Up Over: 7/20/16 In the Middle of Nowhere

We rode from the civilized to the wild!

But first a late start for a good reason. A nursery auction in Maryland had Jules glued to his iPad watching and helping as Jan, our younger daughter, bullied her way into her first plant auction. Wrestling with the big boys, she stood up to them all, showed them what girls can do and came home a big winner. We were so proud.

On the road by noon, we had miles to eat to get to the next city. Then the Rockies happened. Long stretches of one point perspective gave way to climbing switchbacks, sweeping curves and rapid descents. All this had the added nuance of construction stops and miles of gravel with RV's and tractor trailers kicking up blinding clouds of dust as they passed. Yet the traffic was scarce and the benefits far outweighed the negative.

When Jules and Rascal weren't wrangling gravel, we flew through mountain passes and skated down twirling inclines. Surrounded by the towering weather-carved range of the Northern Rockies, we forgot the road conditions and were sucked in by the masterpiece that surrounded us. A break by Summit Lake and Stone Mountain gave us a chance to internalize our surroundings.

The only humanity between Ft. Nelson and Watson Lake are small sparsely placed enclaves of brave souls who have bunched together for highway work and traveler services. Toad River Lodge offered the gas that we desperately needed and when it started to rain, it also offered us shelter. Not much to look at from the road, we were pleasantly surprised to see our digs for the night- a brand new cabin, complete with all the amenities, on a pristine lake.

Buffalo barley soup and bumbleberry pie filled our bellies at the lodge kitchen and we learned why there is an air strip right across the road. There is a school and in order for some of the kids to get there, they have to fly in. Others come by four wheelers, snowmobiles, or the occasional car - maybe even a dogsled. Ten thousand hats left by former patrons hung over our table.

And we saw a moose! Having only caught fleeting glances of them along the road, we began to believe they didn't exist. Wow! Did we get a show tonight. She was grazing on the far shore, then got into the lake for a swim. She paddled her long legs toward us, then turned and swam down the length of the lake. So pumped to see more animals appear, we watched diligently until dark. Only some swans graced our view, but that was plenty.

To be nestled in bed, lakeside, circled in the arms of the mountains and totally removed from the lunacy of the world, is a gift on which no value can be placed. The road may be rocky and rain soaked at times, but we will muddle along and find that break in the clouds on the horizon, ride through, relishing the journey and creating new histories to tell.