I thought today was going to be a normal, quiet Saturday. Nope, I found myself outside of Gertie’s watching the annual Outhouse Race. Welcome to Dawson! 😀
the theme was obviously scatological 🙂
INTERNATIONAL OUTHOUSE RACE and WRITING ON THE BATHROOM WALL LIMERICK CONTEST!!! (the limericks were quite obscene; I’ve never heard such language in public with children present. I love Dawson!)
(this one was my favourite *g*)
I went to Gertie’s tonight for pizza and beer and wound up staying for the 8:30 show. Just as I finished my beer, the server came up to me and said “I have a free drink for you if you want it. It’s a vodka 7-up.”
I gratefully accepted it (and handed her a one dollar tip). The room was packed, so the only reason I can fathom that she picked me to get the free drink is that I gave her a big tip for the beer. This was probably a forgettable gesture for her, but for me it was a very much appreciated favour. I wouldn’t have ordered this drink on my own, but it was a real treat and a perfect cap to a perfect anniversary.
If someone had told me a year ago that I would have spent today on the Dempster Highway, came home to Dawson City, and spent the evening at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s, I would have called them big dreamers. And I would have said that after that, my cup would be running over, there’d be nothing more I’d want. I would have been wrong on both counts.
*raises a glass to Year Two*: Inuvik, here I come!
I was happy to get today off, but not so much as when I realised that, hey, my day off coincided with my one year anniversary of being on the road! I didn’t hesitate to pack up a picnic and head back up the Dempster to Tombstone to see the fall colours! I was a little bit late as the colours are fading, but I did manage to get a few good shots. I also decided to rehike the Grizzly Creek Trail, sans 30lb pack, and discovered along the way that I’m sick and tired of climbing UP and I need a break from climbing mountains. 😀 To add to my disappointment, the pictures I took from the summit are all washed out and don’t do justice to the landscape. Bah. 🙂
En route, I stopped at the Klondike River Lodge for a coffee and ran into my Chilkoot guides yet again! Not much later, I ran into my cyclist friends whom I’d met on the Top of the World highway. What a small world for such big country!
On the way back, I picked up a young guy I’d met at the camping this week. He looks like a complete punk, but he had wowed me with his impeccable manners. I hate to judge a book by its cover, but I wouldn’t have picked him up had I not met him before. I’m glad I did because he had the funniest story to tell. We somehow got on the subject of stupid questions tourists asked and his favourite was “What do you guys do with the ice bridge?” To which he replied: “We take a big saw and cut it up into chunks. Every resident of Dawson has to keep at least three chunks in their freezer all summer and then the bridge is reassembled the next winter.” Hee hee!
It was a grey, drizzly day, but, still, what a spectacular anniversary!
This map showing the elevation change for the Grizzly Creek Trail was not up when I first hiked here. Had it been, I’m not sure I would have ventured up with my 30lb pack! It’s actually not that far off from the elevation change from Sheep Camp to the summit, but it’s STEEPER!
there was another one of these guys hanging out by itself in the bushes
okay, this was worth the climb 🙂
It was a year ago today that I first hit the road as a very green full-time RVer wannabe! In some ways, the year has flown by, but in others it feels like it has been a decade since I left Ottawa.
I’ve covered some 10,000km in that year, visiting more of Canada than I would have seen in a lifetime of stickhouse living.
This past year I have learned about RV plumbing, electricity, and propane; crunched Miranda (and the toad) more than I would have liked; met pleasantly insane and not so pleasantly insane people; made new friends; conquered fears; fulfilled my dreams of hiking the Chilkoot Pass and seeing the Klondike; slept at more Walmarts than I can count and beautiful rustic campgrounds; worked at a bunch of different jobs; and in the process finally figured out just what it is I want to do with my one wild and precious life.
My plans for year two are positively sedate in comparison, but this will be the year of settling in, testing new systems, and laying a solid foundation upon the dreams formed during year one. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
I’ll be surprised if I even manage to publish this, but I’ll try. The internet here has gone from bad to worse and I can barely get on. When I do, I get kicked off within seconds. So, expect infrequent updates of this blog until I get back to civilization, unless major positive changes are made, which is doubtful. 🙁
After a year of relying on RV park internet, all I can say is it sucks and I would like to invite everyone who visits to donate a dollar to the ‘Get Rae a tripod satellite system’ fund! 😀