Leaving Alaska

We left Alaska yesterday – it’s hard to believe we actually spent four months there. But, it’s time to move on, so we headed north, then east out of Valdez. We decided to dry camp about 50 miles before the Canadian border at a wayside park butted up against the forest with a mountain in the distance. Actually, lots of mountains in the distance. It was nice and quiet even though two more RVs showed up before the night was over. Mac loved it because he could wander the few feet his little body wanders any more without being on a leash and feel he was his old self again, playing in the woods. Because we were not hooked up to electricity, Ian got the generator going so we could watch a movie called The Stickup. Except for the cheesy music, it was pretty good with a twist at the end. We went to bed fairly early, I read for a while, then fell asleep – ‘til about 2:30 a.m. when Mac decided he had to go out. Sometimes I think he just likes to go out at odd hours for no particular reason. That’s OK – at his age, he doesn’t need a reason to do anything. At that hour, far away from any town, the night was pitch black. When I walked outside with Mac, the sky caught me by surprise. The stars were present by the millions, and not a small one in the bunch. They seemed huge as planets, and were as bright and shiny as brand new diamonds. They appeared to be so close I could have reached them with a long – very long – ladder, and the black sky behind them seemed to be a curtain marking the end of space. If the stars had swung a bit, I’d have sworn they were suspended from the black curtain like chandeliers. I was in awe, to say the least. There were small clusters of the bright lights, as well as all the individual ones we’ve read about. I wanted so badly to stay out and pick out the constellations and just take it all in. However, the fact that there were two other RVs in the vicinity with occupants we had not met, made me feel a bit leery of some creep coming out and stealing Mac, or even me. So, after Mac did his business, we made a quick retreat inside. I’m sure I’ll never forget the sight of the sky that night, our last in Alaska.

The next morning, we passed through Canadian customs with incident. Yes, with incident. I had retrieved the passports and Mac’s health certificate from my dresser before we packed up so we’d be all ready to present them to the authorities. Ian handed them over, the young lady (way too young to be toting a gun), looked them over, looked into our back seat, looked at Ian and me, looked back at the two passports, and looked in the back seat once again. By this time I thought she must be looking for the dog, so I was just about to say he’s in the camper when she asked, “Who’s Ian Taylor?” Huh??? “He's our grandson. Why do you ask?” I said. “Because you have his passport here. The other one is for Ian Steenson. Who are you and where is your passport?” She wasn’t smiling, not as if she had been before, but now the fact that she wasn’t smiling kind of bugged me.

“What? Oh, no. He spent the summer with us in Alaska. He must have left his passport behind. Mine must be back in the camper. I’ll go get it,” I muttered, hoping I didn’t look guilty of anything.

Not so easy, bub, she was thinking. Then she started her line of questioning. Why didn’t Ian Taylor take his passport with him? How did he get out of the country without it? How did he travel? Oh, he’s only ten? Who was he traveling with? I waited for her next question to be, what was he packin’? Where were the goods?

Mr. Cool Guy, a.k.a., Ian Steenson, asked if we could pull over to the side and get my passport out of the camper. I thought, why did you do that? Now she’s going to think we have something to hide. Now she’ll watch our every move, probably go in the camper with me. She’ll take my plants like they did in Nova Scotia! “Sure,” she said as she waved us over.

I found my passport quickly and took it inside to the Canadian. She looked it over, looked me over, handed all three passports back, and said to have a nice day. Phew! We were free! We could enter Canada legally now. I just hoped Yvonne & Don weren’t planning any overseas trips with little Ian any time soon, as they’d have to leave him at the border.

Once we were in the Yukon, the day went without incident. We did see a herd of four elk – they were huge! Like giant horses. Very regal looking, and I just can’t imagine hunters wanting to kill them. We also saw three brown bears cross the road. We had seen one of them on the side of the road from the distance and thought it was a large dog. Then there were two. When we got close enough to see what they were, Ian stopped the truck while a third bear joined them. They sauntered across the road while I took pictures. They all glanced non-chalantly at us, letting us know it was their road and they’ll cross it when and how they wanted to. We’d just have to wait. No problem – it was a treat for us!

We spent last night at a nice campground in Whitehorse. We were lucky to get the last site with full hook-ups and wi-fi, so I was able to send off a couple blogs. Scot gave me the idea a while back to type them in the Word program whenever I could, then send them whenever I had the internet. That’s really worked out well. I just wish I’d been doing that all along, as there is still so much I haven’t written about yet.

Today we crossed into British Columbia and headed south on the Cassier Highway. This is one we haven’t been on yet, but wanted to check it out since we’ve heard it was beautiful, and it will take us to the Seattle area, closer to Scot’s place than retracing our drive on the Alcan to Montana. As soon as we turned onto the Cassier, the road narrowed, the black top turned to gravel, the yellow dividing line disappeared from the middle of the road, and rain started dripping on our windshield. For the next 15 miles, the road alternated from sealed chip to loose gravel. It was similar to the Dalton highway or parts of the Alcan, frost heaves and pot holes included. Eventually, though, it stayed a steady sealed chip, all the way to Jade City. That was a destination Ian was looking forward to, being a former rock hound. Jade City turned out to be one store (the other one was closed for the season already) that sold green and pink jade chunks, jewelry, and knick-knacks. Ian got a small slab that he’ll put away ‘til we settle down somewhere where he can set up his lapidary equipment.

We continued on our way, admiring the beautiful mountains (is there any other kind?), streams, rivers, and mountain lakes while looking for a good place to dry camp for the night. We finally found a little dirt road leading into a clearing surrounded by forest. So, we’re here for the night. I’ll send this out the next time we have wi-fi service – maybe we’ll be in Washington by then! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I think we’re more than ready to re-enter the real world. Enough of this fantasy life already!