Route 37 south

We came from Whitehorse and headed down to Prince George over the course of three days. About 1130 miles of Northwest British Columbia.  A big part of it was route 37 south for about 650 miles. It was a beautiful ride but not very motorcycle friendly.  Narrow winding roads with little to no visibility for wildlife. This impeded our progress because we slowed down due to the wildlife. We encountered a close call when Joe clipped a wild horse that darted out of nowhere.  Fortunately he was able to control the bike and is unhurt.  Another time we came upon a group of six wild horses on the road and they are hard to move and mean.  Areas very heavy with moose but we lucked out having to deal with them. About 100 miles down 37 we did see a BMW car on the side of the road with it's hood pushed all the way into the back seat.  Later at our first night stay we found out it was compliments of a moose.  The next morning we woke up to find ashes on the bikes.  The road we came down the night before was now closed to a forest fire.  At the time of this writing (3days later) the road is still closed and the fire is getting worse.  420 fires are going on at this time in British Columbia.  Glad to be heading south away from most of them.

One nights stay was in the town of Stewart which is on the USA peninsula border.  It abuts the Alaska town of Hyder where we were able to observe the Salmon running up river spawning.  If you're lucky the bears show up, but it wasn't meant to be for us.  Oh well, it was still a cool thing to see!  The road to Vancouver, route 97, is heavily under construction and we've been forewarned very hard on motorcycles.  The bikes have been taking a lot of beatings so were going to give them a break and alter our plans. Until next time!!!!
Mark


Things of note;
1-Tom says to tell you all how good he looks riding
2-He says pictures make him look fatter
3-weather is getting warmer every day south, today 25c
4-glaciers and waterfalls are abundant
5-Kelly, you're welcome
6-Hutson, waiting to hear from you
7-Canadians are story tellers
8-sawmills are everywhere
9-Allie & Nick, dad misses you
10-most of the roads we travel are filled with campers and cycles

Where the asphalt ends


   Monday we reached our pinnacle. Heading north out of Fairbanks, We
took the route that would take you to the top of Alaska. If you follow it to
it's end you would wind up in Prudoe Bay, oil country. The problem with it
is that there's only pavement for the first hour or so. Hence the title
"where the asphalt ends".  Riding hundreds of miles on gravel roads with our
babies was totally out of the question!  To understand more of what the road
is like you can watch the TV show Ice Road Truckers (Discovery channel),
which is all about the trip from Fairbanks to Prudoe and beyond. The point at
which we turned around was officially the farthestnorth we would go and
heading south became THE ROAD HOME. This was actually a somber
time for the three of us knowing that it was almost half over. Later on in the
day we all passed the 5000 mile mark, which is the approx.half way mark.
*****SIGH****** Anyway, we know there is still an incredible journey ahead.
  Today's highlight without a doubt was seeing and learning about
the infamous Alaska Oil Pipeline. What a marvel to be able to
stand next to this engineering feat.  It was built over a 2 1/2 year
period in the mid seventies.  It traverses three mountain ranges,
thirteen rivers and is a measely 800 miles long. All of it cut through
densely forrested virgin land. Half of it is buried and the other half
is suspended on stilts.(see photo)   650,000 barrels pumped through
the line every day. You wouldn't think 3 grown men would be so
enamored with a pipe but we were. It's really a cool spectical!!!!


Tok to whitehorse DAY 26

  It was bye bye to Alaska today. The journey began with a little rain but soon
cleared up. One hundred miles later (14 of it mud), another border crossing.
This one was the fastest yet, we used our charm with the female border guard.
 ----"Are you laughing at me?"---- The other three hundred miles were very
enjoyable this time through. On the way up we had a lot of rain. Lake Kuane,
which was about half way, was another gorgeous setting among so many
we've seen. We took the time for some photos there. After 400 total miles,
two gas fill ups, a border crossing, one visitor center, nine hours and a stop
for ice cream we ended back in Whitehorse. This being one of our favorite
stops heading to Alaska. Without hesitation we used the same lodging and
went to one of our favorite bars for suds and food.

Mark

Things of note;


1-Three days no rain
2-Bikes are running good and are made for this
3-Coach, good to hear from you.
4-Demon, the bike needs more than detailing
5-saw a huge moose with full rack today
6-gas around $3.80 gl
7-Pooch, I hope all is well!
8-laundry day YEAH
9-Thanks to our loved ones for handling things back home, we love you for this!!!!!

DAYS 23 & 24

  Saturday was an uneventful day.  Lots of cold and rain that took us most of the day to get from Anchorage to Healy.  Healy being just north of the park entrance, so we called it a day and found some warm lodging to  shake off the chills.  I know there's no sympathy from the Chicago people.  We here you had to deal with a little rain yourselves!   Stopping in the bar for a couple last night, the first person we met is from Logan Square, Chicago.  Then a little later on, a couple of cheeseheads came in and finally Sunday morning we met a retired cop who lives by Western and Montrose in Chicago.  Gee it's a small world after all, gee it's a small world after all, oops sorry, I thought I was back in Disneyworld for a sec..

  Today we caught a break with the weather and checked out Denali National Park.  Two million acres of protected prime real estate thanks to foresight by some wise men a century ago.  The gem of the park is Mt. McKinley at over 20,000 feet.  Not being able to see it due to cloud coverage so we took in what we could and made the most of it.  Not seeing the mountain is the norm not the exception.  This particular mountain range creates it's own weather and the clouds are almost a permanent fixture.  Not what you would consider a big crowd for such an acclaimed national park.  But it's also not the most accessible for most people being 250 miles from Anchorage and that's on a two lane highway that is usually under construction during the warmer months.  Maybe this is a good thing, the park is unspoiled and still pristine.

  To finish the day we rode up to Fairbanks, about 120 miles.  Tonight we relax, tomorrow the adventure continues.  Mark

Things of note;
1- Willy, Tom says we got our permits to climb the mountain next July, start training and you owe him $250.00 for your permit.
2- Tom says HI mom
3- Lorry, how come there are no Hondas out here on these roads?
4-GTC say hi to JR for me
5- Were pushing 5000 for the trip
6- We would love to hear from some of the quite ones out there
7-You betcha, Sarah Palin says hi!!!!!!!!

  DAYS 21 &  22
  We have really been on the run with the families and having a lot of laughs making some incredible memories. At the time of this writing the girls and Nick are on the way to the airport, so concluding a wonderful week.  Their stay included Anchorage, Homer, Seward, Talkeetna and everything in between.  The southern portion of Alaska where we have been visiting is truly amazing.  Around every turn is a picture postcard of some of the most beautiful scenery that I have ever experienced. 

  With that said, lets fill you in on some of the stuff we did in Seward. It's a great little seaport town on the Kenai peninsula which abuts some incredible surroundings known as the Kenai fiord's.  We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a cruise on Thursday night and was it worth it!  During our excursion we were fortunate to see; sea lions basking on the rocks, otters swimming all over, puffins (very colorful birds) diving underwater snatching some dinner, porpoises swimming along in the ship's wake, mountain goats clinging to the sides of mountains so steep you wouldn't believe it, eagles perched majestically on rock out cropping or tree branches, and last but certainly not least WHALES.  With binoculars at the ready, most eyes are on the look out for those spouts in the distance.  Once sited, the captain zeroes in but not too hastily.  Creeping up to them feels like your plugging right into natures outlet. They'll sit on the surface for 3,4, maybe 5 breaths and then up goes the arched back, the flip of the tail and down they go into the depths feeding.  We came across a pair of them first as the ship entered the Gulf of Alaska and one by himself on our return in.  For those out there wondering what it takes to see something like this, Seward is a popular cruise ship stop nowadays.

  Our lodging was a bed and breakfast about 6 miles north of town on Bear lake.  We didn't have much time there because of the schedule but Nick did get the opportunity to do some kayaking. 


  Pulling back into Anchorage late Friday afternoon, it was time to change from family vacation back into those rough and tough biker dudes you all love, haha.  The church van was turned in and the bikes were picked up.  We left the bikes at Anchorage Harley for some service and it turned out to be a major disappointment.  Not very happy with their service and we let them know.  They were willing to make corrections at the time of pick up, but they should have done it during the four days they had them.  Shame on them!!!!

We are all spending two days in Homer and just admiring it's innocence and splendor.  Staying at a charming Bed and Breakfast that over looks Kachemak bay.  Nothing like having Otters playing around in your backyard.  Fresh seafood and fish at almost all meals.  Really having a good time and soaking it in!  Here is a sample of our surroundings.



Pictures say a thousand words........

Written by Sharon - Mark is taking a well-deserved writing break:

The guy's officially "dumped" the bikes for the week in order to travel in luxury.  Our blue Ford church van, that seats 15, will be our new mode of transportation.  We are heading to Talkeetna today.  We made a pit stop in Wasilla at the Target store.  We were hoping to have a "Palin' siting, but that did not pan out.  It is a cloudy, cool, rainy day - as we made the 2 1/2 hour trek to Takeetna on Route 3.  There is construction on Route 3 this week, making for a bumpy ride.  We had our first "group" moose siting.

Written by Sharon (giving Mark the day off)