Sunday, November 7, 2010
This day started perfectly. We woke up very early, got ready and packed. Dressed “the littles” and fastened them in their carseats with a breakfast bar and sippy cup of defrosted milk from the cooler. The older ones helped us re-pack and organize food supplies for the day. Right before packing the food supplies back into the trailer, I used our little espresso machine to make North Pole Coffee (St. Nickerdoodle, of course!) for Chris and I for the road. Sleeping bags rolled and stashed away, Havah’s bassinet loaded with misc. stuff and stowed away in the trunk, sippy cups re-filled and put in the cooler, and a hundred other details were checked off. And away we pulled.
We watched the sun rise over the mountains mid-morning. It was a beautiful day and such gorgeous mountains heralded either side of the Alaska Highway. Our destination was Whitehorse, Canada. We were not far from the border. We would cross Border City into Canada, thru the no-man land, then thru Beaver Creek. The border guard appreciated our organized paperwork and was amazed that we were moving with so little. We felt like it was a treasure trove since we came up to Alaska with almost nothing!The sun starting setting mid-afternoon. We passed Burwash Landing and Destruction Bay. We still had three more hours to get to Whitehorse. The sunset was glinting off Kluane Lake. It was the largest lake in the Yukon. Hundreds of miles long. The Alaska Highway wrapped closely around its contours. We rounded a curve and then some gentle hills.
Then we felt a jerk and a pull and Big Bertha made a strange noise. Chris pulled over and we looked at each other. Our worst fear had come upon us. What in the world were we going to do? Car trouble in the middle of the Yukon in sub-zero temperatures – at night – on a lonely road. We had a front row seat watching the last remaining rays of sun and safety fall below the horizon beyond the lake. We prayed.
I kept the children occupied by feeding them an early supper. Instead of the hoped-for warm soup, we ate sandwiches and chips again. We stayed toasty warm in the truck while Daddy investigated the truck.
It was as we had feared – the transmission had gone out. Almost everything under that hood was new – or newer – except the transmission.
No cell phone coverage out there. Well, I suppose God doesn’t need a cell phone anyway. The Canadian version of a D.O.T. truck came by very soon. The guy talked with Chris and said he had a brother-in-law back in Destruction Bay, the little place we had passed about 15 min back. We hated to see him drive away, but we knew stranded vehicles are taken very seriously up in the Yukon.
Sure enough, the brother-in-law, Charles Eikland, came by and towed us back to the Talbot Arm Motel. Okay, let’s clarify. This was not a typical towing. He had a rope. We had a rope. He pulled Big Bertha with a rope! It took about 45 terrifying minutes of Chris having to keep the proper tension on the tow rope and steer in unknown territory when he couldn’t see around Charles’ truck! Up and down and around we went. I helped navigate by peering around and trying to give Chris the lay of the land.
Finally we made it and checked-in the motel. Charles ate supper at the motel restaurant so Chris could get all of us settled in our room – then they went back for the trailer. We were all settled and safe and back together before we knew it. It was weird and peaceful. We were so thankful. We all prayed our thanksgiving. God had protected and shielded us. We were near a mechanic. We had not entered the intense Canadian Rockies’ passes. We broke down in a safe place on the road. My emotions were all over the place. But my faith in God was my anchor. I had placed my entire trust in Him. I would not waver now.
Charles helped us coordinate the truck repair in Whitehorse because he did not have the equipment locally. So early the next morning the tow truck from Whitehorse would arrive and they would follow it in and make arrangements. Charles researched several garages and they decided which one would be the best. It was a three hour trip (one-way) to Whitehorse. So Chris wouldn’t be back until late.So we all went to bed thankful and nervous about what tomorrow would bring.
Map from Tok, AK to Destruction Bay, YT, Canada
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