Tuesday, across BC...mostly, sort-of

I was going to start by telling you that this is one of the hottest situations I've ever been in.  I'm on the border of northern BC and the NWT, in my tent, at 8:00 p.m. and it's still pretty bright out.

It's not that I'm sleepy.  I just forgot a few things...

Like bug spray.  That would have helped during dinner preparation.  I wouldn't have to be swatting things with a soup spoon in my hand.  Or I might have benefitted from a bear-scaring device.  That would remove some of the need to feel like a solo defender against bears, out of the whole campground.  Since, in the campground there's just me.  It's a provincial provision...just outhouses, picnic tables, and access to the highway.

Now, it is probably in the upper 20s here now.  But, that will soon be relieved since there's thunder rumbling, the leaves are getting noisier, and I have felt one cool breeze blow by.  So, there will probably be a thunderstorm some time soon.  Check out the cotton ball:

I'm not so worried about that.  The bike is going to be fine.  The tent will be protected by the fly cover.  In fact, I'll welcome the cooler temps.  It's me, I'm worried about.

Back to the bugs.  I took my neckerchief and wrapped it around the middle of my head, so the triangle covered my neck and my baseball hat protected my bare head.  I only had to worry about inhaling or ingesting a bug.  I think  I only see two bites on my hand.  Not bad, eh?  At least there're no deer flies.

There are three keys steps to defeating the bugs and keeping them out of your wine.  Follow the next three photos:

Ah, yes.  The bears.  Well, I've taken every precaution with garbage and food.  And like 30 years ago in Yellowstone, I have put the key in the ignition of the bike and at the very least, I'll get the air horn going if I need to.  If I need to ride away in my pyjamas, I'll do that too.  In Yellowstone, they handed you all sorts of propaganda about bears.  So, on that night, I didn't sleep a wink.  Not helped at all by the fellow campers' dogs who chose to get worked up at every sound.  Their response  I took to mean a bear was imminent and in-bound.  Of course, I was under a tarp, not even a tent, and I figured I would be the first to be sampled.  I didn't sleep, but I'm here to tell about it.  I made it then...I'll make it now.

This is me going out to get water, walking a log, to do the dishes:

Today's ride was notable for the following, shared the road with some other bikers on the way up, got rained on fairly thoroughly, and went as far north on this planet as I've ever been while in contact with the ground.

The two bikers I met were from the Kansas Cities.

The dad and the son both had KLRs and were plated from Missouri and Kansas.  They were farkled to the extreme and on there way to Anchorage.  They are Christians so it was easy to share encouragement and stories.  They've come a long way and have a few more days ahead of them.  It sort of made me miss my KLR, except when I saw how ungainly they can be on the highway.  The dad had lost his hearing, so it was an animated process to get most messages  across.  His speaking voice was normal, so I think he may have lost his sense of hearing at a later age.  He said that when we meet in heaven, we'll be able to hear each other fine!

As an aside, bonus points to anyone who responds with a comment and can identify this:

The rain, to be expected, wasn't so bad.  I hardly got wet.  It does cool things off and make a mess of your visor and windshield however.  But, traffic is light and there's always sun at some point.

As far as getting "north".  I passed through 57 deg North, which is where Sue, Haley, and I were last summer on Skye, in Scotland.  Talisker distillery is at 57.  They also bottle a cask strength 57 (% alc.).  That's how I remember that.  At Fort Nelson, just south of here, the GPS told me that we were at 58 and 45 min.  I'm guessing that the provincial border with NWT is at 60 deg. since it's just north of me by about 110 km.

There were lots of motorcycles on the road today.  I think this is prime season for going to Alaska. I was overwhelmed by the amount of truck traffic on this road, also.  There's lots of oil and gas support provided by this corridor.  The first bikers I met were at the hotel in Dawson Creek, they were from Seattle and had been to Prudoe Bay on a GS F800, two-up.  They looked tired.  The next was a guy in a restaurant who was from the States, on another GS 800.  There were a number of VStroms too (mostly 1000s).

I spoke to Sue by phone and got caught up a bit.  She'll be up here in about four days.  Thank goodness for cell phones, texting, and cellular internet.  Sadly, no cell coverage at the Beaver Creek campground.