The "AlCan"

Day 9 -- The Lost Symbol
For the past two days, Dan Brown's book, The Lost Symbol, has captivated my attention and turned what would have been hours of monotony into time by which the seconds seemed to fly.   Imagine driving via interstate across Nebraska and Minnesota for the dozenth time.  That's Alberta.  Furthermore, the only notable wildlife sighting thus far has been a single bald eagle perched atop a blackened tree trunk in Montana. So, for the past two days, I've been engrossed in symbology and intrigue.  I must admit that Mr. Brown's The Da Vinci Code has been nearly an impossible act for him to follow, and this book doesn't advance at the same pace. Nevertheless, it has kept me awake and interested and I've just pulled into Dawson Creek, BC. at 8:30 pm. This means that tomorrow I'm out of the starting blocks at mile zero of the Alaska/Canada highway.

So far, the 3,147 mile drive from Elizabethton, TN to Dawson Creek, BC has just been the pre-season. The regular season starts tomorrow. Eight days from now: THE SUPER BOWL--played on Alaskan soil. Sorry for the melodramatic sports metaphor. Time to celebrate the completion of the first leg of the journey. Yes, there's still a little shiraz left in the wine box that I purchased two months ago and brought along for such occassions. Cheers, eh?

Day 10 -- I'm On It!
 
 

That's me -- the little blue triangle on the red line.

They don't make them like this anymore.

 
Nothing that you've heard about the great Alaska-Canada highway is true.  No bumps that send you flying airborne.   No stretches of washboarded asphalt that jar your fillings loose.  No long waits at construction zones.  No loose gravel.  None of that.  I've been on it now for 140 miles and it's been as smooth  as a gravy sandwich.   Wait a minute...  What are those skid marks on the pavement.  Lucille didn't get airborne, but she came close.  I felt a rapid shift from positive G's to negative.  Slow down!  There's another.   It wasn't until mile marker 160 that I hit the first stop for construction, and it was only a seven minute wait.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that the second construction stop came two miles later at mile marker 162. 
 
 

 
This one has been fixed by packing gravel over the pavement.   Better hang back from that truck.  Whew, back on pavement.  Rough pavement.  Rough enough that the plastic dishes are rattling.  Now rough enough that the paper dishes are rattling.  Well, at least there hasn't been any... any... okay, forget that, I'm now on stretches of asphalt with little patches of gravel, and each time a truck approaches, I grab the steering wheel as tight as I can, hold on, clinch my teeth and hope that the oncoming spray of rocks does not break my windshield or headlight lenses.
 
And as fast as the bad arrived, it left.  Smooth sailing again.  But for how long?  Guess that's the appeal.  If it wasn't a challenge, it wouldn't be an adventure.  Made it to Ft. Nelson, BC. and it must be the Pacific time zone, as my GPS says it's only 5:00 pm.  It rained last night, and today it was so windy that the water in drainage ditches had white caps.  (Well, it could have happened).  Tomorrow's journey, just 327 miles to Watson Lake.
 

Favorite road sign of the day.