Day .. I don't know. 12? 13?
One of the things I love about long rides, and Scott's Rides in particular, is that after a few days, the day of the week and even the date don't really matter. Wednesday? Thursday? Don't care. Where are we headed tomorrow, and will I need my rain suit? That's all that really matters.
That, and talking to all the really cool people out here in the world. Like Casey, our flagger on one of many AlCan construction pauses. She grew up in Whitehorse just a few miles from where she stood holding a Stop sign duct-taped to a stick she found by the side of the road. She works construction during the summer, then travels for the winter. She's quick with a smile, and somehow makes people happy they're stopped on the side of the road waiting to drive through loose gravel and dirt.
Last night a couple of friends from Jacksonville caught up with us in Destruction Bay, an even though they left at 10 this morning (instead of 8:30, like normal people) they still were able to join us here in Watson's Lake for Chinese food. Doug and Hart are riding round Canada and Alaska for fun - maybe someday there will be a Scott'sRide chapter in Jax, and maybe we can ride to help make a difference in a child's life.
As for today (and yesterday) it's amazing how much different a road can look coming down the other side. It helps that it wasn't raining today, and the cloud cover was high enough to see the snow at the tops of the mountains we were riding through. I don't think even Brice's camera could capture the raw beauty and the contrasts. Simply stunning, and I have images and memories that I'll never forget. I put the collected works of Mannheim Steamroller on my phone before we left Fairbanks, and simply rocked while we rolled down the highway.
Even the construction didn't seem as bad today as it was the last time were down this road. And the hotel here in Watson is definitely a step up from the last time we were here. That was what, four days ago? Six? Something like that.
Lots of motorcycles on the road, and lots in the hotels. Some are going to Sturgis, because it's there. Most, though, are riding to a destination that's not really the destination, because just being on the road is reason enough.
A couple more days in Canadia, then we're back to the land of real internet, green money, and (with a little luck) some better food.
James