6/6/03 - Bill

I did execute as forecasted. I went through Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming. I spent a wonderful time on the battlefield in Montana. “Custer’s Last Stand” battlefield was much larger than I had visualized and the movies had depicted. It was greater than 5 miles in length all along the Little Big Horn. I then went into Wyoming and spent almost a day in Yellowstone National Park, which is far too short a time, but time is time. I camped on a mountaintop called Horn Mountain Chain before Greybull, WY the evening after the Custer trek. Snow patches on the ground, silence, odors of the north woods - I loved it. The next morning upon my departure to Yellowstone four deer walked by and another scampered to join the four. Silence and beauty! In Yellowstone I saw herds of Bison, Elk, Moose, and Old Faithful geyser, which did not erupt when I was there. There were beautiful topographical views. As an aside, I was amazed at the central northern USA, especially Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Western Montana and parts of Wyoming – the prairie environments. We planted the trees to block wind and “spruce” up the environment. This same environment continued through central Montana and Alberta, Canada to Edmonton. After that going west the mountains and the terrain drastically changed to hills, mountains, forests of birch, aspen, poplar, fir, etc.

I tried to send my gun (44-mag pistol) when I arrived in Great Falls, Montana. Most people, even working in their position of shipping, do not know gun-shipping rules. I went to Federal Express at the airport in Great Falls and the lady said she wouldn’t send it – it has to be dealer to dealer and the firing pin must be out. I then went to the Post Office and they said the same thing. I then went to a Big Bear Sporting Store (guns, too) and after discussion with some of the “behind the counter” employees, much the same response occurred. However, the manager came out and “thought” there was a law where one could send a pistol to himself. He called UPS and one of the manager’s corroborated his beliefs and I at last sent it to Eagle, AK.

The beauty of the North really started at Edmonton and increased into a blasting bloom of wild streams, vast areas of dense woods and animals. I took photos of memories to be all along the way. The ALCAN Highway actually begins at the little airport east of Dawson Creek, BC, about 20 miles of the highway is unpaved and that is not 20 continuous miles. I camped by a beautiful stream west of Watson Lake (Albert Creek) that encapsulated the entire beautiful environment to me. I drank right out of the crystal clear stream and cooked a field meal inches away from the fast, rushing, and noisy stream. It literally put me to sleep when I went to bed.

Whitehorse, YT is just great, 22-25,000 people, it has everything one wants (that I want that is). It has an aquatic center called Whitehorse Lions Aquatic Center with a 25 meter interior pool and a weight room too. They open at 5:30AM. For seniors it is only $2.50 Canadian, this is where I cleaned up, shaved everyday and worked out at 5:30. There is a Wal Mart in town. At the moment we have 18 hrs plus of sunlight. The Kanoe People and several others supply canoe trip support and equipment. They will also shuttle individuals with their own gear to anyplace they wish to start. If one wants to ride a bike in town or around the area, that too is available for about 25 Canadian dollars per day. The restaurants are just great. My selection is the Klondike Salmon and Ribs on 2nd Ave and Steele Street. They offer Muskox, Caribou and Buffalo (Bison). I had a Muskox burger and the breads and buns are unbelievably tasty, not sterile white bread like in the states. Muskox tastes like hamburger, bison is a tender steak, and neither is offensive. I loved it. The owners (partners) Trevor-the cook and Donna the server and greeter were unsurpassed in their abilities. Crystal is their waitress and she is great, too. I once wanted to do taxidermy work, trap, hunt, etc. there are facilities here. Great for me and my interests. There is an Elks Club here too. The library on Second Ave. by the information center has three computers with only 15 minutes access for email only. There are private facilities, too, that provide more if one desires to spend the dollars. The climate is undulating, in that in one minute it is 58 degrees and a minute later it drops to the 40’s. It is windy up and down too. I love the cool climate myself – vigorous!

The people at Kanoe People, Steve, and the owner Scott McDougal, are just great. When Chuck and I sat down to solidify our plans, we went to Scott and he not only let us store our supplies and canoes on his property, but he is also going to put my car in storage at his home. Is that cool or what? And nice! His facility has almost anything one wants to acquire for their trip, except food.

Chuck and my plans now on a “cursory sense” are as follows:

Today 6/6/03 – I shall follow Chuck to Skagway to turn in his rental car – 180 km/111.8 miles, about 2 hours from Whitehorse. We are departing at 8AM therefore, say 11:00 we will have all the paperwork, etc. done. Chuck and I want to see Skagway and the Chilkoot trailhead. We have decided to forego till possibly September, the hike over the pass. When Chuck inquired about reservations, they asked if we had snowshoes. 90% of the mountain crossing was snow covered and the north slope was covered 60%. We are not properly equipped for this.