Alaska Adventure: Day 23 – Greenwood to HOME (Sandpoint)

To continue an earlier theme, I fell asleep to the crying baby next door as well as awoke at 6am to the same song. Not happy. We were really looking forward to a memorable (in a good way) last night on the road, but it was not to be.


Retribution would come soon enough. From the next camp space over, I hear the “click, click, click” of a dead battery on their SUV. During the night a minivan had pulled into (the other side) the campground but they were still asleep. The woman asked if there was any way we could jumpstart their SUV with our bikes – Martha’s quick reply – “not a chance”. See’Ya!!

It was very cool in the morning as we found ourselves using more layers than we expected this far south. We stopped in the Christina Lake campground which was set on a spectacular lake and appeared to have many hiking trails right there. A spot we will definitely return to in the future. We passed over two summits and really enjoyed our ride through the mountains towards Idaho. We stopped for a great lunch at Clansey’s in Rossland, which was a cool little town tucked in the mountains. We breezed through Customs and with a quick stop for a milkshake in Bonners Ferry, arrived home in the afternoon.

yet another pass - felt like the Alps

23 days, 5,500 miles and countless smiles on our faces later – it was an epic trip and one we will remember for the rest of our lives. Where will you go on your next adventure??

Alaska Adventure: Day 22 – Kelowna to Greenwood

We met up with Terry Burke, who I have known via telephone and email for several years and have had some great conversations with, but never met in person. We enjoyed a great lunch at a local eatery and stock up on provisions for our last night on the road. Kelowna is a very nice town but has a lot more traffic than we are used to now and it is packed with lousy drivers.  Time to get out of dodge...


We thoroughly enjoyed a great two lane road out of Kelowna, as Terry tagged along for a bit on his Kawasaki Concours 1400. This was our first trip through the Okanagan Valley it is was just spectacular. I can’t help but think it looks like Napa 30 years ago. We passed our first RCMP car with radar during this stretch – luckily my brain was still thinking “nurse the rear tire” even though I had fresh rubber on the back of the bike. My Valentine One radar detector gave me plenty of notice but in this case, it was not necessary. We found a nice little campground just outside Greenwood right on a small river. We set-up early and enjoyed soaking our feet in the river while we enjoyed happy hour.

stream next to our site at Felker campground

cooling off while enjoying a cocktail right next to our campsite

At this point, the campground was completely empty with about 20 spaces covering 2-3 acres. We saw a couple pulling a sailboat pass through twice, only to pull into the spot RIGHT NEXT TO US. “At least they don’t appear to have kids with them” crossed our mind right before they pulled their 18 month old out of the back seat, who continued to whine and fuss much of the evening. The parents who were obviously totally CLUELESS were not going to be our friends.

Trying to salvage the evening, I enjoyed a nice Havana Club rum and cigar while Martha sipped an excellent Mission Hill Chardonnay Reserve from the Okanagan Valley I had picked up for her in Kelowna. We were a bit disappointed by all of the road noise throughout the evening and into the night. It must be a major thoroughfare for trucks. I managed to finish the book “BIG BURN” which was excellent. It talks about the conservation efforts of Teddy Roosevelt in many of the areas we have been in, as well as a devastating fire that happened at the turn of the century. Another great read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Alaska Adventure: Day 21 – Chimney Rock to Kamloops to Kelowna

We enjoyed a nice dirt road to get back out to the highway, then continued onto Kamloops.

This was the first day we had really experienced any warm weather since the first few days of the trip. While going through one of the small towns Martha had her visor up to cool off and got stung by a fee in the face at 35mph. Not good. I was ahead of her and all I could hear through the intercom system was “F$%*, F%@*, F%@&”. She was allergic to bees when she was younger, so I dashed to a pharmacy for some meds while she put ice on the sting. Fortunately, 30 minutes later she was OK and ready to roll. Just let me say this was NOT the highlight of the trip.


We arrived in Kamloops and thought we would try to find some internet access and check in with a few people we knew there. Somehow I had mixed up where Alternate Cycle was based. I had in my head they were in Kelowna. Since they had a tire waiting for me, we strategized about the remainder of the day and evening. After getting online, I luckily realized my mistake. Alternate Cycle is in Kamloops not 2 miles from where we sat. It was 4pm so we called and hustled over there for my tire. Ken Darvin, the owner of Alternate Cycle, who I first met in the middle of the Nevada desert with a flat on our way to the KTM Adventure Rally in Elko, Nevada three years before, was kind enough to swap the tire out for me so I could relax. We then made an error in judgment and instead of staying in Kamloops for the night, we push on towards Kelowna and hoped to find a campground in between. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it was already 7pm. On the map we eyed a campground on the west side of a large lake and chose that as our intended destination.

It quickly grew dark and we found ourselves on a very narrow, very windy road with lots of deer to dodge and for some reason traffic, including drivers that were enjoying tailgating us in a big way. The Rigid LED auxiliary lights on Martha’s bike helped the stock beam but were not as effective as they could have been if they were adjusted correctly. We didn’t take the time to do this before the trip because we didn’t think we would be riding in the dark given that it is light out until 11pm in Alaska – lesson learned. It was definitely a long, tough road in the dark. We couldn’t find a decent place to stay along the way so we pushed onto Kelowna, grabbing the first motel we found. We check into the Travelodge at 10pm and got screwed on the rate, but thankful to have a bed. We reflected that it was an evening of many bad decisions and vowed to learn from our mistakes.

Alaska Adventure: Day 20 – Smithers, BC to Williams Lake

Continuing our normal 10:30am start time from earlier in our trip, we departed the Tyhee Campground headed for Prince George then south to a destination yet to be determined. Most of the scenery and riding today was rather ordinary compared what we have been enjoying so far. Fuel and lunch in Fraser Lake. Fuel again in Prince George and onto provisions in Quesnel for one of the funniest happenings of the trip.


Martha ran into the Safeway to grab some provisions while I hung out with the bikes and quickly went over them. She came out loaded with good grub and I ran in to grab a coffee while she figured out where to put everything on the bikes to get them to the campsite. While I was inside, she noticed a very large, very drunk gentleman (we will call him “Tonto”) standing close by, watching her. She put her helmet on hoping to put him off, but he wander / staggered over anyway, standing very close to her and her bike, swaying away. Martha was very concerned about the very real possibility of him falling over onto the bike, which would have caused a whole other level of complications. He manages to day upright a mumbles a few things, including a question: “Where is your spaceship?” Martha assumed we was referring to the bike and gave him a confused look. He then wacks her on top of the helmet a couple times and says “Beam me up Scotty”. The only response she could muster in her stunned state is “don’t do that”. It takes a while for it to sink in, at which point he extends his arm to shake her hand, evidently as a type of apology and stumbles off.

When I come out of the store with my coffee she proceeds to tell me the story and it laughing the whole time at the “Beam me up Scotty” which she found to be priceless. I did happen to mention her silver helmet and gray / silver pants and jacket, which is probably where the “spaceship” comment came from – absolutely hysterical. In hind sight she is thankful I did not interrupt the exchange because if I would have seen someone whacking her on the top of the helmet, the experience would not have ended as pleasantly and the humor would have been lost.




every towns needs a drive up liquor store - a bit tough to pull off on the bikes though




interesting way to paint the "back side" of a strip mall


We continue onto Williams Lake without a clear destination. We see what looks to be a nice lake off the highway a bit but the GPS is having trouble routing us there and our maps lack enough detail to make navigation easy. After a few wrong turns, we find the correct road. At this point in the day we are both pretty beat and ready to park the bikes for the day. We found a campground (none too soon) right on Felker Lake that was virtually empty with large grassy spots – PERFECT. We set-up just in time to enjoy an incredible sunset over the lake. The sky lit up with some of the most amazing colors I have ever seen. We were lucky again that there was no smoke from the forest fires. In talking to the camp host, the day before was awful. He said there were currently 250 forest fires across BC and somehow, we have missed every one of them.

We took a ton of photos including one capture Martha in her new hat enjoying a glass of wine by the shore – PRICELESS. As a bonus, there were absolutely no bugs to be found.

Alaska Adventure: Day 19 – to Prince Rupert, BC to Tyhee Campground, Smithers, BC

Into port at 5:15am local time (4:15am Alaska time) we made several trips to get all of our gear down to the garage, which are strictly off-limits while the bike is underway. The next trip we will be packing MUCH lighter. We were a bit concerned about the bikes being something other than upright given the waves we encountered during the night. Luckily, the bikes were fine and we proceeded to load everything back on the bikes and don our gear for the first time in several days.


The car deck was JAMMED with RVs, campers, boats, tractor trailers, etc. We finally got the bikes off the ferry and proceeded to wait in line for over one hour to get through customs, which basically waved all the motorcycles through while extensively searching most of the RVs. They must have been looking for old timers who were smuggling heart medicine or something. Oh wait, we were ARRIVING in Canada, where drugs are cheap anyway – nevermind.

I had to really bite my tongue to keep from asking the Canadian Customs Officer if the ferry “snuck up on them”? A large ferry arriving the same time every week – shouldn’t be too tough to plan for adequate staffing, yet only two guards on duty and a third lane was closed – go figure? I did not want to delay us any longer by being a smart ass nor did I want to hear “Strip search in Lane 1”.

Onto breakfast and fuel. We had both slept awful last night and we were definitely dragging. We knew it would be a fairly short riding day due to our energy level coupled with the fact that we had put our tent away wet four days before and needed to get it set-up early to allow time for it to dry out.

The riding from Prince Rupert east was just gorgeous. A smooth flowing two lane road passing through a beautiful river valley with mountain peaks topped with glaciers all around.

Stopping to check out the Seely Lake campground which was nice but right on the highway, we decided to push on another 50 miles to the Tyhee Lake Campground just east of Smithers. We arrived to find a huge campground, with huge campsites, lots of privacy, flushing toilets and hot showers. Works for us! They usually have firewood available for $5 / bundle but there was currently a fire ban throughout BC. This was the most expensive public campground during the trip at $25/night.

We set-up to a mix of sun and dark clouds looming overhead, hoping there would be enough time for the tent to dry out before dark. We rode to town to grab some lunch and to see if I could find a rear tire for the GS. The TKC80 knobby was pretty spent with minimal tread left, and given the load I have on the bike, I was concerned about it making the distance. At this point I had 4500 miles on it and was really kicking myself for not replacing it in Anchorage. Lesson learned. Now I was going to have to nurse it as much as possible – translated: tone down my riding below the “fun factor”. Bummer. We returned to the campsite and both scored a great nap, which was necessary to recharge our batteries a bit.

Excerpt from Martha’s journal:


There is such a great camaraderie among most motorcyclists. Whether they ride a Harley, Goldwing or adventure bike. They seek each other out while on a journey of their own. We have met great people albeit for short stints. We invite many to come by Sandpoint to visit and stay and enjoy our hospitality. Tonight Jim from Prince Rupert, eh, stopped by at the same time as Rafael from Kansas City, now Colorado Springs pops by our campsite. Two different stories and way different bikes but a common passion. One, a Mexican immigrant on his way to Alaska on a R115GS with a impressive hand-built trailer, the other, a “local” out for the weekend with his family enjoying the outdoors with his Goldwing and extensive tent trailer.


We have to inform Rafael that the Cassiar is still closed in the northern most section due to wild fires. He came so far and is determined to get through because rerouting at this point would basically ruin the trip. The four of us tried to come up with some contingency plans for him if the Cassiar is impassible, including the ferry to Skagway, or backtrack to Prince George and catch the Alcan (ouch). We conclude that he should go to the info center in Hazleton to check on conditions and if encouraging, ride up and wait for the pilot car scenario if available. We encourage Rafael to stop by on his way south to the Bay Area. We have been toying with a “Destination Black Dog” idea to host customers / motorcycle travelers on their way through the area, since many of them basically ride past our front door on the way to Alaska and B.C.

Alaska Adventure: Day 18 – Ferry from Juneau, AK to Prince Rupert, BC

We took advantage from our accommodations and slept in, which felt GREAT! What wasn’t so great was that it was another rainy / foggy day outside. After a hearty late breakfast that was surprisingly delicious, we wandered the ferry to try and find a nice quite place where Martha could read and I could update our travel log to upload to the blog at our next internet access point. Martha is ready “WHERE MEN WIN GLORY” which is an excellent book by Jon Krakauer about Pat Tillman. Fascinating reading about a situation that is guaranteed to piss you off! A very tragic story for sure.

The ferry made very brief stops in Petersburg & Wrangell. Watching some retirees BACK UP their giant 5th wheels onto the ferry was quite entertaining, not to mention painfully slow.   A great view of the harbor.

There are only two ways to get around this area:

A lazy afternoon that included a nap and some time at the bar – hanging out with Larry the bartender – a retired engineer originally from Maine, now living in Ketchikan. Off the boat for dinner in Ketchikan for some great food at the Oceanview Restaurant which offered an interesting mix of Italian and Mexican food. We hustled back the boat, thankful that we walked the 2 miles into town from the ferry, which gave us an opportunity to walk off a big meal before going straight to bed to prepare for our 3:30am wake up call. Unfortunately, we woke up at 1:30am while the boat was really rocking and rolling as we crossed the open ocean into BC.

Alaska Adventure: Day 17 – Ferry from Haines, AK to Juneau, AK

Off to the ferry for an 8am check-in. The motorcycle were the first to load but it took some time to get them securely lashed down. This ferry provided tie-down straps – something I did not think to bring. We had a short 4-1/2 hour ferry ride to Juneau, where we could unload the bikes and have about 8 hours to explore then area, then board another ferry at 9pm which would take us to Prince Rubert, BC arriving at o’dark thirty Saturday morning. Very strange that Juneau, as the state capital is not accessible by road – only by air or boat.


The ferry ride to Juneau continued under dark and rainy skies. We were able to see an amazing waterfall on one of the shores that much of dropped 150’ plus.

We also passed a light house on a very small island and saw a whale briefly breach the surface.

While out on deck taking photos in the rain, I met Phillip who was from New Zealand – also a GSA owner. We talked bikes a bit and each expressed interest in riding the other’s country. We exchanged info and will see if we can help each other accomplish our goals. He asked if I had made any modifications to the bike – he clearly didn’t know me. I simply said I wasn’t sure if there was anything I HADN’T modified.

We unloaded at Juneau and went directly to the Mendenhall Glacier, which we had heard about from the interpreter on the boat during a lecture of the area.

The glacier was absolutely incredible radiating a bright blue color.

 There was also a very powerful waterfall close by that emptied into the same body of water.  Just an amazing sight for sure!!

There were walking trails close by which were unfortunately closed as there were 17 bears in the area feeding on the salmon from the river. A bear sighting continued to allude us although I thought it was probably a good idea not to interrupt their meal.

Onto downtown Juneau with a mass of cruise ship passengers – not our scene. We grabbed a great lunch of halibut and chips at an outdoor restaurant while overlooking sea planes landing and taking off from the bay. Quickly exiting the “blue hair convention” that invaded downtown, we sought refuge in the Alaskan brewery located about 5 miles away. A quick tour, as sample or two and a chat with a few locals and we were ready to find a place to “park” for a few hours before getting back on the ferry.

We discovered the new “R” coffee house close by and took full advantage of their free wifi and delicious coffee. Updated the blog to catch up to day 12. We stayed until closing at 7pm then rode out to the “end of the road” on the north end of Juneau – about 22 miles from the ferry. We then proceeded back to the ferry terminal to check in for our 11:15pm departure. It was now about 8:30pm. We talked the security guard into letting us board right away to allow us time to lash down the bikes, unload our gear and get it up to the cabin we reserved.

The cabin turned out to be twice as large as I expected, easily following all of our gear and allowing us to settle in. It was a very comfortable space which greatly exceeded our expectations. We even had a private bath – all for less than we had paid for one night at some crappy hotels on our journey. It would have been a nightmare to try and stay in our tent on the deck with all of our gear, not to mention our tent is not “self supporting” and hammering tent stakes into the deck is not exactly an option. This would be home for the next two nights and we couldn’t be happier.

Alaska Adventure: Day 16 – Lake Creek Campground to Haines, AK

We woke up early (from what little sleep we accomplished) to more pouring rain.  Using the “garage” of the Nomad tent, we were able to pack up all of our gear – keeping it dry, before we packed up the bikes.   We dressed in all of our riding gear, mainly in an attempt to stay dry.  The rain let up slightly as we began to pack up the tent which was sopping wet.

On the road for what was our earliest departure – not hard to imagine given the conditions.  We soldiered on through the cold pouring rain – stay tuned for a similar theme throughout the day.

We grabbed breakfast and warmed up a bit at the Burwash Landing Resort.  The closest place for breakfast and hot coffee (good breakfast but the weakest coffee on the planet).  The “resort” did have a nice view of the Kluane Lake.

Back on the bikes in the pouring rain, one of the other customers in the restaurant decided to share some of his wisdom for the day with us – 46 degrees outside, which gets quickly categorized as TOO MUCH INFORMATION!!  This news should not have been a big surprise to us as through a break in the clouds we could see fresh snow on the mountain peaks all around us.  Just a beautiful sight, which we could have enjoyed more if we had brought our heated vests with us and had warm, dry gloves to wear.

We stopped to top off Martha’s tanks in Destruction Bay and continued onto Haines Junction where we would turn south for Haines.  The same weather continued to follow us along our route, with the temperature dropping even lower.

this is NOT what the weather looked like on our way south!!

mountains south of Haines Junction

We fueled up both bikes in Haines Junction as it was the last fuel for 200 km.  Welcome back to Canada where gasoline was $5.00 / gallon for premium.  More fog and rain on the way to Haines, but we could occasionally catch a glimpse of the incredible landscape surrounding us through a break in the clouds.  

Huge mountain peaks with glaciers everywhere.  At this point in our journey it feels as though I have exhausted all the appropriate words to describe the beauty all around us.  You just have to go see it for yourself!!

During one of our stops at a museum or information center, we read that glaciers hold 70% of the freshwater available worldwide, and if they were all to melt simultaneously, the sea level would rise 231 feet.  Anyone for beach front property in Nevada??  We found this to be an incredible statistic.

The temperature dropped to about 40 degrees and at this point some of our “waterproof” gear was starting to  give up:

-          First Gear pants -> soaked

-          Rev’it winter gloves -> soaked

-          Aerostitch Combat touring boots with LOTS of waterproofing applied -> soaked

Luckily my KLIM Stow Jacket continued to perform flawlessly to keep my upper body warm and dry.  With my legs, hands and feet soaked and cold, the 150 miles to Haines seemed like an eternity.  My heated grips were no longer effective either as my gloves were completely waterlogged.  LESSON LEARNED:  must have outer, waterproof shell for upper AND lower body, as well as real waterproof gloves (perhaps with neoprene?).  While Martha’s Olympia airflow gear with its included waterproof liner keep her dry, given the temperature, the “air flow” feature of her jacket was not warm enough given the conditions, for which it was not designed.  Her Sidi Discovery Rain boots kept her feet dry but her gloves gave up the ghost to the rain and were as soaked as mine.

As we got close to the U.S. Border, the rain stopped and the sun broke out in all its glory – not a minute too soon.  Once through Customs, we switched to our regular DRY riding gloves which enabled us to once again feel our heated grips and thaw out our digits.

Eagles gather by the thousands I the spring and fall just outside Haines to feed on Salmon coming up the river.

Eagle Cove outside Haines, AK

After a VERY quick photo stop, we headed straight to town to check into the warm hotel room we had waiting for us – YAHOO!  Since we have just an early ferry we knew there was no way to camp the night before and be able to pack up and load the bikes in time, so I had reserved a room at the Captain’s Choice motel, which had a great room overlooking the bay.  Once we warmed up we walked the town a bit, grabbed a light late lunch at the Bamboo Room, got provisions for the ferry, some oil for the bikes and found a place for dinner.

Back to the room to do laundry and dry out some of our gear as well as work on our blog.

We made dinner reservations at the restaurant at Fort Seward where we had absolutely amazing food including salmon, halibut and a desert with fresh local cherries.  The only disappointment was the absolutely terrible service.  The Fort Seward Army base was the first permanent Army base in Alaska and reminded us of the Presidio in San Francisco as it overlooks the bay as well.

Alaska Adventure: Day 15 – Glennallen to Lake Creek Campground

For a change, our day started off on the dry side as we left Glennallen to head through Tok onto our intended destination of the Lake Creek Campground.  Route A1 skirted the border of the Wrangell – St Elias National Park with 16,000 foot peaks in the distance.  The road was fairly curvy and smooth which was more entertaining than many of the roads we have experienced during the trip.  As we passed through the spectacular mountain passes, we were once again treated to light rain showers.  Lunch and fuel in Tok made for a nice mid-day break, then onto the Canada border 90 miles to our southeast.  We met Phillip Smith from Tennessee, also on a GSA at one of the construction zones.  He is on what most consider a marathon drip from Tennessee to Deadhorse and back in 10 days.  He had done Fairbanks to Deadhorse and back to Fairbanks the day before in 23-1/2 hours on street tires.  He had to get a new tire in Deadhorse for the rear of the GS, which I can only imagine the cost.

Over the Canada border onto Beaver Creek to top off our fuel tanks, we pulled up to the pumps to see an oddly outfitted Yamaha R1 sport bike.  Lots of custom decals littered the bike and a large tripod was strapped to the tiny back seat.  The bike had a license plate from the UK which said “Yamaha Press Fleet” on it – there has to be a story here….A gentleman wandered out of the store as we were fueling our bikes who had on full leathers with similar patches coving them.  It turns out the gentleman was Nick Sanders who holds several long distance world riding records, including an around the world trip in 19 days, all on an R1 sport bike.

Nick Sanders - long distance world record holder - filling up in Beaver Creek, Yukon

Nick was on his way to Deadhorse to start another long distance record setting attempt – to ride from Deadhorse to the tip of Argentina in 26 days on his Yamaha R1 – not exactly most people’s first choice for a long distance steed – WOW!

He asked out our trip north as he was a bit concerned about wildlife, especially that he will be riding at night.  We told him we had seen very little wild life along the road.  I asked him why he did have a throttle control on the bike for doing that kind of distance.  I offered to send him a Kaoko Throttle Control for his R1 to try during his trip and made arrangements to send it to him during his trip.  He will be stopping at a dealership in Salt Lake City for oil and tires, so we will overnight one there to be installed at the dealer.  Since the installation only takes a few minutes it won’t impede his record attempt, and should reduce his hand, wrist and forearm fatigue during this journey. 

I had read an article about some of Nick’s exploits recently and it was definitely a treat to meet this motorcycle madman.  Anyone who rides an R1 around the world, let alone in 19 days, is someone who deserves respect in my book.  Check out his website at www.nicksanders.com

Just as we were pulling out of the gas station a very cool custom Unimog camper drove past.  

a four wheeled "GS"

From my perspective, it is always special to see these true adventure rigs on the road – I kind of look at them as an oversized GS – incredibly capable, especially given their size.  We would pass each other several times during the next two days (just to clarify - when I was stopped on the GS).  We had LOTS of frost heaves and pot holes on this stretch with some attempts to repair them with chip seal or gravel.  Definitely slow going for a cruiser-style motorcycle / car / truck / RV but smooth going for an adventure bike.  Since making some adjustments to the Hagon Shocks on the GS, they handled this section of road ten times better than on the way north.  With more pre-load and dampening dialed into both the front and rear shocks, the bike tracked much better and floated over the big frost heaves with ease.

We have been skirting the edge of the storms pretty well but could see some very dark clouds directly in our path.  I quickly pulled over to don my KLIM Stow Jacket over my Rev’It armored jacket (see more info under “Gear and Equipment Notes”).  Not two miles down the road the heavens opened up with an incredible downpour but the sun remained shining on us – incredible.

We pulled into the Snag Junction Campground we had seen on the way up to Alaska to check it out.  It was 20 miles from our intended destination but it was a great spot overlooking a small lake.  Since it was raining cats and dogs and everything was soaked, we decided to push on to our original destination.  We both had a feeling the storms may have missed the Lake Creek Campground.  Sure enough, ten miles down the road it stopped raining.  Incredibly, as we pulled into the L/C campground, we could tell it was bone dry.  It was still sunny but dark clouds were swirling all around us so we knew conditions could change very quickly.  

We promptly set-up the tent and removed the gear from the bikes in an effort to keep everything dry.  We enjoyed some cheese, sausage and crackers with a cocktail, as well as some fresh fruit we had picked up along the way.  

Just as we finished dinner, the skies opened up with a FURY – we braved it for a few minutes until the thunder and lightning started.  An unbelievable thunder and lightning storm played on through much of the night.  Water quickly invaded the surroundings of the tent and the “garage” where we had all of our gear.  Some quick adjustments to keep everything either on top of the Hepco Becker waterproof duffle bars or on the chairs we brought, managed to keep everything dry, even though the ground cloth we use in the “garage” was under 1”+ of water.  For the record, the sleeping area of the Nomad tent stayed completely dry during this monster storm!!  By tying down all the guidelines on the tent, it was also extremely stable during the night.  If you haven’t guessed, I am completely sold on the Nomad tent and we will be offering them through our website soon.  While it is a little larger to pack then most compact tents, it more than makes up for it in the benefits it provides and the frequency we want to use it because of the comfort it provides, saving us hundreds of dollars in hotel rooms.  The tent paid for itself in just three nights!!

The rain poured steadily throughout the night and we awoke in the morning to find half our campsite under water.  To say it was NOT a restful nights’ sleep is an understatement.  Because our campsite was right next to a river, we were a bit worried about the rain waters coming over the river bank, as well as the possibility of a flash flood since we were unfamiliar with the area.  I was up several times during the night to check on the level of the river, which had gained about two feet in height during the night.

Alaska Adventure: Day 14 – Cooper Landing to Glennallen

After breakfast and coffee next to the river, we packed up our campsite and were on the road by 10am.  The ride up to Anchorage was incredibly beautiful but rain and fog continued to follow us, so visibility was not very good.  Fortunately, it was a lot less windy on the stretch around the Turnagain Arm as compared to our trip down.  We grabbed a quick Mexican lunch in Anchorage and caught up on email  while we still had good cell service.  We headed northeast on Rt 1 towards Glennallen.  We stopped to see another glacier then the winds hit with an absolutely terrible force, making forward progress a challenge as the side winds would move us all over the lane.  

Once we got into the mountains it subsided bit, but the rain continued throughout the rest of the day.  The mountain pass just west of Glennallen was just gorgeous with very dramatic views in every direction.  We grabbed a motel in Glennallen, which was totally overpriced but the only option for miles, since we were not real motivated to set up the tent in the rain once again.