I am up early again. It doesn't get dark until after midnight. It is full daylight again at about 4:30 AM. I guess this is God's way of giving this land enough light for things to grow fast up here because the season is so short.
The beavers must have been working most of the night. When I went to bed at eleven, they were still out there buzzing around doing their business. I was up at five and they were still working hard. There must be a half dozen or more in this one lodge.
There is a duck sitting right outside the window that is motionless on the still water. He looks like a decoy. He must still be sound to sleep. This was such an unusual sight, I decided to take a closer look. It turns out my duck is really a stump sticking up out of the water. I sure looks like a duck though. I think I need new glasses. What made me suspicious were the two wood ducks scooting around not far from "my" duck. Surely they would disturb it. (When I told Darlie this later this morning, she admitted to me that she took a picture of "my" duck last night. She too, upon closer examination made the same discovery I did.)
The area where the moose come out to feed is directly behind the motor home. I would have to disturb Darlie to raise the shade and look out the back window or go outside to see if they are there. I am not feeling like doing either.
Buddy seems a bit annoyed that I am up so early. She gave me an evil eye then slid down off the sofa and retreated to the hallway where it is darker to continue her snooze. She spends all day up front with us looking out the window. She spots a deer, bear or a raven along the highway and she gets all excited. We try to get her to go lie down but, like a kid, she is afraid she will miss something. If she does lie down for a minute, when I have to slow a little for something she bounds right back to her position to see what is going on. All of this activity is cutting into her normal twenty hours of sleep each day. I love having her along. Darlie, not so much. It is like having to deal with a kid for her.
The Toad River Lodge and RV Park have been in business along the highway since 1950. It has all the traveler needs in one stop. They bake fresh goods daily, there is a restaurant, fuel, repair and a souvenir shop. The ceiling has over 6800 hats tacked to it that people from all over the world have left here. Toad River is also home to a famous artist, Trish Croal. How do I know all these little facts? I find them in my Milepost mile by mile Alaska travel planner.
The Milepost makes the trip much more enjoyable plus it has very vital information for finding services, warning of hazardous road areas, where certain points of interest are located and where you are most likely to see certain types of wildlife.
I like to read through the area we are expected to travel each day. It gives me a heads up of what to expect and I learn a bit of local history also. Some of the people we visited with last night are headed up the road about seventy miles to a place called Laird River Hotsprings. I guess people like to stop there and soak in the hot spring. They have a campground there. The fee includes the right to soak in the spring. You can also pay for day use if you can't get a campsite. The place fills up early I am told.
I think it is interesting that in the Milepost right under the write up on the hot spring, in red letters, it says, watch for bears! There is nothing like a hot boiled dinner.
We aren't into soaking in springs with a bunch of other people so we will pass this by. The Milepost does point out some interestinig encounters we may have with wildlife today though. One area warns of stone sheep and caribou on the highway. Another note warns, "Extreme caution: Watch for bison on the road next 73 miles. Hitting a buffalo would sure put a dent in the motor home as well as our travel plans.
A report from another traveler tells us that the road gets very bad the other side of Watson Lake. I guess we will hit that area today. There is heavy road work going on. Summer is the only time they can fix things here, so it is not uncommon to hit construction along the highway. I was told that one elderly couple hit the construction at this area and turned back for the US. They said it was just too bad to continue. I won't turn back after driving all this way if I have to load this thing on my back and carry it. Our odometer is about ready to turn over 5000 miles since leaving home.
It is 7:00 AM. I have heard a few of the early birds pulling out. They told me last night they want to get to the hot spring early so they can wait for someone to leave so they can grab the campsite. That sounds too much like waiting in line to go bow to the mouse. (Florida term for visiting Disney World)
It's time to go wake Darlie. It takes her a couple of hours to get her eyes open. If we want to be on the road by nine, I have to wake her now. There is a plus side to leaving later though. Most of the wildlife has moved from the pavement to the shoulder having been shoved off by the early birds. Later.
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