So many things to update you on! I’ve been busy this month, and when I wasn’t busy, I was moaning about how busy I just was, and then spent hours just vegging out watching TV.

I went to Whitehorse for a 15-minute appointment (annual mammogram – no concerns, just have to go when they call me for a yearly check or I get dumped from the list). That meant 2 nights in a hotel and hours and hours of driving. I probably should have flown, but that would take just as many days probably and then I couldn’t run errands while I was there.

I hesitate to share this next tale because Mom is going to freak out, but I had a close call on the way down. I’ve told you about how much I LOVE my truck. Its only flaw is the stiff rear end combined with the short wheel base. When I hit the side of a pothole or land in a stretch of washboard, it quickly kicks out the rear. Knowing this, I always drive slower than most people. But in a gravel section, I must have hit a hole wrong and it kicked my back end out so suddenly that I was on a 45-degree angle with my front tires in the right snow bank skidding along the road before I even knew what was happening. Knowing I was destined for the ditch (and hopefully not rolling) I was able to fight back with a NOOOOO!!!! and got my truck pointed towards the other ditch. I was out of control, and didn’t want to end up steering out of a left then right then left fishtail, I knew I was on a gravel stretch so I stomped the brake and was able to stop in the middle of the road (no one was around). It scared me bad. I wasn’t even going 80 km/hr (thank goodness). This time of the year the potholes are hidden by the snow, but it isn’t far enough into the winter for the holes to be packed full of snow. On the way back from the city, I drove so slowly, it took forever. Some day, I’m probably going to need to upgrade to a truck SUV with a longer wheelbase.

Also, just about everyone I’ve talked to about this who lives here has a tale of how they crashed, or rolled, or skidded on their side, or fell asleep on the road from here to Whitehorse and back. That will never be me. I refuse.

Otherwise, the drive was okay. I made friends at the Stewart Crossing gas stop both times. On the way down I was chatting with the fuel delivery truck guy when I stopped. He drives the highway almost every day and was sharing his experiences. (I think he was excited to have someone to talk to). And on the way back these ravens wanted to know if I had any snacks for them.

I saw a herd of elk on the way home. They were on the road. And there were foxes out everywhere, both ways. No moose spotted this time though. The gas man said he hasn’t seen any in a while either.

Dog walks

When I remember to do it, I take a picture while we’re out walking Hank after work. Here are some of those pictures:

I don’t know why, but Hank is shedding his winter coat. I think he did this last winter too. Maybe the winter didn’t come on strong enough. Maybe that was just his fall coat and now the real winter coat is growing. No idea.

Northern Lights

On November 11, a large portion of the continent saw the Northern Lights again. Only, are we sure they shouldn’t have a different name? They were quite different. Just a purple and red glow in our southern sky. Some pictures:

Normally northern lights start in the north and they wave and dance. Like the morning before:

Weather

It feels like it has been a mild November. The river stopped and everyone cheered that we’d have a normal freeze up of the river, and then it started moving again and opened up. Today it’s freezing up again so… we’ll see?

We do have snow. Not much, but it slowly keeps piling up. It hasn’t been terribly cold yet. Not much in the minus twenties yet. The sun doesn’t shine on our house now, and won’t again until late January I think? The days don’t seem that short yet though. Today’s sunrise was at 11:14am and the sunset was 4:54pm.