It's nice to see Bryant and have the kids occupied in their own space, but I already miss my short sleeve T-shirt and shorts. I guess I'll tuck away the summer wear until November as Bryant is already busy planning that trip.
Liard Hot Springs
Tuesday night we camped at Liard Hot Springs in northern British Columbia. I told the kids that if I get a good night's rest we can push for home and be there by the early Thursday morning. They were all for that plan only I found out I'm not as tough as I once was as I had to pull over between Tok, AK and Glennallen, AK for a middle of the night nap. Wyatt was already sleeping in the backseat and Gus in the front. Not wanting to reorganize them too much I dumped the extra sleeping pads and bags to the backseat floor and managed to sleep for 3 hours, the advantages of a big crew cap truck and 3 people under 5' 4". Then we were "Back on the Road Again," which had become our theme song each morning as we left camp. Five hours later, I called Bryant to let him know I was about 10 minutes from home and I may see him before he leaves for work.
Overall, the trip back through Canada and Alaska was uneventful, which is good when you travel 3,300 miles in 5 days. I had an oil change done on the truck in Grand Junction, and according to my tag, when I reached Tok, AK I was due for another. I decided that would wait for another day, but the tag turned out to be an easy way to track our miles.
Surprisingly the border crossings went fast and well. I had six 18 gallon totes of stuff of Bryant's from his parent's attic in Grand Junction and I dreaded ripping duck tape free and having to strategically rearrange everything again, but my fears were alleviated after answering a few questions from each about drugs, alcohol, firearms, and thousands of dollars of cash. The interesting contrast to these border crossings compared to the Mexico/US crossing we've done in the past year was the short line. Two cars, two minutes and I'm in a new country. Ten days earlier, we crossed in Tijuana and we waited two hours. This makes sense considering where the bulk of the population lives and travels and the drug traffic between Mexico and U.S. but still interesting having traveled through three borders in a relatively short time frame.
Eventually, I'll sort through my pictures from this trip and make a slide show, but the hayfield growing in my backyard keeps calling me, so I'll add a few to this post and call it quits until time permits.
Isla Requeson
Bahia Coyote located in Bahia Concepcion
Dead Dog Beach - Name by the local gringos (whites) as people bury
their dogs on this island because coyotes can't dig them back up.
