Along the Alaskan Highway gas stations are crucial stepping stones.  Travelers–especially RVers–who leap, then look, are apt to end up hitchhiking in hungry bear territory.  Steve did his homework and plotted every gas stop along our route before we left home.  Milepost, the guide to negotiating Alcan, kept us comfortably fueled until we’d almost reached Alaska’s southernmost highway stop, about 40 miles from our intended Hyder camp spot.  At Meziadin Junction we pulled into a lonely gas station and found it closed–as in vacant.  Our fuel-mileage-estimator showed no hope for making Hyder with our camper…but the pickup, unhitched, had a chance of getting close.

Leaving the trailer mid-nowhere was another risky proposition, so Steve set off while the dog and I stood guard and wondered how much heroism would be required.  I got edgier when I saw that Steve’s insurance against marauding bears, had worked its long barrel out of the closet as if the fates knew I’d have need of it.

Repositioning the rifle turned out to be the closest either of us came to a heroic act.