by R.J. Shie

Created on: November 24, 2010   Last Updated: November 26, 2010

Night Lights

Suddenly it felt like the wheel was yanked out of his grip. The truck lurched forward and so did his adrenalin levels. He knew it was a wave under his wheels. Waves could not be ridden in a truck. You need a surfboard for that.  Jake Rowland is a truck driver, running the most dangerous stretch of highway in the northern hemisphere, across the McKenzie River up to Aklavik. He’s delivering groceries and medicines to the people who live in the Northwest Territory of Canada. Gripping the wheel too hard, he also gritted his teeth. Finally, the road smoothed out and the truck was again stable.

It is beautiful country but as treacherous as can be imagined. For 6 weeks of the year, the Mackenzie delta is frozen hard enough to drive on, not cars, big rigs weighing up to 100,000 lbs. each. One of the most dangerous parts of the trip is that there are waves under the ice. The Artic Ocean and the Mackenzie River merge and the waves can cause the ice to break. Another danger is that of going off the road where the thick ice is and ending up as it were, on thin ice.

Singing a country song, he thinks about his family back home in Quebec. He and his wife Karen have two girls Megan and Melissa. Tonight the sky is clear and beautiful. In front and to the right, he can see the Northern lights. “God Damn that is beautiful” he thought to himself.  It was tempting to slow down and digest the dreamlike scene.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Silhouetting

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