The Adventure South in Dora the Explorer

Day 3

the road ahead

We slept like babies in Dora. I did turn the engine off around midnight so we had to snuggle close to stay warm under the down comforter and fleece blanket from home. When we got up it was still dark outside but obvious that the snow was still falling, only now it was coming down sideways because of the wind. RockDog and Bunny had a blast rolling around in it! I thought about the roads and decided to stay put until the sun came up which was around 8 AM, and then put off leaving until the plow trucks had sanded the roads. We are 100 miles from the Canadian border and another 250 to Haines Junction.  A breakfast of poached eggs, hashbrowns, rye toast, and crispy bacon at Fast Eddie’s to contemplate the weather situation. By this time it is already 11:30 and time to hit the road. The roads were okay once I got used to the snow and ice. We cruise into customs and cross the border with ease. Of course we are not asked for the doggie papers that cost $260 to get! Grrrr. As the dogs snooze I have time to reflect on my feelings of the past few days and realize how much of it is fear based. . “Fear is the mind creating a scenario that you don’t want.” A quote from a yoga practice.

Fear grips the mind. Fear is debilitating. When allowed, fear controls. Fear is only good when it heightens awareness, anything more than that is lethal. We live in a fear-based society. Just  listen to the news or read a newspaper to get a daily injection of the stuff.

entering Canada, finally

I reflect on a dream I had a few nights before leaving Homer. I was driving VeVe on a narrow road with a shear drop-off on the right. I somehow knew if my tire went over the edge and got caught, that VeVe would plummet over the side. Soon I felt the tire catch and knew she was going to roll, just as I swung open the driver’s door and dove out. I sadly watch her go - falling down, down, down - waiting for the explosion that never happened. The next scene was inside a room full of unknown people that were not interested in hearing about my near death story. A hand suddenly reached in my chest and gripped my heart as I realize RockDog and an elderly dog were inside VeVe. My mind frantically tried to remember dropping them off at home before getting on the road. But I knew they had been in the car and desperately tried to get someone to help me get to them. I was invisible, no one heard me. The hand gripped tighter in my chest until the air was squeezed completely out of me and I could no longer breathe. I woke up to find RockDog lying across my chest fast asleep

U-Haul over the side

My dream is the manifestation of fear. My body was purging it from my mind. Fear of what, I don’t know. I suppose you could say the unknown. And what’s interesting is the anticipation of fear is always so much worse than the event itself.  When I began driving today I was nervous, but as I proceeded down the road I realized it wasn’t bad at all. Wide-open snow packed (some ice) highway with only a handful of people passing me. The sun was out and I knew we were going to be okay in Dora. We saw a white fox dancing in the center of the road. When I got close enough to get his picture, he scampered over the hill. The next one would not be so lucky.

We finally arrive in Haines Junction well after sunset, something I won’t do again. The last 50 miles were white knuckle scary – lots of inclines, dark, cold and icy roads and absolutely no traffic. No one was crazy enough to be out there with me except for one car, far behind.  Ten miles out I see another young white fox dancing in the middle of the road about 100 yards ahead of me. I put on the brakes and immediately start sliding and had to let up. I couldn’t help it, I could tell he was blinded by my lights and couldn’t move. I had nowhere to go. I hit him and I cried. My heart ached. Unfortunately it was our time to meet - his time to die and my time to grieve.

The end of Day 3 at last. I am sad.

Entering the Yukon

The road behind

More road ahead

To be continued. . .