Well, it was bad . . . just too hot to sleep even though it was in the 50s outside. The room got absolutely no breeze even with the window open and the lone fan just did not help matters. So again we were up and happily on the road at 5:45am. I loved being outside and sucking up the cool morning breeze but the road was calling and back we went. I should have made a mix tape of traveling songs to play each morning. About 30 minutes down the road we saw a truck with flashing lights blocking the road . . . we were hoping it wasn't closed due to construction and our early start would be for nothing. As we approached it was a pilot car for an oversized load, he informed us there had been a wreck and a car was down an embankment up ahead. Since we had a first aide kit he said we should go see if we could be of assistance. Well, this isn't how we wanted to start our day. I worried about what we might come upon and prayed for the best. We are traveling on gravel roads and most of the cars we meet are going way too fast. So while we had been enjoying views like this . . .
. . . this is what was in front of us now.
I am not one to take these type of photos but did take this one for a couple of reasons. First, the lady (I think her name was Christine) in the car was talking but in and out from time to time. She was able to communicate and answer questions about herself and her medical issues. We learned she had gone off the road around midnight . . . it was now about 6:30am. So she had been there for over 6 hours. She had on her seat belt and was pinned in the car. I can not imagine. Shortly after we arrived so did a RCMP and his EMT wife. They all continued to talk with her and keep her as alert as possible. She continued to ask where the ambulance was and when they were coming to help her . . . I felt terrible for her. She mentioned she heard cars pass by all night but no one stopped. She was cold. She wanted bug spray. She wanted to die. She was frustrated. She was hanging in there and my heart was going out to her. We learned from the RCMP that her daughter had reported her missing when she did not return home . . . he had been looking for her when he heard the call from one of the truck drivers who spotted her overturned car. The other reason was that while she was in a terrible situation, she was also very, very lucky. If you look in the photo you notice her car has gone down an embankment of about 10 feet but just a few short feet (maybe less) the embankment drops off again about 20-30 feet. If she would have gone down the second embankment, she would probably not have been seen. Just amazingly lucky. At about 7:45am the ambulance and fire & rescue crew (with the jaws of life) arrived and immediately started treating her and prepping to get her out and transferred to the hospital. We excused ourselves and continued on our journey. A part of me wanted to stay, to make sure she was okay, that she was going to be okay, to put a face with a name (one that we aren't certain about). Stopping was the right thing to do . . . she was about the age of our own mothers and in the back of my mind, I hoped someone else would do the same for my family. The RCMP said he would call in a few weeks to let us know what happened to her, and we can not wait to hear and hopefully she is fine. My mind was heavy thinking about the wreck and wondering how Christine was doing. I tried to refocus and look for wildlife. I saw a lot of signs warning of elk herds but nothing to be seen but beautiful landscapes . . .
Our first stop of the day was in Whitehorse, Yukon which is also the Capitol of the Yukon. It was a 'big' city compared to all the other stops. We were almost 2 hours behind schedule but knew it was okay and for a good reason. We stopped by the visitor's center to get a recommendation for a bakery for a quick breakfast. We were told to go to
Baked Cafe . . . it was just around the corner so off we went. It was so yummy. I had a cinnamon bun that was interesting . . . it was strips of cinnamon roll layers with the yummiest cream cheese frosting. You could eat it in pieces sort of like pull apart monkey bread. It was unique and tasty too. After filling our bellies we walked down the block to the
MacBride Museum of Yukon History. I liked how the river was painted on the floor throughout the museum . . .
. . . and sometimes you just have to be silly!
The museum was good and a much need distraction. It was cool outside and raining. Due to the weather, we decided to get back on the road due to the unknown conditions down the road. Before we left town, we stopped at
The Deli to pick up a sandwich for later in the day. This place was actually an European Grocery Store that made their own sausage and had tons of familiar brands of products from all over Europe especially Germany! The drive back on the ALCAN/Canadian Route 1 was quite and rainy . . . just a gloomy day. Finally we saw a black bear . . .
. . . I was over the moon happy. I mean it took almost 1,000 miles before I saw some sort of wildlife. Now I am really straining my poor eyes, but I really think that tomorrow is going to be the day of wildlife overload . . . don't ask how I know but it is just a feeling. We arrive in Watson Lake, Yukon which is our stop for the night. Watson Lake is also the home of the
Sign Post Forest . . .
. . . you really
can not believe the number of signs. Apparently, this is one of the
popular stops along the ALCAN. The tradition began during World War II
when a soldier was recovering from an injury and homesick. He placed a sign that
indicated the direction and mileage to his hometown of Danville, Illinois.
Today there are over 80,000 signs. I was amazed at how
many signs there were from European cities . . . was fun to walk around and
read some of them. Just down the road was our hotel for the night . . .
it has to get better, right?
. . . at least it was
clean and much cooler but what more can one say? We unloaded the car and
walked down the street to the Northern Lights Center to watch a movie about the
Northern Lights . . . I was disappointed and would have been fine not going.
It was to bed early since tomorrow is the longest day of driving with
about 600 miles . . . and I keep saying tomorrow is the day that the wildlife
will be all over the place. I am optimistic . . .
Miles traveled today: 382 miles
Total trip miles: 1,004 miles
UPDATE: Just found an
article online about the wreck . . . so thrilled to learn Christina is on the mend!
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