"Stupid is as stupid does..." F. Gump

Well there are days and there are days. Sometimes you should have stayed in bed.
Today was back to "normal" with chilly air and clouds threatening rain. My run today was to Emerald Lake and Carabou Crossing. For the first time this summer we were in rain every foot of the way. After about 20 miles the color of the air changed. It became obvious from the coloration, then the odor, that much of the grayness was due to smoke from wildfires, not just rain. There were no photo ops for my passengers except the "Welcome to Yukon" sign due to the poor visibility, about half a mile. No photo ops means poor tips. Horseback riding in pouring rain also did not bode well. When some people stayed on the bus rather than photograph rain on the Carcross Desert, I really got worried if they were enjoying themselves at all.
But I couldn't leave it there. No, I had to RUN OUT OF GAS!!
Now, understand, today was what we call an early ship day. All the ships leave at 4:30 or 5:00. The cardinal rule of tour running is to get people back to the ships on time. We ran out of gas an hour out of Skagway, two hours before final boarding. The first few people who stopped had no room for more people. But in about 15 minutes that seemed longer, we got everyone back on their way to Skagway with messages to call Dave with my location and problem. And not one of them gave me a tip. They have the best story of the entire cruise, and you know they will tell it forever, but did they thank me? Nooooo.
However, after the first group left and only one couple remained, a bear crossed the road about 50 yards away. We wouldn't have seen it if we hadn't stopped. Still no tip!
After just two and a half hours of waiting(and that bus is now cleaner inside than it has been all summer), I was gassed up and on my way back. I saw another bear and a coyote I would otherwise have missed.
Besides cleaning the bus, I had time to figure out how a bus could use a whole tank of gas on a trip that usually consumes just 16-18 gallons. Leak? No smell of gas. Running too rich? Nope, running just fine. Some punk siphoned it while I was parked at Carcross? Maybe.
Then it hit me. Our usual (always) procedure is to gas up after a run, so the bus is ready in the morning. I had done that on Friday, as usual. But this was not that bus. This was the bus I brought back from Whitehorse at 11:00 at night. No fill up.
So, stupid, here's your tip----always, always, always actually read the gas gauge along with the rest of the pre-trip inspection.
Karma got me. I was wearing my secret "tourists are stupid" shirt. tsk, tsk, tsk.