Yeah Al, if it got much worse I would consider your idea. But I think that side shot on the Jeep was just a freak occurrence. There wasn't even a second chip anywhere on the side of the Jeep. Just that one window.
Kevin Means said:
especially since Marty is a rock magnet.
Kev
Boy, no kidding Kev. But other than the one new "star" the first day after entering BC, I have been doing pretty good.
Today though things changed quite a bit on the Alaskan Highway. Even the Milepost made a specific comment as to the road conditions. Ever since I entered BC I have been wary of the road conditions. But I have to admit, in about 2500 miles, I have only encountered one big dip that got my attention in BC. Most of all the rest have already been repaired. But interestingly the road flags are still in place. The ones that are there to alert you to a rough or unsafe condition. It's kind of a fake out on most of the ones that I have come across thus far. Until today.
We stayed to the Alaskan Highway today passing up the road to Dawson City. We will drive back that way once we get to Tok in the Jeep. And today was the first day in a while that we have really noticed a dramatic change of scenery. So far a lot of the way through BC we have seen lakes, and trees. Lots of trees. However today upon leaving Whitehorse we noticed that the scenery has changed for the better. Lots of dramatic snow laden mountains, clear mountain lakes and all close enough to reach out and touch them.
But back to the roads. The Milepost noted that the roads past Destruction Bay to the Alaska border have presented a "significant challenge" to the road department do to the extensive perma frost conditions found here. And boy howdy. There are also many road repair projects in progress, ranging from a few miles, to as many as 10+ miles in length. The road surfaces are dirt and gravel, and the travel speed is reduced to around 50 kph (30 MPH). After my last rock incident with the truck in BC, I leave LOTS of space between me and the front vehicle, and when passing a truck coming the other way, I nearly drive off into the ditch to create space. And of course where there is road construction, there are water trucks to wet the surface for compaction purposes. So the nice clean Jeep that I had for a few days in Whitehorse looks like I have been out "mud blogging". Oh well, another opportunity to detail the Jeep. The frost heaves in this stretch of road are so numerous that they don't even flag them. You just have to play very close attention and slow down. The travel speed in this stretch only averaged about 45 MPH anyway, but when a rough spot was coming I would slow to 30 to 35 MPH. I missed one such heave and unloaded all the clothes in the closet. Again.
But for now we are in White River, at the White River RV park. A nice little place with excellent mountain views. They generate there own power, so that hum you hear in the background is the generator running that supplies power to the campground, the hosts, and anything else that needs 120 volt power. Once while writing this entry the generator shut off, and everything went quiet. Fortunately I didn't lose the whole entry!
There is also a road crew working here that is being transported around by helicopter. The helicopter is using the campground as a base of operation and from our site we can watch occasional take offs and landings. We will be here for a few days to get caught up on things, wash a little mud off, and head for Tok, Alaska. I will wait to refuel until Tok, as the prices are reported to be better than it the YT.
Internet here with the Telus air card is non existent. The campground does supply free WiFi if you get a space closer to the office. But, I am able to get Direct TV. Interestingly, the last two campgrounds when I attempted to enter the coordinates into the Direct set up screen, it has refused to process the entry and give me a Azimuth and Elevation. It just wouldn't accept the numbers (I know that they were correct as I obtain them from the GPS). Then it occurred to me today what the issue may be. I am pretty certain that Direct is not licensed to do business in Canada. I have seen several RVers with dishes out that are getting satellite signal, but not with the Direct name on the them. And the dishes are really big, like at least 3' round. It is my suspicion that Direct is not supplying me with coordinates because of where I am at. It will be interesting to see if when I get into Alaska if the Direct box will return to normal.