Marathon driving from Whitehorse to Fort Nelson (600+ miles) made for an exhausting day, especially when you count the drama inside Toyota Lander. Imagine looking in the rear view mirror and seeing a dog assume the position without being able to do anything about it! She had desperately tried to climb out the closed window before the eruption. Poor AnnBanan could not help but poop in the backseat three times before I could find a place to pull over. Bless her, she tried to cover it up with the dog blankets. She was mortified. Bunny and Guinness stayed on the other side of the seat to get away from her, while RockDog and Brody cuddled on the passenger seat, occasionally looking back to give her the proverbial stink eye.
Once again breaking my rule of not driving after dark, we continued on as there was no place to stop. We finally made it to the Shannon Motel where only one dog is permitted for $10 extra. We have stayed here many times with multiple dogs because it is the first motel you see after a long day of driving, and it’s easy to get the dogs inside without being noticed. This previous quiet, nondescript motel was now unrecognizable with various colored blinking lights adorning the outside. The place could have passed for a brothel or casino but the sign still said Rooms Available. I signed the register, paid the extra $10 and was happy they didn’t ask me how many dogs. It got a bit weird when we pulled in front of our room to unload and saw the owner walking in the yard. This was a good time to fill up with gas and walk the dogs at the service station instead of the motel yard. When we returned the owner was gone and we managed to get all five dogs into the room undetected.
Did I mention it is absolutely freezing here? At a temperature hovering around minus 13, most people were staying inside, and it was dark with minimal reflection from the snow. After dinner the dogs were ready to stretch out on both the beds and I was actually able to take a bubble bath. The bathtub wasn’t great but the hot water still felt good on my weary legs. Who knew there was a Motel 6 right down the road with a much nicer tub where all dogs are welcome ? Oh well, note for next time.
Did I mention it is absolutely freezing here? At a temperature hovering around minus 13, most people were staying inside, and it was dark with minimal reflection from the snow. After dinner the dogs were ready to stretch out on both the beds and I was actually able to take a bubble bath. The bathtub wasn’t great but the hot water still felt good on my weary legs. Who knew there was a Motel 6 right down the road with a much nicer tub where all dogs are welcome ? Oh well, note for next time.
After a good nights sleep we were ready to go at 7 AM. I took the dogs out separately to avoid being busted. Apparently I didn’t get the door properly latched—dogs are opportunists at heart—and when I turned around all five of them were running around the yard! OMG, Panic! Chasing Anne on the ice with a sore knee in my Birks was a bit tricky. I actually got her on leash quicker than I expected and all the others followed me back to the room for breakfast. And the good news? They all pooped before coming in as I frantically bagged the evidence. Yay! Hopefully there will be no accidents in the car today. Again, we were lucky to be unnoticed but at this hour, it was still a frigid minus 11 degrees.
I started the car and began loading it after feeding the hounds. After about 15 minutes I took another load to the car and noticed it was still freezing and frosted up! OMG! Is the heater out?. The mind goes into overdrive figuring out how we can continue with no heater, or where we could get it repaired? After looking closely, it appeared Lander was only sitting there and had not really started. I apparently did not push the start button long enough, or forgot to put my foot on the brake. I fired her up, set my timer for another 15 minutes and when I came back out she was warm as toast. Major relief!
I started the car and began loading it after feeding the hounds. After about 15 minutes I took another load to the car and noticed it was still freezing and frosted up! OMG! Is the heater out?. The mind goes into overdrive figuring out how we can continue with no heater, or where we could get it repaired? After looking closely, it appeared Lander was only sitting there and had not really started. I apparently did not push the start button long enough, or forgot to put my foot on the brake. I fired her up, set my timer for another 15 minutes and when I came back out she was warm as toast. Major relief!
Today we’re on our way toward the highway that cuts off the Alaska Highway and goes down to Abbotsford BC, a border crossing into Washington State, still about 700 miles away. We will still be in British Columbia tonight but will be officially off the Alaska Highway and back to civilization as we know it. We are avoiding Vancouver and the Seattle area at all costs because of an amazing amount of snowfall. I just looked at the thermometer and it said minus 20, when I looked again it read minus 15 and I was elated. Can you imagine being excited about minus 15?
So happy to report, we have officially left Sergeant Preston of the Yukon and his amazing dog King behind as we continue our exhausting search for snow free roads and warmer weather. We are headed south. Arizona and the hot sun are out there somewhere and we can't wait!
Little did we know we were still thousands of snowy miles away . . .
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