Uraling Coast to Coast Challenge 2013: DAY Nineteen- R&M&L: Rest, Maintenance and Laundry Haines Junction

Have been riding for six days straight, time to take a break, do minor maintenance on Da'mit, a little laundry and read a book of poems by Robert Service.... one must recharge the human battery too.

Often called the bard of the Yukon, Robert Service wrote poems of his love for the Yukon, the far north and the goldminers of the 1890's. Sample from The Spell of the Yukon:

"There's a land where the mountains are nameless,

And the rivers all run God knows where;

There are lives that are erring and aimless,

And deaths that just hang by a hair;

There are hardships that nobody reckons;

There are valleys unpeopled and still;

There's a land - oh, it beckons and beckons,

And I want to go back - and I will"

Da'mit's engine oil looks good, of course I just changed it yesterday. Topped off the tranny oil, Final drive oil was good. Noticed a lot of red brake dust around the front disk and wheel. Checked the pads and decided to install new ones.

Is a warm sunny day in Haines Junction. Sitting outside eating peanuts while the clothes dried, the sun actually got hot. Is 1:30 pm now here, I can see the rain clouds gathering on the ridges and mountain tops, the temperature dropping. The only snow is at the highest elevations.

Forgot to mention the other day that I stopped in Coal River Crossing to take a photo. I have told this story many times of when I stayed here in September, 2010. The room was cold, down right freezing in fact. Could not find the thermostat or any thing to turn up the heat. Finally I dug out my down sleeping bag. Slept warm and comfy that night. The next morning, I spot in the hallway the thermostat with this sign next to it.