Even I realize I’m sounding like a broken record, here, but it was still raining when we got up this morning. So, if life hands you lemons, well, you try to do something with them. You haven’t got any sugar in the house and it’s definitely not lemonade weather. Still, there was a plus, at least for me. I got to see what actually happens when we bring in the slide out room and it’s been raining for two days. There is a squeegee gasket all the way around plus an awning to keep most of the rain of the roof so I thought everything would be great. And it mostly was. However, when you bring an outside room inside, well there is a certain amount of water that comes with it no matter how good that squeegee is. A quick breakfast and a well practiced pack up saw us off in good time and as we passed by the site of Old Valdez, wiped out by the earthquake and Tsunami of 1964, I caught site of the grain silos in town. Captain Stan, on the boat, told us the town built these gorgeous silos and a bridge to get to them with anticipation of shipping Alaskan grown grain out of the port. Here’s where the story has one of those good / bad things going on. The good news is all of the grains grown in Alaska stay in Alaska and the bad, well, Valdez has this eyesore on their horizon that sits pretty much empty all the time and the townspeople are reminded everyday of the cost the entire facility, bridge included, has set them back. The trip through Keystone Canyon and up over Thompson Pass was not the sunlit and photographic experience I’d hoped. In fact the weather was worse today than it was on Friday when we came in. So, no great photos of the Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls. I also could truly get a feel of how majestic the scenery was around us. We would get small glimpses as clouds and fog rolled in and out, but it was just a tease. I could imagine how very beautiful the Chugach range was, though. As the road continued on to Tok, we passed this “gas station” where I saw absolutely no sign of any pumps whatsoever. There was a satellite dish and the driveway was not blocked with debris like so many other places we’ve seen that just dried up or withered away. Still, it’s been a while since it was in operation. How do I know ? When was the last time gas was $1.45 9/10 per gallon? Sometime before noon, we came upon a 12 mile stretch of road construction complete with two flag people holding traffic up while 3 state workers literally leaned on shovels and brooms. Carl and I got a chuckle over this for a couple of miles and we were still laughing when a pickup truck coming towards and by us threw up a rock and hit our windshield. We’ll be looking for a glass replacement shop when we get to Washington state. Right in my line of sight are not one but two craters with spider webs. Eventually they will work their way into full blown cracks. Carl wished he’d packed the super glue. That might have helped to hold the little devil together a bit longer. Most of the mileage driven today was a repeat from earlier but we did have new territory from Glenallen to Tok and I declared that today would be the day I’d find that bull moose. At the time, I had no way of knowing this stretch of road would contain the best moose habitat we’ve driven through. And all I saw was one cow very far off from the road. I am beginning to think there are no big bulls in the state of Alaska. And now, we’re back in the Yukon for the rest of today and part of tomorrow. While I was trying to convince Ms Moose to come closer, I looked up at the mountains to see a fresh snow fall happening which reminds me, on last night’s local news broadcast, they mentioned Denali National Park had a substantial snowfall this weekend. I told you the signs were all there for an early and harsh winter. This photographer has to fess up with something. Today, we drove past an airplane in one of those pull outs they put every so often so you can get off the road and let faster traffic go by. Why is this noteworthy, you ask? Because we were in the middle of no where and there was no runway. This plane landed on the road about mile 101 and taxied to this paved pullout. There was a pickup truck there and it appeared to us as we drove by, they were working on either the tire or the strut. And I didn’t think to take a picture. Camera on the front seat right beside me and we continued on our trip. I’d say his landing was definitely “off airport” and I suspect that’s how he’ll be taking off again. These bush pilots are an amazing and hardy bunch with nerves of steel. They will and do put down almost anywhere from a gravel airstrip or sand bar in the middle of a river. For a boring day, it was pretty exciting.
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