Day Two: Tok to Watson Lake

"This land is your land, this land is my land, from the Alcan to the yucky rent-a-can..."
We've driven over 600 miles today (almost twice yesterday's half-day drive) and Canada's rest stop toilets are nothing to brag about, let me tell you. I've seen the inside of some scary toilets today -be they hole in the wall gas stations to rickety, government funded port-a-johns -and they've ALL been Canadian. What's with that, eh?


All of our stops have been, to be frank, to use the can. Our first "pit stop" was the Tetlin National Park and Reserve viewing site.

Next we successfully crossed the Canadian border and stopped at a heck of a scary gas station/motel/cafe/mineral and rock store because the pregnant lady had to pee. The toilet was a converted utility closet. The pump (which did not flush the toilet but was intended to) had a three inch thick hose which traveled outside, making it impossible to shut the door. I did my business fast and scurried out of the shack before the roof had a chance to fall on my head. I seriously doubt the building was held together by a solid nail. Maybe chewing gum...

We drove along Kluane Lake which was brilliant in the sunshine. The water sparkled clear azure and turquoise. At least the UV protectant tint on our sunglasses made it appear that way.

We got to enjoy the scene at a standstill for a few minutes as road construction held us up. As they say in Alaska, the season between spring and fall is construction.

We made it to Haines Junction for a late lunch. I asked the East Asian attendant at the gas station we filled up at where we should eat. She pointed to the lodge across the street. As we walked in we completely understood why she suggested it. It was Chinese food. Does this look like a place that would have it's main restaurant be Chinese? For another thing, since when did Haines Junction become the mecca for East Asians? Honestly, who would want to live in this bump in the road? We were baffled, but well fed.

We plowed forward, stopped in Whitehorse to fill up and unload (if you know what I mean) and kept heading east. We saw three black bears in the stretch of a few miles -this little guy lumbered across the road and we were able to slow down and get a shot after he got to the other side.

Our last hour was tough and I believe we only saved our sanity by crooning along to Johnny Cash's greatest hits and seeing a spectacular rainbow. Our thirteen hour driving day ended us in Watson Lake at the... awh, heck, I don't even know the name of this place. But they've got wireless (or we're stealing it from the hotel next door...) which means I'm happy. Happy and tired. That's me signing out -until tomorrow!