Menagerie

What a great ride! This was the first day on the trip without major precip, we got maybe five drops on us in the afternoon, but the entire storm was about one cloud, we got out from under it quickly.

We started very early this morning, out the door around 6. It doesn't really feel early up here. The solstice was yesterday so there was barely any dark last night and we're both still living in a more eastern time zone. It was cold and foggy but nothing was coming down so we counted our blessings and headed out.

Within the first hour and a half after leaving Fort Nelson we saw almost every large mammal in Canada! First we saw a black bear (the first of many!) I thought it was a log at first, before it turned it's head to look at us then ran for the tree-line. Then a moose standing in the road, then a mountain goat sauntering down the opposite shoulder, and at last a caribou, who loped his gangly self out of our way as we passed.

The terrain took a turn towards the awesome. As we climbed up into the foothills the road grew narrow and twisty. It was the rally section at last! We spent most of the day rolling through beautiful country, through mountains and valleys, over rivers, and past beautiful crystal lakes. Peaks like Stone Mountain thrust their rocky tops against the sky on either side. It made up for the flatlands we'd gone through in Kansas, Montana, and Alberta.

We also figured out the limits of my gas tank. A lot of roadhouses on the Alaskan Highway are either seasonal, or have just shut down in recent years. Near the end of the day we hit a long dry spell for gas, every spot we went passed had closed up shop. We knew there'd be gas in Teslin, but we weren't sure if my bike would make it. Before long my engine started to sputter so we pulled over and busted out the emergency tanks. Very glad dad packed those! We wound up being only 2 clicks out from the next spot, but I couldn't have coasted that far through the hills.