There have been some major changes to "The Plan" so, for those of you following along on the program, please note: Most of the stops that we previously had planned are a little more "up in the air" than they were before today.
I have had a vicious case of vertigo for the past couple of days (which has made for some rather "uncomfortable" motorcycling) and, now that we've landed here in Whitehorse, we are going to take a "recuperation day" and hang out here until Monday. The upshot is that we won't be going back to Watson Lake until the 7th, Ft. Nelson on Tuesday the 8th, Dawson Creek on Wednesday and then Jasper and Banff on Thursday and Friday. "But wait," you say. "What about Calgary and The Stampede? Weren't you going THERE on Friday?" Well, yes, but we're going to skip it. I know, I know, but we took a look at everything that's important to us on this trip and that excursion didn't make the cut. So, after Banff, we're pretty much going to wing it. There are a million campgrounds just desperate for customers, so I don't think we'll have a tough time finding a place. Jack is being wonderfully flexible and we've done some online checking for alternative routes, etc. and are happier with this adjustment.
Today pretty much did us in. The AlCan "Highway" (and I use that phrase as loosely as I've ever used one) is a pit. It has areas of deep gravel and dirt (ask any biker how much they like THAT) and rides like a washboard most of the way. In addition, we got hit with our first real rain since we left Michigan and it was treacherous. Jack actually had to stand on the pegs as he drove in order to see the grooves in the road well enough to keep us upright. He deserves an award. Anyway, it was a helluva long twelve hour day in those conditions and we don't intend to push ourselves to the point that this isn't fun anymore. Hence, the layover.
I am attaching a photo of the sky that turned a nearby mountain into a volcano look-alike. This was the condition of the sky most of the day. We've been watching the weather and it looks like our extra day will also put us on the sunny side of the passing storms, so that's another point in favor of this change. Leaving tomorrow as planned would have meant traveling along with the rain for at least the next three or four days. Ewww...
We have heard about a place called the Laird Hot Springs between Watson Lake and Ft. Nelson and plan to stop there on our route. It's supposed to be a lovely place and will help to take the place of all of the days Jackson has missed in the hot tub :) It's part of a provincial park up here, but falls too early in the day for us to spend the night there, so we will just be visiting to take a dip before hitting the road again.
I promise to do a better job getting a slide show posted tomorrow. Since we're redoing part of the route right now, there aren't many new photos that would "wow" ya. I will combine two or three days and post them tomorrow evening.
Love you all. Write when you can.
L
2 comments:
that sort of sucks. i hope you feel better! changing plans is probably a good idea.
tell joey i said what's up when you get to dawson creek. i haven't heard anything about her for about 5 years now, so ask her if she's available for me...
Hey Baby - Yeah, it REALLY sucks - the vertigo, that is, not necessarily the change in plans, although I feel like a lot of the work that I put into reservations, etc. over the past six months has really been of very little use now. I'm actually going to a clinic here in Whitehorse this morning since it seems to be getting a little worse. It's bad enough sitting still, but on the bike, doing 60 around curves...blech! I'll let you know what the doc says.
I'll give your regards to Joey. ;)
Much love,
Mom
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