I woke up this a.m. and looked out my tent door. A low cloud cover obscured the distant mountains. We ate in the truck bed, packed up our gear, and then went back to the Tombstone Interpretive Center, then headed to Dawson where I picked up a souvenir of my trip, a Dempster Highway Interpretive guide.

We drove into a storm. I don’t care. I’m homeward bound—no more hiking or road based bike rides. It was verified this trip that I most enjoy getting around by horseback

Becky with the man truck

It would take several days for me to walk from this campsite, home. In the meantime, it will take eight hours or thereabouts in the man truck. I hope that I can sleep tonight, as in click your heels and you’ll instantly be home.

Becky has been diving into her tent each night we’ve been on the road at 8:30 P.M. To me, a bona fide night owl, this seems unfathomable. She says she likes hanging out in her tent; it’s like a second home. I’ve been spending my night hours hanging out in the man truck, as has now become habit. I write dispatches and read.

Last night I made a list of things that need to be done before we have our Bright Lights Book Project Open House. I’ve been on vacation; however, the book project has not been far from my thoughts. It’s like a rabbit that continues to chew on power cords. I can’t ignore it – if I do, the lights will go out.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about home. Tonight we attempted via Becky’s Inreach and cell phone to get a hold of Pete but had no luck. I’m hoping that he’s at the Alaska State Fair, picking up recyclables and listening to good music.

I don’t recall ever being this homesick, not even during my first few weeks at college. I was somewhat homesick then because family members and friends were doing things that I’d have been doing if I was there; this included going to a library book sale.

We were at the Walker Fork Campground and there Becky came to an impasse. She liked the campground but knew if we stayed there that we’d have a very, very long drive home. She also knew that if we continued on that we’d have a very long drive home. She finally decided to continue on. Now if she’d had the foresight, we would have started in the homeward direction yesterday, instead of opting to camp early.

Becky has a complicated itinerary. She must first stop in Sutton and drop her gear off at a friend’s house. Then we have to drop off the truck, either at my place or in town. If my car is at home, I can give her a lift back to her friend Sharon’s place. If the car is in town, Pete will give her a ride back to her friend’s place. I have been wondering – why did we wait until now to figure this out? Delaying the inevitable has caused consternation on both our parts.

Next: 234. 8/26/23: Home again, Home again, joggity jig