Blog English – Arminius-on-tour

The motorhome is standing with warning flashers on the roadside. Two guys are a bit helplessly watching their burst tyre. They are two Canadians with a rental pick-up with cabin whom we met a couple of times since Inuvik. Actually we agreed at lunchtime “See ya’ in Dawson“, but now, 200 km earlier we stop to assist them with their breakdown. Their emergency manual requests to call the rental station in case of a puncture. I assume this to be a good joke (Mobile phone at Dempster?), but one of the guys has got an ancient huge satellite phone, is catching a satellite and getting reception. The result of the phone call was well predictable: They are requested to better change the tyre themselves. The other Canadian guy is taking his rifle, charging and cocking it – there are so many bears around, he means. I try to imagine how a grizzly is raiding four humans to pinch their spare wheel. Really dangerous area here. Of course, a thunderstorm is starting right now. Joerg is changing the tyre, and in return we may shoot with the rifle some trees to death. One of my favourite activities.

The land in front of Dawson is damaged and far away from scaring over. Every, really every stone was put upside down to look for gold. Gravel and stones as far as you can see. Still today landscape murder is continued. Mountains are pulled down in hope to find a grain of the precious metal. The remnants of the mountains are carelessly tipped out into the nature then.

Arriving in Dawson City, the information centre clerk is confirming, what other travellers tell us since days: The Taylor Highway in Alaska, connection route to the Top of the World Hwy, is closed due to wash-outs. It was closed for ten days, passable for a couple of days, and closed again after new heavy rainfalls. There is no detour except many hundreds of kilometres back to Alaska Hwy. We aren’t in a hurry; we want to see Dawson first.

This entry was posted on Dienstag, Juli 27th, 2010 at 21:41 and is filed under Canada. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.