link to more photo/slideshow on YouTube
JULY 16 11PM
HOME SWEET HOME!
we rode 13 hours today, covered 721 miles. went from; indiana to ohio to west virginia to pennsylvannia to new jersey to new york. worst roads in the country go to NJ and New York! we covered a total of 11,037 miles! had a great time seeing the sights of our country and canada. i'd love to go back to some of it by car to take photos at a slower pace. Alaska is HUGE. they have very limited highways there. i think their highways are numbered 1,2,3,4,5. thats why we had to backtrack on the way home. the scenery in alaska was phenonminal. we passed through Wasilla which is located in a beautiful spot surrounded by towering mountains. i called Sarah palin but she never returned my call. i guess she was out fishing. denali park and MT Mckinley were impressive. the kenai peninsula trip to Homer was great. we saw three volcanos across the bay while riding there. Alaska has about 80 volcanos which are part of the pacific ring of fire.Jasper national park and Banf national park in Canada were outstanding and highly recommended. the Beartooth pass road to the top of the mountain was a highlight but definitely not for those afraid of heights. the Bighorn national park and black hills roads were almost as impressive and awe inspiring.
all in all a great trip that seemed to take less time than it did. we rode every day except one. that was the day the belt on tony's bike was being repaired in Fairbanks. a special thanks to my brother for taking me on this trip. i of course could never had done such an adventure without him and his experience and his help. i may have slowed him down a bit at times, but overall i think i did pretty good for my first trip. Special thanks to Dan who is incredible. he let me take his bike to alaska with no conditions but to have fun. the bike performed perfectly for the whole trip. thanks to my colleagues at work for taking on the extra work and keeping things going while i was away. and of course thanks to Patty for keeping things going at home.thats it. i hope you enjoyed following us on this adventure. Next year?? its going to be tough to beat this one. for now - back to reality.
7/15/14 day 24
Well today was all riding. No sights. All flat ground with lots of corn. Miles and miles of corn.
We left town of Albert Lea in Minnesota and 703 miles later checked in a hotel in Centerville Indiana, right on the border of Indiana and Ohio. When we passed through Indianapolis we saw the best sunset of the entire trip.
We passed 10,000 miles today. Expect to be home tomorrow night with about 700 miles left. Another full day of riding. Hopefully the rain will be cleared out before we get there.
7/14/14
congratulations to my brother's son Cliff and his wife Kelly. she recently gave birth to their first child, a month early. mother and child, Milo, are doing fine.
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Crazy Horse
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First stop today was the Crazy Horse memorial. It is a rock carving in the mountain, similar to Mt. Rushmore, but dedicated to an indian warrior Crazy Horse. it is a work in progress. His head is 80 feet high, larger than the mt rushmore presidents. The intention is to carve the rest of the warrior on his horse at which time it will be over 500 feet.
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mt. rushmore
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After that we rode to Mt. Rushmore. I took a few photos and we were off. I noted there was more room on the mountain for another president. Or maybe a nearby mountain could be used. Don’t get me started.
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badlands
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| badlands |
Hit the road and traveled east to the Badlands National park. These striking geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here. The park’s 244,000 acres protect an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today. The road through the park is nearly 25 miles long. It is a very interesting and unusual landscape worth visiting.
That concluded the sightseeing portion of our tour. Now we are headed directly home. We covered 600 miles today despite the stops above. The weather was sunny, but cool at 60 degrees. Even cooler while riding. Needed the heated jacket while riding. we made it to Minnesota.
Tomorrow we head east on route 80. Hopefully we can get through Ohio. We have covered about 9500 miles. Only 1200 to go!
7/13/14
Up early and on the road by 8:00. Left Cody heading toward South Dakota. After riding east for awhile we entered the Bighorn National forest. At first the road was sandwiched by towering rock walls. then the road began to climb , winding its way up the mountain with many narrow sharp turns along the edge of the mountain. Views of the canyon below as you ascended.
We took route 90 for a while. Stopped for gas and even went to mcdonalds for lunch! On route 90 again we continued and exited heading for Custer south Dakota. Along the way we saw several groups of antelope, and a herd of buffalo. Before getting to Custer we had to cross the Black Hills National forest. Again this started benign and then became another mountain hugging curvey narrow road up and over the mountain.
Both the bighorn and black hills roads were extraordinary rides. We made it to Custer, found a hotel , and then headed for custer state park. The loop road about 60 miles passes through huge rock formations, narrow tunnels carved through the rocks allowing vehicles in only one direction at a time. That road also was narrow with sharp turns. We stopped for dinner at the Blue Bell Lodge along the way. Had rattlesnake and rabbit sausage for an appetizer. Doesn’t sound too appetizing though. It wasnt bad. After dinner we completed the lower loop of the park, the wildlife loop road. Hoping to see many buffalo, we only came across about 6 lying down in the shade. we did also come across a donkey on the side of the road. He was very picturesque. so naturally I took his picture
7/12/14
7/10/14
7/11/14
Left Bozeman headed toward Cody Wyoming. Took highway 90 over to Red Lodge Montana From Red Lodge we entered Custer National Park on the Beartooth Highway.
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| lake at top at 11,000 feet |
It runs between Red Lodge and Cooke City, two small towns in southern Montana. In order to traverse the 35 miles between the two towns, it meanders nearly 65 miles.
From Red Lodge (altitude 5500 feet above sea level), the road ascends for about 15 miles along the floor of Rock Creek Canyon. The grade doesn't look very steep, but the road actually climbs at nearly 100 feet every mile. Then it starts up the side of the canyon by a series of hair-raising switchbacks.
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| snowbanks next to road |
The road was narrow, hugged the edge of the mountain and had many very sharp turns. It crosses Montana's highest mountain range, at altitudes up to 11,000 feet. it goes right over the mountains. Along the way are forests, deep canyons, rugged cliffs, high mountains, clear blue lakes, alpine tundra, snow banks and almost every kind of mountain scenery known. It is called "America's most beautiful highway."
It was an exciting and stressful ride to the top. The ride down the backside was thankfully more gentle. When we reached the bottom we took Chief Joseph highway to Cody Wyoming.
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up at 9000 feet
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Arguably one of the most beautiful highways in America, the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway runs through parts of the North Absaroka Range and gives breathtaking glimpses of mountain ranges on the way to Cody. the road hugs the edge of the mountain with numerous curves, s turns, switchbacks, which make it a favorite with motorcylists. It was very scenic, and a great ride, and thankfully not as stressful as the Beartooth.
I stopped along the way to take a few pictures and met up with Tony where the rode enters Cody. We went to the Irma Hotel and restaurant. It was founded by Buffalo Bill Cody and is still going. We had dinner there. Headed back to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow. We are headed for South Dakota.7/11/14
On the road from Cranbrook at 8:15. Headed for US Border. Arrived there about 9:30. Waited on line for half hour. Finally made it back to the US in Montana. Drove through Whitefish, Kalispell, and Flatfish Bay. Stopped at Harley store in Kalispell. Then to Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. 450 miles again today. We passed 8000 miles today. The montana mountains up here are spectacular too, but it was very hazy today. Temperature got to 90 degrees. That’s hot no matter how fast you go.
We stopped in Bozeman for the night. Big day tomorrow. Heading for chief Joseph highway then on to Cody.
7/10/14
No more big foot incidents during the night. Tony got up about 4am and saw a doe and fawn right in front of our cabin. Went back to sleep. When we got up about 7, he said there were 2 bucks out front now. I figured if the deer were around there was no Bigfoot nearby. So I went out and took their picture.
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| Jasper |
We left Mcbride about 8am. It was about 45 degrees so we bundled up for the cold ride. As the day wore on, the temperature gradually went to 85 degrees as we gradually shed layer after layer. My heated jacket blew a fuse yesterday so I couldn’t use it today. I replaced the fuse tonight, so I should be good if needed in the future.
We then headed for Cranbrook for a hotel. the road to Cranbrook was an exciting road to ride with many turns. I noted that riding turn after turn felt similar to skiing. 420 miles today. |
| jasper |
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| jasper |
Well we made it Jasper and stopped for gas. Then headed for Jasper National Park. The scenery was stunning, with towering mountains, light blue lakes and rivers, snow covered mountains with glaciers. The roads were in extremely good condition since it is a main thoroughfare. It followed the river in the valley so it wasn’t the mountain hugging high road that I was expecting. After Jasper National Park we entered Banf National Park. I recommend this trip today to everyone. I think it rivals the scenery anywhere else in North America. I hope to do it again so I can get out and explore the park.
Got to the hotel, had dinner and then to the car wash to wash the bikes.
More on the analysis and psychology of the low five….i haven’t figured out what distance apart the wave stops, but I did make some other observations. It appears that there are 3 categories of riders – first wavers, responding wavers and non wavers. If 2 first wavers approach, they will both wave. If a first wave approaches a responding waver, they both wave, but if 2 responding wavers approach, they each wait for the other and then no wave. So its hard to tell then if they were responding wavers or non wavers. There is also the factor of the type of bike. Harley riders will wave at other Harleys most of the time. Bmw riders only wave about 50 % of the time. Hondas rarely wave. I am a responding waver by nature, but will become a first waver to try to determine if bmw riders are non wavers or responding wavers. Stay tuned.
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| sunset at beaver creek |
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| us at beaver creek cabin in McBride |
7/9/14
Up a little later than usual today. Maybe because we actually had a night last night. First time it got dark in a long time. Had breakfast and we say goodbye to Smithers. We head down route 37 then east on route 16 toward Prince George. In Vanderhoof we filled up with gas. We got to Prince George about 50 miles later so we didn’t stop for gas. That proved a mistake. 100 miles later it appeared we may not have enough gas to make it to the next town. We pulled over in a rest stop/ picnic area to calculate how far we needed to go. The furthest my brother has made it between fuel was 150 miles. We already had 150 miles since last fillup, and the next town was another 50 miles away.
In the rest stop we asked some local workers how far the next gas was – they confirmed about 50 miles. We will probably make it, and if not I had fuel we could siphon into his tank from mine. Then they offered us to go with them to the town yard where we could put some gas in our tank as long as we paid for it. Followed him to the yard, Tony put a gallon in his tank, paid $6, and we’re on our way. Should be a piece of cake now. An hour later we made it McBride and fueled up. Turns out he would have made it without the extra gallon. Better to be safe than sorry.
On the way to McBride we saw a grizzly and he saw a couple of black bears.
The ride today was fun, the road was in great shape, but the scenery, while nice, was very different from past days. It was mostly rolling hills, pastures with cattle, fields of hay baled into rolls.
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| shot by river where rock was thrown into water |
In McBride we got a cabin by the river. Went for dinner at the Giggling Grizzly. Then back to the cabin. I walked down to the river to take photos of the mountains. I walked through waste high grass and trees to the river’s edge. While there taking pictures, a large KERPLUNK and slash about 25 feet from me. I was startled at first, then started looking for who threw the rock into the river. I assumed it was my brother, but he wouldn’t have walked that far. I looked around but the trees and weeds would easily conceal someone. Knowing it couldn’t be my brother and not wanting to explore the high grass and trees near the edge of the river, I high tailed it back to the cabin. Tony was cleaning his bike so that ruled him out. I spoke to the hotel woman, and she said bears are often down by the river’s edge, but no bear is going to throw a large boulder. The only other explanation she said, was Sasquatch. WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?? Oh yes, she said there have been many sighting of them in this area. GREAT. I could have been famous with a photo of Sasquatch, assuming they found my camera!
We past 7000 miles today. Tomorrow we head for Jasper Park in the Canadian Rockies, then on to montana and the good old USA.
7/8/14
Woke up at Dease Lake today. Out by 815am. Temperature a cold 45 degrees. Headed further south to Smithers in British Columbia. Theres a Harley dealer there and we will get bikes serviced again.
Sunny and clouds today. Temperature eventually got up to 80 degrees. Road was in pretty good shape.
At one point today we went 150 miles without seeing a gas station. Starting to get nervous, then we came upon a sign saying gas in historic town of gitanyow. So we turned down the side road and 2 miles later came upon a small village and a gas station. The town had multiple large totem poles. The gas station had 2 pumps – one for Indians, and one for others. So we gassed up and continued back to the road south.
Made the Harley dealer in smithers before they closed. They were able to change the oil in the bikes. Got a hotel room right next door. Met two other Harley bikers at the hotel. they drove from Massachusetts and Tennessee and actually They made the same trip as we did for the past 2 days from Homer Alaska to Smithers. Followed us by an hour! Interesting.
We have covered almost 7000 miles to date. Didn’t take many pictures today. Had to concentrate on the road. I realized that on a motorcycle you only get to make one mistake. You can imagine the concentration and nerves of steel you need when traveling at 65mph on a narrow 2 lane road, in a curve, with a tractor trailer headed toward you and no shoulder on the road with a steep drop off, while dodging potholes and wildlife. But that’s how we roll.
We’ll head for Prince George tomorrow.
7/7/14
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road to Dease Lake
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Last night in Haines Junction the sun went behind the mountains at 12 midnight. Picture of the mountain and moon at that time.
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| grizzly |
Today we left about 9am headed toward Whitehorse. On the way we spotted a grizzly on the left sideof the road and a black bear on the right side. Then we passed a small lake with a herd of elk hanging around it. We got there in a couple of hours and continued onward toward Watson lake. We are taking route 37 south from Watson lake to get us to Jasper National park in a couple of days.
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| midnight at haines junction |
Route 37 turned out to be a real backwoods road. We were dodging potholes for 10 miles. Thought we would have to turn back since we had 150 miles to go. Also – we gassed up at Watson lake, but the next gas is in dease lake 150 miles away. We usually get gas every 100 to 140 miles. It will be cutting it close, but we should make it. Finally the potholes subsided and the road became reasonably smooth, but still deep in the back country. We spotted a grizzly on the side of the road. he was shy and went back into the woods after I stopped.
Eventually, 150 miles later we pulled into dease lake, gassed up, and went to the motel for the night. The only restaurant in town was closed. So we went to the gas station convienience store and bought some swanson microwave dinners. Covered 540 miles today.
7/6/14
Yesterday we logged over 500 miles from Homer to Mentasta.
Well the relaxing suite in Mentasta turned out to be an 8x10 room with 2 small single beds, and after we checked in they told us – no hot water. Great. Anyway we slept well. Got on the road headed for Tok, about 40 miles north. It was cold, about 60 and cloudy. Started raining in Tok and for about 40 miles. Then the skies cleared. Temp went to 75. Passed through Canadian customs . as we left Alaska.
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| destruction bay |
Along the way we passed destruction bay. A very long, very picturesque lake. It’s water is colored cobalt blue, from the minerals and copper that washes into it from the surrounding mountains. But – it is also extremely windy. Winds regularly range up to 100 km. the wind was so strong it tries blowing the helmet right off your head. You have to crab into the wind to keep from being blown off the road. Along the bay we stopped to see the local natural history museum. My brother, the intellectual, wanted to stop there to visit. I wanted to keep riding. So I just waited outside and soaked up some rays while he soaked up some local culture. So back on the road, he has no patience for me trying to take pictures of this beautiful place. So he just keeps going. I couldn’t pass up taking some photos of this place. Go figure.
Heading toward Haines Junction we spotted a grizzly cub on the side of the road- a couple of photos, and we’re on the way again. Got a room in Haines junction. Nice place- see the photos from our rooms.
We past 6000 miles traveled to date. No aches – no pains. One with the road!
While riding today I was pondering the intricacies of the low five biker wave. It appears that the angle of the wave is proportionate to the distance between the path of travel of you and the approaching biker. You see, on a two lane road with only a stripe separating you, the wave is close to 6 o’clock position. As the distance increases, with say a median or grass strip the angle increases toward the 9 o’clock position. then at some distance which I haven’t figured out yet, the wave stops! More on this as I gain more insight.
Headed to Whitehorse tomorrow.7/5/14
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| homer, ak |
Okay. Today we got up and out about 8:00 am. The town of homer (where we stayed last night)was amazing. It is at the very southern end of the kenai peninsula. It has this really cool sand bar that is about 7 miles long. The locals say it is the longest sandbar in the world. I believe it. We stopped at the tip of the “spit” to grab a beer ( or two) at the salty dawg. Very cool place dirty greasy and packed with mostly one toothed locals. Thousands of dollar bills that people sign and hang all over every inch of the place. Now that frank doesn’t exist anymore, just a biker named SPIKE, we packed our steel ponies and headed to points north then east towards home. Can’t believe we just made the great circle route in Alaska (that’s what real bikers do). We are dripping coolness . anyway, the 500 mile trip up north was great . we saw moose, glaciers, towering snow covered mountain ranges and now relaxing in a beautiful suite in Mentasta just south of Toke. Tomorrow we should be back in Canada in the Yukon territories ( or the Klondike as we call it) .We did get some awesome pics today, check em out. LATER ALL. Tune in again tomorrow flatlanders……….
Okay. Today we got up and out about 8:00 am. The town of homer (where we stayed last night)was amazing. It is at the very southern end of the kenai peninsula. It has this really cool sand bar that is about 7 miles long. The locals say it is the longest sandbar in the world. I believe it. We stopped at the tip of the “spit” to grab a beer ( or two) at the salty dawg. Very cool place dirty greasy and packed with mostly one toothed locals. Thousands of dollar bills that people sign and hang all over every inch of the place. Now that frank doesn’t exist anymore, just a biker named SPIKE, we packed our steel ponies and headed to points north then east towards home. Can’t believe we just made the great circle route in Alaska (that’s what real bikers do). We are dripping coolness . anyway, the 500 mile trip up north was great . we saw moose, glaciers, towering snow covered mountain ranges and now relaxing in a beautiful suite in Mentasta just south of Toke. Tomorrow we should be back in Canada in the Yukon territories ( or the Klondike as we call it) .We did get some awesome pics today, check em out. LATER ALL. Tune in again tomorrow flatlanders……….7/4/14
Got on the road about 9 and headed for anchorage. When we arrived in anchorage we made a turn onto a street that said “no turns.” The street was lined with people. We stopped to ask a cop where to go, and he told us that everyone was waiting for the parade to start. As we drove down the street , people were waving at us. Maybe they thought we were the start of the parade.
We found a restaurant with an outdoor table with a view and had lunch there. After lunch we headed for Homer on the kenai peninsula. 211 miles away. It was a beautiful ride with mountains, inlets, glaciers. We made it to Homer , the halibut fishing capital of the world, about 5pm.
We got a cabin on a lake that is used for seaplane landings for sightseeing trips. After checking in we went to the spit. A large sand bar that extends several miles into the bay. On the spit is the Salty Dawg, where we had to go for a drink. This is also the home port of the Time Bandit from the TV show about king crab fishing.Went to another restaurant for dinner, and then back to the cabin to relax.
Tomorrow we start the trek homeward. We have to backtrack a little before heading south through british Columbia toward Idaho.
7/3/14
Cant believe we have been gone a week and a half already. We have covered about 4950 miles. We’ll exceed 5000 tomorrow as we head to anchorage.
Today we got started at 745am. No delays , no problems. left the hotel in Fairbanks headed for Denali park. We made denali park in about 2 hours. Headed for the visitor center. In the parking lot area we saw a mother moose with 2 young moose. Drove the park road for 15 miles and back. while the landscape was interesting it didn’t meet my expectations. Really couldn’t see Mt. McKinley ( Denali) (denali means “high one”) since it was still very far from the park road (probably about 50 miles.) ( denali is over 20,000 feet high.
We left the park and headed south on the highway. The highway offered better mountain views than the park road. At mile 163 we stopped and took photos of Denali. The peak was exposed, with a layer of clouds below.
At mile 135 there is another stop to view Denali. While the other mountains looked good, Denali now had clouds covering the top part of the mountain. Took some photos and waited around for a while, but the clouds wouldn’t move off the peak.
We left and headed for the town of talkeetna. As we entered the town much to our surprise, Denali was and fully dramatically visible in the distance. I took some shots. Best ones all day!
We ended the day in Wasilla. Also surprised with the dramatic mountain range that surrounds the town.
Tomorrow we head to anchorage.
7/2/14
Up early – checked out of hotel, loaded bikes and towed my brothers bike a couple of hundred yards to the Harley dealer. It was raining again. They weren’t open yet. They don’t open till 9am. By the way we read today that this has been the rainiest June since 1912 when they started keeping records! Figures. I think the forecast though is good. We expect to see the sun tomorrow.
At 9 they opened the doors and we got the bikes set up for service. Mine needed oil and filter, checkup, and a new rear tire. His needed the same plus the battery he needed for the past few days, and the replacement of the drive belt which broke yesterday.
They said bikes wouldn’t be ready till 430. So we called a car rental place, who came and picked us up. We went to have breakfast. While eating tony decided he needed to see a dentist. So he called one and they said come right in. After breakfast we headed to the dentist. In a half hour he was done, good to go.
We drove to a nearby gold mine operation to pan for gold! But we couldn’t wait for the next tour. So we left. Before we left we were able to see part of the Alaska pipeline which runs from the northern coast of Alaska to Valdez near anchorage about 800 miles of 4 foot diameter pipe!
We then drove to the large animal research center to see muskox, but we couldn’t wait for the next tour so we left there. We drove to downtown Fairbanks which is fairly depressed and run down. We went to Mecca, a local bar. It was full of drunken eskimos. I say that in a nice way. So we had one drink and left.
We then drove to the large animal research center to see muskox, but we couldn’t wait for the next tour so we left there. We drove to downtown Fairbanks which is fairly depressed and run down. We went to Mecca, a local bar. It was full of drunken eskimos. I say that in a nice way. So we had one drink and left.
Next on the list – we drove to the North Pole. Yep Santa’s home. He was there with his reindeer. Tony didn’t want to wait in line to take a picture with Santa, so we headed back to the Harley shop. My bike was ready, his was still being worked on. 2 hours later we’re paying and headed back to the hotel.
We got set up at the hotel and headed to a car wash to wash the bikes. Tomorrow we head to Denali Park.
7/1/14
I woke up at 4am. The sun was already up. It sets
around 1130. Went back to sleep. We were ready to go at 730am. Had to jump my brothers bike again to start it, and we are on our way. Twenty miles into the trip to Fairbanks, we stopped to put on the rain gear. It looked threatening ahead. Shortly after getting started, it began to rain. Temperature was down to 45 degrees. Good to have heated jacket to keep toasty warm.
We saw numerous moose today along the side of the road. They really are HUGE when youre up close to them.
100 miles into the trip the drive belt on tony’s bike broke. Major problem. We’re in the middle of nowhere. We pullover to evaluate. Yep the belt is shot. Fortunately he had a temporary belt so we began the process of installing that after numerous cuss words. It took about an hour to disassemble and the install the belt.
Back on the road headed to Fairbanks. Stopped for gas in a small town of Delta Junction after riding another 100 miles. Filled up and back on the road. Less than one minute into the trip, the new temporary belt let loose. Fortunately we are still in the town. We hooked up a tow line. We switched bikes and he towed me a short way to a hotel. Looks like we’re staying here for the night. He called the Harley dealer in Fairbanks who dispatched a tow truck to pick us up. But that’s about 2 hours away. So we cancelled the room, and he towed me to the nearby restaurant. It was closed on Tuesday. Now he towed me about a mile to another restaurant where we waited for the tow truck.
Back on the road headed to Fairbanks. Stopped for gas in a small town of Delta Junction after riding another 100 miles. Filled up and back on the road. Less than one minute into the trip, the new temporary belt let loose. Fortunately we are still in the town. We hooked up a tow line. We switched bikes and he towed me a short way to a hotel. Looks like we’re staying here for the night. He called the Harley dealer in Fairbanks who dispatched a tow truck to pick us up. But that’s about 2 hours away. So we cancelled the room, and he towed me to the nearby restaurant. It was closed on Tuesday. Now he towed me about a mile to another restaurant where we waited for the tow truck.
The truck arrived about 2 hours later. We loaded both bikes on the truck and now we are ready to complete the trek to Fairbanks. 2 hours later we are in Fairbanks at a hotel next to the Harley dealer. We arrived about 930pm. Tomorrow we’ll bring bikes to Harley for repair and servicing.
Fortunately the Road Glide I am riding has performed flawlessly and is a pleasure to drive. Comfortable, still no aches or pains after 4500 miles! Its like sitting in my office with scenery moving by. Thanks Dan, you’re the man.
6/30/14
We got up early again but again the bike wouldnt start. Tony called numerous places but they were either closed for Canada Day or did not have a battery for his bike. We got a worker from the hotel to help jump the bike – he had a car but no cables. So I headed for the “home depot” type store nearby to buy cables. When I got to the store the store was dark. Power failure! We could go in and shop but had to pay in Canadian money – no credit cards because of the power failure. So off I went to find an atm. Got one, got money , and now back to “home depot”.. got the cable and returned to the hotel. The bike started up with the jump and we were on our way. But first we needed to gas up. Went to the nearby gas station - but Power failure their too. Went to another station. Now I gassed up but tony didn’t want to shut off his bike due to the battery proble. But the guy there said it’s a law the vehicle has to be off or he cant get get gas. So he shut it off, filled up , and yes, the bike wouldn’t start. We were on a hill so the guy pushed him down the street to try to get up speed and start the bike. The bike started – tony took off down the hill – and the guy then fell on his face in the street. Well we are now really on our way.
It was sunny and relatively warm – 60 degrees. Nice to see the sun. as we rode on the scenery was better than yesterday. We saw a black bear, and hit a 10 mile stretch where the road was covered with roadkill – little prairie dog looking critters. No wonder they constantly run across the road in front of you. As we continued on I saw a caribou slowly running along the edge of the road. He was pretty big, had velvet on his growing antlers. So I immediately pressed the brakes, and looked ahead to see that my brother did not press his brakes. OH NO- that’s not good. The caribou was running next to my brother who was doing 65mph. suddenly the caribou made a sharp left turn right across the path of the motorcycle. Still no brake lights! A slight swerve to the right and he was able to miss the animal but by inches only. That was almost a trip ending event. However all was safe.
As we got near haines junction we spotted a grizzly bear on the side of the road, but I couldn’t get a picture of him. We had lunch in haines junction, then continued north. The mountains were unbelievable. Even though it was getting full clouds, it was great. At destruction bay, which had water bright blue – like youd see in the carribean – we stopped for gas. As I came out of the shop after paying, I opened the door and suddenly stumbled and fell flat on my side. Unfortunately most of the town people were there to see that – all 4 of them. I bruised my ribs, and every bump after that made the ribs hurt. On the way we spotted another grizzly bear on the side of the road. We stopped. I took out my camera, but this big guy was too busy eating with his head down that I couldn’t get a good shot. Finally after honking the horn, he raised his head, and WHAM – I got the shot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s him at the top.
As we rode we saw foreboding clouds up ahead. So we stopped to don our rain gear- a sure bet it wont rain now. But no – it rained and rained for at least 100 miles. The roads for that portion of the trip were the worst yet- gravel, mud, bumps, holes, construction zones, loose gravel stones.
I think I mastered a motorcycle technique today – the low wave. Whenever us motorcycle people pass each other in opposite directions we give each other the “low five” wave. We’re a close knit fraternity. Sometimes if they don’t return the low five wave – you give them the “high one” wave.
Wait what’s that up ahead???? “WELCOME TO ALASKA” WE MADE IT TO ALASKA TODAY. Woohoo!! Cleared US immigration/customs. And we’re back in the USA.
Got a hotel nearby the border. Another time zone change – so now we are 4 hours different than NY.
Tomorrow – Fairbanks!!!!!!!!!!
6/29/14
we got up early- ready to ride at 730. Unfortunately the new battery in my brothers bike didn’t start the bike after the long night. We got a jump to get it started. So after a wasted hour we finally got on the road. . hopefully when we get to fairbanks harley dealer we can get that fixed and get bikes serviced again.
After about 30 minutes riding we got to muncho lake. The scenery was stunning. The water was blue. The road on one side of the lake ran along shear cliff on one side and water on the other.
After about 30 minutes riding we got to muncho lake. The scenery was stunning. The water was blue. The road on one side of the lake ran along shear cliff on one side and water on the other.
We ran in to rain along the way. But we made the yukon territory yesterday.
we rode about 490 miles. beautiful scenery. saw numerous black bears, moose, and a herd of buffalo, all off the side of the rode. we are about 3800 miles out. 600 to fairbanks!
we made it to Whitehorse, the capital city of the Yukon. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll reach Alaska.
By far this was the best riding day in terms of scenery. But I heard it get better.
6/28/14
We got up early. Ready to go at 7:30. But we ran into a problem. Tony’s bike wouldn’t start. After several attempts he asked me to go to a gas station and get some starting fluid. So off I went --- to 3 gas stations, a chevy dealership parts store, and finally an auto parts store. The store wasn’t opened yet. So I waited. Someone showed up and let me in early. I got the fluid and hurried back to the hotel. He tried the fluid to no avail. Next we found someone with jumper cables and another person with a car jumped the battery. It started. So off we went to the auto parts store to pick up a new battery. They didn’t have the right size and after calling all around town they were unable to find any other open stores that might have our battery. So he took the closest one and we put it in the bike. It worked. So after 3.5 hours we were ready to ride.
We hit the Alaska Highway headed for Toad River where we had a cabin reserved 400 miles away. When we started the road was fairly flat. Limited visibility on both sides due to tall trees. But then – WAM. In the distance we had our first glimpse of the Canadian Rockies. They looked majestic and snow covered even though 50 miles or more away. The trip from Fort Nelson to Toad River – about 100 miles was the best scenic ride since starting the trip. We climbed our first mountain, saw a dead moose, and a live black bear.
The weather was great at the start of the trip, but about 2 hours into it we saw threatening clouds in front of us. So we stopped and put on our rain gear just as it started raining. We rode in the rain for a while before it stopped and we made it to sunshine again. Later on in the day with about 20 miles to go it started raining again, then it started hailing while we were riding. We got to the hotel and it stopped raining. Our cabin is on a lake. While looking at the lake we spotted several moose on the opposite shore or in the water. One big bull was in the water. I was able to get a couple of shots of him. It was still light out at 11 pm!
6/27/14 – We hit another milestone today. By the end of the day we passed 3000 Miles.
We left Edmonton at 730 this morning. The sky was blue, but the temp was 55 degrees. Bundled up because at that temp it pretty cold when doing 65 mph. On the way, we spotted a coyote, buffalo and a deer. When we stopped for a drink in a small town, we spotted Mel’s and Ess’. Run by amish folks.
While drinking soda in the parking lot we talked to a local farmer guy – 86 years old. He owns 4 quarters of land (160 acres each) . He showed us pictures of deer, bears, and a wolf in this area that he took.
After we passed Edmonton about an hour the landscape started changing. We began to see trees instead of just flat farmland.
The trees ultimately turned into rolling hills.
We made it to dawsons creek in British Columbia by 3pm, ahead of dark clouds which appeared to be trying to catch us.. We gassed up and decided to continue riding to Fort St. John. Just as we were leaving the gas station it began raining and hailing. A few minutes later we saw the sign announcing entering the Alaska Highway. So we stopped to take a picture in the rain. Then headed out. 10 minutes later the rain stopped.
We made it to Fort St. John, got a hotel after stopping several times. Went to dinner in the hotel, but the screwed up the order, and my brother didn’t want to stay. So we left and went to the neighboring hotel for dinner.
Still no aches and pains – amazing.
Today I needed to pull up the zipper on my coat and this necessitated me riding with no hands on the handle bars. No big deal….but it did get me thinking---motorcycles are inherently stable unless acted upon by an outside force. In fact they react similar to gyroscopes. That explains how steering works on a bike. You see, with a gyroscope, when you apply a force in one direction there is a moment produced in the perpendicular direction. Hence when you want to make a right turn you apply a forward force on the right handle bar- opposite of what you’d think. And the bike turns to right – perpendicular to the force applied.
6/26/14. we hit another milestone - we passed 2600 miles today and more than half way to alaska.
i got up at 5am. i thought it was 7 but i was looking at ny time on my watch. so we ended up leaving early today at 730. it was sunny when we started but temp were about 60. after riding for an hour the sky ahead looked very threatening so we donned our rain gear. it never did rain , but the clouds ultimately cleared and we saw the sun. we ultimately made it to edmonton for the night.
6/25/14 we hit a milestone today - we passed 2000 miles! we got up and left at 830am headed for minot ND. on the way we crossed the continental divide at 1490 feet. made it to minot at 12pm. went to the harley davidson dealer in Minot. had the bikes serviced - oil changed, filters, washing. at 3pm they were done so we decided to continue on rather than stay here tonight.
very cloudy and cold - 57 deg when we left in the morning- then no higher than 60 all day. we made it to the canada border crossing, passed immigration and customs and continued in saskatchewan. after half an hour of riding the sun came out. we made it to weyburn and stayed there.
6/24/14
We stayed in Wisconsin last might. Headed for Minnesota today. Got up and left at 8:15 am.
We ended up riding for over 600 miles by end of day. We decided to take back roads in Wisconsin to Minnesota. So we took the Great river road, which traveled north along the Mississippi river through numerous small towns. We crossed the Mississippi at Prescott and headed to Minneapolis. Went through Minneapolos and St. paul, and continued northwest toward Fargo ND. About 22 miles short of fargo, my brothers bike ran out of gas. Mine still had ¾ of a tank. We suspect something is wrong with the bike or the gas we got. Fortunately he ran out about a mile from a gas station. A short ride there and back with a gallon of gas, got us to the station for a fill up. While there it started to rain. Rain gear on for the rest of day. When we got to fargo the sun was out so we just kept going hoping to find a hotel on the outskirts of fargo. Well - Fargo has no outskirts. We had to drive another 50 miles before finding a hotel in valley city. Still don’t know if anything is wrong with the bike but we’ll have it checked at the harley dealer when we get to Minot, ND tomorrow. We expect to have the bikes checked and the oil changed there. Then its off to Canada on Thursday.
6/23/14 got going at 815 am today. left PA, made it to ohio. stopped for mexican food at noon. then we made it through ohio, indiana, anmd illinois today. we had 3 severe rain storms. one was torrential. lightning to the north of us. made it to the chicago area and hit major traffic. 10 mile backup stop and go. what a mess. covered 578 miles today. we ended up in wisonsin for the night.
6/22/14 Big Day!
left today at 1:30 after stopping at the baby shower and saying hello and goodbye to everyone. my brothers daughter in law had her baby shower today or we would have left earlier.
OMG i cant believe i'm doing this. oh well -- off we go. made it to the throgs neck bridge with no problems. But the cross bronx expressway was bumper to bumper from one end to the GW bridge. Took us about an hour. i literally had to walk almost the whole way!
we made it almost through Pennsylvania. 20 miles to Ohio. but stopped riding when sun went down.
Aside from the wildlife in the bronx. we had our first wildlife encounter in the center of PA. a deer was standing right in the middle of the road. we had to almost stop before he decided to run into the woods.
we covered 431 miles today. Not bad for starting at 1:30. weather was beatiful today.
expect to get past chicago tomorrow.
6/18/14 I agreed to accompany my brother on a motorcycle trip to alaska! only problem - i never rode a motorcycle.
so i got my motorcycle permit in April, took a training course in may, and got my license in June.
I have borrowed a real nice Harley road glide from a friend of my brother. he said "just take it and have fun." since he has several bikes, maybe ill buy it from him when i return - if i ever want to see a bike again.
i bought a helmet, jacket with armor in it, rain gear, luggage which attaches to the bike, gloves and boots (patty bought for me). She's been very suppotive through this whole time, but she's getting nervous now.
my kids got me assorted pain killers, bandana, balaclava, tee shirts.
i had the bike inspected and tuned up.
made my list of stuff i need to bring. so i think we're ready to go.
the big day is this sunday june 22. the whole trip is scheduled for 30 days. hopefully we can get there in 10 days. its about 4,500 miles to Fairbanks, Alaska from Miller Place, NY. we expect the trip to cover 10,000 miles! stay tuned - ill try to write each day.
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| glacier |
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| entering beartooth highway |
