Getting my mojo back

Two days ago we embarked on our trip along the Dempster Highway (nothing put gravel, really) to the Arctic Circle. I have to admit that I wasn't really looking forward to this "adventure" as I had had more than enough of the bumpy, bone rattling ride from Chicken, Alaska to Dawson City, Yukon. Well little did I know that the mishaps which were to occur would provide me with enough material for a book. After getting a flat tire and sliding off the road requiring a tow (long story) we ended up in Eagle Plains which is at the midway point of the Dempster. The cast of characters there were straight out of a sitcom. As I entered the bar to reserve an RV spot I ran into the owner. We had actually met him on the road and he had taken our damaged tire to the garage at Eagle Plains. However, that had happened hours earlier and he was now firmly into his Happy Hour. He asked how I was and I said I just needed a break and to calm down. Well this caused him to say at least a million times "What, why, you're not dead! It's all good". Then, after getting parked and settled, we went back into the bar. My "friend" was now even further along in his good time. Out of nowhere he asked if I like Fox News. I said that I would watch anything. So then he became agitated and accused me of being a Fox News Republican. I'm not but wouldn't have admitted it if I was - I didn't need Raymond Burr trying me for my alleged crime as I was really exhausted. Them out of the blue he starts praising the Canadian Prime Minister and President Obama. I couldn't keep mental track of this guy.

My favorite character, however, was the barmaid. Oh boy, where to start. Like myself she was in her early 50's. She spoke with an accent I really couldn't place so I asked where she was from. Answer: Bavaria! What?! I have lived in Switzerland long enough to recognize a German accent but she didn't have one. At any rate she said she'd been driving her pick-up through Canada about 4 years ago and broke down in front of the Eagle Plains complex. One thing led to another and she decided to stay - now working her way toward permanent residency and lovin' it. I told Joe it was like the German movie "Out of Rosenheim" come to life. For those of you unfamiliar with the film, it is a story about a German married couple driving through the US on vacation. After an argument the husband leaves the wife on the side of the road in a small desert town. The wife ends up staying and opens up a restaurant. So here on the Dempster we have life imitating art.