Dawson Creek, BC

The last couple of days since leaving Castlegar have been pretty low key. Although the drive to Banff and Jasper was awesome, it was cloudy and rainy so I didn't get to really experience the parks the way I wanted to, and I didn't want to wait for the sun so I kept going. Also, there were traffic jams even in these parks. I camped out again and really enjoyed it--it was in the Pocahontas forest outside of Jasper, which by the way was a super cool, laid back town.

Pocahontas Campsite

Banff to Jasper

Leaving Pocahontas

In addition to the elk, I saw a momma bear and her cub and later on a moose. I didn't stop to take pictures.

Yesterday I made it to Dawson Creek, which is the beginning of the Alaskan Highway. For whatever reason, yesterday was the first time I've actually felt road weary, where the miles were going by slowly and I wasn't really enjoying the ride. I think the main reason is that the scenery has changed from mountains and twisty roads to flat and straight and windy, and also I'm not hanging out with anyone from here on.

At the end of a 6-hour or so day, I was cranky and just got a hotel. Everything was bugging me, and I just wanted to take a shower and a nap after camping the previous night. Well, while I was checking in I had left the light on the bike on. When I came out to unpack, I discovered it wouldn't start--just what I freakin' needed. So instead of a shower and a nap I had to track down a place to charge the battery, and then try to find a place to buy a new one.

In the course of this seriously annoying quest I encountered the nicest people on earth next to Mormons--the Canadians. I walked, with my battery, to a nearby muffler shop to see if they had a charger. They were happy to help me, and in fact gave me a ride back to the motorcycle, waited for me to reinstall the battery, and then gave me a jump just to make sure it started. He said if I needed anything else, anytime, I knew where they were.

With the bike running again, I started out to all the snowmobile dealers to find a new battery, with no luck. But, everyone was bending over backwards to help, including customers in line behind me. They were recommending places to check, calling other places in nearby towns to see if one was in stock, and in general people were actually eager to help me. What the hell? It was so foreign to me to be the object of so much friendliness and trust and care from strangers that it made me uncomfortable. So I went back to the hotel and took a shower and a nap. I think I also ate a couple candy bars.

As for the battery, now that it's charged I can start the bike no problem, as long as I don't leave the lights on. I still need a new one though, because 10 minutes with the lights on shouldn't have drained it. I'm going to try to find one in the next town, Fort St. John. Towns are getting smaller and smaller and further apart as I head north and west, so I want everything to be whole.