Karin had the day off. She had to do laundry, go to the grocery and hardware stores, make a new curtain for one of the windows (and all she had was this cute puffin material) and make spagetti for all of us. This, after she had fallen off of her bike the day before in a place where people might have seen her. Imagine the embarassment! But she is a trooper and she put up a good front.
Don's driving staff is now complete, so his duties should have gotten easier. You know, just management, repairing vehicles, paperwork, and stuff. But yesterday they had too many Canadians in the group. Canadian law forbids them from driving rental cars across the border. So poor Don had to go along to drive a jeep (he hates that) across the border, then ride as passenger (he really hates that) while the Canadians drove, once across. His group only saw two bears and some mountain goats that were far away across a lake. By the time he got home, we were halfway through dinner and he had to catch up. There was just enough salad (from Peggie's lettuce patch) and fresh bread left for him. (Salad, only because we all shared from our plates.) During the day he and Karin found time to go out to Liarsville to see the show and eat at the Salmon Bake. It is a grueling trip of over a mile, across the river and into the woods, so they had to drive! Luckily, they got to do this for free because it is run by the same company Don works for. So the day wasn't all bad.
Peggie's day started with the threat of rain (well, that was the same for all of us) so she had to ride to work in my bus, which I have to bring home everyday. That meant she did not have her bike at work and would have to either walk home on her aching feet or wait for me to pick her up. The real hardship for her was that Janie was off, so she had to work without her and there is less laughter when that happens. Also, Friday is a slow day with fewer ships, so she had to do more stocking and carrying and climbing and straightening and cleaning but had lots of interacting with customers and helping them make decisions. But, she didn't get off on time, so she had to work at 1.5 times the usual rate for the last hour. All the time she must have been fretting about my comfort knowing that I was waiting outside, possibly suffering (more about that) with nothing to do but watch people. And, it is true, she went all day without someone she knew from the outside world stopping by to say hello. Then she had to whip up a salad to accompany the spagetti the neighbors fixed, change clothes in preparation for card playing at Janie's after dinner, and walk all the way around to the other side of Don and Karin's for a dinner she didn't get to fix herself. Oh, the work of it all. After dinner, we went three trailers down to Janie's. When you play cards with Janie, or do anything else with Janie, you have to laugh a lot. She has a way of telling stories that makes everything hilarious. So we laughed for three hours, which put us walking home in the twilight at 11 o'clock, way past our bedtime. Janie and Roger had forced wine and bourbon on us, I think to facilitate the laughter, and then we had to eat cake that Robert and Lynn brought to celebrate their anniversery. Thank goodness we don't play cards for money! We didn't win. (But Peggie did better than ANY OTHER NIGHT OF CARD PLAYING.
Dave and Barry (not the columnist) both had to go to Whitehorse Thursday night, so I had to man the office alone. In the two and a half hours I had to work without getting to wander around town for coffee and pastry, I had to answer the phone four times and complete paperwork with one of the horseback riders I would be taking to Carcross. Can't you hear Peggie playing the violin blues? Because we had such a small group, (5) I asked Joni, the wrangler, if I could ride, also.
On the long drive through this God-forsaken northern wasteland we only saw two bears. And they were eating dandelions way over by the edge of the road at least 10 feet away! We could barely count their teeth as they ate. We only saw two others on the way back under the same awful conditions, so, yes, Margie, I have to be creative in making it sound exciting.\
While horsebacking, I had to ride way at the back where the dust was. My horse thought she should go when and where she wanted. Luckily, she wanted to follow the horse in front of her. As we were approaching the stable, she thought it would be fun to go really fast. So she did. My foot came out of the stirrup, so when she decided to stop going really fast, I didn't stop at the same time. Fortunately, my head impacted the ground first! (And Peggie thinks I'm a bit hardheaded so...)As it was only about 50 yards to the barn, I made the horse walk the rest of the way on the lead rope and refused to get back in the saddle. I am sure I suffered permanent damage from the fall on my noggin. These next two events are proof.We made the obligatory stop to photograph the Welcome to Yukon sign. Don was there with those numerous Canadians looking at the goats across the lake. When we reboarded to leave I told my group that the other guide was my brother. One of them asked, "Oh, did he come up here, too?" I completely missed the opportunity. I didn't even recognize it until later (when Peggie said it). Honest!
Then, at dinner, I mentioned my 8 a.m. haircut appointment on my day off. Somebody thought that sounded early and I said, "I don't want it hanging over my head all day." If Karin hadn't laughed, I would have missed that one, too.
So, Margie, you are correct. Things are bad here. I hope my brain damage doesn't interfere with my creative writing. I want to continue the charade for the whole summer if we can all just bear up (intentional) under the climate here.
It's Saturday and Bill and I have the day off. My co-worker Janie and her husband Roger are going to join us as we take the fast ferry to Haines. Let's go to the Skagway Harbor and find the fast ferry.
