And the Adventure Continues

Ok well yesterday one of the most exciting and stressful things happened during my 5 month stay here in the North country. Let me start at the beginning...

So I didn't like doing highway but since it's the end of the season and a lot of the drivers are leaving, my manager Danny needed me to do a couple last runs. So I drove up to Dawson City to bring a group down. We were driving along the Klondike Highway, everything was fine, but it had been raining all day. I was paralleling with another driver and we came to this area where some cones were across the road. A road-worker guy comes up and tells me that there is a foot and a half of water across the road and that the road is officially closed but we can still attempt to cross the water if we wanted to. So we drive up about a mile and see that the water is indeed all the way across the road and rising. So we watch a few cars and trucks go across, seriously toying with the idea that we should go across ourselves. But after inspection of the road and being told that half the road has washed away, we decide not to attempt it since we both had a full coach-load of people. So since there is no place for a 45 foot motorcoach to turn around we had to back down the Klondike Highway until there was a pull out we turned in.

Next we back to Carmacks, a little town in the Yukon with a population of like 300 so we could call Danny and figure out what to do. We waited at a gas station for about 45 minutes until we got the call that after throwing around some options, corporate decided to charter some planes to come fly the passengers to Whitehorse (our destination that day) and that us drivers would of course have to stay in Carmacks overnight with the coaches. So they had two 40-seater planes come immediately as well as a 7-seater to the ghetto Carmacks airport. We then had to tell the guests that they had to go through their luggage and only take what was absolutely necessary since the plane may not be able to hold all their luggage. We set up a tent type thing so their bags wouldn't get wet and made them come out a few at a time to go through it. Then we loaded them up on the plane and off they went.

Now since Carmacks is a small town, you can imagine that the only hotel in town, is no Marriott Marquis. Let's just say that we were lucky to even get rooms because we weren't the only stranded motorists. And I definately fared better than DJ, the other driver, since we couldn't share a room (opposite sexes) he ended up in this creepy "cabin" behind the hotel while I got to stay in the main building. After seeing the "cabin" that doesn't have a proper locking door, rust stains in the sink, and carpet that doesn't lay quite flat on the floor (no padding either), you could probably say I got the Marriott suite. LOL. DJ was worried that since the door barely locks he was going to get raped by a trucker named Bubba. Shouldn't be funny, but it was still hilarious...hmmm maybe I should call him this morning and make sure he's still alive....

All in all though, it was kinda fun. Sure it was stressful and I almost seriously had a break down when I heard I had to stay in the Ghetto overnight. Plus I was really excited to get back to Skagway, which at this point who knows when I'll be able to get back. But it wasn't so bad. We'll probably be deadheading back to Dawson City and then I am going to try and schmooze Danny to fly me back to Skagway, because he even said himself that there will be too many drivers up in Dawson City (6 after we get there). So wish me luck! (although i'm pretty sure no one is reading this since i don't post that often)