Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Sunday, March 22, 2015

Lucky Day in the Yukon - Part IV


We slipped into the small community of Burwash Landing late that afternoon after a long and somewhat difficult day.  The community was located along the Alaska Highway in The Yukon Territories, Canada. It was on the shore of beautiful Kluane Lake. Here’s the story….

We’d had a quiet morning heading north to Alaska when we ran into a hailstorm.  The hailstones weren't big or dangerous but made a very loud drumming noise in the Blazer. In the midst of all this another vehicle pulled alongside us, the occupants waving frantically and pointing back to our popup camper. I pulled off onto the muddy shoulder and we waited till the storm abated.  Sure enough, I had a flat tire and a badly damaged wheel.  What to do? Jack it up and put the spare on. Not so easy. The wheel and back axle was buried in the mud.  I needed a shovel to dig it out and get the jack underneath. Of course, I carried a shovel with me all the way to Alaska. NOT!

This is where our unlucky day began to turn as we stood forlornly along the highway in the Yukon wilderness.  We had waited about 10 minutes before a truck appeared in the distance. It turned out to be a Yukon Territory Highway Maintenance vehicle and the driver had a shovel. We were business to get the spare on. The driver also had the advice that our best bet was to head back to Whitehorse where they surely would have a new wheel. It was only 100 miles back down the highway.

We’d been heading south for about twenty minutes when we entered another very small town. It was then that I noticed among the ramshackle buildings two gas pumps. We “filled er up” Mentioning our recent problem and Whitehorse destination he allowed that he “just might” have a tire replacement for the camper. He did. And he mentioned his friend “Joe” down the street had a “junkyard” where one, though unlikely in this case,  could just about find anything.  “Anything” turned out to be  a very functional wheel.


Beautiful Kluane Lake adjacent to a National Park along the Alaskan Highway southwestern Yukon Territory.

So we turned about to head north once again relieved at the evidence of our good fortune.  Burwash Landing, which turned out to be a small “First Nation” community, had a small campground and bar and grill. We called it a day. Having set up the camper, we were discussing world affairs with the proprietor, while the ladies were fixing supper. Sudden outcries of consternation from within led us to learn that the cupboard, laden with cooking utensils, was filled with mud.  It seems that the disintegrating wheel had knocked several holes in the wheel well.  “Not to worry” our campground host said. “I’ll round up my handyman. He can fix anything”.  And he did. At no charge.  There is a moral to this tale.  We’ve had similar experiences before on our many trips north.  Canadians are the friendliest people. Always willing  to help a stranger in need. I was reminded of that more recently when we saw the Academy Award winning movie Argo……

 

26 comments:

  1. how awesome to encounter such good folks (who were not only helpful but handy, too!)

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  2. We have been on trips to Canada and I couldn't agree more about the people! Glad you had a happy ending!

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  3. Great series. And I will say, finding good folks to help you is a blessing. We have a flat tire story while traveling in Montana. We could not get the spare tire off from under the truck because it was rusted on from all the salt on our Winter roads here in Wisconsin. Thankfully a great Montana citizen came to our rescue and did not charge us anything! Good folks are a blessing!!

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  4. I had a similar experience in Vermont. There are nice people all over, especially if they see you are in a real bind!

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  5. Finding good and kind people is such a blessing, Trout...and I am so glad you did. Your photos are absolutely gorgeous!

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  6. CAnadians may be friendly but Yukoners are the greatest. They have to help each other and be independent as it's very isolated. Good story.

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  7. Other than a jumpstart when a battery failed, anytime we had a car issue, it wasn't cheap, or easy. I'd say you were VERY fortunate. Although I can't say I've ever traveled where you were.

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  8. You ran into some very nice people along the way! :)

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  9. Seems there are good folks everywhere. Glad it all worked out for you!

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  10. So glad you're reposting this. What adventures you have! I missed the beginning (spending too much time at my moms without laptop). Beautiful country!

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  11. You mean.... you DON'T carry shovels on your travels. Oh my!

    I have heard that Canadians are fine people. Those you met and those who helped you go a long way to restoring faith in human nature.

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  12. Wow, I think I may be crossing the border though small town America is just about as accommodating. What a lovely group of people you ran into.
    That scenery is just beautiful.

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  13. It's so good to hear all about the kindness of strangers, and all about your good luck. I'm enjoying this very much! :-)

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  14. Lots of good people all around. I had a camper door latch break in the middle of nowhere in NE and the hardware guy fixed it for no charge with a used piece he had just saved in case he needed it.

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  15. I took two spare tires (mounted) on all of my alcan trips, and never had to use them. This was before any of it was paved, 1500 miles of dirt or gravel.
    Nice post, TB

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  16. Beautiful photos and a great story! We had a similar experience with our pop-up...only our utensils were leaving a trail along the highway. We didn't figure out there was a hole in the wheel well until we went to use the utensils...

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  17. I've been away from blogging. I did not know you were writing about this trip. How fun. I will have to go back and read.

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  18. Hi troutbirder, Burwash Landing Resort looks like the kind of place I like to find. This is great going along with you on this trip. John

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  19. I haven't been blogging daily either - too many other things going on. You take the most fascinating trips!!

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  20. Great stories. Driving thru Canada to Alaska is definitely high on my bucket list. We drove round the Great Lakes years ago not too long after they opened the highway. That was a great adventure because it was still mostly wilderness.

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  21. What a journey! It was like being pioneers driving the Yukon Hwy in those days. You're right about those Canadians, the best people you'll meet if you ever need a hand.

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  22. What a heart-warming story! That last photo is gorgeous enough for me to consider a road trip, despite the hazards.

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  23. You know you're in the wilderness when you are advised to retrace your route for 100 miles. It reminds me of a sign out of Thunder Bay, which said turn here for Winnipeg. Yet Winnipeg was still a day's drive away. We didn't turn because we wanted to travel the other route.

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  24. What a great story! I love hearing of ordinary good people doing ordinary good things to help others.
    We'd love to drive to Alaska, must have been an incredible trip!

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  25. Those are some nice stories, and some nice comments. Thank you bringing us along on your adventure and thank you all for helping fulfill the promise of the internet. We are laying the groundwork for the overthrow of Capitalism, even if we don't know it and would never admit it and would be left feeling a little dirty by the very idea.

    On the promise of the internet though, you can now follow along with Troutbirder's trip on Google Maps, which takes you down the main highway, and shows Burwash Landing to be about exactly the same as it was in the 1890s.

    Har. But 2008, when our computers had less computing power than a smart phone does now, almost seems like 1890 in internet years. Back in '08 web sites didn't even talk to you when you opened them up and we'd have been baffled by talk of bucket lists. OK, I still am baffled by talk of bucket lists but I know what WTF means. WTF.

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  26. Just as rustic, I might add. Homemade "Gas" sign and all.

    And Burwash Landing was the big city? I can't get over finding that camper wheel in the middle of nowhere.

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