Part 5 of 10
Mothers with
Cubs
Jade City
Big Mama
Bisons
Mothers with
Cubs
HWY 37N was the
long stretch that would eventually terminate at “The Junction”
the point where it meets the infamous Alaska Hwy just inside the
Yukon Territory. We had almost two long days of heavy riding before
we would get to that point. Shortly after heading north we were in
for a rather nice treat at a place called Bell II. It had gas . It
served hot coffee. There were fresh pastries if you were in the mood
and the Lodge was charming. I gathered from the posters on the wall
that visitors could go on scenic helicopter rides and scissoring was
a real favourite during the winter time. We covered a lot of distance
that day and the thing that I noticed most were the high number of
black bears with cubs eating and playing in the long grass that lined
the edges of the highway. I saw more black bears than any other
species of animal in the area. I counted about twenty black bears
throughout the entire trip. Each bear had two, three or more cubs
but seldom just one. I assumed that the ones without cubs were males.
They were a good distance away and they showed no interest in us at
all.
Jade City
After riding
for most of the morning through hills and valleys and sections of
heavy road construction we came across a settlement right out of the
nineteenth century. Big iron signs were posted all over the place
saying “Jade City”. It was a popular place with tourists and of
course we stopped to explore Jade City and to buy various souvenirs
and things. Coffee was available. It certainly gave you a flavour of
how things were during the old days and I couldn't help but
appreciate the comforts and conveniences we enjoy now in the 21st
Century. We were not alone. The main street, if you can call it a
street, was lined with countless motorcycles that were parked all
along each side of it. Frankly, I had never in my life seen anything
quite like it. We knew that we would be seeing a gas station about 35
Kms after leaving Jade City in a place called Good Hope. What we had
no way of knowing was the handwritten piece of paper that had been
taped to the face of the pumps saying “Out of Gas”.
Big Mama Bison
The number of
road constructions and crushed stone road surfaces were not helping
our gas situation but, nonetheless, we carried on for miles in the
direction of the Junction. It was not unusual after travelling rough
roads for our load to shift a bit causing our bikes to get a bit
off-balance now and then. This was one of those times. I pulled over
to the side of the road; shut my engine off; got off the bike and I
began to unload and re-secure the bags I was carrying. I was
concentrating on getting it right when I felt as if someone was
watching me close-by. My mental radar was working perfectly. Not
twenty feet away from me stood this huge 1200 lbs Bison watching me
intently. He had the ugliest face I'd ever seen in my life and I was
sure he hadn't used any deodorant that morning. He reeked. I've seen
too many bull-fight movies. I expected him to start scraping the
ground with his front foot ready to charge but he didn't move. He
just stood there. He looked far too old and ugly to charge me so I
figured I should make the first move to get out of there. My Harley
was between me and the Bison so I had to walk slowly towards him to
get to my bike. Our eyes never shifted from each other. I very slowly
mounted my Harley and started her up quietly. I let her idle so he
could get used to the noise. I whispered quietly to myself “Now is
not the time to run out of gas!” I slipped into first gear and very
rode very slowly to get around the beast. His head turned towards me
and he surprised me by walking besides me at my speed and in my
direction. That's when I took the photo. Sensing no danger I
quickened my pace and so did he. He broke out into a trot. I stayed
with him for a little while but he decided that this was no fun
anymore so he broke away from the road and went his own way.
Word Count 783
Wow
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