Almost to the Border

On our last day in Florida we decided we did NOT want to be caught in a freak storm again and so spent the day in the biggest mall in Florida (the rain held off until we got back of course). Sawgrass mall is a must for anybody in the area who likes a bargin - I got a pair of jeans that should have been $17:99 for $5, and Liz managed to get 3 pairs of shoes for less than $70. Our only issue was baggage allowance on the plane, but with some rearranging of items (from the suitcase to the bin) we fit everything in =D 

Yesterday we came to Washington DC, it's amazing! It's hot in the sun but nice and cool in the shade which makes a lovely change from the humid places we've been recently. And our hostel is only a few blocks from the White House!! When we got here we had a few hours to sightsee before we were going out so we walked to the Washington Monument - which is even bigger in real life and just reminds me of Forest Gump, except the water feature is unfortunately being dug up at the moment which was a shame. From the monument you can see the Lincon Memorial on 1 side, and the famous Capitol building on the other. At this point we had some serious confusion as we were convinced that the capitol was the white house and that google maps was just wrong!! Idiots!! So we went to see the big statue of Lincon and read his famous ''Four score Seven ...'' speech. In the evening the hostel had a free walking tour of Georgetown which is an area where a lot of politicians and other rich people live (I want to live there!) and we saw JFK's old house and some other multi-million $ houses. In this area are also the ''Exorcist Stairs'' (where the exorcist was filmed!) which are not as creepy as I'd hoped and is actually now commonly used by joggers and other healthy / crazy people. After the tour the whole group went to a bar and got quite drunk, made some friends and generally had loads of fun! 

Today, having figured out that the White House is not what we thought it was, we went to see that and also see the Capitol upclose and personal. We both were much more impressed by the Capitol which is absolutely huge and blindingly white in the sun. The rest of the day we spent in museums - the National History museum and the Natural History museum. Both very impressive! We've seen a lot of sites on our trip but mostly didn't really understnad the significance of them but having seen the museum I feel as if I've learnt a bit about American history. It even has a room where all of the first ladies have donated a famous dress, and a room about hollywood with the ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz! So I might not be that enlightened but it was very cool =) Liz loved the Natural history museum, especially as it had an IMAX showing a film about getting into the middle of a tornado which was very impressive to watch - she's a storm chaser in the making! 

This evening we are just relaxing as we're exhausted from our night out yesterday! Off to New York tomorrow, the last leg of our journey before we go home on Wednesday.

Nosheen & Liz


The Start Of The Liard TrailSaturday August 6, 2011 
Checkpoint to Blackstone Territorial Park 

I made good time today; the road was in good condition even with gravel. I rode 105 km’s today with no wind to fight and also no wildlife. I rode from Checkpoint to Blackstone Territorial Campground. I even got stuck in a murderous thunder storm. I think “my” rain cloud caught up with me. I don’t think it was expecting me to take that shuttle van from Yellowknife and was it pissed at me. 

I ended up paying full price for my campground only to find out the showers were not working. I was not over pleased. But then I ended up getting my camp site for half price because I ended up sharing the site with a biker from Illinois named Bill. So I guess it all worked out in the end. The mosquitos were horrendous that evening. 
I saw only glimpses of the Liard Mountain Range until I got to the campground. At the campground there is a real nice view. 



Sunday August 7, 2011 
Blackstone Territorial Park to Ft. Liard 

Leaving the park I was right in the middle of a “no dust 
Getting Closer To The Borderzone” which means a water truck had just finished soaking the road with water. What a miserable way to start the day. And then the gravel went all soft. It took me 12 hours to ride 115 km’s; from 10:30 am to 10:30 pm. What a long hard day. I fought a bit of wind today but the worst of it is how covered my bike and bags are in mud. What a mess; it took over an hour at the end of a very long day to clean my bags. My gears are not shifting properly and this mud is making things worse. 

Most vehicles are slowing down for me as they pass to keep the dust down around me. This is a very different experience then I am use to when I rode the gravel roads in Alberta. Also, the amount of people (natives) that are stopping to talk to me? One guy gave me a cold pop, 2 cold water, 2 bags of chips and a chocolate bar. Another guy gave me a coke. 

I ended up “chasing” a bison for almost 5 km’s today. The beast was on the road and I was not 
Blackstone Territorial Parkfeeling as brave as I was the other day. I hollered and clapped my hands to get it to move off the road. After some time it moved and then I started to roll forward and then it “ran” back on to the road. Great now what do I do? Then the beast started running down the road (away from me) so I followed. Every 400-500 ft. it would stop to look at me and then keep running because I was still following him. At almost 4 km’s I started to wonder how long an animal of this size would keep running in the heat of the day. Sure enough it got tired; so I zig zagged my bike across the road so he could see how “big” I was with my trailer. Well he ran like a bat out of hell. He ran past a bend and by the time I got around the bend his tracks finally went into the trees. I guess that is Arie 2 Bison 0. 

Later in the evening I came across a herd of about 60 bison. Now what do I do? I slowly moved forward and they slowly started to move 
Liard Mountain Range from Blackstonefurther down the road. But how long was I going to be able to herd 60 bison? An old lady in a car came by and we came up with a plan to help get me past the bison. I would ride along side or behind her as we tried to get past them. I would have preferred the protection of a truck but you work with what you have. I have to say chasing bison in such close proximity is a bit of a rush. First they are 30 ft. ahead of you, then 20 ft. and then 10 ft. Then the heard started to break up and were running along the highway on either side of me (about 15 ft. on either side of me). I thought I am dead and this poor lady is going to feel so guilty because I died while she was trying to help me. Luckily the lady had the sense to slow down and let the smaller herd to the left of us catch up with the rest of the herd and then the mysteriously connected to the rest of the herd to the right and then we veered left and around 
The Bison I Chased For Near 5 Km's I was alive. I wish I had a head cam to catch it all. It was a bit of a rush. 

I finally arrived in Ft. Liard at dusk. There were no showers but the camping was free. I had just enough food for super but have nothing for breakfast; good thing I am in Ft. Liard. I only have 40 more kilometers of gravel roads. Oh baby! 
 
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