Finally in AK!

We figure we've been in the truck something over 70 hours, and had about 12 hours total where we shut it down, popped the lid on my camper, and got prone. But it feels good to finally be back in the states! Gas is half the price, but still 4.59. Food is better. Service is better. Honest to God, last night that steak we had was about the worst I have ever had. Wrong cut. Tough as nails. Well done. Yuck. The waiter never did a thing but bring us a plate and a drink and a bill. And I aggravated my right lower jaw and regretted it ever since. In some ways, Canada is still in the dark ages (I have always maintained).

Mr. PJ says his highlight so far has been the numerous bears, and I agree. It's a really late spring here, and the bears are devouring the first green grass that shows up in the road ditch. They're still kind of sleepy, and so am I - so when we spot a bear, I sort of wander over there and try to get up close and personal. Probably not too smart, but I must to what I must do. PJ waits patiently in the car, and something tells me that I would mostly be on my own if trouble occurred.  Scenery is second, and of course, he says my fabulous company is right up there too.

The road from Whitehorse to Tok was pretty crappy.  Nothing but a hump of dirt built up in the middle of a bog that sits between mountain ranges.  Broken patches of dirt, gravel, rock, and tar. Ice heaves everywhere. We did some nose dives and bottomed out more than once. I blame PJ cuz his foot is usually in the carbuerator.  Gas mileage is horrible when he drives. RPM's are usually at 3-4,000 plus. It takes him an hour or two to burn through a hundred bucks of gas, seriously. But I'm still grateful to have him along so far. I just LOVE giving him crap :-)

Believe it or not, we have come this entire distance, and only stopped at the DQ once - way back in Montana - and that was not even my idea!

As I write this, we are eating breakfast at Fast Eddy's in Tok. Waitresses are cute and friendly. They give you what you ask for. The food was just made in the past five or ten minutes, and the pancakes are as big as you plate. PJ is devouring his breakfast, and as I look over his shoulder, there are snow capped peaks in the distance.

Last night we camped at a huge lake way up in the mountains. Noone around. The lake was ice-covered still, but it was breaking up. So we went to sleep with the sound of wind, tinkling ice, and running water.  It was better than the place we stopped the night before, which had mosquitos built like hummingbirds, and a dude that kept hollering in the night. He either had an unruly dog, nightmares, or bear trouble.

The truck has performed flawlessly, but it and the boat are caked with a layer of mud that is baked on by now, and will take some major work to bring it back to life. If I can get a good price for it, I'm seriously thinking about selling it instead of dragging it all the way back. We will see...

I've also spent 7-800 on gas just getting across the northern rockies, and we're not done yet! We've got anchorage in our sights, and homer is 3-4 hours beyond that. My thinking is to sell the boat, sell the camper, take the ferry down to prince rupert, and then head home from there. If it's cheaper than gas, I'll do that, and visit my brother and his family in Fraser Lake, BC on the way home. Then will return via Prince George, Jasper, Banff, and Calgary.

Doggone but I forgot my camera again. I keep getting little chances to post while we stop and eat. But I promise to try to be more creative in my writing, and post some pictures too, so that you can enjoy some of what we are experiencing here.

I did forget to tell you the story about the caramel roll. This was way back in BC, where the gas was ten bucks a gallon. The lady was selling fresh baked caramel rolls for five bucks apiece, and we figured, what the heck? We're already getting raped on the gas, might as well splurge and eat something good. Well, unbeknownst to me, mine dripped all over my chair, and I proceeded to sit in it and grease my ass up good. I posted a message, and then passed my comp over to PJ, so that he could communicate with his wife. I was nosing around this gift shop, and ever time I turned around this cute young lady was checking me out and smiling at me. It  happened several times, and I was starting to feel flattered, like, this chick really digs me.  We exchanged meaningful glances, and I was enjoying this.  It saddened me to leave, and in my mind, I was entertaining thoughts of what might have been. Then PJ asks me if I had pooped my pants. Yep, there's caramel all over my backside, and suddenly, it all makes sense...

Gotta go!