Southbounders

A week ago, when Nick and I were returning to Fairbanks from Prudhoe Bay in the rented Adventure Car (thus I have named it) from Arctic Outfitters due to mechanical issues (Hostel of Shame, Delayed!), we came upon some construction just as we were coming down from the Atigun Pass.

The Ford Escape made a fine Adventure Car, equipped with studded tires, spares, CB radio and sat phone, and an already-cracked windshield!

Adventure Car doesn't leave tire tracks. It leaves moose tracks!

Being an Adventure Car, the Ford Escape was outfitted with a CB tuned to channel 19, as that channel is monitored by the truckers and construction workers. There was a flag person stopping cars to await a pilot car at each end of the construction zone. As we came out of the mountains (and were still a ways off), we heard someone call to the flag person that there was another car -- southbounders -- coming out of the mountains. We chimed in that we were hurrying along to catch the end of the caravan. As we passed, we gave a friendly greeting and got one in return.

Atigun Pass was snowy and had lots of "avalanche warning" signs.

But it was the word "Southbounders" that made us grin at each other. That's us, we mused, for the next three months. Of course, it wasn't until later that we discovered that the Little Gold border crossing was closed, so had to backtrack to the north. That done, though, we're totally Southbounders...all the way to Tierra del Fuego!