Alaska 2011

We crossed the border at Sumas, Wa. Our ride was just beginning . Gateway to what will be our best adventure to date.

Hat Creek Ranch in Cache Creek was our first night for camp. Billy still in the saddle , you can tell this is early on in the trip before my backside was getting tired of a saddle and I was still looking prettyLOL.

The view was on road 20 out of Williams Lake on our way to Bella Coola ..Darth in this photo had mosquito's all over it. I hated to remount the bike due to the pesty biting bastards . I really had no choice , couldn't surrender or give in we still had a long ways to go.

A desserted old shack enroute to Bella Coola , we were mesmerized by the mountains but at this point we had no idea that this was just a tease.

This was our view from our camp at Eagle Lodge located 1/2 way between Hagensborg and Bella Coola .If memory and what I see on my map is correct this mountain should be Saugstad.

Stacie checking and logging the days ride in our journal.The only way to keep any of this from departing too soon is to write it down as I learned 3-4 years ago. My mind just wasn't set up for complete memory retention.

Chef Billy hard at work cooking up some vittles.

At Eagle Lodge we had some marvelous facilities and actually this would become redundant on our trip. This location also had a garden shower which was a pleasant treat and surprise.

View from downtown Bella Coola.

The road down into the valley itself out of Anahim was gravel and had two steep down hill sections . One was 10% and the other was 14% down . We had to take this section easy due to the hairpin curves and switchbacks. A lot of it was ridden in 1st gear to help assist in controlling our speed. This was the view before those down hills grades , what can you say ? It is AWESOME!

Mcloud Lake at Whiskers Point Camp ground.

One way to beat getting bit is to cover every inch of your body with clothing. I was thinking I had it covered but there is still some skin exposed and those little suckers aren't shy.

Stacie all geared up and looking like she is about to go into a bee's nest and see if she survives.

Another picture perfect moment at Mcloud Lake.

Who Dat , I think it is the bug man

Valley looking down on Hudson Hope , this was an alternate ride around Dawson Creek . It was nice and remote no cars to speak of.

Stone Mountain Sheep just because these guy's hung around the Stone Mountain area.

A lake located at Toad River , we stayed there on our 4th night into this adventure.

Another look at the lake.

It seems we have to get another angle and this was taken early in the morning.

At this same lake Toad River C.G. we had Moose,Beaver,and some ducks . It was indeed a very serene setting.

Hey close the door , I'm doing some business here . Now you can mark that off your list . A Moose peeing .

Muncho Lake

Bison and her calf

Yes we saw bear and more bear .

This little guy was cute and it was a photo that you get only once in a lifetime.

Herd of Bison

Sign Post forest at Watson Lake.

We didn't have a sign to put in the forest so we piggy backed on the rear of someone else's.

We saw everything imaginable used to sign and this guy retired his favorite shorts to let all know he had been here. There were toilet seat's,bed pans,gold pans,ski's , you name it and people nailed it to the post.

Billy stuck between Kansas and Joplin ,Mo.

Notice the man had on his trusty rain suit.

Teslin Bridge was a steel grate bridge and watching cars cross it was a fright . They moved left to right 3-4 inches . I started on the far right side and by the end of the span was on the far left side of the other lane.We had to cross this bridge going and returning on our trip . Needless to say the cheeks were tight each time.

Another fine meal put together by Chef Billy . Salmon,honey garlic pasta with a side of bagel.

Teslin Lake where we camped for the night . Mosquito's were out in full force.I think some came in on a bus.

THE BRIDGE

I met this guy and his wife in Teslin . They were from England and they flew into Eugene,Oregon . There they purchased Bike Friday's . At this point of their adventure they had been on the road for 46 days. When we left Alaska 1.5 weeks later we saw them again at the border. Nice folks and was a pleasure to have met them. I hope they made it to Fairbanks without any problems . Once there they were to pack the bike's in their black case and head home.

Teslin Lake again , I guess I liked the view.

We rode the Canol road and the woman at the Bakery said " if you can get past the first 20 miles it should be ok". Well at about mile 15 Stacie tried to dig another ditch and it was raining hard so IT WAS AT THIS POINT we decided to turn around. The mud was deep and was only getting worse .

Ok , so you got dirty and some mud , shake it off and lets get back on the road!

Making out with a Moose huh. It seems she likes furry things that she can cuddle up to.

Mural's in Whitehorse

Grizzley just of Carmacks, Yukon . We didn't get to close to this guy and Stacie said she was happy to leave it in our tracks.

The Dredge located in Dawson City . Used to dredge the gold in the early days before they had laws prohibiting it.

Panning for gold in the crystal clear water near Dawson City.
Looks like chocolate to me.

Bonanza road loop ride out of Dawson City and a view from King Solomans dome. This was a dirt/mud ride of 60 miles or so but the views of the valley well worth the trouble.

I had thought of getting a drink here but then decided against it. This is due to the run off of active mining in the area.

Games at Dust To Dawson (D2D)

Dawson City and the Downtown Hotel

They put this hood over your head and whoever came close to a spot marked on the road won that event.

Stacie getting ready for the cone swerve test

This was a Hot dog hanging from a fishing pole and the passenger (preferrably a woman) had to try and bite as much of the dog as possible. For some reason Stacie was very excited and looking forward to this event. Needless to say we didn't win it.

Dempster hiway was a fantastic ride and was beautiful . We made it to the Arctic Cirlce and back in one day. I guess I should say in 1 daylight. That was what was cool , we left at miles zero about 9 am and returned the next morning at 01:30 . All the ride was light and made it a joy to ride.

These are all taken on the Dempster

We got to The Arctic and the wind was so bad that we had someone take our photo and got out of there . The wind was so bad (how bad was it?) it was strong enough that we couldn't keep our bikes upright . I have a photo of the wind blowing a boy over and he was leaning to fight and stay upright.

This was a fantastic view, the mountains were a gray granite and in the right sunlight they looked to be covered with snow.

On return from Arctic at Two Moose Lake we saw this mother and her two calves . Couldn't get better than that Moose in Two Moose Lake. This photo was taken about midnight .

The visor shield after some of the Dempster mud. Naturally I had cleaned the shield numerous times during the route.

Yes Finally Alaska and the Top Of The World Highway. We had to hurry on this section due to the weather that was on top of us. This road would be and is a bear to ride in inclement weather.

Town of Chicken , Alaska

Robertson River was pretty due to the ice that was still in the river itself. We thought this to be strange due to the fact up to this point we had not seen any snow or ice except on the high mountain passes.

North Pole was HOT and several people tried to kill us in this town. All we wanted to do was restock our provisions at Safeway and get out of there . It seemed people in Alaska were out to kill us bikers. It isn't like they have hundreds of towns to drive to . They are somewhat limited to what they can see due to the fact most of Ak. is not accessible unless you have plane.

At Liard hot Springs we found it eerie that between the tent and rain fly were hundreds if not thousands of micro fly's .

At Denali we visited the sled dog kennel and the museum.

This was taken out of Anchorage on the way to Soldotna. The ride was awesome but the traffic was way too congested to enjoy it all. We happened to ride this stretch on the Friday before July 4th. When we finally departed the Homer/Seward area I was happy. The traffic was a major distraction for me and our lives became so much safer once we left the scene.

Homer , Ak

Actually this was taken on our way out of Ak.
At this time we ran again into our FRIENDS from England on their Bike Fridays .

This guy was walking towards us and we kept backing up and he kept getting closer. I finally said go around him. He was getting too close for comfort.
On the Cassiar we saw 8 bears and this stretch is notorious for bears.I also counted on this trip in one day 15 Eagles with number 6 flying right next to me at shoulder heighth for about 300 yards . That was amazing.

Kluane Lake where we camped at Cottonwood RV Park.

We road the Cassiar out to Stewart and Hyder . I have ridden the Icefields Parkway in B.C. three times and I have to say the ride to Stewart and Hyder surpasses the Icefields. You don't hear about it nor does it get the publicity but it is very deserving of it.

Salmon Glacier out of Hyder Ak. . You ride/drive 20 miles up this pothole infested road to be amazed at this outstanding Glacier.

The wind was blowing and my hair was out of control .

Again take notice of our rain gear, seems like we never took it off.

This is a shot that you can only imagine . It does no justice to the image and Glacier itself. It actually looks to be enhanced or fake.

The bikes at Salmon Glacier . Hyder,Ak.

Hyder,Ak. has to have the most potholes of any town in the U.S, of A. What 10-20 people live there so who cares right?

I think this was the last photo I took due to just the need to get some miles down and get back stateside. We logged in 7500 miles on this trip and rode in rain almost everyday. I can remember 1 day that we didn't have to wear the rain gear. We camped out all of the nights with the exception of our last which we stayed at Super 8 in Williams Lake. On that day we again had ridden in a constant downpour all DAY long.

We put the tent up in the rain and we broke camp the next day in the rain. Our most valuable item that we had purchased for this ride was our Nemo tent that we bought at REI. Man that tent never let us down and was always dry on the inside no matter what Mother Nature threw at it. The most inexpensive meal we had was at THE TRAILSIDE Cafe at the Glen/Tok highway junction. 3.99 for a great breakfast. Now mind you we didn't eat out much but that meal stands out as a great one. We ate a most delicious meal in Stewart on the eve of Stacie's birthday . The name of the cafe was BitterCreek and the Pistachio crusted Halibut was to die for. We also has a chocalate pudding ,caramel glaze dessert that we inhaled. Our worst meal was in Seward at a cafe , Clam Chowder. We were wet , soaked and tired . All we wanted was something warm . I didn't think we could go wrong with Chowder on the coast and I WAS WRONG!

Now for our favorite campgounds that we enjoyed and if you have a chance check them out. The views were marvelous and some of the facilities maybe a bit OLD FASHIONED but we always said WOW this is a great place to camp!

1.Eaglelodge BC located 1/2 between Hagensborg and Bella Coola

2.Grand View RV Park on THe Glenn Hiway . Th views are breath taking.

3.Thompson's Eagle's Claw Motorcycle park in Tok. The steam bath that was a great surprise and felt really soothing.Now mind you this place had OLD FASHIONED toilets located right at the cooking area whicch we thought was JUST STRANGE but the owner was very nice and it is quiet.

4.Cottonwood RV Park Destruction Bay , Yukon. Again the views were beyond words . This was a very windy night and it reminded me of our camp in Az.at Watson Lake . It felt like we would be blown into the next town and the wind howled alnight long.

5.Toad River Lodge and RV Park Toad River B.C. the lake was very active with Moose,Beaver, and muskrat.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and story , but keep in mind this is a very small sample due to the fact I snapped the shutter 600 times and I haven't even posted any photo's that Stacie snapped.

As for our trusty steeds: The bikes performed as BMW's are known to perform. We rode and they just kept on . Mind you they are now in dire need of some Billy maintenance

1.Stacies brakes ARE GONE worn to the metal and we didn't notice this until back in Wa.

2Naturally oil changes are due

3.Chains had to be adjusted a few times and Stacie's needs to be replaced along with the sprockets

4. Before this trip I bought a tire stand to begin changing our tires myself to save money.I opted to go with Dyna Beads for balancing rather than weights. I know that before a trip like this YOY NEVER try something different or unproven. This was reinforced due to my tire wear that on the front had my bike bouncing like a Kangaroo at low speeds.Near the end of the trip at slow speeds I couldn't steer the bike and coming to a stop almost would crash each and every time.Needless to say I now have purchased a tire balancer and will delete Dyna Beads from my tire operations.

5. enroute we lost on Stacie's bike a bolt on her headlight assembly while riding the rough Dempster . I used bungee cords to hold it together until we made it to Fairbanks to replace it with any bolt that would work. She also had a bolt disappear on her center stand and I found this out while adjusting her chain on the center stand . As I was working the bike just fell over , upon examination the stand was wedged between her frame and muffler . That was a task made difficult due to the mosquitos that were swarming me and my head while trying to see what the heck happened.I now need to try and straighten the stand and reinstall.

5. Stacie had both her high and low beam headlight go out and luckily I had 1 extra for her .

6. My low beam headlight Piaa also burned out. We bought replacement bulbs in Fairbanks.

7.DIRT/MUD the bikes are in dire need of a good thorough cleaning.