there and back in our rollee home.
*****
Dare I say - you ain't a real Alaskan unless you've driven to Eagle Village and back - ??
Seems we are getting good at road trips around Alaska.
"Rollee" told me on this trip she didn't have much of a life before we purchased her
and brought her home
and
took her on many'a'roadtrips since.
(Counting the "there-and-back" journey to Yellowstone in 2019.)
*
This adventure took us on
The Top of the World Highway
past Tok
to Chicken
and
onward to Eagle Village.
The loosely-termed highway was mostly gravel
and paved two-lanes in much need of repair.
Top speed most of the way was 30 MPH.
The most beneficial speed most of the way was snail-pace.
Even then, Rollee sustained one flat tire a'top the summit, 20 miles before
dropping down into Eagle and the Yukon River.
who unlocked each and every building, allowing us to view all exhibits
and read each placard.
(Josh is an Eagle Village original himself, with a mind full of knowledge
and a heart full of loyalty for his community.)
We toured Officers' Quarters, Horse Barn, Dog Kennels,
and a couple other structures.
Much of the original equipment used in those olden times was housed in the buildings.
And, just because I was raised-up in cemeteries,
time was spent walking the tiny graveyard,
reading each gravemarker.
*
During the return trip towards Tok, we noticed Rollee was sitting funny
on her axles.
Closer investigation revealed a broken leaf spring,
and by the time we arrived in Tok,
Rollee had two broken leaf springs.
We camped and regrouped overnight,
having stopped at Willard's beforehand to see if and when Rollee could be repaired.
Early the next morning, Rollee was in the shop.
A few hours later, we were on the road toward home.
We didn't realize it was the actual shop owner we had spoken to the night before.
Mister Pencilfox had repair work done in this very shop a few years ago
when the owner was a seasoned old-timer.
Turns out, the new owner is grandson and current shop owner,
his grandfather having passed on quite recently.
Just a reminder, to myself but also to anyone listening,
it pays to be kind to all with whom we come in contact.
You just never know who and when and how our interactions impact this very present moment
in time.
*
This was another grand adventure, not just physically, within Alaska,
but mentally and emotionally for me.
It was at the Little Tok River that Mister Pencilfox pulled into the rest area,
and we walked hand-in-hand to the banks of the pristine waterway.
He said "I just want you to enjoy this....."
You see, just that very morning, as we were packing up to leave our camp area,
I burst into tears, saying,
"everything feels so rushed..."
To which Mister Pencilfox replied,
"I am not rushing you, I am not expecting you to do anything,
I want you to just take it easy on this trip.
You are rushing yourself."
I am learning to seek my Truths
and I am learning to speak my Truths.
But, all in the same vein, I am learning the value of not speaking out loud.
*****
It's a good life.
*****
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