_           We got a fairy early start from the Cibola National Forest, somewhere between McGaffney and Fort Wingate.  A few miles down I-40, we ventured into Grants to explore a bit more of the Historic Route 66.  After I-40 by-passed the small town, Grants was not kept up quite like Williams, so we made our way down Main Street until it crossed the interstate again and took us to the interagency Visitors’ Center.  The helpful Park Service and Forest Service rangers directed us to the local coffee shop as well as to take a more scenic route to Roswell than the one we had originally charted.  Before setting off for the land of the alien encounters, we enjoyed coffee and muffins at Cocoa Beans Café and left our mark on the map there as the first customers from both Talkeetna and Tallahassee.

_      Getting into southern New Mexico, highway 380 brought us to the edge of the White Sands Missile Range, the location of the Trinity Site, the site of the first atomic detonation by the United States.  We hoped that we could check out some of our nation’s nuclear history, but the security guard at the gate politely notified us that it was a secured military installation and we certainly were not welcome beyond the gate.  Passing White Sands, we stopped for a quick lunch at a “roadside table” before hitting the road again.  Unfortunately, this time the road hit back, and we suffered a flat tire.  Not just any flat tire, but approximately a half inch gash that left air gushing out the tread.  Before we lost too much, we jumped back in and milked the Pilot into the parking lot of the Capitan Municipal High School to switch it out.  Our goal was to be back on the road before school got out for the day, but we weren’t that quick, and we became our own sort of tourist attraction for the juniors and seniors who were driving home.

_      We rolled into Roswell significantly later than planned, arriving at the International UFO Museum and Research Center with only twenty minutes left until closing.  While we didn’t have time to read all of the newspaper clippings, letters, and other information in the exhibit, we still learned a lot about the “Roswell Incident” and close encounters of the first, second, and third kinds.  Perhaps the best part of our visit there was when a fog machine came on, filling the center room with a cloud while the flying saucer started spinning and the aliens started communicating(?).

_      After the museum closed, there was not a lot to do in Roswell, according to both the museum attendant who suggested going to the local cinema and to the gift shop clerk/novelist/alien enthusiast who suggested checking out the town library.  So, we got out of there faster than the little green guys back in 1947 (or faster than the military cover-up, if you choose to believe that chain of events).  Back on Highway 380 East, we crossed the border into Texas and started scoping out a place to throw up our tent for the night.  Our search led us to the Glenn Howell Park in Brownfield, where we were able to make a delicious pasta dinner, watch the stars, and sleep by the peaceful lake.

_      After seeing the view from the tower last night, we wanted to return one more time during the day so that we could see more than just the lights from the Strip.  The red mountains surrounding the city and limiting the growth of its sprawl were beautiful juxtaposed against the blue sky, and they are very different from the white mountains Chase is used to seeing in Alaska.

_      Once we finally left our hotel, Charla created a fun challenge for us to attempt.  Near the hotel was Bonanza Gifts, the tackiest-looking gift shop on the Strip.  We were each going to spend 15 minutes shopping, with a $5 maximum, to buy the other the tackiest item we could find, and we’d have to wear the other’s “gift” at some point during the road trip.  Much to our dismay, though the shop was incredibly tacky, it was also shockingly expensive, and we realized that a $5 maximum would not provide for more than a glittery keychain flask.  Sadly enough, we decided to scrap the challenge and must rely on our own already tacky wardrobe for the rest of the trip.

_      Unfortunately, while parked in a lot on the strip, we were approached by our parking lot attendant who notified us that someone had stolen the tire and wheel off of Chase’s bicycle, which was mounted on a bike rack on the Pilot.  The parking lot attendant had attempted to stop the man and had called the police, who arrived shortly thereafter.  Even more unfortunate, we had seen a man riding a bicycle carrying an extra bicycle wheel a few minutes earlier, but didn’t think much of it.  Las Vegas Metro Police have a shockingly quick response time, dispatching two police cars and two police motorcycles to the parking lot, but a brief search failed to turn up the suspect or the wheel.  Oddly enough, one of the responding officers notified us that they had recently raised the minimum for petty larceny to $650, which means that in effect it is not a crime to steal tires off of bicycles; if they ever caught the suspect, they’d give him a ticket on par with a ticket for jaywalking.  Even so, we filed a police report and the police took pictures, noting the brand and size of the wheel and tire.  We can only hope that the wheel happens to find its way into police custody in the next few days, or Chase will be buying a new one in Florida.  (In reality, we think that if the motorcycle cops didn’t spot the guy in the first few minutes, the odds of it ever turning up are remarkably slim.)

_      Finally making our way out of town, we stopped at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, something we probably would have done a couple days before if it were not on the opposite end of the Strip from where we were staying.  We said a quick hello and goodbye to the city of sin (and to an Elvis impersonator taking tourist photos there) and got out.  Before we were too far away, we spotted a Jack in the Box, which was offering free chicken nuggets for the people of Las Vegas.  We counted ourselves among that crowd for a hot second and took the chicken nuggets to go.

_      As we made our way to Hoover Dam, a small brewery in Boulder City caught our eyes, so we stopped at the Boulder Dam Brewing Company to try their sample flight, conveniently arranged in the shape of the dam.

_      Leaving Boulder City, we soon arrived at the Hoover Dam, and the trusty Pilot once again had the pleasure of driving over a massive dam.  We stopped for photos on the far side of the dam, as we crossed the Arizona state line, and then we parked the Pilot to walk back into Nevada over the dam.

_     From Hoover Dam, we traveled Highway 93 to I-40 and into the quaint town of Williams, whose main street is the famous Route 66 (we got our kicks!).  We had planned to go all the way to the Grand Canyon that night, but Williams captured us, and we decided to stay.

     We started our day at Tiny’s, a trendy little coffee shop near Elliot and Brad’s apartment that featured delicious breakfast sandwiches and good coffee.  There, we said good bye to Brad and made moves to our last stop in Portland, the city’s staple where good things come in pink boxes.  We could not possibly leave without trying Voodoo Doughnut (Too)!  When we pulled into the parking lot, Charla spotted a Voodoo Doughnut tuk tuk.  She didn’t even need to try one of their creations before she was in love.  We waited in the short line (much shorter than the one wrapping around the block in front of the original Voodoo shop we had checked out on our first night) and then faced a difficult decision:  what to order?  Chase settled on the Portland Cream and the Maple Bacon Bar (yes, that’s bacon on a doughnut!) while Charla went the sweet route with a Captain My Captain, covered in Cap’n Crunch cereal, and an Oreo King, topped with Oreo crumbles and chocolate.

     A few miles on I-84 led us to Highway 26, a scenic road that took us through Mt. Hood National Forest.  To get an even better view of the snow topped mountain, we cruised up to Timberline Lodge.  There were skiers and riders walking around the lodge, and Chase started aching for a ride.  If only the winter gear were more accessible in the Pilot right now!  Meanwhile, Charla was channeling her inner film buff and getting a little scared just thinking of The Shining, which filmed its outside shots here.

     After leaving Timberline and driving southeast, we started to experience a dramatic change of topography and temperature.  From the cool mountain climes that promoted the growth of much greenery, we entered into the hot and dry high desert where the only green we saw grew up around irrigation systems.  Coming into Bend, we came back into a lot of vegetation, as the Deschutes River and National Forest are nearby.

     Miles back, in Kirkland, Washington, Charla spotted her first Jimmy John’s since returning from Southeast Asia, but we went out for a great Thai meal with Alison instead.  The craving had not gone away, so we went straight to Jimmy’s when we arrived in Bend.  After loading up on sandwiches, we walked around downtown and the riverside before going to the Deschutes Brew Pub to sample the local brews.  In addition to the Chainbreaker White IPA and Spencer’s Gold Ale, the bar staff gave us directions to a camping spot in the National Forest.  We ended up pulling off the road a bit before their favorite locale by Tumalo Creek for a good place to watch the Perseid meteor shower that was just getting into swing.

_      We woke up early as we experienced a HOT morning in the tent for the first time on the trip.  The sun was baking down on our overlook, and our tent, but it was also creating a magical view overlooking the entire Peace River Valley.  We had a simple “eat-it-before-it-goes-bad” breakfast of yogurt and cereal with milk before packing up our camp.  While we were packing up, our overlook became a very popular rest stop.  A motorcyclist from Grande Prairie was taking in the view and chatting up a local lady, meanwhile four support vehicles pulled into the overlook.  Curiosity got the best of us, and we discovered that we were about to be a checkpoint on an 800-kilometer bicycle journey called Bikers for Bibles who were raising money to translate Bibles into local First Nation languages.  We decided we should get out of there before we got swarmed with sweaty bicyclists.

_      Our first stop was at the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, the most massive earthfill structure in the world, operated by BC Hydro.  We took an underground bus tour into the dam itself, where we found ourselves 500 feet underground inside a dam.  Luckily for us, one of the turbines was out of commission for maintenance, and it was on our tour route.  The entire turbine was taken apart and we got to see all of the massive parts and pieces.  And we mean massive; the underground chamber holding the turbines was as long as three football fields and as tall as the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower.   The next stop on the tour was the dam manifold, roughly equivalent in purpose and use as a massive version of the manifold on a car’s exhaust.  Once the water was done producing electricity, all the turbines spat the water into the same manifold, along with the seepage water that was naturally coming through the earthen structure of the dam.  Interestingly, the seepage water reinforces the strength of the earthen fill of the dam, much like building a sand castle with wet sand rather than dry sand.  (They didn’t allow cameras on the tour, so you’ll just have to trust us on how cool it was.)  After the tour we discovered that it was possible to drive across the crest of the dam itself, so of course we took advantage of that opportunity.

_      Our next stop was the Bennett’s baby sister dam, the Peace Canyon Dam.  Though there was no way to get into the dam itself, we were able to watch a fascinating video called “Wide Load North” about transporting a nine-meter-wide, 250-ton steel turbine runner from Leningrad to Vancouver and up to the Peace River.  They constructed a 21-axle, 130-wheel, two-engine Mack truck to haul it 600 kilometers over road, most of which was built specifically for this project as nothing that large had ever traveled through northeastern British Columbia before.

     After the Peace Canyon Dam we got to see some of the less-than-awesome elements of dams.  We had lunch by lovely Dinosaur Lake, which was a beautiful spot teeming with locals.  Hudson’s Hope’s two claims to fame are dinosaurs and dams.  They had discovered a brand new species of dinosaur, as well as 1,700 dinosaur tracks in over 150 different trackways.  The very next thing they did was bury all evidence of dinosaurs under a lake created by the Peace Canyon Dam; luckily they did at least name it Dinosaur Lake in honor of the footprints hundreds of feet under water.

_      We were also pleasantly surprised to discover that today is apparently a major holiday in British Columbia: BC Day.  We happened to arrive at the W.A.C. Bennett Dam to be told that all dam tours were half price; then we stopped at a Post Office that was mysteriously closed; then we had lunch at a very crowded park for a Monday.  It wasn’t until hours later that we heard on CBC that it was BC Day today, and it all made sense.  (We also learned from CBC that today is the 50th anniversary of the day Jamaica gained its freedom from England; a little late compared to us, but happy 50th birthday anyway Jamaica!)

     From Dinosaur Lake we really hit the road and made it all the way to Prince George, “the capitol of Northern BC.”  (Though Charla was quick to point out that seeing as how we had been driving south through BC for two days now, this should hardly count as “north.”)  Prince George is really where the drive returns to civilization, for better or for worse.  There are traffic lights and four-lane highways, as well as big box stores with names such as Canadian Tire (which has much more than just tires) and The Great Canadian Superstore (which seems to have every product imaginable with the notable exception of beer).  In better news, Prince George also featured Tim Horton’s, the Canadian staple of fast-food donut eateries.  Since Charla had never eaten at a Tim Horton’s before, we of course had to stop.  After snacking on donuts and coffee, it was time to be back on the road heading south to our roadside stop in McLeese Lake for the night.

       We started day three by packing up wet gear thanks to a Dawson morning rain shower.  Once we got all of our wet gear stowed away for the trip, we got to once again jump on the ferry for our final water crossing of the Yukon River.  The ladies at the Visitor Center directed us to the cheapest gas in town, at an industrial Alberta Fuels cardlock system in a mining part of town.  After figuring out how to use the most obscure cardlock system in the world, we were finally zooming out of town on the Klondike Highway.  We stopped for lunch at Moose Creek, a nice campground though it was lacking the running water that it had advertised.  Without rinsing our dishes we were back on the road again.  We continued on to Carmacks for a gas stop, and much more excitingly, a Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Mint Chocolate bar that was hiding in the gas station!  We stopped to enjoy some morsels of chocolate at Little Fox Lake, the scene of a catastrophic forest fire in 1998.  The landscape is still charred and recovering to this day.
     A few miles down the road we arrived at Lake Laberge.  We were on an overlook, not quite a marge, but it was still appropriate to have a reading of Robert Service's “The Cremation of Sam McGee.”  After the dramatic reading, we took a look around to discover we weren’t merely at an overlook, but we had somehow ventured into a Public Use Quarry, complete with three Caterpillar 776Bs with keys in the ignitions!  However tempted we were to rally, we settled with a photo shoot.  (Who knows how good the steering would be on a vehicle whose tires are taller than the trusty Pilot?!)_

_      Our quarry was quite close to Whitehorse, which features the Yukon Brewery (“Beer Worth Freezin' For”).  Unbeknownst to us we had stopped in on International IPA Day, a day we should all be celebrating.  After a bit of sampling we decided on a growler of Discovery Honey Ale and bottles of Ice Fog IPA and Midnight Sun Espresso Stout. 

_                 We started the second day of our trip with pancakes made with fresh blueberries and strawberries that Charla picked with Sarah and Logan on Monday afternoon.  While Charla was busy at the camp stove, Chase re-packed the Pilot so what we needed was easy to reach and what we didn’t need on this trip (like a snowboard and winter gear) was organized and out of the way.

                We drove into Tok for gas and some errands, including phone calls before our service cut out (even though Tok is 80 miles from Canada, there isn’t a lot going on in the space between the small town and the border).  On the way to Tok, we had a nice surprise and saw a lynx!  After ten miles on the Alaska Highway out of Tok, we got on the Taylor Highway to Chicken.  Our journey into Chicken started with a big disappointment, as the “Chicken Community” sign formerly covered in an assortment of stickers from travelers had recently been replaced.  It was brand spanking new, with the Department of Transportation laminate still peeling off on the corners.  Things got better once we got into town, and we got laid in Chicken!  We also picked up free chickens that we had earned and met a couple Romanian motorcyclists who were journeying across North America on their own bikes from home.  We had one last stop at Downtown Chicken for gas, and luckily for us we paid up and were ready to leave just as two busloads of Princess tourists pulled up to Downtown.  The tourists slowly waddled off the bus, cameras in hand, to invade Chicken as we sped out of town.

_                 But we didn’t speed too quickly, as the Taylor Highway ascended up into the mountains and grew increasingly hairy.  Just a short time before we passed, a large RV motorcoach with a car in tow had rolled off the side of the mountain and come to rest approximately 150 feet below the road.  The Troopers had already cordoned off the scene so we didn’t stop to investigate ourselves, but it didn’t look like a rollercoaster ride we’d have wanted to experience.

_                 The Taylor Highway becomes the Top of the World Highway as the road becomes Canadian.  Luckily we were let across the border without too hard a time from the Canadian Border Security Agent on duty (even though we were smuggling some more of Charla’s freshly-picked berries).  We had been foolishly using our time earlier in the day, so we cautiously drove as fast as we dared along the beautiful and treacherous road to Dawson City.  Arriving just in time to jump on the George Black, the free ferry across the Yukon River (because the Yukon territorial government hasn’t yet gotten around to building a bridge) we made it to Diamond Tooth Gertie’s just in time for their first can-can show of the evening.  Gertie’s is Canada’s oldest casino from before casinos were legal in the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s, and today in addition to gambling Gertie’s offers shows throughout the evening.  Told by Diamond Tooth Gertie (the actual proprietor in the 1890s, who actually did have diamonds in her teeth at the time) and her dancing girls, the show tells us how she met Phineas and all the hilarity that ensues.  After a dinner between shows at the Triple J Hotel, and the second show at Gertie’s, it was time for one last hop across the ferry to camp in West Dawson.

_ A nice drive east on the Glenn Highway led us through the Chugach Mountains and past Matanuska Glacier.  After taking the left to Canada in Glenallen on the Richardson Highway, the full moon started rising over Mount St. Elias and the mountains exhibited an amazing alpenglow.  Twenty-one miles into the Tok Cut-Off we found a great spot to hunker down for the night with bathrooms and picnic tables and all!