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North to ALASKA!

Voni

sMiling
Staff member
Studying maps and weather. Packing the last important items. You'd think we'd have done this enough that it would all fit.

But this time we're taking the F650's. More gravel road worthy for adventuring, but that means a new packing system.
And chains instead of shaft drives which means Paul found space for different tools and spare parts. Sure is nice to have my mechanic with me. He's has been mounting tires and doing services on the bikes. Preventative maintenance that should provide trouble free sMiles.

We plan to be in Hyder, Alaska by next Friday so we have time to smell the roses along the way. Tenting when the weather allows.
Internet where we find it. Motel with internet when we get desperate. Paul will carry his ThinkPad. I have a new Asus eee - a tiny thing with lots of internet power but not much memory. So we'll store pictures on the web and share them now and then.

Some of our friends are doing a 49 state ride in ten days. We'll help them celebrate next weekend.

Wish you all could join us. What fun we'd have!

Voni
sMiling

 
We spent lots of time this morning trying to find the path that wouldn't result in running into those red and yellow blotches on the radar. Finally took off just after 11. Got great gas mileage with 40 mph tail winds!

Took the red and blue roads on the map. Finally, as we neared Plainville, KS Paul saw a Mom and Pop motel and suggested we stop. Turned out that was a great suggestion. There were tornado watches in the area, and as we watched the weather channel we heard of baseball size hail and tornadoes on the ground south and west of us!

As I started to move my bike to the room, my starter just clicked.

TRAUMA! But, wait. I have my mechanic with me. Turns out it was a loose connection at the battery. No worries.

Tomorrow's another day.

Voni
sMiling
 
Really looking forward to the debrief in Gillette. Of course you could post a few shots here as you go along.
 
:lurk What a great trip. Looking forward to following along. Right not it looks like lots of rain across western Montana and Idaho if you're heading up that way. Let's hope it passes for which ever route you take.
 
And the fun begins

Sounds like you're already having fun. If you have any questions or need any help when you get into Alaska, give me a call. I sent you a private e-mail with my number in it. Ride safe!
 
Sure do appreciate all the good wishes!

We sure are having fun!

Saturday morning was blue sky crystal clear. The only trouble was that the town had lost water pressure. At least nothing had blown away! 20 miles away we saw what was left after a touchdown. Toothpicks!

And now it's Sunday night. We're in Sheridan, WY camping again. Free internet!
Blue skies and 60 degrees. Last night was south of Chadron, NE in a forest service campground. Cool sunny weather both days with just a short shower at Carhenge, so I didn't stop there for pictures.

The prarie has it's own special beauty though it's hard to capture in pictures.

Paul's electric vest isn't working so he's troubleshooting. We'll need it tomorrow! Highs in the 50's predicted, and scattered showers. Maybe we'll miss them all!

Gas in Gillette, WY was the cheapest we've seen at $3.59.

Paul just rode back in. All fixed.:dance

Voni
sMiling
 
The long camping trip

hallo Voni and Paul.

See that you two are doing well by traveling so far north.

Wish you Hals und Beinbruch,( ha ha)

Your friend from Huntley ,Illinois, BMW rider Gerhard.: :german
 
Gerhard, I can feel your hug all the way to Wyoming!

Thanks for the special wishes.

Voni
sMiling
 
If you come through Alberta, here are some road recommendations. Should you be at/around Glacier N.P. in Montana, take the Chief Mountain crossing into Aberta. Follow this road north to Pincher Creek, then Hwy 3 west a bit to Hwy 22(the cowboy trail) & north to Hwy 1(the famed Trans Canada) into Banff. West from there to Hwy 93(the Columbia Icefields Parkway) north to Jasper. The Parkway is spectacular, one of the finest roads there is. At Jasper, take Hwy 16 east toward Hinton, take Hwy 40 north to Grande Prairie. From there you are only about an hour or so from the start of the Alaska Highway. Just north of Dawson Creek take the old highway and cross the old curved bridge. I've yet to ride the Alaska but drive semi (double tankers)on it and the road is in good shape. In August my better half and I are riding our bikes up (finally). Fwiw, gas up every chance there is; the gas is trucked to the stations all the way from Edmonton and every now and again a station will be empty/closed. Speaking of gas, it will be expensive due to the distance it is trucked from. It is beautiful country and still wild in the way North America once must have been. Drive careful, medical help is a long (repeat very long) way from you. Wildlife is everywhere, the sheep in particular are not willing to move off the road even for the semis, never mind bikes so it is best not to ride dark. Having said that, this time of year there is very little dark either. Enjoy!:ear
 
Way more pictures than any one needs



Thanks, Bo ; )


But, I can't take time to choose just the best right now ; ) We're having way too much fun!

Rode the 17 gravel miles to the Salmon Glacier. Something I've wanted to do for a long time. Last year, with Jim Shaw in his RED convertible was grand, and this was even better.

Left Hyder, rode up the Cassiar. Way beyond what words can describe. Gravel stretches were fine with our F650's and dry sunny weather.

Camped near Dease Lake. 31 degrees last night. Cozy in the tent. Just hard to get up and face the day. But Paul makes great campfire coffee.

Tonight we're in Watson Lake. Saw the sign forest, went to the Northern Lights Centre for a fabulous show about the size of space and about the Northern Lights. Almost as cool as the Marfa lights!

Tomorrow, maybe Whitehorse.

Free camping with internet - because we're riding BMW's.

The pictures stop in Hyder. More when we next have internet.

http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a326/VoniGlaves/2008 North to Alaska 2/

Voni
sMiling
 
Voni

Thanks for the link to the pictures. Having a great time "arm chair" riding with you all. Looks like you are having a wonderful trip. :wave
 
Great shots. Thanks for taking the time to post them! It's good to see you've had at least a little bit of sunshine ... and lots of sMiles. :clap
 
Darn, I can't view photobucket at work. Guess I'll actually have to work and check out the pictures when I get home. :)
Sounds like a fun trip so far.
 
My turn again.

We left Hyder Sunday morning and rode north on the Cassiar Highway to just outside Dease Lake. There was one 25 mile stretch of "gravel breaks" - broken out pavement with the gaps filled with gravel. These were mostly short spots, all the way across both lanes. A bit bumpy but not really very loose.

There was one 8 to 10 mile unpaved stretch. Very well compacted. Nothing loose at all but a few spots where it was ridged a little bit from rolling tires. Not ruts, but the ridges could be felt when they went off one way and you were trying to go straight.

We camped about 6 miles from Dease Lake at a nice (we were the only campers) Lion's Club campground abutting the Dease River. There were rapids right at that point so the white noise made sleeping wonderful. 31 degrees F when we got up, but the Sun quickly warmed things to a more tolerable temperature.

Monday we rode the rest of the Cassiar up to Watson Lake in the Yukon. Got some provisions and settled into a nice campground. Lots of RVs, but grassy shaded sites for tents too. The north end of the Cassiar is generally narrower and rougher than the south end, but not bad on a dry day. There is one 12 (or so) mile stretch not paved. It was like the one further south, except that the water truck with calcium chloride had driven it maybe an hour before we got there. It was still damp, and even wet in some of the shady spots. Nothing to worry about but that mixture can be a little slick when first applied.

The very north end of the highway for maybe 20 miles is quite rough and broken in spots. Nothing very loose in the gravel breaks, but rough enough to be real equipment breakers if hit too fast/hard. I think if I started out on that road heading north to south I might wonder what I was getting in to.

All in all this is a very decent motorcycle road - in good weather. I would not have enjoyed either of the unpaved sections in the rain. I'm sure they would have been pretty firm, but probably slimy.

Since the weather forecast for Watson Lake was rain on Tuesday I wanted to get up the Cassiar on Sun-Mon. Sure enough, it rained very lightly much of the night and is still raining lightly here as noon approaches. I had semi-planned today to be a lay over day, and since the forecast is for the rain to stop today and then sunny skies tomorrow we are staying put. I have some shopping and futzing to do, so this seems like a good place/day to do it.

Here's some pics I've shot along the way:

http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a326/VoniGlaves/2008 North to Alaska Paul/

Paul
 
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