AK Trip - Day Twenty Two - Saturday, July 7th.,

Wasilla to Wrangell Saint Elias National Park

We left Wasilla this morning and quickly made it into Palmer where we had breakfast at The Noisy Goose Cafe. From there it was on to a nearby gas station to check the air in the bike tires. Soon after we were headed down the Glenn Hwy following the Matanuska Valley, eventually crossing the Chugach Mountains.

The Matanuska River

Near this spot, at Hatcher Pass, the second largest gold discovery in Alaska took place.

The Matanuska Glacier

We spent most of the morning climbing through the Chugach Mountains and riding around this magnificent glacier. It didn't take long to realize we needed heavier clothes as the temps dropped dramatically near this glacier.

Wrangell Saint Elias National Park

At the risk of sounding like a Park Ranger, I'll pass on some interesting information we learned about this park. Wrangell is the largest national park in the US. It is the size of six Yellowstones, comprising 13.2 million acres. Four major mountain ranges meet here, including two which make up it's name. (Wrangell Mountains & Saint Elias Mountains) Of the 15 highest peaks in Alaska, 12 are in this park. Mt Wrangell is the largest active volcano in the state. Sadly, due to this parks remote location, it is also one of the least visited parks. The entire park is accessed by two dirt roads. This park is so large it has seven seperate visitor centers. Ted and I visited the Copper River Visitor Center and, 60 miles farther on, the Chitina Visitor Center for two separate NP stamps.

While at the Chitina Center the Park Ranger reccommended a newly refurbished old hotel in the small town as a great place to get a fresh halibut burger. As it turned out, she knew what she was talking about. The grilled halibut was delicious with a cup of fresh clam chowder. It should be noted this is prime halibut season in Alaska. Fresh halibut can be found on most menus.

Returning from Chitina we had the good fortune to have a female black bear with a small cub run directly in front of my bike. At a distance I first thought it was a very large black dog. As I quickly got closer it did not take long to realize the mistake. I thought of Nancy Hulen and her love for animals when I saw this pair up close.

The Copper River
Have you ever heard of Copper River salmon?

People were lining the river banks fishing for Copper River salmon. The salmon run is in full swing.

Today the weather started partly cloudy with temps in the mid to upper fifties. As we got farther up into the mountains the weather took a turn for the worse getting colder and eventually raining most of the afternoon. Ted and I didn't let that bother us as we continued on into Wrangell Saint Elias NP.

Tonight, after back tracking, we are staying at The Caribou Hotel in Glennallen. We tried to rebook in Valdez but there wasn't a room to be had due to a statewide bicycle festival. Tomorrow we will explore Valdez for one day instead of the two originally planned. That extra day is needed to make our ferry date.

Fire Weed is in full bloom throughout Alaska and Canada.

The Caribou Hotel allows motorcycles to park under their front door canopy.

"My parents' idea of a wild night is to mix a scoop of real coffee in with the decaf." ~Calvin~

AK Trip - Day Twenty One - Friday, July 6th.,

Anchorage & Wasilla

This morning was spent sight-seeing in and around Anchorage. The rain has stopped and the sun was out in mid fifty temps. Puffy clouds came and went all day.

We also stopped by the Honda dealer and had them check out Ted’s tires. They were fine, which was pretty much what we thought, but it was still nice to get a professional opinion before we leave civilization. Captain Cook overlooking Cook's Inlet

Cook's Inlet at Anchorage.

Notice the low tide and the large mud flats. These flats are composed of glacial silt and are very dangerous. Another interesting fact: It is extremely difficult for fish to live in glacial water due to this silt.

We rode 40 miles north to Wasilla to have lunch. It was interesting to see Wasilla without the rain clouds and fog that clung to the town on our first trip through. Today the weather was sunny and clear and the beautiful mountains surrounding Wasilla were strutting there stuff.

It was on to Abby Motors after lunch to have my new rear tire installed. The Abby's owner’s online forum name is Friar Mike, hence the statue.

Bike shops are scarce up here, let alone good ones. We had three BMW GS bikes in line for new rubber ahead of us. We simply took a seat and waited for our turn.

My rear tire had 6,050 miles on it. Far too many miles to make the return trip home. It is nice to know I now have the tires I need on the bike to make the return trip.

Later, we were invited to another online forum members house for hot dogs and the fixings. (Rodger Wheeldog). In addition to meeting Rodger and his wife, we also met Tod Ryan and his wife (another MTF forum member). Tod is also riding a Gold National Park Tour and a Four Corners Tour . Tod is a teacher by trade and has the summer off. We have met several teachers riding in Alaska on this trip. Tod's wife flew up to Anchorage to ride with him on a KLR she rented for a couple of weeks. Tod and his wife are from Massachusetts.

Tomorrow we resume traveling as we start first east and then southwest to Glenallen and Valdez. This area, along with Haines, should provide some of the most beautiful scenery of the trip.

A side note: We got lucky tonight and found an efficiency apartment for a very good price. (The Alaskan Select Inn - Wasilla) It has two seperate bedrooms and a small kitchenette. Very nice!

Rodger (Wheeldog) & Wife

Tod Ryan and wife Ruth

Ted and I would like to thank again all the people who are offering support and daily comments. They mean a lot to both of us.

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams~

AK Trip - Day Twenty - Thursday, July 5th.,

A Rainy Day in Anchorage

Well, there was nothing adventurous about today. We are at the Super 8 in Anchorage and the temps are in the low 50’s with a steady drizzle.

This morning I spent a good deal of time on the laptop and cell phone re-arranging our motel reservations to accommodate the Haines to Prince Rupert ferry ride.

Later, we rode downtown to find the Lake Clark NP stamp. We finally located the stamp in a Federal building, next to the largest downtown mall.

We also stopped at a Wal Mart and bought snacks and tie down straps for the upcoming ferry ride.

After lunch at Gwennies, a local eatery, we came back to the motel to catch up on our laundry and rest a bit.

Tomorrow morning we will head back up to Wasilla to get my new tire installed, visit with Wheeldog, if he's around, and sight see some in that area. The weather forecast for tomorrow looks much better with predicted sunshine and low 60 temps.

I have booked a room in Wasilla for tomorrow night. I am not sure if it has Internet connections or not. If not, hopefully we'll have access in Valdez.

Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first, the lesson afterward. ~Anonymous~

AK Trip - Day Nineteen - Wednesday, July 4th,

Seward & The Kenai Peninsula

The goal today was to explore The Kenai Peninsula. Leaving Bird Ridge we headed south, down The Seward Highway exploring the beautiful coast of The Cook Inlet. The temps today started in the mid to upper fifties and pretty much stayed there. Not much wind at all.

The Cook Inlet


The Cook Inlet has enormous tidal flats and dangerous currents.
This might explain why cruise ships do not come to Anchorage.

Much of this area is included in The Chugach National Forest.


The Seward docks.

King Salmon, caught nearby mere minutes ago. As fresh as it gets!


The Seward Harbor

Our second goal today was to visit The Kenai Fjord National Park in downtown Seward and add that stamp to our collection.

Seward was having it's annual 4th of July festival which included a marathon race striaght up the side of a mountain. It was simply amazing to think anyone could run up that thing! They were also having a town street festival. This festival assured no motel rooms were available. It also meant we would not be able to continue on to Homer, 184 miles farther down the peninsula. Homer is a small fishing village with few motels.

It started another slow, cold drizzle as we left Seward and began the 140 mile return trip to Anchorage. The Alaskan State Troopers were out in force for the 4th holiday. We passed four unmarked trooper cars with people pulled over on the ride back to Anchorage.

Tonight we are back in Anchorage at the Super 8.

Don't be afraid of death so much as an inadequate life.
~Bertolt Brecht~

AK Trip - Day Eightteen - Tuesday, July 3rd,

Healy, AK to Bird Branch, AK

Ted and I both woke up early (4 am, left by 5 am) and decided to hit the road with the intention of arriving in Wasilla around 9:30 am. Large patches of mountain fog and drizzling rain hindered our 200-mile ride. We also encountered three large moose playing in the middle of the road in one low hanging fog bank.

My new rear tire was supposed to be waiting for me at Abby Motors in Wasilla and I was anxious to check on it. As it turned out, my tire was there but, after more consideration, I decided to put off the installation until after we ride down the Kenai Peninsula. That will put slightly more than 6,000 miles on the rear tire. It should work out just about right to make it home on the replacement.
While in Wasillia, Ted and I visited the National Headquarters of the Iditarod Trail Race.

Leaving Wasilla, we continued on to the Honda dealer in Anchorage to pick up some soft ties for Ted’s upcoming ferry trip. While in Anchorage we ate lunch and did an ole home tour of downtown, a place Ted once worked. Ted commented repeatedly that there was very little the same after 20 years of growth. Forty-three per cent of the Alaskan state population now live in the city of Anchorage.

We departed Anchorage and traveled the 27 miles south down The Seward Highway to Bird Ridge, our motel for the next week. As it turned out, we were early and the room was not yet ready. That was all the excuse we needed to continue on to Whittier, AK.

In order to get to Whittier, you must first traverse a two and a half mile tunnel under a mountain. This tunnel is shared with train traffic on a rotating basis. The fee to use it both ways is twelve dollars and auto’s go first. Motorcycles ride between the rails on wet steel decking after all the traffic has cleared. Large fans continuously blow exhaust fumes out of the tunnel.

Motorcycles are required to wait beside this building until everyone has cleared the tunnel. We were told by the tunnel attendent that many motorcycle accidents occur when pulling trailers. Apparently the trailer tires get caught between the tracks. When visiting Whittier it might be a good idea to leave the trailer at the motel.

The tiny A frame building in the center is the entrance to the tunnel.

Arriving in Whittier
While in Whittier we checked on our ferry reservations.

An Alaskan Ferry about to depart for Kodiak.

The Whittier AK Harbor

The mountains around Whittier are covered in waterfalls.

The Portage Glacier

Upon the return to our motel at Bird Ridge we found good news and bad news. The good news was the package from Mike & Rhonda J. containing Ted's new foot peg had arrived. It was a quick, piece of cake installation. I am amazed the part got here in under two days.

The bad news was the motel room. No telephone, no Internet, no TV. Well, it had a TV but no channels. Instead it had a DVD player hooked up to it and two 1920 era movies laying beside it. Unfortunately, this was not a place I could put up with for a week so we quickly made plans to check out tomorrow morning.

We will either find a motel in Seward or return to Anchorage.

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice." ~Meister Eckhart~

AK Trip - Day Seventeen - Monday, July 2nd,

Denali National Park

Leaving Fairbanks we traveled down The Parks Highway to Healy, AK, a small burg near the entrance to Denali NP. Our motel for a couple of nights was The White Moose Motel, located off the beaten path, without internet service, one channel on the tv and one phone located in the office.

We fully expected some kind of critter to stroll out of the woods that bordered the parking lot to the motel.

After checking into The White Moose, we rode over to the visitor center and booked a six hour bus tour of the park for early the next morning.Denali, although shrouded in fog and low hanging clouds the entire day, was nothing short of breathtaking. Our bus tour snaked along a death defying, one lane gravel strip that clung to the sides of the mountains. Our tour took us over the Polly Chrome Pass and on to Toklat before we returned on the same route. It is a pity the pictures posted here will not begin to do the park justice.Sheer drops of over a thousand feet were common just a few feet from our bus.Game was abundant throughout the park. We spotted two grizzlies, herds of caribou, mountain sheep, several moose, bald eagles and snowshoe hares by the thousands. (Our guide says snowshoe hares are estimated at 2500 per sq mile.) The distances were too great to take a decent wildlife shot with a snapshot camera.

"All of the animals except man know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it." ~Anonymous~

AK Trip - Day Sixteen - Sunday, July 1st,

Denali NP- Healy, AK

We are in Healy, AK at the entrance to Denali NP eating lunch at a Subway with Wi Fi, so I thought I would do a quick update. Our motel has no Wi Fi or phone.

We've been here two days and today we did a 6 hour bus tour of the park up to Toklat and Polly Chrome Pass. We saw grizzley, caribu, moose, sheep and eagles along with hundreds of snowshoe hares. Unfortunately, we had a cloudy day and did not see Denali. It was covered in fog.

I took several pictures and will post as soon as possible.

"Life is too important to be taken seriously." ~Oscar Wilde~