Magical Mystery Tour

We have decided to dub this trip the Magical Mystery Tour.  So far nothing has gone according to plan, and it just keeps getting more and more interesting!  As most of you know by now, one of my favorite sayings is:  "If you want to hear God laugh, just tell Him your plans."  Believe me, He's laughing!

We had intended to take an excursion up Telegraph Road out of Dease Lake after we left Kinaskin.  When we arrived in Dease, however, we discovered that road crews were repairing the bridge.  It was closed between 7:00 am and noon and 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm each day.  We decided we best not chance taking the road for fear we would get stuck on the wrong side and would be unable to meet Charlie in Haines.

We drove to Lake Watson for the night on Thursday, stopping by the Visitor's Center to use their free internet service to check emails.  Among the notes was an email from Charlie titled "I'm in Trouble."  We quickly learned that Charlie had broken down in a remote area on the Alaska/Canada border.  He was waiting for parts for his motorcycle to arrive, but since the parts were coming from California, they wouldn't arrive until Monday.  He had been towed to a lodge and RV camp some 23 miles from the nearest town.  The lodge cook was having knee surgery, so the restaurant was closed.  He was living off his small stash of provisions and some greasy egg sandwiches out of the lodge's convenience store.

We emailed back and told him that we would forego Haines and meet him at the lodge after we had the truck's oil changed in Whitehorse.  By the time we arrived in Whitehorse the following day, Charlie had written to say that the parts arrived early.  Unfortunately, the motorcycle was still broken.  Because of the bike's age and the cost of towing it to a repair shop, Charlie had decided to abandon the bike at the lodge.  He asked if it would be possible for us to take him to an airport.  Of course, we agreed.

The following morning, not more than 40 miles out of Whitehorse, the bolts sheared off one of the air bags used to stabilize the rear of our truck.  Because it was the weekend and we were on the most remote area of the Alaska Highway, we knew there would be no repair shops open for the next 400 miles.  We decided to drive the distance to Fairbanks with one air bag hanging by a thread and both deflated.  Each hard bump, however, caused the truck to bottom out.  As a result, we had to drive very slowly (about 45 miles per hour), particularly on the rough roads... and the section between Haines Junction north is the roughest part of the Alaska Highway... it was an excruciatingly long and tiring day.

Some two hours later than expected, we arrived at the lodge and found Charlie sitting by his gear.  Since it had been three years since our first and only meeting, I wasn't positive it was him.  I drove up and said, "Charlie?"  He responded, "Virginia?"

We loaded him up, stopped to say goodbye to the Swamp Thing (his motorcycle), and slowly drove the additional 92 miles to Tok, stopping just outside town to camp at a recreational area.  We broke camp in misty rain this morning.  Tonight we sit in a motel in Fairbanks under rainy clouds and 50-degree weather.  Tomorrow Charlie flies back to Colorado while we find a repair shop that will fix the airbag.

Charlie and the Swamp Thing

A Jewish legend says that God made people because He loves stories.  Charlie certainly has a story to tell.  Over four solo quests, he has traversed the entire northern route of Canada on motorcycle.  After making his goal and on the last leg of his journey, he must abandon his faithful motorcycle and fly home.  His life's journey is even more amazing.  We certainly look forward to hearing about Charlie's next chapter.

A chance encounter with Charlie?  What's the probability?  It's an incredible story in itself... meeting him while we camped near a remote cove in Nova Scotia some three years ago.  Then, three years later discovering that our paths might cross during our respective trips west this year, we set Haines as a rendezvous point.  The Telegraph Road is closed.  We receive Charlie's email just before the turnoff to Haines.  Charlie's parts arrive three days early.  And tonight, here we all sit in a motel in Fairbanks.  At least in my book, it's too many coincidences for this to be simply chance!  I love a great story, too!  :)

Also, some wonderful news...  Roxanne is eating again... not a lot, but enough to offer great hope!  We have been gravely concerned about her since before the vet visit in Bozeman.  While both our home vet and the Bozeman vet each gave her a clean bill of health, she has lost nearly ten pounds in the past several weeks.  She grew weaker and sicker at Kinaskin Lake, and I feared we would lose her on this trip.  It appears now that she had a terrible case of gastritis which caused some internal bleeding and a complete aversion to food.  Thankfully, homeopathic remedies worked, and she is feeling herself again and eating.  What a blessing and answered prayer!

So the Magical Mystery Tour continues.  Our now TENTATIVE plans are to travel up the Haul Road again, all the way to Prudhoe Bay.  There are also several roads north of Fairbanks that we didn't make during our first trip.  We'll see what God has in store next!