Day 10 Deadman Lake to Canada

July 1


HAPPY CANADA DAY! And we got to spend it entering Canada with a Canadian. What more could you ask for?




Interesting things:
Talked to Steve from Anchorage, who was photographing and birding in Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, where we camped. He gave us some good advice, and made me more excited to go on the Cassiar Highway through Canada.

Good morning from Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge!

As we approached Canada, Nick wanted to stop at the restaurant/store just before the border. It was a good thing because we converged on 3 separate adventurists at the cafe.

Steve
Steve is a German who is suddenly freed from the burdens of having a child at home, and is taking advantage of his time to bike across the Yukon and Alaska.

Cho
Cho is from Japan, and he is pulling a cart across Canada and Alaska. He said something about Dawson, and is heading North. I'm not sure if he started in Dawson Creek, or is ending in Dawson, Alaska, but he's going a long ways for sure. And he is hiking in a pair of Nike dunks. Way to go, Cho! He doesn't speak much English, so I'm not too sure what his full story is. But he is clearly in good spirits and excited about his trip.

Steve is on left, Cho is on right in this picture.





Shawn
Shawn is a Canadian traveling from Fairbanks, AK to Newfoundland, Canada. We will be travling with him until Whitehorse. More on him later, he is a fun character.






While we were stopped a tour bus of people came and checked out our bikes. They took pictures, and at one point one of them asked Steve about them. It didn't take long before Steve realized they were Swiss, and so he started talking in German. Suddenly the small crowd grew to a large crowd as everyone on the bus circled around us listening to Steve explain what each of us were doing. I didn't understand a word that was said. They gave some thumbs up to us, and especially to Cho. It was surreal.

But we made it into the Yukon! Happy day!

Our joy at making it through customs was short lived. Two miles after passing through customs, I realized I didn't have my shoes. They had fallen off my bike when I unstrapped my bags at customs to take out my passport. So I went back and found them in the road. Then,  during a sudden downpour, I realized that I did not have my brand new, super nice rain jacket that I had waited so long to find because it was perfect. Although I am not usualy the most material person, I have to say that I did love that jacket. I thought it was just on the other side of customs, like my shoes had been. So I got the officials to let me walk around hte building searching for my jacket. I searched to no avail.

When I got back to the store (see picture below) where Shawn and Nick were waiting, they had watermelon. Some woman bought a bucket, but only wanted a few slices or something like that so she gave the rest to us. There was a lot. It helped to numb the pain of losing my jacket. With 700 miles until the next sporting goods store, it's more than sentimentality that is the problem: with the weather we've been having I could be in for a great deal of discomfort if it keeps raining like it has.

We got to talking, and as fate would have it, Shawn had seen my jacket. Some woman had found it on the side of the road and picked it up. While driving north, she saw Shawn and asked if he lost/needed a jacket, to which he said, "No." So the mystery is solved, and my jacket is now in the hands of some woman who really doesn't need it because she has a car, which she can comfortably ride to her house, and in all that time she likely won't be exposed to rain for more than 10-20  seconds as he walks between the two.

But, really, the watermelon helped, and I'm happy to be in Canada.

Sorry about the sideways pictures, I should not have bought a chromebook. It can't do anything useful. I'll figure it out.