Friday, June 29, 2007

AK Trip - Day Fourteen - Friday, June 29th,

Fairbanks, AK

Fairbanks as seen from The Steese Hwy to the north.

After thirteen non-stop, three to five hundred mile riding days, this day has been declared a day of rest. Well, almost. Our plans for today include washing laundry, cleaning up some very dirty bikes and hopefully some time to rest as well. We might even find some time to sight see a bit.

Here I should explain a bit about time changes. Since we left home we have crossed three time zones, which means we are now three hours behind Central Standard Time. To illustrate how this has affected us I need only to say we both went to bed last night with the goal of sleeping in this morning. I woke up and asked Ted what time it was only to hear him say 3:50 am. In all fairness our internal clocks still read CST or 6:50 am, very late to sleep in for either one of us. We quickly learned to change to the local times as we go. It is too confusing not too. It’s a pity our internal clocks will not follow the plan as well. Additionally the sun rise and set is playing a big factor in our time problems as well. Today the sun rose at 3:07 am and will set at 12:57 am tomorrow morning. That's a grand total of two hours of semi darkness.

Downtown Fairbanks Monument to the Eskimo's


Another item on the agenda today is the Alaskan Ferry system. Ted and I have decided to do some research regarding the ferry routes and the fee’s. We both would like to include a short ferry ride of some kind in this trip. We will be handicapped because we have not made long term reservations and the ferries are usually booked far in advance. We are hearing motorcycles can sometimes get squeezed on at the last minute. It’s worth looking into.

Ferry Update: It turns out the Alaska Ferry does not run where we need to go on an acceptable date. It would not matter though since it is booked solid through July and August.

Sometime today we will have to make the decision whether to make a run up to The Artic Circle on the Haul Road. The weather is fine. The only issue is have we had enough gravel to suit us already.

By the way, it never hurt to let you guys know how much we both appreciate your comments and e-mail. Keep em coming.


The Alaskan Pipe Line Visitors Center

The Aleyska (Alaskan) Pipe Line - 820 Miles Long
Notice the fins on top of the pipeline. Used to moderate the pipe temps.

"Anyone who lives within his means suffers from a lack of imagination." ~Lionel Stander~

4 comments:

  1. Mike/Ted,
    I hope the ferry ride works out. That would be great to see part of Alaska and/or Canada from the water. DO IT if you can. If not, WE will catch it on the next trip north! Every time I think about selling the V-Strom to get down to one bike I remember why I need two bikes, atleast two bikes!
    Ride safe,
    Kevin.

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  2. You guys are living my dream. I want to ride to Alaska some year (from northern illinois) but I can only designate three weeks vacation. That would be pretty near impossible especially since I like the rate of travel you guys make and you're already on day 14! Enjoy it for me, and keep showing me what I'm missing! Tom T.

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  3. Sounds like things are going good. I am recovering from my neck surgery I can drive the car. I just need to take it easy for 6 weeks. At one time I was looking at the ferry from Haines to Skagway.

    Mikej

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  4. Great journal brother. Gave you journal address to a friend of mine who rides bikes. He was really interested in your trip. Think he has a bike like yours.
    Take care of yourself.

    srjrb

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