Alaska Day 28

A friend just emailed me and told me to finish the blog. To tell the truth, since I have been home, I just forgot. Well, here is the ending.

We left Snyder around 6:00 am. It was a dark, but starting to get light. The temperatures were in the 70's so we knew it was going to be a hot day.

We jumped on I-20 to Abilene, and as the sun came up we knew we were going to have fun. The storm clouds were coming in, and it was obvious that it was raining, and we were going to get wet.

We made it to Highway 36 before the rain started. We pulled over at a small store just south of Abilene and put on our rain suits.

NOTE TO BRIAN: If y'all come down 36 this store is about 7 miles south of Abilene. It's the first and only store after you pass the airport. I left my buddy buttler there. If you get a chance could you stop and see if by any chance they have it. I doubt that they will. Thanks.

We continued south/east on 36 in the rain. There was lightening, but it wasn't to bad. Dick broke off at Gatesville to head to his house, and I continued down 36. The clouds broke and that is when it really started to get hot. By the time I arrived home around 2:00 pm, it was 98 degrees and about 120% humidity. Nice to be home.

The trip was great, I'm glade I had the chance to go.

THE END

Alaska Day 27

Today SUCKED!!!!!! There is no other way to describe today. We pulled out of the motel in Walsenburg around 6:00 am and headed for Raton. At Raton we stopped and had breakfast with some lousy service. The food wasn't bad though. That was the highlight of the day.

From Raton we headed east on 64, which turns into 87 on the Texas side. At Dumas we headed south on 287 towards Amarillo. Once we arrived at Amarillo we picked up I-27 and continued south to Lubbock. At Lubbock we then headed south/east on 84.

It was hot, straight and boring. The temperature topped 100 degrees. Once we reached Snyder we called it a day. That should make a fairly easy day tomorrow to get home. The distance should be about 400 miles, and with an early start we both should be at our respective houses before the brunt of the afternoon heat.

Tomorrow HOME

Alaska Day 26

We made it to Walsenburg, but without the trailer (LOL). We left Rangley bright and early knowing it would be a slow day since we planned on running Highway 50 through Colorado. Highway 50 is very scenic, but every tourist in Colorado will be there with their RV, plus add the local Sunday crowd, and you can plan on a very slow day.

It was light when we left, but still a bit on the dark side. We headed for Grand Junction on 139, which is about a 80 mile drive. Our plan was to have breakfast once we arrived at Grand Junction. As we turned onto 139 just outside of Rangley, I told Dick I was going to run fairly slow due to deer. I have ridden this road many times over the years, and I know it is loaded with my favorite critter. About that time, guess what, one of my fan club was standing on the side of the road. One thing I can say about Colorado deer, they don't seem to be as skiddish as Texas deer. He/she just stood on the side of the road and watched us go by.

Didn't see any deer the rest of the way, but we did run through some open range and had to deal with some cows on the road. Most of the time this is not a problem, but at one location we got between a momma and her baby, and momma got a bit upset with us. It all worked out they were reunited and we suffered no damage.

We arrived in Grand Junction around 7:30 am. I spotted a Golden Corral with a buffet breakfast, so we decided to donate our money to their cause. The breakfast was great, but when we came out Dick informed me the trailer was going no farther. We checked the wheel, and it was obvious it has gotten worse and would not make it home.

We checked out the local stores looking for a small trailer to put his trailer on, but we didn't have any luck finding one. We did find one at a trailer place, but it was closed on Sunday. Our last option was to put his trailer in storage and return to pick it up at a later date. That is what we did. It's going to cost Dick a wopping $12.00 to leave it there a month. I guess I will be returning to Grand Junction with Dick in a couple of weeks to pick it up.

We left Grand Junction and continued on Highway 50. We gassed up at Montrose and continued on. The traffic was bad, I mean really bad. After we passed through Gunnison we noticed Highway 114. This is one of the few paved roads I have not ridden in Colorado. Like the Flaming Gorge, I have ridden around it but never on it. We decided to take it and check it out. I can again kick myself in the arse for never riding this road. What a great road, curves, mountains and summits. What more could you ask for.

Around 4 we arrived in Walsenburg, even after our two hour delay in Grand Junction. We check into the Anchor Motel, which turned out to be a nice place at a great price. We ate at the local Mexican Restaurant down the street, which turned out to be just OK.

Tomorrow we plan to make it somewhere past Lubbock. We will see how it turns out.

Alaska Day 25

We pulled out of Idaho Falls bright and early, well not so bright, but it was early, well not really early, just at our normal starting time. It used to get light at 4 in the morning, but now its not getting light until around 6. We decided to hook it down I-15 for about 70 miles to McCammon, ID. We then headed east on 30 towards Green River.

The ride on 30 was very scenic. The temperatures were cool and the roads were good. Saw a few of my favorite critters, but other than missing a turn, the ride to Green River was pretty uneventfull. Once we arrived at Green River we gassed us and Dick decided to take a closer look at his wheel bearing. It didn't look good, and our options were few, so we decided to continue on.

From Green River we headed down 530 through the Flaming Gorge Rec. Area. I have bypassed this road many a times, and now I regret ever doing that. This is one hell of a scenic road. It is a must if you are ever in the area.

From there we headed down 191 to Vernal, UT and then over to Rangley, CO. This is where we planned to stay the night. It was hot when we arrived, and I do mean hot. We checked into an overpriced motel, and ate at the Subway next door.

It was a great day of riding. Not sure what to do about Dick's trailer, but well work it out some how.

Tomorrow we plan to get to Walsenburg, CO. We will see if that plans out.

Alaska Day 24

The day of events. That what today was. First I decided to do some wash before we left. The washer was OK, but the dryer was a piece of crap. Took over an hour for thing to dry, so we didn't hit the road until 7:00 am.

The second event was when I lost my cooler on I-90. Once again, I forgot to strap down my cooler, so if your looking for a slightly used red and white cooler with some banged up cokes, then check I-90 just west of Missoula, MT. We didn't even bother to turn around, when I saw it sliding down the freeway I knew it was a lost cause.

At Missoula we turned south on 93. What a scenic road. We just cruised down the road dodging deer and other critters. We stopped at a rest area, and that is when the third event took place. Dick found that one of his trailer bearings is not in good shape. We went on down the road, but the only solution we found was to keep going. The wheel is rolling straight and the wheel is not getting hot, so he is going to try and limp it home.

We entered Idaho again and headed for Idaho Falls. The drive was fantastic with mountains on both sides, and a running river next to us. We just cruised along not having a care in the world except for a lost cooler, crappy dryer, and a bad bearing.

We checked into a motel in Idaho Falls around 3:00 pm. Tomorrow we plan to make it to Rangley, CO or possibly Grand Junction. We will see how it works out.

Alaska Day 23

Our start time was the same today. We were on the road by 6 heading to the Coulee Dam. I think I misspelled that in my previous post. We reached the dam after about an hour or so of riding. We stopped and took a few pictures, but this dam is no where near as impressive as the Hoover dam.

We had breakfast at some restaurant near the dam. I don't remember it's name, but it was nothing that needs to be remembered anyway. After breakfast we headed to Spokane where we replaced my front tire. The folks at Allsports were great, and I even got a discount on the tire for some reason.

After we finished with the tire we headed east on I-90 for a short distance, but it started getting hot, so we decided to call it a day in St. Regis, MT. We checked into the local Super 8 and had dinner at some hamburger joint. The burger did its job, I'm not going to bed hungry.

Tomorrow we head south, not sure where we will end up.

Alaska Day 22

Today we try and make it down to the lower 48. We were on the road by 6:00 am, heading south. We decided to eat breakfast at some town I can't pronounce, or even spell, but it is about 40 miles south of Williams Lake. We gassed up first and then went to the local restaurant. The attendant at the station says it is a great place to eat, but then again we found out later her parents own the place.

Turns out it was the best breakfast I have had in Canada. To make matters even better, it was the biggest bargain. Three meats, three eggs, pan fried potatoes, and toast with a Ginger Ale for $10.00. Couldn't beat that deal with a stick.

After breakfast we headed south on Highway 97. The ride was scenic but what surprised me was the change in vegetation. We went from lush forest to arid conditions in within a couple of miles. Of course the temperatures started to rise with the change of conditions.

Our goal was to get to the lower 48, and we did make it. We crossed the boarder around 2:00 pm and by 3 we were in a motel in Tonasket, Washington. By 3:30 we were eating lunch with fresh brewed tea and free refills. It's good to be back in ones own country.

Tomorrow we head to
Spokane via Cooley Dam to get a front tire for my bike. Not sure how far we will make it tomorrow, but be assured we will have fresh brewed tea and free refills.

Alaska Day 21

Woke up and saw that it was raining. Crap, that's no way to start a day, but none the less we will still have to hit the road. I heard a bike start and leave around 5:30 am and thought it was another rider that was staying at the motel. Turns out it was Jerry, it appears he decided to leave early for home. Don't know why, but I guess he has his reasons.

All suited up and ready for the rain we pulled out somewhere around 6:45 am. Since it was raining where we were at, and it looked like it might not be in the direction we were going, we decided to go down the road a ways before breakfast. We ended up stopping in a restaurant in Frazier and breakfast turned out to be pretty good. After breakfast we hit the road again for Prince George. Along the way John realized that he didn't have any brake lights. We stopped to check it out, but couldn't find the problem on the side of the road. I think he will be working on that problem later tonight.

We arrived at Prince George and stopped for gas and to say our goodbyes. John and Brian will head east while Dick and myself will head south. Dick and I are going to stay in Williams Lake where I plan to visit a friend. The ride to Williams Lake was not big deal, but we did have a lot of construction. Before arriving we did stop for lunch at McDonalds in some unknown named town.

We arrived in Williams Lake around 3:00 pm and checked into the Lakeside Motel. It is properly named as all you can see is the lake side and not the lake view. If they cut down a few trees, I think the view would be fantastic.

Dick and I plan on crossing into the lower 48 tomorrow. My front tire has gone to crap so I contacted a dealer in Spokane, Washington to arrange to get a new tire. Turns out the news was not as bad as I expected. I really expected to get raped by buying a tire on the road, as I have in the past, but the tire price is a bit higher than I would pay at home, the mounting and balancing of the tire is free. Dick and I will remove the tire from the bike, and I have spoken to the service manager, who stated that he will mount the tire right a way. If everything goes right we should be there more than an hour.

Dick and I started planning our route back home. We plan to keep to the back roads as much as possible. I looking forward to getting back to the lower 48, where brewed ice tea can be found everywhere.

Alaska Day 20

We really did get a late start this morning. We didn't have much of a choice though. If we wanted to eat breakfast, we had to wait until the Glacier Inn opened. Our next choice would be about 140 miles down the road. We did have a nice breakfast and were on the road by 8:00 am.

We made it through customs with out a hitch. They really didn't ask very many questions. I'm still not sure what they have a customs point here when the US does not, but who am I to understand the workings of the various governments.

We back tracked on 37-A passing Bear Glacier one more time. When we arrived at the intersection of 37 we headed south. Not much to say, the scenery was decent, but on this stretch of road there is basically nothing. You could see this area has been heavily forested, but replanted. Very few of the trees were old growth. We did take one break about 80 miles down the road, but after about 5 minutes the little blood sucking critters found us so we headed out.

When we reached Highway 16 you could tell we were returning to civilization. Traffic started to pick up and the towns became more numerous. When we stopped for lunch at a Tim Hortons in Smithers we even had cell coverage. Lunch was OK, but I don't see what the big deal is about Tim Hortons. It's just a unscaled sandwich / coffee shop.

After lunch we head to Burns Lake where we plan to spend the night. The weather changed on us, so we had to stop and put on some rain gear. After we arrived at Burns Lake we checked into the Travellers Inn. Not a bad Fred motel, old, cheap, and clean.

We had dinner at the Chinese / Canadian Cuisine restaurant located next door to the motel. Not sure what the Canadian Cuisine is suppose to be, but it turned out to be regular stuff. Some got the Chinese, and a couple of us ordered Hamburger Steaks. Wasn't a bad meal or even price even for Canada.

After dinner we returned to our rooms and called it a night. Tomorrow Dick and I will travel with the others about 140 miles to Prince George where we will split off and head south. Hate to see the group break up, but we all knew te time was coming. We have had a great time.

Tomorrow Dick and I head to Williams Lake where I plan to visit a friend.

Alaska Day 19

Man did we get a late start. 6:40 am and we were heading down the road. By the way 7 was to be the kick off time. No matter, none of us expected what was in store for us today. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny with just a spatter of little friends who kept bothering us for blood donations.

The only restaurant in town did not open until 7:30, so we decided to head down the road to see what we could find. Highway 37 in Canada is one of the most scenic roads I have ever traveled on. It has it all, snow capped mountains, running rivers, forests, and blood thirsty critters.

About 50 miles down the road we found a motel-restaurant where we decided to stop and eat. The cook had the day off, so the owner was doing the cooking. He said he could fix about anything except for the fancy stuff like French Toast. When asked if he could do pancakes, he said he might be able to. We decided to give him a try any way, and as it turned out it was a pretty decent breakfast. Everyone got pretty much what they wanted except for Jerry who ordered a bagel with cream cheese and got a English muffin with cream cheese. The view from the restaurant was fantastic. Matter of fact I got the name of the place so I can stay there the next time I am up in this part of the world.

From the restaurant we continued down 37. I think John must have taken 500 pictures. I know Dick took about 200. I took a few, but I am not able to shoot pictures as I drive down the road. We made a couple of short stops to take in the scenery, but the little critters were so bad we moved on. We did take a longer stop at a road house to get gas and have a snack.

Today was going to be a short day, somewhere around 250 miles. We turned on Highway 37-A and stopped a while to look at Bear Glacier. We then continued on into Stewart/Hyder for the night. For the record highway 37-A , which is about 40 miles long, is one heck of a scenic drive.

We checked into the Sealaska Inn, which by luck had a laundry mat next door. That was good since I was down to my last set of, well you know what I mean. I put a load of wash in and then went into the bar and sat down with Dick and John and had a couple of drinks. It turned out the same guy that owns the bar and motel, also owns the laundry mat. The had a monitor inside the bar where you could watch your stuff. Few drinks later and the wash was done. Well, at least I think it was done, I know I was.

Dick and I had dinner at the Glacier Inn. John, Jerry, and Brian went to another place that served seafood. After dinner I was pretty tired so I went to bed, the rest went to the bar for a nightcap. I'm nto sure when they were done night capping.

Tomorrow we head for Burns Lake. This will be our last day together as a group. Dick and I will split off and head for home, the others have some plans with their wives to visit Yellow Stone.

Alaska Day 18

Last night we discussed what time we should be ready to leave. We have already decided to get breakfast down the road because we did not want a repeat of, last night at the resort's (and I use that word loosely), restaurant. If you want to know how the kick off time is decided, it sort of works like this.

We were all in my room when I asked what time we should get started in the morning. Everyone just sort of shrugged their shoulders, so I stated since we said 7 this morning and we were all ready and loaded by 6:30, lets just say 6:30. Man you would have thought I touched them with a hot poker. "Hell No, I mean HeLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO", lets keep it at 7 they all said. I said "OK", 7 it is. We were heading down the road at 6:10, go figure??????

The ride started off down right cold. Nothing exciting about the ride, it was territory we have already covered. We stopped for breakfast at some roadhouse about 80 miles down the road. It was a pretty good breakfast, even though we got served one at a time. At least the meal was hot. After breakfast we continued on to Junction 37.

When we arrived a Junction 37 we stopped to top off the gas tanks. I knew from riding this road before gas stations are far and few. Our destination is Dease Lake, and I wasn't sure if there was even a gas station in that 140 miles. Turns out there is at least one. Before we left I called a motel in Dease Lake to make reservations. First she told me they were all booked up, so I asked her about other local motels. Not sure how it got there, but we ended getting reservations in this already booked motel. Even got ground floors with one of the rooms having 3 beds. Go Figure?

It was casual but rough ride from Junction 37 to Dease Lake. Some road construction, gravel, and just bad road made for slow going. We did stop once at a rest area to relieve the bladders and take a break, but those biting little critters we a bit much for me, so off we went. We arrived in Dease Lake around 2 pm. We gassed up and headed to the local restaurant. The restaurant wasn't much, it tried to be unscaled, but the only thing upscaled about it is its prices.

We checked into the motel around 3, and it is a nice place, thought the internet is crappy in our room. Funny they all say they have internet, but once you get to the room you can barely connect. After I got to the room, I called the Sea Alaska Inn in Hyder to make reservations for tomorrow. We were lucky to get some rooms. The Sea Alaska Inn is the Mecca for adventure and endurance riders. Some say you can not be a true rider if you have not been Hyderized.

Tomorrow Hyder, supposed kick off time 7 am, real time probably 6.

Alaska Day 17

Yesterday as well as the next day and a half are going to be pretty boring.  We are backtracking, mainly because that is the only way to drive home.  We will be on the same road that we traveled north on.  At Watson Lake we will turn south into new territory.

Today we were all packed and ready to go by 7.  Our plan was to eat first at the motel restaurant and then head out.  We had a pretty decent breakfast, afterwards we hit the road.  We headed south where we took a break at Haines Junction.  The weather was slightly cloudy, but fairly cool.  At Haines Junction I had to put my warmer jacket on.

From Haines Junction we went to Whitehorse where we, believe it or not, stopped at the Wallmart.  We decided to have lunch at the McDonalds next door before heading out.  The day was rather boring, but the scenery was good. 

We decided to spend the night in Teslin, which is just a spot on the road.  We checked into the Dawson Peak Resort, don't let the name fool you, its a Fred Motel.  Tonight is burger night, yum yum.

Tomorrow we head to Dease Lake.

Alaska Day 16

Off we go.  We are now officially heading home.  Home is 5000 miles away, but who cares, southward we will go.  The plan for the day was to be in the saddle by 7 and ride o Tok for breakfast.  Tok is about 100 miles from Delta Junction.  I though I might get an earlier start when around 1:00 am smoke from the nearby fires started smelling up the room.  The wood smoke was so strong it gave me a splitting headache.

The smell eased up after about an hour, but I still had the headache, so I didn't get much sleep.  We were all loaded and ready to go before 7, so a riding we will go.  Brian led today since I was pretty tired, plus I think he wanted to test that new Spyder out.  The weather started out cloudy and cool, but quickly turned to a light rain a few miles down the road.

We stopped at Tok and had a good breakfast.  It was a late breakfast so I was sure it was going to effect lunch, but none the less, we ate at this restaurant on the way up, and it was pretty dog gone good.  After breakfast we headed to Canada.

We stopped at Boarder City to gas up and take a break.  Boarder City is about 5 miles from the boarder.  The weather started to improve and the temperature startedto rise.  You could still see a lot of haze from the fires in Alaska.  We all made it through customs without any issues.  A quick stop in Beaver Creek, Yulon to get some Canadian cash.  Well, I got some cash, it seems that I drained the one and only ATM machine.  None of the others could get any cash.  We will have to find another one of these money making machines to drain.

Our plans were to stop for the night in Destruction Bay.  We arrived there around 5:00 pm local time.  A few quick calls home, and a couple fo drinks, and then off to dinner at the attached restaurant.  John had the Fish and Chips, Brian had the Hamburger Steak, Dick had the Chicken, and I had Pizza.   It was all pretty good, and for Canada not priced to bad.  After dinner we went back to the rooms for a nightcap and then bed.

Tomorrow we head to Teslin.  Not sure what the room situation will be, but we will work that out when we get there.

Alaska Day 15

What a lazy day.  We slept in until around 6:00 am.  Played on the computer for a while, then watched some news on TV.  That is the first news I have seen in two weeks.  John showed up at our door around 7:30 and wanted to go eat at that lousy Dennys again.  Well, I'm game for some more punishment.  We walked next door, sat down, and waited, waited, waited, waited.  Did I tell you we had to wait.  We finally got our orders in and some time in the next hour we got our meal.  What can I say about the most northern Denny's;  ITS SUCKS!!!!!!  Enough said.

After breakfast we went back to the motel and hung out until we heard from Brian.  John and Jerry went to meet Brian, Dick and I checked out of the motel and drove down to the dealership.  Yes REGAN, I sat on your bike.  I will also ride it before you see it.  TRY AND STOP ME  :)

After checking out the bike and visiting a while, Dick and I headed down the road to Delta Junction.  We stopped at North Pole, Alaska so Dick could mail some birthday cards to one or two of his twenty grand kids.  We then continued down the road.  We arrived in Delta Junction around 1:30 pm.

We checked into the local motel and I called John to give him the name of the motel.  When I talked to John they were still switching stuff over.  It looks like it might be a late start for them.

Dick and I just hung around the room watching TV.  Around 7:30 pm, the boys arrived.  We had their key, so we gave it to them and walked down to their room and made the plans for tomorrow.  We plan on having a 300 mile day to Destruction Bay.  We plan to be in the saddle by 7 and have breakfast in Tok.

End of day 14.

Alaska Day 14

Today started early. We didn't start early for any apparent reason, its just three of us are just up. Jerry complains about leaving early, but he is sort of out voted. We were on the road by 6:00 am looking for a place to eat. We found a place about 40 miles down the road. The place was simply a road house with a cafe. The breakfast turned out to be excellent. The strange thing is the prices were not to bad either.

Our plan today was to make the short ride into Fairbanks with a stop at McKinley Park. Which is the same as Denali Park. We arrived at the parks entrance late morning. We stopped and everyone just sort of headed off in a different direction. I have seen a lot of specials about Mt. McKinley so I decided to call my wife. Had a nice conversation while the guys ended up sitting through part of a lame presentation of what to do if you see a bear. I understand there was even a sing a long.

We could not get a good view of Mt. McKinley. There seems to be 60 + fires in Alaska and the haze is terrible. We could hardly see the mountain through the haze. Tried taking some pictures, but they just didn't turn out so well.

After we left the park, we made a brief gas stop and headed into Fairbanks. Once we arrived in Fairbanks we stopped at the motel and noticed it was a real dive. This was the place where some friends of mine stayed at a couple of years ago. I am the one known for staying in low class places, I can't believed they stayed here.

I went to check into the room, but as it turns out the room was not ready yet. Seems they are taking some pictures for advertising. Well at least we know were getting the best room in the house. I did check in, but we were going to go to lunch before going to the room. So we went to lunch at some taco place where Brian met us. Turns out he did have some bad and some good news. Bad news is his GS transmission is toast, the good news is he is buying a new bike. More on that later.

After lunch we went back to the motel, and it turns out the owner was tying to screw me. I do not mean in the good way. The room she gave us is two bedroom suite with only two beds. When I spoke to her the night before I was clear I needed suite with 4 beds. She told me that the suite had a double in one room, a single queen in the second and a pull out couch. Guess what she lied.

I told her that this was not going to work, She then told me that she could not give me a second room for the one price. I told her that if I was going to pay $130.00 a room, then I was going down the road to the Super 8 where they had WiFi. This motel did not have WiFi, we were staying there because of the price. She said she couldn't do that, so I told her to credit my card. Once that was done we drove down to the Super 8, got on line out side in the parking lot using their WiFi and made reservations. We get a better room rate that way. We then walked inside and said we had reservations and checked in.

Brian showed back up and looked like the deal is made for the new bike. It sort of a long story, but the bike he is getting is really going to be for his wife. It just turns out due to circumstances and such, he was getting a pretty good deal, and it works out how he could continue his trip. It has been planned that two of the guys will be meeting their wifes for the last week of the trip. Dick and I will be splitting off from them down in Canada in about a week.

We went for dinner at the lousy Denny's located nextndoor to the motel. What can I say, IT SUCKED!! Enough said.

The game plan for tomorrow is Dick and I will go to Delta Junction, which is located about 100 miles from Fairbanks. Jerry and John are going to hang around and help Brian switch stuff over from the GS to the new bike. Dick and I will secure the rooms for all of us in Delta Junction and they will meet up with us later that night.

We will see how it works out.

Alaska Day 13

Here we are, Day 13 of the trip. That is almost 2 weeks for those that are counting. We are in Glennallen, AK after just finishing the day trip to Valdez. The road to Valdez has to be one of the most scenic roads I have ever driven on. It should be a must for anyone that visits Alaska.

The first order of business today was laundry. There is a 24 hour laundry just down the street from the motel, so we packed up the dirty clothes and headed down there. We were the only ones there, so we finished in short order. Of course it was 5:30 in the morning, but who cares.

After finishing our laundry and packing up the bikes, we headed out for Anchorage. We have no real reason to go to Anchorage, its just none of us have been there so we wanted to check it out. We plan to spend the night in Talkeetna, AK, which is about 2 hours drive north of Anchorage.

The ride to Anchorage was scenic, but the haze was so bad we didn't even bother to take any pictures. We were on the Richardson Highway, which is only 1 of about 4 highways in Alaska. We stopped for breakfast in some roadhouse along the way, and it was pretty good. Of course it was expensive, but not as bad as some other places we have stopped. The gas was extremely high at $3.85 per gallon.

We arrived in Anchorage around lunch time. We really didn't know where to go, or what to do, so we did the next best thing, we went to Walmart. Their Walmart is located right in the middle of town, and is a pain to get to. We made is in and out without any problems though. We stopped for lunch right outside of Anchorage and ate at KFC. No big deal, just another KFC.

We headed for Anchorage and went through the town of Wasilla, the home of Sara Palin. The new portrays this as being a small one horse town. I will tell you that it is a lot bigger than and one horse town. It has a four lane highway running through the middle of it, and has numerous modern businesses. I remember one lady being interviewed on TV says that the town is so small everyone know everyone. I will tell you that is BullSh*&. There is no way everyone could know everyone in this town. We stopped at the Walgreen's for John, and no one knew us.

After our brief stop in Wasilla we headed to Talkeetna. It is located about 2 hours north of Anchorage. On the way we spotted a on the side road vender selling smoke salmon. We stopped and bought a little to try out later. I do not like fish, but I have always wanted to try Alaska Salmon.

We arrive in Talkeetna at around 4:30 pm. We had a little problem finding the motel, but that was quickly worked out. We decided to eat at the local pizza place and it turned out to be excellent pizza. Of course it was at a price. After dinner we headed back to the rooms and called it a night.

Tomorrow Fairbanks

Alaska Day 12

Today we planned to drive down to Valdez and then return to Glennallen. There are no words to express the sights I saw today. I will just let the pictures do the taking.

John

Alaska Day 11

Three thirty this morning, that's right, three thirty this morning I was standing outside my motel room with John watching Brian load his bike for the last leg of his Ultimate Coast to Coast Ride. For those that don't know, the Ultimate Coast to Coast is an Ironbutt Association sanctioned ride.

The Ironbutt Association is a group of endurance motorcyclist who
test themselves doing long distance rides against the clock. For
more information, if your interested, go to www.ironbutt.com and it
will explain it all to you.

This picture was taken at 3:30 am, no flash.



Brian plans on making Deadhorse today while we head to Glennallen. We plan to meet Monday
in Talkeetna, AK where we will meet up again and continue the ride.
On Sunday the rest of us are headed to Valdez, which will be a short
ride, but we plan to take all day doing it. The road from Glenallen
is suppose to be one of the most, if not the most scenic road in
Alaska.

Today we just plan on making it from Tok to
Glennallen, which is about 140 miles. We wanted a couple of slow
days to be able to rest up a bit. The roads in Canada beat us to
death, and we just want to kick back a while.

We had a good breakfast in Tok before
heading out. The highway between Tok and Glenallen is called the
Richardson Highway. In my previous two trips to Alaska, I have never
taken this highway, so this was new territory for me. The road is
fairly scenic. We kept a slow pace while looking at all the snow
capped mountains. We made several stops, one at a way station where
we had some oatmeal cookies that were fresh out of the oven.

At least I had a V8.

We arrived in Glennallen around 1:30 pm
local time. We went to the motel and found out our room would not be
ready for about an hour. That wasn't a big deal since we planned on
grabbing some lunch .

We decided to eat at the Caribou
Restaurant. The food wasn't bad, but the food prices were extremely
high. This is probably the most expensive restaurant we have eaten
at so far. After lunch we checked into the motel, and just chilled
out. We were suppose to have Internet, but that doesn't look like
its going to work out, so there is no telling when this post will be
uploaded.

We received a call from Brian around
7:00 pm finding out that he had reached Deadhorse. He seems to be
having some bike problems, so lets hope it turns out to be a minor
issue. His plans are to return to Fairbanks tomorrow, and see the
local dealer on Monday. Our plans are still to head down to Valdez
and then return to Glennallen for the night, and then head to
Talkeetna via Anchorage on Monday.

Alaska Day 10

As usual, we were up early and ready for breakfast at 6:00 am. We ate breakfast at the same restaurant that we had dinner last night. The service was a lot better and the waitress a lot friendlier. After checking out of the motel we headed north towards Alaska. Today is the day we should cross the border

Nothing exciting happened on the morning ride. We stopped in Haines Junction for a break and then continued on. The views were fantastic. Surrounded on two sides by snow capped mountains just made the ride perfect.

Here's one for you Lydia.  I haven't been able to wipe that smile off his face for two days.

After leaving Haines Junction we arrived a short time later in Destruction Bay. This is where we started to get into some serious road construction. Upon arriving at the bay we had to wait for a short time for a pilot car to lead us through. This is pretty much the norm if you ever drive up the Alcan.

Waiting at a construction site.

The construction was not bad. The gravel was a bit loose but dry. On three wheels like I am it was really a non issue. The guys on two wheels had some butt puckering moments though. We stopped in the community of Destruction Bay for a break and some gas. We also have been told about a grilled Cinnamon roll that is served here. We wanted to try it out.

After gassing us we went to the restaurant and ordered the roll. They also had regular ice tea. That is a rarity in Canada. Most of their tea is served out of a can. I was in heaven, a grilled Cinnamon roll and ice tea. It can't get any better than that can it? Well it can, it seems they had free WiFi at the restaurant. Brian, John and Dick ran, and I mean ran to their bikes to get their computers. It sort of looked funny with the three of them sitting at the table fixated on their computers.

Sorry, I already took a bite or two before I remembered to take a picture.

After our sugar, tea and computer fix we hit the road again. The road condition was terrible. Numerous frost heaves, pot holes and just general construction. This went on all the way to the boarder. We did finally make it to the Alaskan State Line, which is also the US boundary with Canada. Of course we stopped for some pictures before continuing on. We all made it through customs and decided to take a break at Boarder City, which is a gas station, restaurant, lodge located just inside the state. We had a light lunch and waited out some rain and then continued on to Tok.

I guess this means we made it.

We arrived in Tok around 4:30 local time. We checked into the Tok Motel for the night. We decided not to go to dinner since all of us were not really hungry. We walked to a nearby store and picked up a few snacks instead.

Tomorrow Brian heads out early for Deadhorse. The rest of us are going to get a late started and slowly make our way to Glenallen. Its only about a 140 miles, but we wanted a short day to rest up a bit.

Alaska Day 9

We all survived rooming together. I was the first to fall a sleep, and of course I was the first to wake up. We were packed up and on the road by around 5:30 am. We had to find a place to eat down the road since our motel's restaurant didn't open until 8:00 am. Turn out we had to drive about 130 miles to breakfast, Watson Lake was the first place that had an open restaurant.

On our ride to Watson Lake we saw numerous bears and buffalo. They were around every curve. We stopped several times for pictures and then continued on. The weather was cloudy and fairly cold. We did have some great scenery that included running rivers, and snow capped mountains.

We stopped for breakfast at the Belvedere Motel. John and I ordered the Grizzly Breakfast which was 3 eggs, 3 hams, 3 sausage, 3 bacons, with potatoes and toast. We both just about finished out meal. Just about that is. John said he had to order the same breakfast as me because he couldn't let me out do him.

After breakfast we visited the Sign Forrest, and then headed towards Whitehorse. The ride to Whitehorse was nothing special. There was some pretty good scenery, but that was about it. We arrived at Whitehorse around 4:30 pm and check into a motel near the airport.

Brian decided to switch tires on his bike in preparation for his ride up to Deadhorse. While he changed his tires I sat in the room drinking. I think I had the better part of that deal. After Brian was done we decided to go and eat, but first we wanted to go into the bar and partake in some alcoholic beverages. We met the rudest waitress that I have seen in years. She seemed to want to assist customers that needed to get back to the airport before us. Mind you we were there first, and between us we just plopped down $300.00 for some motel rooms that employees her.

In the end Brian and her got into a pissing contest, and in my opinion Brian won since he took his money elsewhere. We left the bar and went to the restaurant where we had a decent meal, but felt a little sorry for the overworked waitress. Even being overworked and understaffed she was 100 percent better than the bar waitress.

Tomorrow we head to Tok, Alaska. Lets see what happens.

Alaska Day 8

Our day started with a great breakfast at the motel's restaurant. Several of us decided to get the BC Breakfast which had a Trappers Braddock, (I think I spelled that right). The trappers thing is a very large large large biscuit. It is about the size of the breakfast plate. Of course not of us could eat the entire thing. At 6 am we decided to start rolling. The temperature was in the mid 40s, so it was a bit cool.

Nothing exiting on the first leg, except we saw our first moose. He was standing on the side of the road as I came around a curve, but he/she headed into the woods as soon as he/she saw us. I don't think Brian and Jerry got to see him.

We arrived at Fort Nelson around lunch time. Turns out this is O Canada Day, which is their independence day. They were getting ready for a big parade, so we hurriedly filled out tanks and got out of town before we became a part of the celebration. We had planned on eating lunch in Fort Nelson, but with all the festivities, we decided to find something down the road. We did find something 130 miles down the road.

After Fort Nelson is where the scenery starts to kick in. We enter the Northern Rockies Mountain Chain, and rode next to several rivers which of course I don't remember their names. These mountains are not as high as the lower Rockies, but they were snow capped and presented a beautiful sight. I had forgotten how scenic this section of the highway was. We stopped several times for pictures. We spotted a number of bear, sheep, and buffalo. My pictures didn't turn out so well, but I am going to scarf some from the other guys and post a couple.

We did have lunch in Toad Springs, which is just a spot on the road. Some had burgers , I had stew, and I'm not sure what the rest had. Lunch wasn't much to rave about. Just after we left Toad Springs we came up an accident where a motorcycle ran off the road. When we stopped for the night at Laird Hot Springs, I talked to a trucker who had stopped at the accident and he told me that the bike had hit gravel on the side of the road and lost control. He must have been distracted because the road was fairly straight at that point. Bad place to get in a accident, The only real hospital is probably a 1000 miles away. The trucker did say they flew the rider out for medical treatment.

As I said above we planned to stop at Laird Hot Springs for the night. Turns out they only had one double room left, so we decided to head down the road. Some other bikers, we met on the road had made reservations and had a room with four beds. Well some switching was done, and we ended up in that room, but poor Jerry got the air mattress. The air mattress is a full twin, so hopefully his night won't be so bad.

We had dinner at the motel's restaurant and I had ordered the special which was meat loaf and rice. Not bad, but as you can guess it was very expensive. That's to be expected since we are out in the middle of nowhere.

Tomorrow we head to Whitehorse.

Alaska Day 7

Woke up to a beautiful day. The sun was out and the air was crisp and clear. We decided last night how this was going to be a short travel day. The plan was do some laundry and then get our pictures at the start of the Alcan Highway in Dawson Creek. After that the plans were up in the air.

Dick, John and I decided to eat breakfast at the restaurant next door. Jerry and Brian decided to eat the slop the motel was offering, so after our respective breakfasts, we gassed up and headed down the road.

While we were passing through some unknown named spot on the road, I saw a sign to a laundry mat. We decided to check it out. We found the place and found it empty, so we decided this was the best time to take care of that task. That must have been a sight seeing three old men, and one youngster washing their clothes. We managed to get it done with out the women, but maybe it would be better to bring them along next time to take care of these small tasks. Liz, Regan and Lydia, I know I'm in trouble, I will be ducking when I see y'all. :)

With the laundry completed, we headed back down the road to Dawson Creek. Of course it started raining, but we were able to make it to town before it really got started. When found the sign showing the start or the Alcan Highway, so pictures we took. After that we wanted to find a place to hang out a bit and decided what to do next. After a bit if driving around, Brian spotted a coffee place called Hug A Mug. Figures he would find a DINK place like that.

The coffee shop was great. They had a special of chilie and a cheese muffin which was fantasic. After eating Dick and Jerry had to run to the hardware store to get some bolts, while John, Brian and I decided what to do next. After looking at the Mile Post we decided to make reservations at the Shepherd's Inn about 72 miles down the road.

I'm not going to get to far into the medical history of our group, but one of our members had an illness that requires some procedural treatments. He had a treatment before we left and as normal about day 4, 5 and 6 he gets a bit slow. I could tell today that this wasn't his best day but he wanted to continue on, but we, as a group, decided to keep it a short day. That turned out to be a good decision. Not to put it all on one person, I have some medical issues that also have me moving a bit slow, so I wanted a short day to rest up.

While heading to the motel I spotted a sign to a wooden curved bridges on the Old Alaskan Highway. It was still early so we took the 5K detour to check it out. It was great, I can imagine how tough it must have been to build that thing.

After checking out the bridge we left and arrived at the motel a short time later. We checked in and some took a nap, some took and walk, and the rest sat around drinking. I guess you can figure out which part I did.

We ate dinner at the motel's restaurant. It was a great meal. Most of us had the hamburger steak which was great. After dinner we had a night cap, and went to bed early.

Tomorrow our plan is to head to Watson Lake. Don't know if we will make it, but we will see how it goes.