JULY 19TH, WOW-WHAT A DAY

Knowing how many miles we had to cover today and knowing how slow we would be traveling under normal conditions, we pulled out at 7:30. Thank goodness we didn't know what was ahead of us. After a little over an hour, we pulled into Braeburn Lodge, a place the Milepost had really bragged on their cinnamon buns. They were more the size of a cake. Pretty tasty, but a little stale. The microwave, however, brought them back to life. Everyone in the caravan had one, some bought 2. From that point on, it was down-hill. There were multiple episodes of long stretches of washboard gravel roads. We traveled very slow and moved over when we saw approaching traffic. When we got to the campground, we had rocks all over the top of our car and hood. THANK GOODNESS FOR DENNY'S INGENUITY!!! Five members of our caravan suffered broken windshields and one guy's driver's side window was shattered. All of this and we haven't even started the Top of the World yet. Our WM said that it was an example of what we have ahead of us. Did I tell you that before we left Whitehorse, about 3 guys went out and bought some vinyl floor runners to put across their windshields on their cars Denny style. He has really become admired for his forethought and ingenuity. Of course, we are still susceptible on the MH, but hopefully the car will stay protected.

I received an e-mail from Bob and Glenda Spears who are traveling up here with another couple. They made a side trip in Bob's truck on the Elliot Highway and he had 2 flat tires out in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, a kind Alaskan with a flat bed truck came by and hauled them in saying he couldn't leave them out there. Got to love those Alaskans! I believe the survival mode is so strong up here that people are just prone to help someone in need with the hope that if they need help, someone will help them. The good old Golden Rule!!!

Dave and Maddie asked us to join them in their rig for dinner. Maddie had cooked a pork roast while driving down the road. I carried a salad and some field peas and we had quite a feast. A little about Dave and Maddie: he retired from Verizon and she is a retired RN. She does have Parkinson's (early stages) and uses a scooter, but for the most part she is pretty mobile, very upbeat and funny. She loves to sew and has several sewing machines. They are from the outskirts of Boston. Denny said we seem to gravitate town people from Boston. We are enjoying their company. Dave leads and we follow. Their daughter is joining the caravan in Fairbanks for 2 weeks.

After dinner, we walked thru the town. Our campground is right in town and very convenient. Great WiFi! The town has dirt streets and is just what I thought a town up here would be like. Larger than some of the other little places we have been but considerably smaller than Whitehorse. I try to imagine what it would be like here with -40C. When we drove in, there were an awful lot of young people walking around and we found out they were having a music festival and it was the last day. A street dance was being held later. Most of the stores were closed so Monday we will explore more.

The weather is comfortable. Mid 70's and dry. They really need a rain on these gravel roads. We hope we have a shower before we hit Top of the World. Just a shower to settle the dust-we don't want mud. Mud dries like concrete here. We have only tv by antenna. I hate to say it, but they really need to work on their CBC broadcasting. Yuck!

Our satellite radio works after it has been on a while. It takes it a while to find the satellite and when it does, we leave it on. I listened to Rick and Bubba on the internet this AM. Nice to hear voices from home :-) Also read some of the B'ham News on al.com. The internet is wonderful when it works and you have access. My Verizon phone service has been much better than those with AT&T. While no one has service on these VERY remote roads, even those with Onstar, when we reach the towns, those of us with Verizon have service while those with AT& T don't. They are pretty hacked off about it. The OnStar people are really mad. Another reason to travel in Caravans. Somehow, the WM and TG always can communicate-kind of like Jack Baur :-)

We have several activities planned for the next 2 days before we cross over into Alaska and back in the good ole USA on Wednesday. We spend a month in Alaska before we cross back over into Canada. Its hard to believe we have only been on this caravan for 3 weeks. We have done so much it seems longer.