Damage control…

Day 39 – Sunday, July 21

We have now driven 3,782 miles from home, and we are in Teslin, YT, a town of 450 people.  When we started out this morning we stopped at the Northern Beaver Trading Post for a great breakfast with several from our caravan group.  The cafes and restaurants here are all very small and “homey”, and very good.   The cook usually comes out and chats with customers.  This chef found out we were from Indianapolis, and asked if it was okay that a Vikings fan cooked our breakfast!   We were hungry, so said ok.

It’s been cool and cloudy, with on and off rain.  We only saw one bear today.  (Maybe the bears don’t like the cool cloudy weather either!)  However, it didn’t seem to deter the mosquitos who have enjoyed munching on us, in spite of the DEET spray.

We hiked down a trail to a boardwalk that led to Rancheria Falls.   It was a pretty walk, and a nice view.  The water was crystal clear.

Just before reaching Teslin, we crossed the Nitsutlin Bay bridge which is the longest water span bridge on the Alaksa Highway at 1,917 ft.  We can see the bridge from our campground.

 

Everyone was comparing damage reports when we arrived at the campground.   We hit something in the road that damaged the mudflap on the Lundcruiser—the second badge of honor.  It’s not a serious issue, but we will get it fixed at the next stop in Whitehorse (they even have a Walmart there!).  Today, one of the guys was heading across a narrow bridge that was down to one lane.  It was so narrow, the decorative caps on the lug nuts were knocked off of the wheel—lucky there wasn’t additional damage. Two people had wiring on the tow vehicle damaged going through the construction and two others lost windshield wipers.  Overall, there has been only one serious issue, where an rv had to be towed 250 miles.  The last two days they were experiencing problems with the fuel filter—changed it 4 different times, and then yesterday the rv stalled on a hill, and they couldn’t get it restarted.  They were able to get it off the road, but had to call the tow truck, who picked it up last night.  They will meet us at the next stop in Whitehorse, and hopefully be able to rejoin the group with a working motorhome.   There are several other tow vehicles with a crack in the windshield and even a few motorhomes with windshield damage from rocks thrown up either from the road construction or a passing truck.  One rv is without hot water for the rest of the trip. We feel pretty lucky with only the minor problems of a windshield crack on the truck and bent mudflap.  Everyone is taking it in stride, and enjoying the beautiful scenery, wildlife and good company.  (The cherry cheesecake provided by the wagon masters last night helped a little too!)

The highlight of the day this afternoon was Jim being able to get HDTV here!  We have not been able to get the satellite locked in at the last two stops because of the trees and the position of the satellites.  They are very low on the horizon, so it was questionable whether we would be able get satellite tv the rest of the trip.  But, BINGO today it dialed in, and he was able to watch the Nationwide race from Chicago.

And then this evening, we saw a bald eagle soaring over the campground, as if to listen into our caravan briefing for tomorrow. We are hoping for blue skies as we head to Whitehorse YT tomorrow, only a 2 1/2 hour drive away. 

Tomorrow we should have cellphone service and internet—yippeee!!!