Yes, I know, it’s been awhile since I updated you good folks. Sorry, but I have found that internet access is very limited when you can find it. I’ll try to catch you up here and now. We are in Destruction Bay, on Lake Kluane in the Yukon Territory. It has been a long ride.  Destruction Bay is past Whitehorse, Yukon Territory on the Alaska Highway.

Last time I shared some reflections from the road. Tonight  I’d really like to share some photos but I’ve been told that the bandwidth won’t support it and I’ll be dropped from access. So in lieu of the slide show, I’ll have to tell you the tale.

We’ve seen bear everyday since we left Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Current count is 14. All have been black bear except today when we saw our first grizzly. He was roadside, right near the edge of the pavement. Looked like a young guy, a yearling or two year old maybe. He was very distinct looking and easily different than the black bear. Very cool.

It has been a very long ride so far. It is taking us a lot longer than we had imagined. We were told it was a long ride and they were sure right. I will also add that it is very expensive to boot. Gas is approaching $7.00 a gallon. Beer is $15.00 a six pack for the cheap stuff and $19.00 for anything good. Good thing I’m not the beer drinker I used to be. Even ice is expensive at $4.00 for a little bag and water is $3.00 a bottle. I won’t go into room costs, meals, etc.

From here we are at least within striking distance of Alaska and should cross the border tomorrow. However, between here and there is some rough road we are told. We had been warned of the frost heaves by others and tonight we learned that we will have 30 kilometers of one lane construction on top of a couple of hours of slow going through the heaves. PLUS we are looking at more rain.

The weather up until today has been very pleasant. We encountered rain and snow in the early days and rode into it again today. Forecast for the next couple of days is for rain. Oh well. Into each life some must fall. Right?

I have found that there has been no time to paint. Just getting on down the road, setting up camp, going to eat and all the other chores that go along with this like writing the blog, struggling with the internet, downloading video, all takes time. There has been no time to paint. I have, however, taken a lot of still pictures and video. That all has to be downloaded and archived on portable hard drives too. Even though it remains daylight through out the night there isn’t enough hours to do it all. Which reminds me, I still have video to download tonight so I better run.

As soon as I get quality internet access I will share some of the photos and maybe a short video clip with you. In the meantime, thanks for tuning in and I’ll be back when I can.

Mike out.