We were off at 10:15 fully fueled and ready to go. Our destination was only 142 miles north - Fort Nelson, BC. The weather was almost perfect (almost because the sun was obscured). The temperature ranged from 34 to 46. What a relief. We needed an easy leg and we got one.

The route took us through the Northern Rockies which are about 3-5,000 feet. The highway, which was 99% perfect, wound up and down for about 1/3 of the route with a few challenging grades. We actually went down a 10% grade on Wed. That, of course, means that we had to climb one on the other side. The entire 142 miles was wilderness with 1 town between Pink Mountain and Fort Nelson. Oh - that other 1% of the highway? We hit 2 sets of potholes that were way sucky. Don’t know how we didn’t blow one of our 10 tires.

This leg was totally uneventful and we arrived at the West End RV Park in Fort Nelson at 1:30. The site is very pleasant. We started setting up the RV and very quickly the neighbors came over and helped us out and started BSing. We ended up talking with 4 different couples and really enjoyed our arrival.

Many were also on their way to AK to work for the summer. The professions of these retired folks varied from teachers, CFO of a hospital, sky-diver/construction worker, former officer at a prison as well as a family of 3 who were going to work on road construction.....dad on heavy machinery, mom driving the pilot vehicle and the college age daughter the flag lady on the crew. It appears we are going to meet many interesting people from many walks of life on this adventure.

Update on issues. The last you heard, we had a pump problem. It appears that the pump “problem” was that the fresh water tank was empty. At any rate, the pump is working and Maureen was able to do do 3 days worth of dishes (who ever thought someone would be happy doing days worth of dishes?????).

Tomorrow we plan on making a fairly aggressive drive to Watson Lake, Yukon Territories - 319 miles. It all depends on the weather. We are a bit spooked by lousy weather and things look spectacular starting on Mon. We’ll see tomorrow. The next leg sounds like more Northern Rockies so it would be best to be smart. The scenery would be improved as well.