Waiting for Service..waiting...waiting....8 weeks later....No service avaliable

6 weeks later internet connection, and number 2 blog....Wowzers that pretty much describes the life up here. Its quite amazing actually that some of these villages here even have human life dwelling in them, Much less reception and an Internet connection! There can be a village of 200 people with a 20 million dollar rec center! And not just any rec center, funky mod architecture with amazing gigantic wood beams...its a shame that not enough people get to appreciate the design...But ya know I am sure learning to appreciating the small things in life. Which have become big things to me, such as, sewer and water...number one. Then a grocery store. And best of all in the grocery store its quite amazing to find produce. Now I didnt say fresh produce, just produce. Basic produce, apples, carrots, oranges, celery and bananas. Oh to have some fresh hand plucked raspberries!

So after Carmacks, we made our way down to the next location "Pelly" because that’s all it is a location.... it’s not a city, not a town, not much of a village, pretty much a gas station and police station. And let me tell you those cops, they are .... busy! So, we're driving to Pelly. Mach 10. I’m watching my house FLY 140 down the highway, and these precious highways here haven’t been fixed since the army built them I am sure! So I’m FLYING right behind my DEAR husband, my blood pressure is soaring higher than it should be, my thoughts are nastier than they should be, my temperament is meaner than it should be after an hour we FINALLY see another vehicle in the distance; closer, closer, WIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ past then ....WHOOOOOP! It’s a copper. As I buzz past him, all I see is the ol’ hand motion to stop. After finally getting to a stop (a mile down the road) me and my dear are both stopped at the side of the hwy. The first cop walks by my window and stays, "Stay put. The other one will be with you in a minute." So here comes my cop, 6'3, to the window."Hello ma’am. Are you aware that we clocked you going 30km over the limit?” "YUP!" in a YUP absolutely confident voice (confident that I couldn't give a RIP that my husband got pulled over and I hope they nab him with anything they can find, including doing 20 hours of community service on my destroyed house). Lets continue with Constable W. "ohh," he lets out a smallish smile of sympathy and kindly asks, "sooooo, where ya headed?" The kind voice only eggs me on more, "INTO THE MIDDLE OF STINKIN NO WHERE!" By this time he lets out a little laugh and I’m babbling now, "and I thought Carmacks was the middle of stinking nowhere! This place I’m going is even more so! He looks at my driver’s licence and nicely says, “yes, well when you’re coming from Surrey, this is the middle of nowhere. Do you know exactly where you’re going? " I reply, “actually, no! Some lake close to Pilly. Pelly. Whatever. Carmacks. Carcross. They are all the same after a while!" So he does the kind smile and voice and says sympathetically, “I'll be right back.” In the meantime Seth is giving the cop ahead of me attitude and tries pulling the-we-were-trying-to-slow-down-coming-down-that-hill excuse; meanwhile we were in the flattest part I had seen yet in the Yukon! So, the other copper goes to his car and Seth comes to my window for a little visit saying, "I CANT BELIVE THIS GUY!" Meanwhile I am still a little on edge, to say the least, and I’m like, “YOU WERE SPEEDING!! YOUR GONNA HAVE TO PAY!” So now, Seth is back in his truck, (was just a quick chat haha..) and I’m waiting for Con. W. *Enter* Con. W, “so ma’am, I figure since you’re just following your husband, and you don’t know where you’re going, I'll let you off. You seem to be a little frustrated to be here and I don’t want to make your day worse.” And he carries on to Seth’s truck for a chat. Needless to say, Seth gets a ticket from the other copper; $45 for going 30 over the speed limit....wowzers.... a parking ticket in the Valley. Then one more visit from Cons. W, “So, I was talking to your husband and it seems like you’re going to be stuck here for the summer. I know due to the circumstances you might not want to, but I’m just going to put it out there.... you should come out and meet my wife and kids. We have 2 little girls and my wife gets a little lonely out here.” ......ahhaa...and now there is another friend to put down on my Yukon list of friends. So we carry on. Next day, we’re driving through Pelly and WHOOOOOOP.... here’s the cop lights and here’s our new friend. Good thing were friends, otherwise this could mean trouble, like another "parking ticket." So, Cons. W comes to the window and assures us he’s not picking on us... and chats for a while. Yes, I think he was bored.

Pelly lasted a few mosquito clad weeks and then the move, Seven hours closer to home is how I work it out in my head (but that only means I’m still 25 hours away from home), Watson Lake: The Gateway to the Yukon! And wow what an impression this place leaves on you. I think that’s why everyone LEAVES after a day. Campground full up at night and nothing during the day. What’s to keep them here? Well let me tell you! The Library, and let me tell you about the library. Enter: the ninety-four year old new employee trainee. I need a temp library card. Ten minutes later she finds the form. I fill out the very, very thorough form. Talk about the information you have to give! So it’s all filled out, we’re going through it together, she’s trying to multitask, so it’s taking a little longer than usual I guess. But time is definitely on my side in this place. So I sit down and across from me is the young pasta munchin-child raising-marriage advice-giving-young-small-town girl. She starts making small talk and bossing my child around and yak yak yak. So Keely comes and sits next to me with a book and ‘yaker’ is still yak yak yaking. There’s a little stench coming from Keely, off and on, must have gone in her diaper. So I check her diaper its all good, and she wanders off.... But the stench is still coming and going. Hmmm..then I realize me dear new advice giving friend is obviously feeling so comfortable with me that shes the one making the stinkies. Should I feel honoured that I make her feel that comfortable? Wow. Maybe I'll just go check on that form. Meanwhile *enter* Northern Lights Sweatshirt Lady. "Can I help you?" she asks coldly. “Um nope, this lady is helping me,” I reply. *Side note* it’s been about 30 minutes. So she peers over ninety four year old’s shoulder and asks her what she’s doing. "That’s the wrong form!" and does the classic rude ‘correct the employee in front of the customer’ talk, and gives me the ultimate talk about taking books out at this library. Then multitasker northern lights sweatshirt lady, in the middle of her lecture, helps another German gentleman and lets him know that he has to leave all this information on this sheet because if he does ANYTHING illegal on these computers they know EXACTLY where to find him and HOW to get a hold of him! And you know what? She could do this lecture while helping ninety four year old lady because she can multitask! I WAS going to compliment her on finding the exact same shade of green eye shadow as the northern lights on her sweatshirt but forget that! PLUS I know where I can find that sweatshirt! SO HA! Found your little shopping secret! Watson Lake Northern Lights Center! uuuhaa I’m onto you. You’re not going to be the only one in this town with those green northern lights on your shirt! Well, needless to say, I did get my temp library card that day and I did get 4 books. AND 4 BOOKS ONLY because YOU are only a temporary card holder! I guess I’m just second rate here in Watson Lake! I guess the lady that let me have an extra book the next time I went to the library would be encouraging criminal activities for letting one extra book slide through my hands! Oh, but I am sure, the Gestapo Northern Lights Sweatshirt Lady will find out! I’m sure she can just smell criminals and criminal activities!

So that was the library experience. Next, As You Wish. When it finally opened Tuesday morning, (open 4 days a week..ugg) I was there! What a place it is! No wonder it’s called, As You Wish, because the moment you think they won’t have what you are wishing for, BAM! There it is! BAM! Had a pink feather boa just like that; as I overheard the "natural redhead" worker telling my little girl that she just got herself a boa seeing as she had drug it on the ground! First of all lady, she’s two, she doesn’t have money! And second of all, she’s not hard of hearing, so why are you talking so loud? OH, that’s what that is! Talking through my daughter at me! I get it! So, As You Wish is NO LONGER MY FAVORITE STORE IN TOWN!

Oh, and needless to say, we have met the cops here too. And we didn’t make friends with him like our lovely Constable W. We got pulled over for not coming to a COMPLETE stop in this busy little place. Meanwhile, Seth and I are not wearing seat belts, Keely is sitting in the front seat with us no car seat. Shrewd, this guy. Maybe he should take a few tips from Northern Lights Sweatshirt Lady! So I casually get out of the vehicle with Keely while he is doing his thing in his car and go for a little walk so he won’t notice our carseat-less daughter. Seth got off with a warning.

So this is where our wheels have been planted for a few weeks now. Everyone in town knows me by now; probably as, ‘the girl with the canoe on her roof.’ Yup, for a month now I’ve had this thing hanging over my head. Kind of like a giant visor I guess..protect me from the sun? Wow it has two purposes! Not a friendly town this Watson Lake. I guess staying here for a month in the campground is only half committed and a TEMP card is only second rate and sweats are too good for me. Must be a city snob. Oh well. Won’t be here much longer, so what’s the point of making new friends like Joan (Carmacks) and Constable W (Pelly)... so until next time, we'll see where these wheels land!

Well...Here is my very first blog.....
Who would have thought!
Desperate times call for desperate measures!

How Shall I start this?

05.31.10: The day I packed up my house....and put wheels on it! Oh the places we can go! So far this journey has consisted of a 36 hour drive; bombing through one metropolitan landscape after another. The dirty, dusty, truck city of Ft St. John now seems like a booming metropolis compared to where my wheels are now settled. The little aboriginal, aka Native American, aka Native Indian, aka Indian...the little Indian Village of Carmacks....and yes, even Carmacks made it on Google earth. What a place. But nay, oh nigh, or whatever they would have said in the medieval days... this too, very soon, will feel like a booming metropolis.

This little village that i have come to call home....ahem....I rephrase that ...this village that I have come to call.....never mind...nothing comes... hole? There's no place like home...there’s no place like this hole....really there isn't. The two petrol stations, one grocery store.... the RV Park...I cannot bring myself to call what I am staying in a trailer park, so for a classier choice, RV. Now doesn't that sound classy? Throw some abbreviations in and it always sounds better. So, Carmacks, don't be taken in by the word village, it may sound quaint but it is in fact a nice word for reserve, or concentration ca.....ahem...no, ok maybe not...stick with reserve. I did make myself a new friend, or should I say she made herself my new friend. Yes, I do have a friend. My Trailer Park BFF, as she would probably like to be known, is Joan. Let me describe Joan for you: Tinties (meaning if you go out in the sun with your glasses on, they go dark automatically...without lifting a finger! Who woulda thought? One less thing to do!), original acid-wash-zipper-short-sleeved-blouse t-shirt (picture it?) now known as "vintage" with shoulder seams at the elbows, Croc wearing, child hating (pretend to like) all round nice-ish lady, or nice-ish all round lady.... anyway, nice enough to give me her trashy STAR celeb magazine....oh dear, those things can’t be true, can they? And even nice enough to give me her Gas and Oil Magazine from Aug 2008, just couldn't bring herself to just throw them out. Gas and Oil Magazine eh? She’s a real northern Alberta girl that one. Ok, enough about Joan

Next. Fred Mullet. NO, NO, NO! Not a word of a lie (well maybe Seth and Jake are lying) but his name is Fred Mullet. Yup, think about it, what’s better than having a mullet? Having the name Mullet! Nuff said. Well, no, actually there is never enough said. He thinks I PURDY. The first time I met him he’s like, "Hi", looks at Seth, "AINT SHE PURDY!" ...hah...yup I’m still standing here...you’re purdy too? Scratch that tummy a little more Mr Mullet. He is a dear though.

So now let’s address the subject of shopping.

Shopping in Carmacks: Shopping in Carmacks consists of, like I mentioned earlier (you can reference back a few paragraphs) the grocery store. And I do shop there. I slowly walk the aisles of the Carmacks grocery store to and fro seeing what I shall purchase and little side note here * always check the dates *smiley face*. The other form of shopping would be through Joan. Yes, my Trailer Park BFF. She introduced me to PartyLite: The Art of Creating Ambiance. She’s a dealer ya know, a PartyLite dealer. And you know if you spend over $275 you get a free gift valued at $ 67.95...and like she said...$275 actually adds up really fast! Well golly, I'll really have to watch what I spend then.

Well, this is slowly coming to a close. I wouldn't want to tell all my experiences in one blog entry. So, Ciao for now. Until next time, signing off, Astroturfs a waitin!

Hermit Hannah