July 11, 2006 (Day 48)

While we could have slept in this morning, the alarm went off at 7 a.m. There is a lot to do before leaving on the caravan tomorrow, and Dan wanted to get an early start.

The caravan is called “The Alyeska”, which means “The Great Land”. Alyeska is an Aluet word and was first used to refer to the Alaska Peninsula and later, to the entire state. This caravan is referred to as “the granddaddy” of all caravans, lasting 61 days and traveling over 5,100 miles. I don’t know how we chose to start with the big one. Dumb and Dumber, I guess!

We gathered the laundry this morning and found a quiet laundromat in Prince George. It cost $12.50 for three washers and two dryers. Dan went to a large auto center, called Canadian Tire, and looked for a bug screen for Black Bear (the Suburban). It is also to help repel rocks that are kicked up on the road. There is a lot of logging up here, and while traveling, we pass many log trucks and other large vehicles. We’ve heard there are some gravel roads on farther north and we need to protect our vehicles from rocks. He came back to the laundromat just as I was finishing up. We had a quick lunch at a Taco Del Mar, then went to Wal-Mart for groceries and supplies.

This afternoon’s social was at 4:30 p.m. The host and hostess were parked across the street in the campground. There were seven couples there. These get-togethers are called a “potlatch” and are designed to help the caravanners get acquainted with each other. There will be six of them in the next couple weeks. By the time they are over, we should have met everyone and everyone else will have met us. Each time we go to a different host, take a snack, our own drinks and chairs, and sit and visit and introduce ourselves to each other. So, after tonight’s potlatch, we have met six other couples of the 36 that are here.

Every night before a departure the next morning (sometimes we will spend 2-3 days at the same stop, while others will just be one day), there is a driver’s meeting, requiring both spouses to attend. We had our first one tonight, preceeded by ice cream. J There is a tent canopy set up at one of the leader’s trailers for these meetings. The canopy is not large enough for all of us to sit under. Tonight it misted rain all through the meeting. We weren’t under the canopy and we got damp. Temp was really cool with cloudy skies. When we got back to the trailer, we turned on the furnace for the first time.

There is a “Ham Radio Airstreamer” on this caravan who is placing our location on the internet each day we move to a new location. You may access it by following these directions:

http://winlink.org/positions/PosReports.aspx
(This address is upper/lower case sensitive)

--Allow the world map and right sidebar to load completely.
--Click on AA8Q from the right sidebar column.
--Double click on the “green pin” highlighted to center the map.
--Use the map scale adjustment to expand (Zoom in) on AA8Q
location
--I will enter a position note giving the current location and
the next projected stop.

On a personal note: Dan and I each needed haircuts before leaving Salem. So, we thought the shop at the Salem Wal-Mart would work well for us, as it was walk-in appointments. We each had the same young gal. I told her I needed my hair shortened, that I wore bangs, but didn’t want them hanging in my eyes, and a shaped back. She combed some hair down on my forehead, took scissors and whacked them right across the middle of my forehead. I look like I did when I was in first grade and went to Rit the barber in my home town for a 50 cent haircut. My bangs are about one and one-half inches long. They stick straight out in front and are uncontrollable. I have a boy cut in the back. I have less hair than I ever had. I call it my Alaska hair cut! She really shaved Dan, too. I can see his scalp in the back in places. The front turned out fairly well, but the cut doesn’t bother him, as it does me! Oh well.

The people here in Canada are friendly, and we are appreciative of that.

Till next time……