"We wear our sunglasses at night"

Dawson City, our destination and home for the last 2 weeks. How to describe this place?

Let's see, as i'm walking down the dirt roads watching leash-less dogs chase each other and ravens pick the boardwalks clean of scraps i feel that i should be packing a pair of six shooters on my hip just in case some lousy pilgrim wants to start something at the saloon. It's like being in an old western film, or at least on set during the filming of one but all the lousy pilgrims are friendly faces saying hi and the saloon is, well, a saloon. We have been living quite literally 'in our van, down by the river', just a five minute ferry ride away from town. There is a beautiful camp ground there where we've managed to strike a deal to work for our stay, at least for the time being; our challenge to live rent free for the summer is on track!
The tourist season has definitely started in these parts and it makes for an interesting mix of daily events, just the other day we watched as a shining clean coach bus pack full of German's and telephoto lens' loaded off the ferry next to an old beat up pick-up with an anxious pack of six sled dogs in the back. Speaking of sled dogs it's our pleasure to announce that we are the proud new caretakers of a little black Alaskan Husky named Bukowski (like the author) or "Buks" for short. He adores Lauren and runs away on Don but we're working on that. Our days are starting to fill up with work shifts here and there, between the two of us we're life-guarding, nannying, truck unloading, house-keeping and camp site cleaning. All that keeps us busy when we're not dog walking, campfire cooking, dog chasing, socializing with sweet new friends, lost dog finding and soaking up the suns rays 22 hour a day. From Left: Jan, Dana, Jess, Claire, Rachel, Lauren (small portion of Dawson's Montreal Community).

Introducing Dan Smeby! Our resident soil sampler!

The Eldorado Hotel: Where Lauren plays Maid

Just another sidewalk, that makes for a little extra bounce in every step.

Local watering hole: Our friends who live 'Upstairs'. Spend many-a- day people watching from their windows. From Left: Rachel, Madeline, and Celyn

Lastly these days most popular activity. Finding broken bikes at the 'free store' then fixing them enough to ride around town. From Left: Celyn, and Rachel.

Not afraid to say, we definitely wear our sunglasses at night. We'll be sure to continue to keep you up to date on any adventures, or at least mildly entertained with more silly videos as the days go.

Thanks for reading. Until next time.

New Address: LeVan, Down by the River, Dawson City Yukon 527NFA

Since we last spoke you've probably been sitting on the edge of your seat wondering whether or not we made it out of Fort Nelson alive. You'll be glad to know that we did! We made it all the way to Dawson City, finally after 8 long treacherous days (not really) we've settled in and are now prepared to release stories of our final days on the road.



Before leaving Fort Nelson we were sure to check up on the "must-dos" while in town. The Liard Hot-Springs immediately tickled our fancy, and as luck would have it they we're on our way 'out of town'- next time they decide to list it as a must-do, Fort Nelson, they should mention it's a whopping 7 hour drive north. It's like visiting Hamilton and being told that Algonquin Park is a must-see while in town. Suffice to say it felt great to lose the hefty sweaters in exchange for a warm pool and bathing suits for a few hours.



So... we saw a Grizzly!! Just as we we're conversing over the fact that a Grizzly Bear would probably be one of the least likely bears to see, who do we see? A Grizzly, playing a solo game of hop-scotch along the side of the highway, showing off the kind of playful movement that made you want to run straight for it in search of one-a-them "bear-hugs". We also had fun getting up close and personal with a whole-lotta buffalo as they munched away at the roadside greenery without a care in the world.

Day 7 rolls around and we wake up in Watson's Lake (middle of nowhere), Yukon and we rolled in late with the gas light on with no money and at least a day from the last cell signal, we weren't sure what to do. I throw a mild hissy fit while Don stays calm, keeping a slight distance from me at all times...just incase. I take a few deep breaths and we decide that the only thing we can do is hope that a few nice people will see us, take pity, and donate a little gas to our cause. All I gotta say is thank god for pay-it-forward, we felt shy and slightly mortified at our money miscalculations prior to departure but there we're a few town-folk who we're instantly reminded of the 'good old days' and didn't think twice about donating a little gas to help us go the distance.

On this day the final of 8, we made our way through every season. Waking up to what felt like an average February morning, terrified that it would only get worse in our final 500kms due North. Throughout the morning the weather turned from bone-chilling snow-storm, to sunny spring skiing weather, eventuall to spring, and finally to an afternoon so warm it nearly felt like summer and at long last we rolled into beautiful Dawson City. Straight out of an old western movie with it's board-walk sidewalks, dirt roads, and amazingly crooked store-fronts, we were here... home for the next 3 months.

Practical and Fashionable: Sleeping bags while you drive!

So apparently we didn't get the memo; spring has not sprung. It's 40 below!!!!!! Atleast -3 feels like -40 when you were fortunate enough to just taste the beginnings of summer and to then have it brutally ripped from your grasp... but we regress.

We haven't seen internet for 4 days now, so we have a lot of catching up to do. A few sights, some new records, a touch o' wildlife, 1791 kms, and did we mention the extreme weather?

Here's the key points:

• Day 1: Mountains just North of Whistler! WoW! Driving a whopping 25km/hr uphill most of the day (mind you we started at 3:45pm).
• Overnight #1 Lilloet Dam

• Day 2: Moose, deers, tree-planter, stallions, goffer (sp?)
• Purchased new starter kit- $2, hammer
• Our favourite 'DON-HO' record selfishly excused himself through the crack in the sliding door without any remorse.
  
• Overnight #2 100 Mile Provincial Park

• Day 3: ... Kind of uneventful, got stuck in the northern metropolis of Prince George for a couple, back on the road for a few and an early quit for steaks on a fire.
• Overnight #3 Tudyah Provincial Park
  

• Day 4: This one was fun! We woke up to snow, Lauren got us the hell out of there while Don stayed in bed.
• We pushed 900 kms this day in 13 hours, do the math, we're averaging 69 km/hr.
• Lacking a grinder, lauren smashed coffee beans with our new starter kit (hammer) to make a stiff cup a' joe that got us through a short afternoon slump.
• Moose x a bunch + deer x a trillion + bald eagle x a few + peregrine falcon x a couple + ducks x a quack + a conspiracy of ravens + wolves x 2, 1 owl, and a black bear... and a patridge - pear tree = "this is why i come up here! GOULET!!"
• Overnight #4 IGA parking lot, Fort Nelson

Last but certainly not least we must mention a few records were made. Don and Lauren put in solid numbers this day but the star, without a doubt of day 4 is LeVan! setting two new personal bests and possible world records (waiting to hear back) LeVan pushed the bar in both the Downhill Neutral-Gear Speed event at 126 km/hr as well as in the Warning Gas-Light Distance event with an incredible distance of 76.7 km traveled before 'hitting the wall'. Great job LeVan, you're an inspiration to us all!

Day 5: current status: stealing a wireless signal from Super 8 Motel parking lot, waiting for gas to grow on trees.

one swift tap to the starter and away we go!

After carefully considering the 'font' we feel prepared to share the inauguration of our adventures with you...

Following countless minutes of deliberation Lauren and I decided to go for the first and only van we'd looked at, call us crazy but she purrrs like a kitten. And so our adventures with LeVan (leH-vAUghan) began. We've worked hard prepping her for the journey ahead; days have been spent at Canadian Tire selecting only the finest of automotive oils, adhesives, and other liquids not to mention matching sporty seat covers... and The Club (but a cheaper knock off of course, that shit's expensive!). We've stocked up on supplies, barely planned our route and we're departing tomorrow at the crack of dawn... right after All You Can Eat Sushi. We're hoping to keep this blog fun and exciting so you don't all have to lie about having read every entry when we get back, let's see how it goes.


Until next time,
さようなら suckers!