Artic Circle At Last
I finally have an internet connection again. We are in Dawson City, YT. We just returned from Eagle Plains on the Dempster Highway in the Yukon Territory. Let me flash back to Tuesday.

We had been given bad information about the weather and unknowingly headed entered the Dempster Highway without knowing we heading into a storm. The Dempster is not a really difficult road on a nice day. There is a lot of gravel and when the construction crews spread a calcium solution on the road it can be very slick, but the slick spots normally don't last for more than a few miles. Not so on Tuesday.

The further we got on the Dempster the worse the road became. The rain became hard, then subsided, then became mild and then hard again. The wind would gust at about 35 mph and darn near blow us off the road. Our motorcycles barely had traction. Three times I watch Doug fight for his life while the back of his motorcycle wiggled back and forth. I watched with fear knowing I would have to cross the same spot in a few seconds.

Doug asked me to stay back in case he fell so that I would not need to stop suddenly. A couple of times we stopped to get our breath and it was almost impossible to begin again because the mud covered out tires.


These two photos do not begin to capture the severity of the road conditions. Then to top it off at about 3pm I started getting severely fatigued. I have mentioned fatigue before but I want to emphasize this is a very real concern for all cancer patients. Considering the stress of the ride and the length of time we were riding it was inevitable fatigue would set in. Doug and I found a wide spot in the road and I told Doug this was all I could do. I could not go on. I was so depressed and disappointed in myself. I told Doug I need to lay down. Because the mosquitoes were so thick we pitched a tent and inflated an air mattress for me to lay on. The next photo shows me with a big smile. I think it is a little misleading because I really did not feel like smiling. The goofy net over my head is to protect us from the mosquitoes although I pulled it up for the picture.




Finally after two hours of rest we packed up and continued our ride. The weather had cleared a little and it was a little safer, for about twenty miles when the same problems began again. I can not tell you the relief I felt when I saw the Eagle Plains Lodge in the distance. We had made it 10 hours after we left. The distance was 235 miles.

When we arrived at the lodge we were given a hero's welcome. No kidding! There were about 20 motorcycles and their riders in front of the lodge. When they saw us in the distance they all gathered to meet us. They were all at the lodge because they did not feel it was safe to ride the Dempster Highway. If we had only known. They had lots of questions about the ride and Doug, being the master story teller that he is, obliged them.

We adjourned to the bar where folks offered us beers. I was too tired but when I saw a piano could not resist sitting down and playing. I played honkytonk music that was fit for this piano. Everyone clapped and offered me more drinks. It was quite and ending to out rough day.

The next day Doug and I along with a fellow from Chicago we met headed for the Arctic Circle. It was only 24 miles from the lodge and we almost missed it. It was nothing more than a sign to mark the spot in a big parking lot.

Doug and I high fived each other and I felt a tear in my eye. Had the ride the previous day not been such a challenge I probably would not have felt so emotional. I felt we had earned the right to be there. Doug and I unfurled the banner that the Sutter Cancer Center had prepared and our friend from Chicago took some photos.
Both Doug and I were very proud of this moment. I hope this simple accomplishment by a cancer patient and his friend will inspire other cancer patients to reach for their goals.

Yesterday Doug gave me a bit of a scare. After we left the Arctic Circle he said he wanted to continue to ride for a bit. I was still tired from the previous day and went back to the lodge. Ten hours later Doug still had not shown up. Finally we saw a cloud of dust going about 70 mph down the Dempster. It was Doug. He was going so fast he passed the entrance to the lodge. Doug had continued to the end of the Dempster to the town of Inuvik. Part of me wishes I have gone with him but I was just not physically able. Naturally he had great stories to tell everyone at the bar.

I met some wonderful people at the Eagle Plains Lodge. In particular Ray, a driller and Evelyn who checked us in. Both of then are/were cancer patients. Ray's cancer seems to be in remission but we had a lot in common as we talked. Evelyn is still fighting breast cancer. She told me she is tired of the fight and if things don't improve she is giving up. This made me very sad. I also met 21 year old Natasha who claims to have done just about everything in her young life, Denny who is of Chinese ancestry but couldn't speak Mandarin, only Cantonese and Jeremy who was a gentleman. There were so many people in the bar I met but never got their names. When you walked into the bar you just sat down by someone and started talking.

Today we set out for Dawson City on the Dempster. The ride back had some scary moments but compared to Tuesday it was nothing. We made the trip in about 51/2 hours. That was quite a difference from the 10plus hours it took us on Tuesday.

Tonight Doug wants to go to Diamond Tooth Gerties. It is a dance hall in Dawson.

Tomorrow we are off to Fairbanks. Who knows, there is another Arctic Circle crossing just north of Fairbanks we may just try it also.

Dell
- posted by Dell @ 5:00 PM