Picture # 1: Bear SightingsBear sightings similar to this one are becoming more common the farther north I drive although this is the first mother-cub sighting on the trip. Initially, the mother was grazing by the side of the road north of Lake Louise, Alberta when the little fellow suddenly appeared from out of the forest to join her. Although this would have been an excellent opportunity to test my cousin LeRoy's "bear attraction tips," (see comments on (traveling through Michigan - Day 1), I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Murphy wanted to keep the little cub company and rub his tummy while the mother foraged for food. Before I could catch myself I protested and stopped him. Dummy me, I should have kept my mouth shut and let him have after it. That might have taken care of any future problems for this trip. haaaaaaa
Picture # 2: Toad River Lodge
There are many stories of how different places got their names along the Alaskan highway, but I found this one kind of interesting. Back around 1942 when the Canadian and US armies were busy building the Alaska Highway (it was not the nice road you pass on today) there were problems crossing the river. With no bridge built at the time, it was a common occurrence for people to be “towed” across.
The proprietors of this establishment at the time adopted “Towed River” as the name of their lodge. Did someone really think they meant “toad” or were their language skills lacking? Your guess is a good as anyone’s but the owners are sticking to their story. The population of Toad River hovers around 75 souls and work is very limited in little towns such as this one. Most locals either work maintaining the highway, or like people at the lodge, maintaining the people that travel the highway. The community has one school with an average enrollment of around 25 and two full time teachers. Since the community doesn't have a school bus, the students get to school by horseback, ATV, snowmobile, airplane, on foot and of course, automobile. The longest trek to school is around fifty miles.
The hat collection you see here is merely a tiny sampling of lines the walls and ceiling of this establishment. It all began one evening in 1979 when after a rather stressful day at the lodge when the proprietors were having a brew or two. One man left the room to relieve himself and the other tacked his partner’s hat to the ceiling. There you have it, doesn't take much to get something started around those parts. As of the date of my visit there were 7,529 hats nailed to the ceiling and walls of Toad River Lodge.
Like so many establishments along the Alaskan Highway, Toad River Lodge has no outside electrical service. In order to function, they run huge diesel engine driven generator power plants for daily operations. According to the people there, it cost approximately $18,000 dollars a month to run the power plant for everything from campsites, restaurant cooking, pumping fuel, etc. With the enormous increases in diesel fuel cost recently, many of the little mom and pop hotels, grocery stores, campgrounds, etc. along the Alcan (Alaskan-Canadian) highway have subsequently been forced out of business which is quite the shame.
If you decide to visit, they serve up huge helpings of delicious tasting breakfast. Be reminded however, that when you go to wash your hands at Toad River Lodge, don’t leave your hat unattended mate!
Pictures # 3 & 4: Sign Forest - Watson Lake - Yukon
The town of Watson Lake, the Yukon's Gateway, is located at the famous 635 mile marker along the Alaska Highway. It is 7.4 miles from the southeastern tip of the Yukon , and 274 miles east of the capital city, Whitehorse. An amazing site in Watson Lake is the world famous Sign Post Forest. This tradition started in 1942 by Carl K. Lindley, a U. S. Army Engineer from Danville, Ill., while building many signs in the area during construction of the Alaskan Highway. It all started when he added a sign to a sign post which stated, "Danville, Illinois, 2835 miles." Many people followed and the tradition has continued over the years from world travelers passing through Watson Lake. At the end of the 2002 tourest season, there are 49,777 signs from all over the globe.
Picture # 5: Cutting it Close
There are some really looooong stretches of highway with very few fuel stops. It isn't uncommon in these parts to travel 75-100 miles without services of any kind, only to arrive at a place you were counting on to find it boarded up and out of business. It isn't so much of a problem for vehicles, but the smaller fuel tanks on the bikes forces you to pay very close attention to fuel consumption and available services which remain open.
It this particular incident, I only caught a fast glimpse of a sign as I nailed the throttle and pulled out to pass a logging truck. I thought it indicated 48 kilometers to the next services. I was WRONG!! Not wanting to stop and knowing I had plenty of fuel remaining to take me the indicated 48 kilometers, I pressed on...............and on........................and on. When the bike's computer beginning counting backward indicating the miles remaining before empty, I realized that I had obviously misread the sign earlier. Frantically searching the Garmin GPS database further highthened my fear that I had in fact, misread the sign.
As it turns out the sign had read 148 kilometers! I had ridden the bike once before until the computer indicated "4" miles of fuel remaining and I knew it would at least take me that far before having to walk, but that was was in country nowhere as remote as this. I had no idea at what moment the bike would die, but I knew it was coming soon. With no other choice, I pressed on until the computer counted down, 4.............3..................2.....................1..................and finally "0" miles remaining. Still no fuel in sight. What the heck, the weather wasn't too bad and it looked like a great day to PUSH..........or WALK. Haaaaaa.........
God does look after those too stupid to do it for themselves I suppost because approximately 0.6 miles beyond "zero", a fuel stop came into view. Thank you Lord! At least I know she'll keep running down to the zero mark. haaaaaaa Betcha I start reading the signs better for the remainder of this trip. Haaaaaaa
Thanks for all the comments guys. It really makes it worthwhile and encourages me to continue making the time to complete a post when internet is available. Sorry that I haven't the time to answer each of you personally but hope the blog continues to be enjoyable to you. More later.
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