Mile 416/ Km 669 (Alaska)

First day of driving, first night of camping. The Disreputable Dog and I are cozily ensconced in my tent and I can hear the water of a nearby stream rushing by and the warble of the varied thrush. The Disreputable Dog is already down for the count. I have been socializing my way out of the state. I started out at mile zero in Farthest North Ice Free Harbor Town with breakfast with friends, drove to Largest Alaskan City where I met friends for coffee, drove to Town Known For Its Particularly Large Cabbages where I met friends driving south from City of Largest Temperature Range in North America for lunch, then drove on to Town That Exists Solely Because Two Highways Meet, where the Disreputable Dog & have lived on and off, and dropped in on yet more friends having dinner. Of course, along the route we stopped for the Disreputable Dog to take a long swim, stopped for the lone caribou bull with his shiny new coat and velvety antlers who stood in the middle of my lane of the highway while the traffic going the other way roared by, stopped to fill my cooler with goodies, and stopped to sample some old favorite walks and haunts. It was a regular excursion down memory lane and seeing all of these wonderful people who turned out to see me made me feel very lucky. The drive was uneventful and scenic and familiar. We're about 40 miles (64 km) from the Canadian border now and I thought about pushing to get over it but decided instead to try and aim for a decent bed time because I am tired from all my packing and socializing. Clearly the Disreputable Dog is too although I'm sure he slept most of the drive.