They were even more impressed by the reception the professor received from the Base Commander, an old friend he had worked with in World War II.
“You’re just in time for Christmas dinner,” the Commander told them happily. “Roast turkey with all the trimmings.”
Jerry rubbed his stomach gleefully. “This stands to be the best holiday season of our lives, Sandy. Wherever we go people give us Christmas dinners.”
The geologists decided to stop over at Watson Lake and get an early start the next morning for the long, grueling uphill drive over the divide.
“What is the divide?” Jerry asked.
“A high shelf on the continent that determines the direction of water drainage,” Dr. Steele explained. “In the case of North America, it’s the Rocky Mountains. All the rivers and streams on one side of the Rockies run in a generally easterly direction; on the other side they flow to the west.”
“Will we have any trouble driving up those mountains with all this snow and ice?” Sandy inquired of the R.C.A.F. Commander.
“Well, it’s a pretty tortuous route,” the officer admitted. “But the ascent is fairly gradual. With chains you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Of course, if it should snow again, that would be another matter.”
“We’ll get an early start,” Professor Crowell told them. “About six A.M.”