Latest Update: August 9, 2001 by Ben Marcus

10:33 ALASKA TIME THURSDAY AUGUST 9, 2001 KINKOS IN FAIRBANKS

ODOMETER
TRIP METER

MONEY
Fresh peas in Dawson CAN$ 7.50
Internet time at Grubstake CAN$ 10.00
Laundry in Dawson CAN$ 12.00
Canadian NATO-forces "Extreme Weather Parka) CAN$100
Wool socks at Dawson Trading Post CAN$ 9.10
Gas at Shell Station in Dawson CAN$111.79
Dinner at Fast Eddy's in Tok US$18.00

Where am I? Who am I? Back in civilization, with all the comforts of Kinkos and their free laptop stations. I spent the morning firing e-mails all over the world about this Russia trip.

It is August 9 and everyone is waffling. It's a mess, but it may come together. I don't know. Shit.

Yesterday I bought a Canadian NATO "Extreme Weather Parka" in Dawson City for $100 Canadian. It's the exact jacket I want. Big and warm with lots of pockets and I can disappear inside of it. Perfect.

Yesterday I drove from Dawson City to Fairbanks, picking up a hitcher along the way, who is going to go all the way to ANWR with me. He's a pilot looking for work. He's also wearing an LA Dodgers hat, but I picked him up anyway.

Got out of Dawson after driving all the way back to that pea place at Henderson's Crossing and buying a couple of pounds. They're that good I'd like to see what my mom could do with the long summer growing season up here.

Back in Dawson I stopped at the Dawson Trading Post because I remembered they had lots of Army Surplus and camping gear. As I was poking around I fell in love with a green, Canadian NATO Üforces "Extreme Cold Weather Parka." It was perfect for Russia so I bought it. I spend way too much money. One of these days I hope to have some money. But it's the perfect jacket and maybe I can trade it for that sniper rifle.

Crossed the ferry to the other side of the Mighty Yukon and saw a guy in a blue LA Dodgers hat holding a sign that said "Fairbanks." In the spirit of the frontier, I gave The Bum a ride anyway. He's 57, name is Gus, had all kinds of adventures and is, in a way, a model for the Butch character in Fin. He's a pilot who hasn't flown for many decades and is looking for a flying job in Alaska. He jumped in, met Ike and we pushed on.

We took the Top of the World Highway which runs from Dawson City through the mountains and down to Tok. Scenic up there. Extremely scenic. Gravel roads. Not too much traffic. There is a border crossing at Eagle in the middle of nowhere. We got the once over and he let us push on. No big deal.

The Top of the World Highway feels like the Top of the World. You're way up high overlooking lots of Alaska and Canada, most of which is way down below, isolated and empty.

Heading down into Alaska we passed some deserted gold-dredging equipment, then saw two people with a small dredge. I had also bought a gold pan/supper dish for Ike in Dawson City, and Gus got gold fever. We stopped next to another of those outlandish huge gold dredges like I had seen last year on Bonanza Creek. No idea how they got the things up there, but if they saw fit to park it where they parked it, then we thought it might be okay to do a little panning.

I was going to bathe but the water had that copper color like in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Not good for bathing.

Ike jumped out and poked around inside the skeleton of this huge gold dredge, while Gus looked for "color." I tried it too and found lots of color, some of it gold. No nuggets, but a few flakes might have been the real thing.

It was getting time to go but Ike had run back into the fenced-off gold dredge to take a nap. He refused to come out and I was about to throw some firecrackers at him when Gus slipped under the fence and grabbed Ike.

Stupid cat.

We drove on through the dust and passed through Chicken, another old gold town down in the flats.

And then we just drove on and on, eventually hooking up with the paved Alaskan Highway, and then turning right toward Tok.

I had passed through Tok last fall and it was winter-wonderland. Already three feet of snow in September. Now it was summer-time and very green and nice and not slidey. I ate at Fast Eddy's where I had over-eaten last winter when I got snowed in.

Tried to find an Internet connection but there wasn't one. It was around 9:00 but still full daylight so we drove on to Fairbanks.

Told Gus everything I was up to and all my movie and book ideas and had to stop at a hospital to resuscitate him from an overdose of boredom. No, he's one of the better hitchers I've picked up. Not French-speaking or unintelligible or mentally ill. Just a Dodger fan. He had quite a few stories about Vietnam and New Orleans and Lee Harvey Oswald and the Night Stalker and it was good conversation.

He likes, Ike, too.

Eventually made it into Fairbanks around midnight, and the sun was still up. Drove around and around hoping to bump into a Kinkos, and only after getting directions did I find it. It was closed at midnight and we got there at 12:15.

Oh well.

Slept in a church parking lot up on a hill last night and slept okay. Gus slept in the front seat. Ike ran around.

Now I'm in Kinkos putting out fires and trying to start other fires. It's all up in the air and it's August 9 and what a fricking mess but I hope we still go.

Rusty wants more guys on the trip, and so do I.

Ken Achenbach is keen and wondered if he should drive form Whistler to Alaska. I gave him my route and told him there are worse ways to spend your time.

We'll see if it all happens. Need money. Need time. Need everything. I least I have a good cat and some company for the trip up to ANWR. Leaving now, I guess, although I should stop and do a cleaning on the van. Lots and lots of dust.

That's it for now. Fricking surfers. Hope this all works.