Black Dog Cycle Works - Travel Stories

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

2010-10-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Alaska Adventure: Day 13 – Homer to Cooper Landing

2010-09-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Left the motel after breakfast and quick load of laundry only to be greeted by more rain. We stopped by the Alaska Island & Ocean Visitor Center which included a museum that had a lot of interesting information about the area and history of the region, which is so unlike the continental United States. We also stopped by the Kachemack Bay Oyster company to pick up some local fresh oysters for dinner at our campsite later.

As we headed north from Homer we had one of our only close calls of the trip.

We had just passed an RV and was still doing about 65mph when a black lab with a red collar leaped over the guardrail right at me from about 4 feet away. Somehow we missed each other – there was NO time to react. I saw a black blur and was passed it and instantly worried about Martha who was right behind me. I barely got a warning message out of my mouth through our communicators and I glanced in my mirror only to see the dog somehow curl back on itself, evidently highly discouraged from any more forward progress by my saddlebag whizzing by its head at 65mph. Fortunately, there was no one coming the other direction and Martha was able to swing out in the other lane to avoid a collision. Definitely a scenario that gets your heart racing very quickly, but a good outcome in the end and neither of us or the dog were hurt. Having two labs at home, we were very glad the dog wasn’t hurt but were very tempted to go find the irresponsible owner to express our displeasure about the incident (and kick his ass!) as the situation was a fraction of a second away from having a very different and destructive outcome.

After our heart rate returned to a somewhat normal pace, we got some more provisions for dinner and an oyster shucker in Soldotna on our way to the Cooper Landing campground, which we had spotted on our way south. As luck would have it, we scored a great campsite where we could pitch our tent right next to the river.

Cooper Landing - on the water

doesn't get much better than this!!

It was a huge campsite and we were the only one’s tenting so we had the whole area to ourselves. I took the GS to the local store to reload on ice and firewood – the bike can definitely haul a lot of stuff! We went down to the river to shuck and eat our oysters, which had incredible flavor – some of the best we have ever had. After some smoked salmon for dinner, a cigar and a camp fire, I took a short walk around the campground only to see a 2-1/2 foot red salmon jump complete out of the water right in front of me – AMAZING!

Alaska Adventure: Day 12 – Anchorage to Homer

2010-08-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

We got a late checkout at the Anchorage Downtown Hotel so we could hang out in Anchorage in the morning. After a leisurely breakfast and resupplying our cigar and wine inventory it was time to pack up the bikes and hit the road. Of course, true to form for our tour of the southern part of Alaska, the rain started to sprinkle as soon as we started loading up the bikes. Looks like it was going to be day 27 of straight rain in the largest city in the state.

We headed south the Kenai Peninsula and onto Homer. The Kenai Peninsula is without a doubt one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen. A two lane road hugged the shoreline of Turnagain Bay. It was VERY windy (did I mention that Martha hates wind) with constantly changing crosswinds of 40+mph which made the riding a bit challenging on a curvy two lane road with lots of oncoming traffic. We stopped for several photos but with the rainy / overcast day, it was touch to capture the incredible surroundings we were experiencing.

Kurt & Martha south of Anchorage

Bikes on Turnagain Arm

Martha ready to battle the wind off Turnagain Arm

The HUGE mountains that surround the bay with glaciers speckled on them were just amazing. The first 100 miles or so were absolutely breathtaking. We then rode through Cooper Landing which looked like an ideal inland fishing spot given the glacier-fed river we saw that was packed with fishermen. Once the road turned inland, it was fairly mundane compared to other areas we have experienced. As we drew closer to Homer and the road moved closer to the coast, the drama once again unfolded.

Martha arriving on the Homer "Spit"

We arrived in Homer and took a quick tour of downtown and the spit. Given how windy it was and the threat of rain, we decided to take a hotel room. Turns out it rained much of the night and the only option for camping was on the beach, which means “WET & SANDY” would have been the theme for the AM. Good call on the hotel.

Left side of Homer spit looking across the bay

We grabbed a cab down to “the Spit” where we had dinner reservations at “Captain Patty’s” for dinner. Since they don’t have a bar, we headed across the street to the “Crooked Hook” for a cocktail to continue the birthday celebration. The local brew Red Knot Scottish from the Homer Brewing Company was excellent. Dinner at Captains Patty’s was absolutely incredible – some of the best seafood we have every had – local oysters, a seafood platter and mussels with coconut milk sauce. No night in Homer would be complete without a nightcap at the Salty Dog. This is a landmark bar filled with “characters” and PACKED with one dollar bills that are taken down every year and donated to a local charity. Given the number of dollar bills on the walls / ceiling / furniture/ etc, I thought they had been up since the place opened in 1957, not just since the beginning of the year. AMAZING!!

We took a few minutes to grab some photos of the big GS on the sand in Homer. Looking like a fully outfitted adventure rig.

Alaska Adventure: Day 11 – Denali to Anchorage

2010-08-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

We headed south after a fairly early start for us (9:30am). The skies are somewhat clear but very undecided. We had hopes to see Mt McKinley from one of the southern view points and the clouds and weather cooperated SPECTACULARLY!!

Mt McKinley is rarely seen clearly – standing at 20,000 feet it is one of the tallest peaks in the North America. The ride down to Anchorage was fairly uneventful after our Mt McKinley sighting. Once we got closer to Anchorage the mountains around the city really became more pronounced the views greatly improved.

We stopped to see Barb at Alaska Leather. She has a well stocked shop with gear and tires and definitely supports the ADV community. She was able to make a quick modification to me sheepskin pad ( I was using one I had from a previous bike that did not fit the R1200GS correctly) and it fit MUCH better on the R1200GS!! She informed us that we arrived on the 26^th straight day of rain in Anchorage. Strangely enough, I did not need a lot of convincing.

With the weather acting up, we decided to grab a hotel downtown and go out on the town for the evening as an early birthday celebration for me. We grabbed reasonably priced but SMALL hotel room at the Anchorage Downtown Hotel which was very conveniently located to downtown. The rain continued pretty steady as we made our way over to Humpy’s restaurant / bar for some margaritas and fresh seafood. The halibut and salmon was amazing as we sat outside barely covered by an umbrella over our table in the rain. Humpy’s was definitely hopping and after having WAY too much food we decided a stroll around downtown would be a good idea. Unlike a lot of downtown areas in fairly large cities that roll up the sidewalks on the weekends, there was a lot happening in downtown Anchorage during the weekend.

Alaska Adventure: Day 10 – Denali Park

2010-08-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

We slept in a bit after our marathon evening of riding and had a great brunch across the street at the McKinley Lodge. Luckily we slept in just enough to miss the herds of “blue hairs” on the tour buses that were departing to return to their cruise ships.

We rode up to the town of Healy to fuel up and check out the local town for dinner / shopping possibilities for later in the day. Martha is still on the hunt for some cool stickers from Alaska for her saddlebags. Every shop we go in has lot of patches to choose from but no decals. A bit of a mystery to us. I wonder who uses patches? They would be pretty tough to mount on an aluminum saddlebag. It must be the leather vest wearing / organ donor crowd that don’t wear helmets??

We rode into the Denali National Park to the end of the 15 mile turnaround (only tour buses are allowed past this point – go figure?) without seeing a thing. We checked out the Savage Campground in the park and vowed to stay there on our next visit. The luxury of not having to move our campsite was just too appealing.

We were told the only way to really see the park is to take one of the tour bases, but sitting on a crappy “school bus” for 8 hours is not our thing – especially on this trip. Giving up the freedom of the bikes would feel way too confining. Maybe next time, if I am up here and have to use a walker to get around? In addition, the weather and visibility was lousy so we figured it was the right call for the day.

We retreated to camp and enjoyed an AMAZING TWO HOUR NAP!! I must be four years old again, but hey, this is supposed to be a vacation!! We headed into town of McKinley feeling very refreshed and browsed some of the shops, scored some decals and a couple hats and some incredible fudge for desert back at the campsite. We had a GREAT dinner at the Salmon Bake restaurant along with a very good Midnight Sun Amber brew. We dined on King Crab & Articoke dip, Elk sliders and Halibut tacos. All more outstanding then the last. I highly recommend any (or all) of these dishes if in the area. Another toasty night by the camp fire and off to bed.

SORRY - NO PHOTOS FROM TODAY. THE WEATHER WAS LOUSY AND WE SAW NOTHING. THE DENALI HIGHWAY THAT RUNS THROUGH THE DENALI STATE PARK WAS MUCH MORE EVENTFUL

Alaska Adventure: Day 9 – Fairbanks to Denali via the Denali Highway

2010-08-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

Alaska Adventure: Day 9 – Fairbanks to Denali via the Denali Highway

We got a late start as usual after updating our blogs (days 2-8) and uploading photos. We had to make a few stops for provisions, to the post office to mail some excess stuff home (gotta love a “USPS flat rate box”). We also stopped by Adventure Cycle Works in Fairbanks and met Dan the owner. Another small business that caters to the adventure riding crowd. They had a very impress selection of tires at what I thought were reasonable prices for the area. They also do oil changes and general maintenance for riders passing through the area. Off the beaten path a bit but well worth the stop.

We finally got on the road early afternoon and rode south through Delta Junction onto the Richardson Highway (Rt 2) and onto Paxson. We came across an impressive river basin between Fairbanks and Delta Junction – talk about expansive?

River basin southeast of Fairbanks

Very glad we topped our tanks in Delta Junction because there was NOTHING after that. Paxson has low grade unleaded and diesel only. South of Delta Junction we also found a very scenic spot that overlooked a glacier, dramatic mountain peaks and a river bed.

We took a right onto the Denali highway which his paved for the first 20 miles then turns to dirt for the remaining 110 miles. It was just a fantastic road. The paved portion had tons to twisties and amazing scenery.

paved portion of Denali Hwy from East

Our plan was to stay at the campground at the end of the pavement so we would be fresh to enjoy the dirt portion the next morning. As we were pushing 6pm when we arrived, we figured out timing we would be perfect to have a nice relaxing evening in front of a fire. There was a sign at the beginning of the Denali Highway which I thought said that access to the campground was closed from 10am – 2pm Monday – Friday. We arrived at the campground entrance only to find a sign that said “CAMPGROUND CLOSED” in front of another sign that indicated the campground would be open during construction – OK, now I am a bit confused.

I rode into the park to scope things out and met a dump truck coming out of the park with the driver waiving his hands and obviously yelling at me (with the windows up – that is effective). We had seen a camper in the park from a distance so I assumed the park had to be open. The road was clearly under construction but nothing that was going to keep the big GS with knobbies from passing through. I got through the construction zone and found the camper we had seen earlier. – it was the camp host. He was a bit surprised to see me and asked how I made it through to the park. I looked at the GS, shrugged my shoulders and said “no problem”.

Turns out I read the sign incorrectly. The campground was closed 10AM Monday to 2PM Friday. A slight difference. He recommended that we not stay there as getting out in the AM could be impossible. He suggested that there were plenty of places to camp along the road including a spot 25 miles up that had a vault toilet, which we never saw.

Denali Highway - just amazing

We have been using the book “Travelers Guide to Alaskan Camping” by Mike and Terri Church to gain some valuable insight to potential camping spots along the entire trip. We had used their “Baja version” when we drove to Cabo San Lucas and back two years ago and found it to be a great guide with lots of valuable information.

Unfortunately we felt their perspective was a little off the mark as it pertained to campgrounds along the Denali Highway although the book did not contain a lot of specifics or a recommendation about the campgrounds located at miles 81 and 105, we think it would have been good advice to say something along the lines of: “I would have to be completely desperate to consider staying at the absolute shit-hole of a campground / gravel parking lot / junk yard at mile 81.” That would have been accurate.

We found many great spots to pull into if we had our camper, but since we were on the bikes and had daylight left, we pushed on to the end of the Denali Highway. I can’t recommend this road enough, especially on an adventure bike. When we went through it was very nicely packed gravel the whole way. The state definitely maintains this road well. Very easy to average 60-70 mph comfortably – the speed limit is 50 which gives a fair indication of the quality of the road.

more Denali Hwy

We saw a very large female moose wading through a pond with its calf nearby - unfortunately they vacated the premises before I could get the camera out. I was told the algae on the bottom of the ponds are much more rich in nutrients than the vegetation they have access to on land. We also had our first sighting of caribou – they were the small “reindeer” variety – absolutely hysterical to see them run – they are so incredibly clumsy looking it is amazing they can make any forward progress at all. I also saw my first porcupine. I saw another very large moose nibbling on a bush right next to the roadway. I couldn’t see him until I was right on top of him and we definitely startled each other. Of course, he started running right away – luckily for me it was AWAY from the road.

I had a close encounter with a very large moose at home while out testing the new skid plate for the R1200GS, and I don’t need to repeat that experience, which resulted in the moose, bike & myself being fine, a pair of soiled shorts and a hoof print on the new skid plate – it was THAT close. Unfortunately I had JUST turned off my helmet cam moments before – that footage with the loud “GONG” on the skid plate would have been priceless. My riding buddy who was a few minutes behind me pulled up as I was hyperventilating, and asked what was up. I told him the story and just then the moose crossed the bisecting road and he only had one thing to say “THAT IS A BIG MOOSE!!”. Yeah, I know, I saw it up close and personal.

Anyway, back to the Denali Highway. It is definitely a “MUST DO” for anyone in the area. The scenery, dramatic mountains & plains with rivers running through is just phenomenal. With 20 miles of pavement and 100+ miles of dirt, to me it has been the highlight of the trip so far. I am even considering riding it in the other direction if time permits.

even more Denali Hwy

We arrived at Hwy 2 only to find that we had to go 20 miles to our intended destination for the night – the Grizzly Bear Resort. This we recommended by our friend in Fairbanks and is only 6 miles south of the park entrance. We arrived right before they closed at 10PM. We found a campsite that was “kind of level”, bought some firewood, set up our tent and settle in for a very late dinner and a well deserved cocktail. At 11:30pm it was still light enough not to need a flashlight – very strange. Regardless of how bright it was outside, we were ready to turn in after a much longer than planned day, which was incredible none the less.

The resort did have showers, flush toilets and firewood available for purchase, so it was convenient and a “bit” luxurious compared to where we had been staying, and at $25/night being that close to the park was worth it. We planned to move into the park the second night but we figured we would treat ourselves to not having to break down / set-up camp an additional time to move 6 miles. Next time we will definitely stay in the park.

Alaska Adventure: Day 8 – Hanging out in Fairbanks

2010-08-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

We thought we would enjoy another day in civilization to get caught up on email and phone calls as well as do laundry and get some provisions. We are also trying to determine what our route will be for the rest of the trip given that we had to bypass Dawson, the Top of the World Highway and Eagle due to road closures. Very disappointed with that development.

Our friend gave us the grand tour of Fairbanks including going to the Large Animal Research Station where we viewed Muskox – a totally pre-historic looking creature resembling a mix between a bison and a small cow. They also have a large herd of Caribou which were unfortunately grazing one of the back fields which was inaccessible. We were looking forward to seeing a caribou, as neither of us ever has.

We also enjoyed the University of Alaska, Fairbanks new museum. A beautiful new facility that included a lot of art, history of Alaska, Geology of the state, etc. Very fascinating information. They had a stuffed grizzly on display that stood 8’9” tall – not something I would want to run into on the trail.

For dinner we experienced another first – moose burgers. They were excellent – very lean and full of flavor.

Alaska Adventure: Day 7 – Lake Creek Campground to Fairbanks, AK

2010-08-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Well we slept much later than expected to our surprise and stirred at 7:30am. It started to rain as soon as we began to pack up camp. We had to put our tent away wet for the first time which was a bummer, knowing we would have to set it up at our friends’ place in Fairbanks to let it dry. Thankfully the weather cleared up by the time we got on the road.

The road was full of frost heaves and pot holes all the way to the border. Sweet on our adventure bike but had to be miserable in an RV or on a Harley (which their 2-3” of suspension travel). Everyone once in a while I would hear a “Weeee” out of Martha though the Scala intercom system – thoroughly enjoying her Trail Tricks suspension (thanks Javier). I am testing out some new Hagon shocks on the GS – which are working much better than the stock shocks but need a bit of fine tuning on the adjusters to compensate for the load I am carrying as well as increasing the dampening. The rear shock has a remote pre-load adjuster which makes that easy but the front shock is difficult to access, partly because of the Stebel horn I have installed right in front of it.

We tried to get fuel in Burwash Landing but the husband of the establishment was asleep and the wife didn’t know how to start the generator to power the fuel pumps. She said if we were desperate for fuel she would wake her husband, although reluctantly. We told her we weren’t desperate so we pushed on. Luckily there was fuel in Beaver Creek 38 miles away.

We crossed into Alaska just before the U.S. Customs to the obligatory photos.

We arrive in Alaska

Martha riding into Alaska - note road construction (get used to it)

We passed through U.S. Customs fairly easily expect for a slight mishap with Martha’s passport but they let us in anyway. At a stop at one of the many construction zones, we met Frank and Simone from Germany who were 3 months into a planned two year trip around the world. They rode from Halifax and we caught up with them just west of the US border. They were on the new Honda Transalp which I hadn’t seen before as they are not imported into the US. It was a different bike than what they would ride at home but they felt it was the perfect bike for their trip – fairly light, economical, comfortable but still able to hold quite a bit of gear necessary for a two year trip. They are able to go about 350 kms on the 17 liter tank plus they carry two 5 liter ferry cans on the back of the saddlebags which gives them a lot more range when needed. They admitted that they rarely use the extra fuel cans as they are a bit difficult to use.

Frank & Simone from Germany

A late lunch in Tok was a bit disappointing. You would think when you order a Halibut sandwich so close to the primary source in Alaska it would be excellent, but we were wrong. Martha took on fuel in Tok and we both gassed up in Delta Junction to get us to Fairbanks. We ran into Frank & Simone at the gas station and got their email so I could send them photos and a video link of the images I took of them when they were in front of us. Check out their trip at: www.krad-vagabunden.de/

Overall another beautiful day on the road and overall uneventful which is a good thing. We safely arrived at our friends house in Fairbanks and was treated to a wonderful dinner of King Crab Legs. We capped off the evening with a bottle of 2005 Silver Oak Cab I scored at a local store to help celebrate Martha’s arrival to Alaska – her first time here.

Alaska Adventure: Day 6 – Whitehorse to Lake Creek Campground

2010-08-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

Since the Top of the World Highway is closed we decided to bypass our trip to Dawson / the Arctic Circle since we would have to go up and back the same road and it would cost an extra day to backtrack.

We took full advantage of being in civilization and slept in, did laundry, caught up on email, updated our blog a bit, uploaded photos and had a great brunch at the Edgewater hotel. We hit the bank to get some more “loonies” and stocked up on provisions. Since it was cloudy and rain in the morning, we were not terribly motivated to get on the road, so by the time we fueled up and rolled out of town it was 3pm and perfectly sunny. Nice timing.

We followed Highway 1 toward Tok since the Top of the World Highway is closed. We decided to reverse the route a bit and will hopefully the road will be open so we can hit Dawson on our leg to the ferry in Haines. We are looking forward to seeing our good friend in Fairbanks.

The scenery continues to be incredible and only got better as we neared Haines Junction.

Mountains near Haines Junction

We stopped for photos and fuel only to be instantly swarmed by bees. We found out at the fuel stop that the local bees are carnivores and like to munch of the carcasses of their fallen comrades prominently covering the front of our bikes – time to keep moving!!

One of the highlights of the ride so far was definitely Kluane Lake which is huge and very picturesque with large mountains all around, especially to the south.

There is very little in the way of services along the way. Destruction Bay has a somewhat decent store / fuel for the area and Haines Junction is about as fully stocked as you will find in this area. We did a quick pitstop here and was told by another rider on a BMW F650GS that the road was in horrible condition headed toward Tok. The road to this point had been table top smooth so we were a bit leary. There were some frost heaves and pot holes but nothing to be concerned about on the bikes we were riding.

We checked out the campground near Destruction Bay and it was closed to tent campers due to high bear activity. The campground at Burwash landing looked pretty nasty so we soldiered on. We continued into Lake Creek Campground which was another beautiful spot, again steps from a flowing but quite river.

Lake Creek Campground

river near Lake Creek camp site

One drawback was the VERY aggressive mosquitoes and lack of a well. We figured out too late that we should have picked one of the campsites that was in the sun, as it would be drier and most likely have less mosquitoes. Luckily we had enough water in our Kriega Hydropack for coffee in the morning. We were also surprised by the amount of road noise in this campground.

The “skeeters” seemed completely unphased by a very smokey fire and the DEET we had covered ourselves with, so I broke out the big guns – a nice Romeo & Julieta cigar but despite my efforts, there was no beating them. We retreated to the tent under a full sun at 10pm, which seemed like 4 in the afternoon. Our plan was to get up early and head to Fairbanks.

Alaska Adventure: Day 5 – Watson Lake to Whitehorse, YT

2010-08-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

Getting better and faster at packing up camp. A beautiful morning with much cooler temperatures and still not a sign of smoke from the local forest fires.

Watson Lake

We passed many beautiful lakes today on both sides of the road. Signs of wild life continue to be fairly scarce. We stopped for a splash of gas for the 990 in Rancheria (regular unleaded only). We have been trying not to use the ADVTank more than necessary because accessing the filler is very difficult with all the gear we have loaded on the bike. It is next to impossible to see the level of the fuel with often results in overfilling it. We find it easier to make a quick stop to fill the main tanks when available as well as to stretch our legs. There are definitely segments where we could not do without the auxiliary tank, but it is not necessary to use all the time. The ADVTank give us much more flexibility and piece of mind to occasionally pass a gas station, as fuel is somewhat unreliable in the Yukon.

Every other bike going down the road, with the exception of the GSA, has some kind of fuel can strapped to it, which I am not a big fan of in any way. I feel it is a fire ball waiting to happen with the plastic jugs precariously strapped to the bike. Our metal MSR bottles on the back of the saddlebags will give us a bit more range with piece of mind that is not possible with a plastic jug.

The approach to the town of Teslin is absolutely gorgeous. We had lunch at the Yukon Inn which was good. Absolutely DON’T MISS the wild life museum at the Yukon Inn Gift Store. It is very deceiving from the outside but has some of the best wild life exhibits I have ever seen. Simply incredible museum quality examples of polar bears, black bears, grizzly bears, arctic foxes, moose, wolves, eagles, owls, dall sheep and mountain goats are all on display. There is a scene with three wolves attacking a moose that looks like it was frozen in time. A MUST SEE for sure and well worth the stop.

Bridge to Teslin

Overlooking Teslin

We fueled up with premium gas across from the Yukon Inn and continued northwest towards Whitehorse. Lakes and rivers are everyone in this region and the traffic thankfully is getting a bit lighter. We enjoyed much cooler weather today with a brief rain shower mid-afternoon. Into Whitehorse where we planned to stay in our first hotel of the trip for a real shower and bed – YAHOOO! During the Alcan 5000 Rally I did in 2006 we stayed in the Klondike Inn so we checked that out first after cruising around town to see our options. It was very reasonably priced with a decent room, laundry facilities right across the hall and walking distance to Earl’s restaurant for good food and margaritas.

Alaska Adventure: Day 4 – Tetsa Campground to Watson Lake

2010-08-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

We packed up and headed out a bit early than had been our norm, we were on the road about 10am. Today was a beautiful ride with great scenery and HUGE mountains all around. Very dramatic. We saw a bit more wild life today including a few small sheep and a huge herd (100+) of Buffalo grazing long the roadway. Some of the males are the size of a VW with the heads the size of a small child. Just amazing.

We stopped at Muncho Lake for a few photos. A very picturesque spot to say the least.

At one point we came around a corner only to find two Dall sheep laying on the road way. They appeared young and given location of choice to take a nap, they will probably have a short life expectancy.

Our next stop was the Liard Hot Springs which is a MUST DO if you are in this area. It felt absolutely fantastic to soak our bones after so much time on the bike. The attendant offered to watch our bikes and gear while we enjoyed a leisurely soak which was great. I can’t help but be a bit security-conscience given all the gear we have on the bike, so this was great piece of mind. We ran into the Coeur d’Alene / Las Vegas crew again here and got to spend a bit more time with them, checking out their bikes, etc.

After stopping for fuel in Coal River for a splash of fuel in Martha’s 990 (at $6.50 / gallon for premium), we ran into some Harley riders that were coming south. They indicated the smoke from the forest fires was absolutely awful in Watson Lake. We determined we would push through past Watson Lake to camp for the night to make sure we were west of the Cassiar Highway intersection just in case they closed it. There was no fuel available in Fireside so we were glad to have stopped in Coal River. Much to our pleasant surprise, the road up to Watson Lake and the town itself was completely clear of smoke. It was actually a crystal clear day and we couldn’t even smell the smoke as we had the last couple days.

We crossed into the Yukon Territory of Canada just before Watson Lake

In Watson Lake we topped off our tanks and got some provisions for dinner. We also stopped at the Sign Post Forest at the information center which was incredible – over 67,000 signs from all over the world.

Martha was really bummed we didn’t bring a sign to post ourselves. We determined at the visitor center that we needed to be more diligent about stopping to get updated road conditions, as things can change up here quite quickly.

We decided to stay at the Watson Lake Campground which is just west of town. Another great spot near a beautiful lake. No showers but water is available and firewood is included. As soon as we pulled in it started to rain. We did a mad dash to get out tent set-up so we could sit in the “garage” and enjoy a cocktail. After a somewhat heavy downpour, the rain soon passed. We then broke out our dinner. Unfortunately there was quite a bit of ash from the forest fires all over the picnic table which made a mess.

Nomad "garage"

We were thankful to have all of the other gear on our bikes completely waterproof – the Hepco Becker waterproof zip duffles, the Kriega US20 as well as the Enduristan tank bag on Martha’s 990 have all worked out great. The Wunderlich tank bag on the GS is not completely waterproof as advertised nor is the built in map case, which already ruined one of our maps in a slight rain.

Alaska Adventure: Day 3 – Grand Prairie, AB to Tetsa Campground

2010-08-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

After enjoying our first shower of the trip at the Saskatoon Island Campground, we packed up camp and hit the road. Felt great to wash off all the sweat and grime of several very hot days of riding. It was fairly flat landscape on the way to Dawson Creek, where we crossed back into BC. This is also the official start of the Alaska Highway.

We had lunch at Mr Mike’s Steakhouse which was excellent. We ran into a group of Adventure Riders from Coeur d’Alene and Las Vegas. They had five bikes all together – four R1200GSs and one KTM 950 Adventure. Very nice folks who were headed to Alaska as well then back on the ferry to Bellingham, WA.

The majority of the day was spend riding from Grand Prairie to Fort Nelson, which for the most part was smooth roads, fast but a bit boring with the “same old scenery”. Much flatter landscape as well as we head across the plains. There was lots of truck traffic but plenty of opportunities to pass. It was great having Martha on a fast bike like the 990 as before when she had the F650GS, she was typically unable to pass in many situations. We had to use the MSR fuel bottles on both bikes to add range to Martha’s bike since we bypassed fuel in Buckinghorse River and the fuel station in Prophet had long since closed.

We are very thankful to have the ADVTank auxiliary tank on her 990, which actually allows us to bypass a gas station occasionally, which really wouldn’t be an option with just the stock 5 gallon tank. With almost 9 gallons on board the big GS, fuel is not a top concern although with the load I am carrying and the speeds we are running (70-75 mph), the fuel economy and resulting range is not as good as I expected. I have been getting between 34-39 mpg, often at the lower end of the range for some tanks. The fuel light has been coming on at about 260 miles, which is a bit pessimistic as at this point I have more than a gallon left.

The road from Fort Nelson as we turn West is MUCH more scenic with sweeping views over a large valley. This twisty road is a lot more fun as the long straight stretches of the morning we getting tiresome. The Tetsa Campground is a beautiful park with very large spaces right next to the river. Again, very few people we in the camp and we felt as though we had the whole place to ourselves.

We went for a cool refreshing dip in the river to cool off after a very hot day in the saddle. Another campfire and an enjoyable dinner followed by a nice cigar. What a great way to end the day. I could get use to this, oh wait, I am!! With almost three weeks left during our trip, I had better get used to it which is OK by me. Definitely beats being in the office all day.

Water is available at most of the campsites but should be boiled first. Perfect for coffee in the morning and our “gourmet oatmeal”. This evening was not as cool overnight and a brief overnight rain shower increased the humidity a bit. Still very comfortable in our Nomad tent.

Alaska Adventure: Day 2 - The Crossing, AB to Grand Prairie, AB

2010-08-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

We awoke and took our chairs down by the river to enjoy our coffee. We tried the new instant coffee packs from Starbucks and they are excellent as well as take up very little room. The huge mountains that surrounded us were simply breathtaking. Very serene with absolutely no one around. While we feel much of the planet is just too crowded – this is not one of those places. Some excellent “gourmet oatmeal” for breakfast as we leisurely packed up camp. This is supposed to be a bit of a vacation after all – which I have to keep reminding myself of. Much to our surprise, we were able to fit everything back on the bikes fairly easily, which is always a crap shoot the first time you unpack everything.

The ride north to Jasper continued to amaze us with some of the most incredibly beautiful scenery I have EVER seen. Something that EVERYONE should see at some point in their lives. My advice is make the opportunity happen – you won’t regret it. Ice fields, glaciers, incredible rivers, big horn sheep and elk were all sights we enjoyed – just incredible. It was a bit hazy today so the conditions for shooting photos was not optimal. Here are a few to give you an idea of the mountains we rode through.

Lunch in Jasper at Earl’s was very enjoyable. We scored a great spot at on the patio overlooking the town. After some fuel and provisioning,

we headed north to Route 40 which was a cut through to Grand Prairie. Fast roads in good condition were somewhat scenic, but felt like we were on them forever to get to our destination. It was very hot during the day which really zapped our energy as we pushed through to the Saskatoon Island Campground. Another awesome camping spot near a lake. The huge size of the campsites in Canada continue to impress us with lots of privacy. Cheese, crackers, a little wine and Goslings Rum and a cigar by the campfire was a great end to a great day!

We found out today that the Cassiar Highway is currently closed due to forest fires and that there is some concern over the Watson Lake interchange which could have a drastic effect on our route. We also confirmed that Route 4 which goes north from Watson Lake is gravel for several hundred miles, which is not looking like a good option since we have the bikes so heavily loaded. Also, the “Top of the World Highway” is closed due to landslides caused by heavy rains. We will have to keep an eye on this as well as our plan is to go north out of Whitehorse to Dawson, then over the Top of the World Highway to Tok. If this highway is closed, we will have to pass on Dawson altogether as well as our potential run to the Arctic Circle we were still considering.

Alaska Adventure: Day 1 – Sandpoint, ID to “the Crossing”, BC

2010-08-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

Getting a late start as usual. Our planned departure time of 7am quickly became 8:15am. Oh well, this is supposed to be a vacation – better to start it late than never!

Black Dog seeing us off

After gassing up at our corner gas station, we quickly headed north on 95 towards the Canadian border, which is only 45 miles away. We breezed through customs at Eastport – no, we don’t have any items for personal protection, felony convictions, DUI arrest, etc. we were allowed to pass. Amazing how much more selective Canada is compared to the US as to who is allowed in their beautiful country…

We headed north to Fairmont Springs for an early lunch at the Farside Pub for some good grub. We had stopped there on my way to Banff two years ago and the food didn’t disappoint. We also stopped to get some required supplies. No way are we camping in Canada and Alaska without a couple of these handy. Canada only allows bear spray that they have approved so we had to wait to get over the border to purchase some. If you get caught at the border bringing in a US version - expect some serious delays and hassles. Much to my surprise it was actually cheaper in Canada as well.

The day is quickly warming up. We decided to take the Route 1 cut-over from Golden to the Icycle Highway / Jasper. BIG MISTAKE. We sat for 1-1/2 hours baking in the sun in a construction zone. A few motorcycles wandered up the shoulder. After we moved about 3 miles in over an hour, we decided to go for it. A few dirty looks from soccer moms in mini vans, people letting their rat dogs get some “exercise” and one off-road excursion around a camper that was blocking the shoulder, we were through with no explanation as to the backup. Very frustrating to say the least. After all that I was expecting to at least see a few cars that got mangled by a bulldozer.

The view

Martha shows her true feelings

Onto 93 north a Jasper. I have to say the highway between Banff and Jasper is one of THE most scenic roads I have ever been on. Just breath taking mountains that are incredibly dramatic. EVERYONE should ride this road – it is just unbelievable!! We blew past Bow Lake, realized our mistake and banged a quick U-turn. Again, amazing scenery. The image of a gorgeous lake with mountains and glaciers in the background is difficult to describe in words - so here is a picture to help:

Bow Lake

We vowed to “stop and smell the roses” during this trip and not pass up opportunities to enjoy our surroundings. The Num-Ti-Jah Lodge was very cool and rustic overlooking the lake that seemed very similar to Lake Louise, but without the huge crowds. We saw the “Backroads” bicycle tour van outside and knew it would be pricey. I had to ask - $325 a night but they were full. We thanked them for their time and said we had a date with our tent for the evening.

Num-Ti-Jah Lodge

To be honest we deliberated whether to bring a smaller tent with us or the new Nomad Expedition tent we recently acquired. We love to camp but I assumed the reality of pounding out miles all day on the bike and less then dependable weather would send us searching for hotel rooms more often than not. We set the Nomad up at home as a “test run” and figured it would be worth the extra weight. (DEFINITELY the right call on the tent –more on that later).

We pushed onward to “The Crossing” which was the only gas / food option available to us at this point. Our general plan was to have our main, heavier meal at lunch with a lighter dinner at camp. Maybe grab a sandwich or cheese and crackers along the way to have something simple. The food options at “The Crossing” were extremely poor but we made due. Grabbed a sandwich, filled up the tanks and continued north. We came across the first campground about 10 miles down the road, which was the Rampart Creek Campground. WOW – great spot. Let me just say the Canadians’ know how to put together a public campground. Huge spaces with tons of privacy, steps from a gorgeous river. Water was available as well as outhouses but no showers, which was fine for this stop. Inexpensive too at $16 for the site. A bit strange they wanted another $8 for a “fire permit” which included your firewood. This was the only campground we experienced this phenomenon at – all the other campgrounds included firewood for free with no “permit” required.

We quickly set-up the tent and was thankful for the extra space the “garage” afforded us for changing and to keep our gear dry from the morning dew. Plus it was great to be able to stand up in the tent. Our home away from home is very cozy. After setting up our sleeping accommodations, we cracked a bottle of 2003 A. Rafanelli Zinfindel to celebrate our first night on the road. Bear Spray and a ka-bar knife handy, we retired to bed while still light out at 10PM.

First night camp

CELEBRATION TIME!

Riverside camp - first night

More manana.....

ALASKA-BOUND

2010-07-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned here to follow our progress as we leaving Sandpoint, ID the first week of August to travel through British Columbia, the Yukon on our way to explore Alaska including Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage and Homer. We may make a run for the Artic Circle up the Dempster Highway if time allows. On the way back we plan to enjoy a short ferry from Haines to Prince Rubert, with a short stay in Juneau. The inland passage has always been a dream destination - can't wait. Overall, our journey will include over 6,000 miles of riding. Martha will be riding her KTM 990 Adventure and Kurt will be on his R1200GS Adventure. Both bikes are loaded with the parts we carry and include new product we are testing including:

- Rigid Industries LED lights
- Enduristan Sandstorm Tank bag
- BDCW skid plate for the R1200GS / GSA
- A990 Crash bar bags for KTM 950/990 Adventure
- A1200 crash bar bags for the BMW R1200GS Adventure
- FP Levers
- Hepco Becker travel zip waterproof duffle
- Nomad Expedition Motorcycle tent
- Scala G4 communicators
- Vholder 1080 HD Helmet Cam
- Clearshot lens cleaners

We also plan to take plenty of photos and video as well as potentially write a magazine article of the trip.

Wish us luck. Hopefully we will have a safe and productive journey.

PS - we greatly appreciate your support in our journey. While we won't have phone or email access during the trip, any online orders placed will be shipped at least twice a week until our return, which is tentatively scheduled for August 30th. Technical support and telephone will not be available during this time either.