Subject:  My Day 9 – Arctic Jeep Expedition – And Free Spirit

The Arctic jeep expedition is now at Dawson Creek, British Columbia and everything here is centered on the Mile "0" of the Alaska Highway.  There is a Mile "0" post that we will visit right after dinner at Mike’s steak house where are supposedly receive a 10% discount by showing our Ramada Inn room key.  Guess what – I’ve been in Best Westerns, no name motels and Motel 6’s that are way better than this run down Ramada with absolutely no other amenities.  We are here because one of our parties already had advance reservations not knowing what we would expect.  Still we are splitting a $100.00 per night room rate. 

Let’s see how good Mike’s steak house turns out to be.  (Back from Mike’s Steak House and guess what – it was great.  I started out the night with a 22 ouncer of Canadian ale and an artichoke chip appetizer before the other three (Russ, Carol and Woody) arrived.  Then we ordered a salad and dinner and somewhere from there our order got a bit screwed up like for example lost.  When we got our dinner it was actually delicious but the head staff apologized and even told us dinner was now on the house.  WooHoo!  Great dinner – plus a little inconvenience and a great staff with a good attitude – doesn’t get any better than this.    

The drive to Dawson from Jasper was all great with great scenery and large puffy clouds all the way.  Our drive this morning started at 9 a.m. and we arrived at 7:00 p.m...  Dawson City is really hopping; there are plenty of large winter type 4X4, RV’s and rugged vehicles on the road.  Everyone apart from our little expedition group is in a rush to get somewhere.  When on the road and I see that someone starts riding my rear I just pull over and let them take the lead. 

I don’t believe that I’ve written anything personal about our little expedition group but, I may start now.  Something funny happened with the couple that is no longer with us.  (They flew up here and rented a non-jeep since they Sam couldn’t wait to get back to work)  On our walk over to the glacier tour Sam starts asking where his wife is.  Carol tells him that she is walking to the same place that we are but, she is a “free spirit” and taking her own path.   

This is great news to me because this totally reminds me of my “Patti” back home.  My wife is also this person that lives according to her own drum beat, unconstrained by the path that her husband may take – but, perfect companion for this expedition, adventure seeking person.

See you on the trail!

Trawlercat