We awoke to a very cold campsite and started prepping to leave for Tok.
Dave and Heather were going on to McCarthy and Kennecott, wanting us to go with them, but I wasn’t well and we decided to push on with Fanda and Kaschka. The cold weather and calendar were telling us it was time to start working south. There had been a few folks telling us the snow was a couple of days behind us, and the colder temperatures we had been experiencing were forerunners of the approaching winter.
I’d found out Ronetta’s birthday was coming up in a day or two and wanted to thank her for her generous hospitality while we were all still together. At the small general store across the lot, I found a pack of Hostess Ding Dongs and in a flash had opened the package, stacked them on top of each other like a tiny chocolate cake and stuck a match in the top for a makeshift candle.
When I got back to the campsite, everyone was hanging around the table so I called a meeting and presented Ronetta with a tiny double layer chocolate birthday cake. We all had a good laugh and sang happy birthday to her while she blew out the match. With that done, we said goodbyes to Heather and Dave, rehearsing our plan to meet them in Terrace, BC in a week or so and they took off in the cold morning air for McCarthy.
Shortly after, we 5 headed out for Tok. My bike had a lamp fault showing, though all bulbs seemed to be fine, and I had to add a few pounds of air to my rear Heidenau. It was now sporting 10,000 miles and getting a bit thin but I figured I could get a couple thousand more out of it. In my rear view I saw one of Kim’s auxiliary PIAA lights had popped a bulb as well.
The winds were high and intense as we neared Glenallen in some bitter cold, where we gassed up and did some grocery shopping. As we left, an older couple rolled in behind us on a Harley. Motorcycles have been seen substantially less in the last few weeks so it was noticeable to see a bike nearby.
A bit later we hit a roadside stop for lunch and the couple on the Harley we’d seen earlier rolled in behind us. We started talking to them and discovered they had run the N.O.L.S. School for the Pacific Northwest for many years. They were celebrating his 67th birthday by buying and riding a Harley, the last one he’d owned having been 50 years before at age 17. They were leaving Valdez, where they owned a fish tender and made extra money in the summers. They were excited to hear of our trip to South America, having ridden south America in a sidecar rig years before. They were currently planning to ride an old Vespa he’d bought around Europe.
In our talking about riding and weather, I shared about Kim’s high wind experience in Lander at the top of Red Canyon, they started laughing. It turns out they owned property at the top of the Canyon and knew exactly where we had the experience. They had run the N.O.L.S. school in Lander and loved the area. Small world indeed.
The winds towards Tok had died down a bit and the views were absolutely stunning. I felt so poorly I didn’t take the time to stop and shoot and regret it now, but the head cold was hitting me in earnest.
Rockin' her 1200
We reached Tok late just as a rain cloud was blowing in. F&K said they’d prefer a room, if possible, and I didn’t relish spending a night in low 30’s temps in a tent with a worsening cold. Kim found the Alaska Stoves campground and the owner allowed us all to share one travel trailer for $50. What a deal indeed.
It felt good to be warm, with Fanda, Kaschka, Ronetta, Kim and I, along with Ronetta's two big dogs Cedar and Starla all piled together in the little camper. The evening was fun, despite my hacking cough, until… The owner had asked us not to use the shower in the RV, which was fine. The place was cramped and Ronetta had brought in her bag of Canon pro cameras and L series lenses. To protect them from the dogs and for extra room, they were inadvertently set in the bathtub for protection...
Yep, you guessed it. About midnight Kaschka let out a shout and Kim ran in the bathroom, returning with a camera bag that was pouring out water, having been sitting under water for a while. Apparently the kitchen sink had backed up into the bathtub, the grey tank having not been drained by the campground’s caretaker. It was absolutely a devastating moment to see Kim carrying out a camera bag with water pouring out. It was dead silence and horror. We slowly lifted out body by body and lens by lens as water poured out of the lens caps. I pulled the rear caps off the L lenses and watched the water pour from inside. As a photographer I was sickened and can’t imagine how Ronetta must have felt. It was a terrible way for the day to end.
Ronetta tried to make the best of it but was in shock. I typed a list of all the gear so that we could talk to the campground owner about insurance. The evening was a bit less joyful after that, Kaschka wandered outside and spotted the Northern Lights forming. We all piled out into the freezing cold evening and stood watching a nice display through the pines. It was great to see them and sort of fitting, as we sadly knew it was time for heading south.
The next day I still felt very bad, with severe coughing and congestion and needed rest. Kim and Ronetta headed for Chicken in her Yukon and I attempted to find wifi both in the Visitor Center and Fast Eddie’s restaurant. Both sucked and the internet was so slow I was only able to upload 8% of one 900k photo in the entire day. I finally gave up.
Some pics from Chicken... where I didn't get to go :( but so glad Kim and Ronetta had some fun!
Kim and Ronetta returned from Chicken, where a party was planned later that evening for the close of the campground in the town. Fanda and Kaschka had rested and wrote for their blog much of the day as well. We were all pretty tired and fell asleep quickly that evening.