Yukon #1

My Yukon holiday has been a series of lessons. One is Appreciation. Another is to look carefully at things that seem like “an opportunity of a lifetime”. My brother says I always assume too much. I admit to being an optimist and a bit of a dreamer. When this trip first came up I thought of seeings places and things and a leisurely trip to the Yukon-possibly even seeing friends along the way? Just the name Yukon,seemed exciting.    And of course I have not gone many places. Instead, we tore up the highway stopping at a reasonable hour at mostly decent campsites and were there in six days.
Having been told I would have my own bed, I actually thought I had my own room. “Fine! thought I, “I will be able to escape at times.” Not so, there were two small beds a lane way apart and that was it. My companion laid down the rules quickly. There would be no toilet paper going down the toilet and it was only to be used for number one. Okay, and then what of the “other”? Well that was done in outhouses. Upon arrival in Lumby and getting to the trailer that was to be my home for almost 60 days, all my clothes were stuffed into a series of cupboards above my beds and all bags and the one suitcase were put in partners car and left in Lumby. Lights were not to be left on even though there was ample battery life in the form of a solar panel. 

I assumed her son lived in a normal house and we would hook on to water and power upon our arrival. I assumed he might live in a beautiful spot. Not so. In no time at all we were ensconced in a
pole yard.  Don't know what that is?  Well its an old sawmill site filled with decks of spruce logs that the son cuts into fire wood for campsites.
 I was not impressed. The “view” was of skinny sickly looking spruce trees all around, the road was totally bumpy into camp and the son was no better off than we in fact worse as all the pipes had frozen in his travel trailer and the fridge was buggered. No power to be had unless you fired up the generator or on occasion the welder.

I was told what water we had in the holding tank was all we had until something could be found to fill it.  I assumed this meant rationing and drank no water or very little all the way up to the Yukon. By that time I was getting seriously dehydrated. Luckily daughter B that came with us on a motorbike bought bottled water by the case and shared with me liberally.
Eventually water would be brought in on the back of the flat deck from a subdivision nearby in the biggest bottle you have ever seen!

Stay tuned for next edition of “Joyce in the Yukon”