The Expedition continued toward me & the Yukon River until the circle drive rounded it away from the water's edge to grant easier access to Carmacks' public boat launch. Backing up, Jake plunged the trailer into the water and then turned the Expedition to point back up the road for our impending departure from the mighty Yukon River. Driving forward, Jake perched the trailer to wait on the edge of the bank while we would load the truck & plan how to combat the swift & powerful current in order to get the Sundowner onto the trailer.
Jake's exhaustion advertised itself on his face, showing me fatigue had claimed him as well. After our reunion kiss & hug, Jake credited his delay to the bossy Germans that shared the shuttle with him & a friendly Swiss couple. The Germans evidently mistook the canoe shuttle service for a chauffeur service when they so rudely commanded the shuttle driver to "Halt," making the other shuttle passengers & driver wait while they dropped in on & visited with a friend. A second unscheduled stop at the Braeburn Lodge had also prolonged Jake's return from Whitehorse while the Swiss & German couples savored the famous, oversized cinnamon buns that nicknamed the Braeburn Airport as the Cinnamon Bun Airstrip.
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| Braeburn Lodge, photo by James Brooks |
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| Braeburn Airstrip, photo by Luigi Zanasi, Wikimedia Commons Contributer |
Before loading up, I started to share my vexing encounter of the ill-intentioned, pushy girl & her two creepy accomplices. Because I was pleased with my performance, I presumed Jake would be also. I expected showers of praise on how I handled this or that but was instead rebuked: "I knew it! I told you! ...That is exactly what I feared by letting you stay here alone.... Do you know how bad this could've been?!..."
"But Jake, nothing happened!" I would counter again & again after each chiding interruption. The fact that nothing happened didn't seem to make a difference to him. It was the could-haves that stoked Jake's temper (and still does years later).
We will never see eye-to-eye on the decision made to our dilemma in Carmacks. Jake will always regret letting me stay behind alone with the Sundowner because of the--in his mind--almost atrocious ending to our Yukon River Trip, and I will forever rejoice not fetching the Expedition & trailer all alone from Whitehorse, which excused me from facing the concocted possibilities of Worst-Case Scenario Girl.
Click here to continue by reading "Departing from Carmacks & the Yukon River: Day 18 of the Yukon River Trip."
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