A Biker's Tale

Chapter 9 - Intercept Course

Kate arrived at Vancouver early evening time. The first thing she did upon arrival was pickup her rental Honda CRV. It had all the features she needed and then some, to include a hitch for towing. The hitch was included no additional costs, although she really did not need it. She then checked her phone. Alexis had put the tracking app on her cell phone which was now monitoring Castle. Castle was over a hundred miles east of Vancouver heading west according to the app.

Next she got on the Castle Website to get the latest info on his Motor Trip. Kate found out that he would not be going all the way towards Vancouver but turning north once he arrived just before Vancouver south of a town named Hope. He then would turn north and travel Canadian Route 1 to the ALCAN. The Hutchinson couple would continue southwest to a town just outside Vancouver named Abbottsford and from there on to Seattle. The initial plan by Lanie and herself had been to catch Castle somewhere in the Vancouver area. They knew the plan was subject to change and they would have to improvise along the way. So here was her first change, she needed to head east-northeast to Hope and maybe catch Castle there.

According to Castle's latest post, once he headed north from Hope, he would find the next site for a night sleepover. That post was early in the morning and it was pushing close to 6PM now. Consulting a map, Kate realized that Castle was still heading west to Hope and was probably already camped somewhere on the way. He could be at Hope sometime maybe late tomorrow, if all went well, otherwise it would take another day to reach Hope.

Kate stopped at a store to get supplies and then headed east-northeast. She would do a sleepover at Abbottsford, many miles south of Hope on the Canadia Route 1. Could she catchup to Castle at Hope and surprise him for their talk? From where Kate was, she saw that Castle might make Hope before her and then head north to the ALCAN.

Lanie was right about how Kate might possibly have to go all the way to Fairbanks before she met up with Castle. Still, they had planned for it, and Kate was now provisioned with enough food and fuel to make it to Dawson Creek. That town hundreds of miles away but the start of the ALCAN. She had also bought two 5 gallon fuel containers for extra fuel as gas stations along the route could be few and far between. She filled those fuel cans at a nearby station, as it was fortunate that her CRV also had a back fuel rack for the two gas cans. The CRV was an all wheel drive four cylinder vehicle and got about 24 MPG highway, so the two extra fuel cans added in excess of 200 miles additional range. Once at Dawson Creek, however, she would have to resupply if she had not intercepted Castle by then and had to head toward Fairbanks.

She found a public campsite just miles before Abbottsford and was lucky that there were some empty camping sites. It was pushing close to 11pm when she got to the campgrounds. She could have stayed in Vancouver at a good hotel, but she wanted to reduce at least some of the distance between herself and Castle. The campsite had bare bones amenities with just spots for camping and no hookups. There were however public restrooms, even though Kate had thought to buy a port-a-potty. They were now in that time of year where daylight in this region was 24/7 so 'night camping' was done in full day light . Lanie had told her to prepare for the possibility of camping out. So here she was playing girl scout.

Kate prepared the one bed on the passenger's side. It was a surprise that with the passenger seat back folded down to line up with the back seat, it was big enough for her and reasonably comfortable. That back seat could also be reclined for better sleeping. The arrangement was much like sleeping in a recliner seat with feet elevated. Kate had also purchased a quite heavy sleeping blanket for warmth and for additional comfort. Kate used a small 'airplane pillow' to support her head. She set her cell phone alarm to wake her around 5AM. She was charging her cell via the car lighter outlet where she inserted her plug-in charger.

She is getting good reception on her cell so manages to send a message to Lanie giving her an update on what had happened so far on her quest. She then goes to sleep and does so very quickly. She would get a good night's sleep before taking up her quest once more the next morning.

Castle's Trip

He was camped out at a commercial campsite with amenities that included rest rooms with warm showers, a convenience store which sold items for the campers, and hookups for those with RV's. There was also a camp grounds center which had a reading area, TV, and a dining area with vending machines and microwaves. The convenience store was located right next to the Campsite center. Also there were paid phones available for those in need of them and for when cell service was not available. Rick paid for a no frills campsite and then set up his pop up tent. He did however take advantage of the shower facilities and then bought a hamburger combo meal which he heated in the microwave provided at the site's store. He took the items back to his campsite to eat on a picnic table there.

He had setup his sleeping bag in his one man pop up tent and placed his flashlight within reach, should he wake up and need to use the restroom. It had been a long day of travel and he would wake up the next morning bright and early. He would try to make the town of Hope by close of the next day, if his trip went according to plan. Rick had a strong signal on his cell and calls home and leaves a message when no one picks up. He realized it was getting late back in NYC so was not surprised when no one picked up the call. He may have caught his family already sleeping as it was late evening back there.

He did not have a restful sleep however. He had dreams, dreams of Kate. He dreamed she got married to Josh and that she left the NYPD to be a full time wife. Then his dreams got ugly. He dreamed that Josh was an abusive husband to Kate. Kate suffered and got hold of Rick, pleading with him to help her. Just as he was getting ready to tell Kate he was there for her, he awakens abruptly to a loud alarm.

It is his cell phone on the wake up call he had programmed. He gets up a little sleep deprived despite the 8 hours sleep he had. He converts his pop up tent back to a storage trailer, putting away his sleeping bag and nite lite in the storage cavity of the trailer/camper unit. He then goes to the Campsite Center for some morning coffee before he heads out on his journey to continue towards the ALCAN and Fairbanks.

Back With Kate

Kate hears the alarm of her cell phone and wakes up refreshed. She had close to a full night's sleep, but for her it was more than enough. Back in NYC, she often got less sleep, particularly when working a hard case. Often she would use the Captain's couch in his office as a bed. Roy was so good at allowing her to do so when she worked those long hours well into late night. Going to her place on such nights was more time consuming and bothersome than just doing a sleepover at the precinct. She always made sure to be gone before Roy arrived. Kate would then use the shower in the women's locker room and had a change of clothes in her locker for such events. So five hours sleep, particularly if it was a sound sleep, was often more than enough for her and she had gotten close to a full night of sleep.

Once up and wide awake, Kate then returns her CRV back to travel mode by putting up her passenger chair and moving it forward. She stows her blanket and night lite in the trunk. One thing she had learned about the CRV was that the lid under the trunk floor cover opened up to reveal the spare tire and tools. But especially convenient was that lid to that tire storage area could be detached and had four legs underneath it to make a small table for use during car camping. It turns out her rental truly was ideally made for weekend camping. She could also fold the back seat down to convert the whole back area into an extended area for hauling large objects or an expanded sleeping if needed.

She was thinking to herself that she might get a CRV once back in the city. She could use it for weekends away, which she often did. The CRV could allow her to go to places where remote camping was available in upstate New York. She had used a few of these camp sites for tent camping in the past, but the CRV gave new meaning to 'glamping'…..a modified camping form in a more 'glamorous' manner, hence the term 'glamping'. She does a quick trip to the Ladies Rest Room and then grabs a small single bottle of OJ in her cooler for and a granola breakfast bar. Then she is off to try and intercept Castle for their talk, she will eat breakfast on the way out. But before she heads out, she hears the buzz from her cell phone. The call ID indicates it is Lanie.

"Hey Lanie!"

"Hey yourself Kate, how's the quest going?"

"Just now up and getting ready to head for Hope to catch Castle."

"Well good luck, I checked some maps of the area and Rick has about a couple hours head start on you to Hope. If he leaves now, you will miss him, but if he gets a late start, you may be in the ball park to catch him."

"Thanks Lanie, and for your advice to plan on making it a camping trip. It was a 100% spot on. I am prepared for just about anything now."

"Well, stop chit-chatting and get on the road! Go get the man, and Kate, good luck!"

"Thanks Lanie, talk again soon."

Kate starts the engine of her rental and heads out on the road drinking her OJ and eating her granola bar as she drives. She starts to wonder how to go about telling Castle of her true feelings for him. She composes her talk to Castle in her head and once she finishes it, recites it to herself mentally, rehearsing the talk.

She wants to make sure that Rick will hear her and forgive her for all those times she passed him by. Once for Demming, initially, and then Josh. She hoped and prayed that she had not driven Castle too far away that he would not forgive her for all her miscues with him. But Kate fully realized that she may never win him back. She steeled herself for such a rejection.

Castle had left her once before but despite that, he had returned to her. She hoped she could get him back again this time. If it happened, she would commit to Castle for a lasting and real union. She had vowed never to be another conquest for Rick, but given another chance, she would make him her final conquest. She would make Rick Castle her one and done!