After a week resting and acquiring all the provisions we need for the next 1000 kms of nothing, it was time to ride out of Whitehorse. 

But first we made our way back to Angelique Bjork’s ranch to get the ponies shod. 

“Please stay safe out there, especially with the recent murders down the highway,” said Angelique before we rode out of her ranch.

The “murders,” Angelique referred to was the two tourists found shot dead next to the Alaska Highway near Liard Hot Springs (another body was later found). 

The news rocked the North, and Clara and me, especially because the young people killed was a transnational couple just like us.

“I can’t believe we have to worry about being murdered in northern Canada … being from Argentina and Brazil,” said Clara while we read up on the story online.

We were worried. It wasn’t just Angelique who warned us. Another gentleman told us not to sleep on the side of the road no matter what. Clara and I simply laughed at one another nervously. We only travel 30 kms a day. The next town, Teslin, was 200 kms away. We would have to sleep on the side of the road every night until we arrived in the small town… and would continue to do so after…

There was nothing we could do but ride on and hope for the best.

On our second day on the road, while Clara and I searched for a good place to eat lunch, we met an extraordinary man!

“I used to have horses too, you know,” said Donald Bernier after he finished checking his mailbox. 

We chatted for a bit and Don invited us to come to his house to check out the belt buckles he makes from polished stones. 

“Come see my shop and we can rest your horses on my front lawn,” said the elderly gentleman with a big smile. 

Don’s house, overlooking Marsh Lake, was gorgeous and had a beautifully trimmed lawn for the boys to feast on! 

For an hour Don gave us a tour of his shop and showed us how he makes the stone belt buckles.

“I don’t sell these, I just give them as presents,” he said after I asked him if he sold them. 

At the end he showed us his stunning home and offered me a whisky and sprite drink. We chatted about his life working as a guide in the Yukon and for a large telecommunication company, his love for the north, and the recent passing of his wife. 

“Here I want you to have these,” he gave Clara a belt buckle and 2 stones before we said goodbye.