I answer wearily and am probably not very alert to talk to the nurse to begin with. Diane tells me as dad's POA and also his Medical Power of Attorney she has to inform me that my dad had fallen earlier in the day. I had received this news from my brother via email earlier. She proceeds to tell me that dad's BP is now very low, along with his blood oxygen saturation is low. And, because he is not urinating they have catheterized him. At this time he seems to be resting comfortably though was somewhat incoherent when awake.
Diane says she has has called the ER at the Brookings, SD, hospital to see if he needs to go in. Their recommendation is that as long as his BP and oxygen levels don't drop further that he is OK resting. What would I like to have happen? I ask if she has talked to my sister who is a retired RN. She had called her but there is no answer. So, I decide that as long as dad is fairly stable to let him continue to rest in his own bed in his own room. But I beg her to get in touch with my sister. Diane says she will continue to try calling her.
Of course after getting this upsetting news neither Peggy nor I slept at all well during the night. We were up before our 6:00 a.m. alarm, packed up and on the road from our campground at 7:00. The Caribou Campground about 10 miles SE of Whitehorse got quite good reviews, but there wifi sucked! I was online for about 10 minutes, got kicked off, and never could login again!
As we drove Peggy and I discussed my dad's situation. Because his condition seemed quite grave, we decided to not take the Cassiar Highway south through British Columbia. That road is rough, narrow, and more off the beaten path, so to speak. We instead will stay on the Alaska Highway. It is relatively good, has a higher speed limit, and will allow us to get back home more quickly.
Peggy and I make good time going across the remaining stretch of the Yukon Territory. The scenery is nice with some mountains, lakes, and rivers. We did cross a bridge which is over the headwaters of the Yukon River! It was downstream from here that the Stampeders took a river flowing out of Lake LaBerge into the Yukon for an all water route to Dawson.
We were about 15 miles west of Teslin, YK, when all of a sudden a black shape darts out of the driver side ditch and runs directly in front of our pickup. It's a cub bear! I slam on the brakes and lay on the horn narrowly missing this cub by mere inches. Boy, that got my attention and heart rate going! Fortunately as I looked in the rear view mirror to my relief both the cub and its sow mother were walking across the road to the opposite ditch. Hope that little cub now knows the meaning of looking both ways before crossing!
Eventually we crossed back into British Columbia. My navigator/photographer took pictures along the way. There have been electric signs warning about Bison on the road near the Muncho Lake area. However as we approach we see another bear, a grizzly this time we think, but it disappears before pictures can be taken. Farther we see another black bear, but it ducks back into the woods before any shutters click.
But then we see another adult black bear in the ditch on Peggy's side of the pickup. I break and am able to come to a stop in time for her to get several pictures taken. We're anxious to see how they come out.
We do see large numbers of bison along and on the road. Good thing we had been forwarned about their presence as it would hurt to run into them even in a pickup. Of course they are good at posing for pictures!
The water of Muncho Lake is an aquamarine blue due to its mineral content. When the sun shines on it, it has an attractive coloration. We are now in the midst of the Canadian Rockies, and Peggy does her best to get some "on the move shots" through our bug gut splattered windshield.
We have now been on the road for 9 hours, and we are beat. We came to the Toad River Lodge and RV Park. You might remember the Lodge with hundreds of baseball caps hung from the ceiling. We got the second to last RV site available. Oh, yeah, Canada also celebrates Labor Day so many campers are out!
We do have wifi, though it is slow. On the flip side we have cable TV so there is some entertainment! I'll have to see if I can get any photos uploaded. Ahhh...TR6Rt does not protect his/her wifi and I'm in!!! :o)
No comments:
Post a Comment