Alaska & Beyond, pt.xxi

Additional comments from the present (Nov. 6, 2019): As normal there is more to this story…

July 19, 2019

Didn’t take a lot of pictures today. It was the reverse of a route I’ve already done… Whitehorse to Muncho Lake.

I screwed around this morning, so wasted a ton of time. Dumb. Didn’t really get rolling until nearly noon. Made for a long day.

It’s always interesting going the opposite direction. The sights are the same, but you find hidden gems you didn’t notice the first time. Saw a ton, but stopped very little.

450 miles dictated I move with some haste.

Even so, I found time for a nap (needed) in Watson Lake amongst the sign forest. Love just plopping down wherever feels right. Done that quite a bit this trip.

There has been a real lack of large animal sightings the last week or so. And then, with about 2.5 hours to go that changed.

At first it was a bison. All by himself. Then, the floodgates opened. All the bison! All over the road. On the sides. Really awesome. Even babies. There were several small herds as I went along.

Then the bears. I beeped at one, and he looked up with a giant clump of grass in his mouth with a really dumb look on his face. It was excellent.

Saw a moose. Wish I’d been able to get a picture. Literally looked like a postcard. She was grazing in a bit of marsh, perfectly framed, and lit. Excellent.

The last animal of the day was a porcupine crossing the road ahead of me. At the most leisurely pace imaginable. Even looked at me bored. I swear he nearly yawned.

So, back to my reentry into BC real quick. There is a big sign that warns of bison, construction, etc. It also had a solicitation by the RCMP looking for dash cam footage from the Liard area for some specific dates (5 days ago I think). Wasn’t sure what it was all about until I was waiting to get through some construction. Talking to the worker I learned there was a double homicide. A couple was found stabbed to death in their van. Side of the road. Windows smashed out. Crazy. It just doesn’t seem like that would happen out here, but it does.

Additional comments from the present (Nov. 6, 2019): So the more to it that I alluded to earlier… I really hadn’t heard about anything until meeting that worker. It made things even that much weirder. My destination that day was actually Liard, nearly right where the folks were found. After hearing the news I changed my mind, and rode all the way to the lodge I had stayed in previously. Apparently, the Australian police, as well as the RCMP were also staying there. At it would turn out, I did stop to help a couple within yards of where the bodies were found. Thinking about it now makes my palms sweaty. I’d be about 24 hours behind the manhunt for a few days. Creepy.

I also helped a guy get his radiator hose fixed earlier today. Some bush repairs got him back up, and running.

I’m beat. Time for sleep.

Odo Start: 22,143
Odo End: 22,597
Daily Miles: 454
Cum. Miles: 8,034

July 20, 2019

445 miles today… so that was fun. Muncho Lake to Dawson Creek. Most of which I’d seen previously.

Even so, I was impressed by the amount of road work that has been done in the few weeks. It actually changed things quite a bit. The rain also brought out the flowers, so that was also nice to see.

I got caught in a gnarly storm. Big lightening. Large thunder. Many rains. I found a place to pull off to zip all my vents closed. Spoiler: it was a vault toilet. At least it was dry. Then I rode through it. It was fun, and scary, and beautiful.

Something is whack with my rear tire pressure monitor, so I checked on things at a Tim Horton’s (you’re welcome, Jay). Nothing bad, so I’ll keep ignoring it. The rear is worn crappy, and toasted however. Hope Edmonton can help.