Journey North 12

7.16.23

I was told since I had come this far, that Haines, Alaska was definetly a must see. I figured since it was the place where a multi-day kayak trip departs that I’ve had my eye on for a few years and only 2.5 hours away that I should probably go check it out…

A very pretty drive...

Coming up on border crossing!

Border housing

Going into the United States. The big yellow pillars are nuclear bomb/device scanners.

The US border guard said it was the biggest joke he’s ever heard because it was a multi-billion dollar project and it has never yielded any nuclear weapons or devices.

We joked about what type of person would lod a nuclear device into a rig and drive it across a border. And that anyone with that kind of pull was probably flying where they needed to go.

Relic

Home for the night.

Nom Time

Got a bit tipsy on kombucha and did some art. It was the only time during this trip I did art. Well, that was good learnings!

These guys kept coming into my van. At one point I must have had about 12. They weren’t particularly aggressive or fast fliers, so I was able to air-scoop them with a plate. Bye!

Night night!

7.18.23

More scoopies necessary!

Time to head out. I got grilled hard going back into Canada, because, like, who the fuck goes to Haines, Alaska for only 1 night?!

Pretty drive heading back north to Whitehorse. This time, to my friend’s lamb farm.

The welcome gate to the lamb farm.

There’s Pat making dinner. We are having one of his lambs tonight!

I met Pat in a hardware store parking lot in Whitehorse. Ha!

One of Pat’s rams. I think he has 4.

The view from Becca. Goodnight!

This ewe was rubbing against the van in the middle of the night.

7.19.23

Good morning, Reba, little bear attacking puppy!

Farm tour!

Office for a day!

Heading out to lay fence lines.

Was this before or after Pat bulldozed through me in the forest, trying to save his own life from the wasps he stepped on!

Oh, that is a survey marker.

I convinced him to go back out and finish the task at hand. I had said it was cool enough that the wasps were probably dormant by this hour.

Wild Yukon strawberries! A nice reward for a good day!

7.20.23

Pat’s breakfast riddle. How much distance between the poles?

Office

Homeskillet

Kim, who I met on the kayak trip in Haida Gwaii stopped in for dinner! We have been doing a similar driving itinerary and suggesting things to eachother on occassion!

7.21.23

Drive day! heading to Liard hotsprings.

Leaving Pat’s

A stop at my fave hippie grocery store in Whitehorse before hitting the highways!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS

You know you’re cruising mode when the utlity pickups are passing you.

A fancy matcha cookie treat!

So many beasties

v

I’ve lost count.

I pulled over to the side of the highway to check fluids, PSI, and mouse action. Almost immedietly after I pulled over a utliity truck pulled over in front of me and asked if I was okay and if I needed anything. My head was under my hood and I didn’t even notice them pulling over. It really surprised me. Good thing they were not sinisiter!

Anyways. we played a game of highway passing for the next couple of hours.

Gas pump, northern territories style

Yummy tomatoes from the store. Awesome drive snackies!

Arrival

I was surprised to see Liard being almost completely full… Apparently even so, the people count is still low for the season… Everywhere I went has been saying they have not recovered from COVID lockdowns… Apparently I was lucky to roll in and score a site and it’s only Thursday!

Feeling peckish

Making my way to the hotsprings. Bear gate.

Changing room

Walking back to base

Cool rig. I want this spot tomorrow. It’s the best one here, I’ve decided.