Lost time (6/28/23 Wed)

To Fort Saint James I went, in time to eat in town before the museum opened. When I got to the location I didn't see the cafe, so I continued into town.

Leaving the museum parking lot I was greated by a Saint Bernard who clearly wanted to race for pink slips. Each of us positioned ourselfs for lane advantage. Having the home track advantage, he spotted me some road, but that was just being a bit to cocky. I rollled towards him, he inched onto the pavement and crouched for the best launch. Towards him I started, then swerved hard left and made him try to cut me off on the far side of the road. It was too much distance for the big guy to cover before I squeezed by. He conceeded the loss a few meters down road and headed back into the yard.

A block and a half away I stopped breifly at the stop sign and made my way towads town and hopefully breakfast. The only thing open at 0830 was a Subway. I had no idea they served breakfast, but apparently they do. It was fine and I met the ocals who ebb and flow from a cluster of tables to have their morning coffee. Two woman showing up late checked out my bike and then came in and realized I was sitting watch over it. They wondered why I came here from NH. When I said the museum they wondered why I didn't go to the cafe there. Now I did too.

I made the town loop when I left for the museum, and noted there was another approach that would allow me to avoid the yard with the big dog. On my loop I found a nice beach view with a cool plane sculpture. Photo op and then the back road to the musuem. About 3 blocks from the museum I see another dog heading into his yard, and keep my eye on him. This one was law abiding and no threat. I reach the museum parking lot, take a loop to select a spot and park. Getting off my bike I see another faster dog at the exit ready to redeem local dog pride. He wasn't happy that I parked and left him in the parking lot stairing me down.

The museum was extremely good. This location was a Hudson Bay Company hub. They had a musuem with variious artifacts and interactive displays. I was facinated by the modular building structure they used for post and beam log buildings. They had nearly full sized example inside so you could construct your own building. Outside many examples of the real thing. Effectivly their vertical beams had a center groove cut lengthise. They could then cut log sections all one size like 4 feet long with a matching tongue on each end. These horizontal sections just slide into the slots and dropped in place. A door or window was just another module that dropped in with a slot where a few shorter horizontals filled the gap. Replacement or reconfiguration was possible by reassembling the structure as needed. Changing out doors, windows, or bad wall sections as needed.

The fort was setup with a half dozen buildings, each with a primary funtion and subject matter expert. The first building was fur storage and the girl went through a dozen or more fur pelts and uses for them. Covering the collection, hide prep, packaging and transport back to europe.

A food storage cache was built to store the staple of dried salmon. Very funny to see a local cat enter the building when I exited.

The mens lodging house followed. A three room smallish building that was food prep and sleeping quarters for upto 50 men. Also sporting a pelt covered log recliner with foot rest, It was very comfortable. Apparently one of the docents was napping on the job when a guest came in and thought she was a well done wax model. They touched her and both sides reportedly freaked out.

The company store was interesting too. They would have accepted payment in furs or salmon. Then kept a running credit balance on the counter with porcupine quills. The customer would then spend down the quills which represened "one made beaver". The made part just means it was already cured resonably well. All the hard work had mostly been done.

Another very interesting discussion involved the term "mad hatter". The beaver felt hat processing steps involved mercury and then hand work while steaming the pelt. Mercury poisoning drove them mad, and messed up their faces.

We then learned the chicken races were about to start. So I knew it was already 1130, and I still had more to see. They ran three races of 5 chickens. Each fowl in their own lane. They had guest select a chicken from each rate, winners won store credits. Apparently racing is the local sport. The last race of the day was faster, as four lanes contained ducks, that chicken was outclassed. At the real fort they held horse races for sport. Chickens are just easier keepers.

Back to tour the largest building, the officers quarters. It was large and really just for the head guys family, a doctor and a book keeper. A very cool baby hamock was my favorite thing. The girl on that tour had a lot of area to cover. Eventually we continued outside into the animals. The baby goats just make you smile. One of them was exactly one week old today. My Alaska Roll-About is now almost four times this goats age.

I left the goats, had lunch at the cafe (tucked away behind everthing near the water).

Before leaving I visited the leatehr processing structure. Even though that staff member was out sick that day.

So I spent a lot of time at the museum. None of it seemed wasted at all. But I was still 40 minutes from passing by my motel and it was already 1300. Not a huge deal, I'll just stop short of Jasper and ride into town the next morning. I plugged in a point on the gps and started my normal charmed rain cell avoidance path. At times over a wet road with the celll just east of me, other times just a few sprinkles on me in the sun as I rode out from under the forming cell. Charmed life I say.

I even found a Timmy's to stop for a much needed afternoon coffee. Then I checked my status on the phone. I was supposed to continue east at Prince George, but I turned south. That was 100km ago. Lost time would sum to two hours of riding on a pretty boring stretch of highway. But what difference does it make? Well 30 km of it was in rain enough to soak me. Now later in the day the rain had moved more east, towords where I needed to go. So I rode into rain again upto my campsite. That rain and the late day also had me riding through a rural moutain wildlife zone with near dark conditions.

The upside? Wonderful rainbows, and it stopped raining after I had my campsite. So I setup and got into my tent in a nice long gap in the rain.

So maybe this title is misleading. No time was really lost, it was all experienced. The experience is open to interpretation, if you must judge it. In the end I loved the museum, camped about an hour out of Jasper, and got a free bike wash. And beat the Fort Saint James Canines on their home turf. How did you spend your day? I'm not judging.