy dose of rain. 

Today is/was also my Nephew Owen’s 6th birthday. Happy birthday to my dude. Missing you so very much. 

Missing the whole family, really. Hard being away. Wish I could just ‘pop in’. Let’s get the ‘down’ part out of the way now. Missing the fam. Special days are hard. More than that, though… I’m basically at the point where I’d [normally] start realizing I have to go back to work soon. I’d start to let it creep back into my thoughts. This time I don’t have to, and it’s making me feel… I don’t know… empty-ish I suppose. I’ve found myself wondering if I’ve made a huge mistake leaving my job, but I think it’s just temporary. As much as I liked the work, and love Mazda, I need this more. I’ll be fine, right?

…

Odo Start: 16,357
Odo End: 16,680
Daily Miles: 323
Cum. Miles: 2,117

June 27, 2019

Guess what, folks! Today started cold & dreary. Bet you didn’t see that coming!

Luckily, it got hot not too long after. I’m talking nearly 70 degrees hot. Yeah! It was a pretty nice morning from that perspective.

The morning saw not only a rise in temperature, but a change in scenery as well. So far it’s been “expected”. Pine trees. Mountains. Rugged. Today brought larger open spaces, more “prairie” feel, and wind. A lot of wind. Son of a…!

At first they were few and far between, standing like ghosts among the pines. Tall, pale, slender, and nearly naked spruce trees slowly started appearing amongst their evergreen brothers. Slowly they became the dominant sight along my journey, their leaves shimmering in the wind creating a captivating sight. Absolutely beautiful.

Even though the landscape had changed the rivers and lakes continued to dominate. Each one felt just as special as the last. Each one uniquely its own.

It’s difficult to take a lot of pictures here. The roads are too travelled to just stop like I’d done in Patagonia. The places you can stop generally provide no view. I’m learning to just enjoy with my eyes as I pass.

The smells are also something to be savored. Pine, flowing water, wildflowers, grasses, fresh air. I feel bad for the “cagers” stuck in their climate controlled bubbles. They’re missing an enhancement to the visuals.

Not long after things warmed up did I have my first wildlife run-in. It wasn’t a bear, a deer, a moose… nothing like that. It was a dog. Two, actually. In the middle of nowhere. How the hell? Also, is it me? Same thing happened in Patagonia. Crazy.

Not long after that I saw a bald eagle. Absolutely awesome. Love those birds.

Not long after THAT the road climbed again. The temps dropped again. And then it happened… saw my first bear. Then another one. I’m not saying the paranoia of bears “everywhere” kept me from stopping much, but I’m not denying it, so…

My stomach was growling, the bike was running low. It was nice to reach an actual town. Chetwynd allowed me to gas up, and get food in my stomach. Sadly, it was Subway, which was only a marginally better option than A&W. Blech.

At this point I want to thank the gentleman at the gas station that made a “dodging the rain” comment. Way to ruin it, dude.

Sure enough, it poured on my way out of town. Small drops this time. Each like a needle no matter where it hit. Radical.

It did let up long enough for me to enjoy an intersection, and chat with a local. After that, though… it got worse. Wanna guess when it stopped? If you guessed the second I parked at my motel you’d be the winner. Give yourself a prize.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful unless you count the steel floor bridge that was the worst I’ve ever been on. Metric spacing, maybe? Awful. The old pig was not happy, and I thought I might actually go down at one point it was moving so much.

351 miles today. Not too shabby. In Ft. St. John tonight. Heading to Muncho Lake tomorrow.

Odo Start: 16,680
Odo End: 17,031
Daily Miles: 351
Cum. Miles: 2,468