September 18, Rancheria, Yukon Territory

Here we are, sitting out the snow storm.  It snowed a little more last night.  Today is not the day to ride motorcycles, even though the snow is not very thick.  So the motorcycles will stay covered today.

We checked with people coming along the route we want to take, and they told of snow, slush, and ice on the roadbed ahead, with two pickups they saw off the road in the bar pit.  

While sanding trucks are now out, apparently they are putting down some rock, maybe gravel, with the sand.  One couple received a broken windshield in the section we want to travel.

We've been told that this storm is about a month earlier than usual, so the trucks that are used for snow plowing and sanding had not yet been changed from gravel dump trucks used in the summer as road repair trucks, to have the snow plow and sand equipment put on.  So it is taking some reaction time to get the roadway clear.

And, this is THE Alaska Highway - there are no other roads to travel in this area of Canada!

You may wonder, as I did, why this little settlement in the Yukon is called "Rancheria".  Apparently around 1900, there were Spanish  prospectors and miners searching for and mining Silver in this area - and the name they gave this place, "Rancheria", stuck.  Its also interesting that what is now the restaurant and lounge was originally built as "surveyor's quarters" for the building of the Alaska Highway in 1942 and 1943 (of course updated since then).

We've settled in to read books and take it easy, and we'll see what tomorrow brings.

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