The Bomb - 5. Chapter 5

I drove about 7 hours before the boys said they were getting hungry. I looked for a place to pull over and again there wasn’t a pullover anywhere. So I pulled off the road as best I could, I left my rear lights on.

I was surprised how much food was still in the fridge. I pulled out all of the leftovers. “Okay boys, let's finish these up. If they need to be heated, use the microwave. Everyone help themselves.”

I waited till everyone's plate was full before I helped myself to what was left.

I was wondering if I should drive some more tonight, Torn answers that thought.

“I think there's a place about 60-75 miles down this road. where you can pull off road. It used to be a visitor spot where you can overlook the forest and lakes.”

“Thanks Torn, that answers my question. We’ll drive there and camp for the night “

We got there just as the sun began to set in the west. The rays extended over the view which seemed to leave a magical touch to the trees and lakes. “Dad, maybe we should go there and set up camp.”

“Maybe, do you see any campgrounds there?”

“No, is that a problem?”

“Well, if we setup in a camp ground, there are some amenities which would help. Most campgrounds have a fire pit, wood easy to get, and also place to discharge waste. At least in the States they do. Here, I'm not sure but they will have a clearing to park some type of vehicle.”

That seemed to settles question. “Let's go to sleep and get an early start tomorrow.”

The boys thought that would be good idea. I started to make up the sofa bed and when I went to makeup the chair. Paul said he would be sleeping in the back. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Tom and Torn apologized. They said we’d just sleep tonight.”

“Alright, if I hear what I heard the other night. I'm coming in.” I made sure the other two heard me.

I woke up at 5 in the morning , I was anxious to get to Taloyoak. Starting up the RV and then pulling out woke Paul. “Dad, are we leaving now before breakfast?”

“Yes, the sooner we're on the road, soon it we’ll get to Taloyoak.”

“You want a coffee?”

“Yes, thank you. I think there's still cereal and milk, there's bread if you want toast, there are eggs you can fix and a little bit of orange juice. Help yourself and then tell the others to do the same. You can make some toast for me, please.”

I was okay, coffee and toast was my normal breakfast at home, when I was up this early. I ate a more substantial breakfast about 10 am, now I'll wait for lunch.

There wasn't any traffic on the road. Paul came and sat down in the right-hand seat. “Dad, there's some kind of camp ground but it looks rather small. I'm not sure you can pull the RV in there.”

“Let’s see when we get there. There're places we can find that’ll accommodate us but there probably won't be a place to discharge our wastes. We may have to dig a hole.”

I enjoyed my toast, Paul put peanut butter on it. I soon heard the other boys moving around. Paul told them what to do for breakfast.

There wasn't any traffic on the road. After four hours of driving, “Boys, we have about another 2 to 3 hours of driving to reach Taloyoak. Do we go on or stop for lunch?”

“Let’s do both, we can have lunch and keep driving.”

“Anxious to get home Torn?”

“Yes, my family will be excited to see me.”

“What if your uncle left to pick you up>”

“He didn’t, he’d have called the school. I bet they haven’t even heard about school closing.”

“You could be right, we’ll continue driving, keep your eyes open in case you see him.”

“Dad, what do you want for lunch?”

“You boys eat, then tell me what's left over.”

That didn't happen, Paul brought a box with a sandwich in it and a piece of fruit. He sat a cup of coffee in the coffee holder. I realize I made one error and my design, I should have included tabletop between the seats. “Thanks, Paul”

I had a feeling Paul would be the one the closest to me.

As we got closer to Taloyoak, Torn became more fidgety. He was anxious to get home.

“There, see that road on your right, drop me off there. That road leads to my village.”

“I could drive you there.”

“No, I’ll walk there. I want to surprise them and if you drove me there they would see the RV.”

So I stopped, he gave the boys a hug. “Thanks for the lift. I'll come by in few days and help you set up.”

We said goodby. He waved as he began to jog down the road.

“Do you think we'll see him again?”

“He said he’d see us, so we'll have to wait.”

An hour later we arrived as close to Taloyoak as we could. I stopped, checked the map, “We are going to head here, Nunavut Park. If we can't go in the Park, we’ll camp on the side of the road.”

I drove the short distance to the Park’s entrance. There was a ranger’s station, I stopped the RV, got out and went into the station. There was a young man sitting behind a desk reading.

“Hello, I'm from the US and wondered if I could park my RV here, somewhere.”

The man looked at me, “Are you fleeing the US?”

“Yes, my city was bombed and I was lucky to escape. I had envision that I’d need to leave sooner or later so I was prepared. I just left the city before it was destroyed.”

“Normally we don't allow campers but considering the Canadian government has asked us to accept refugees, show me what you have.”

We went outside, he looked at the RV and trailer. “We don't have electricity.”

“That’s okay, I have solar panels on my roof and a few additional panels in my trailer. In addition I have a generator that I can use in a pinch.”

“There's just you?”

“And my two sons.

“I’ll check my maps and get back to you. In the meantime, you can park right here.”