alaska 2010

Home, home at last..... RW

2010-07-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

It was the trip of a lifetime!

Gary did an excellent job of covering the highlights in his last blog update. I wanted to add a personal thank you to Gary, Mike and Pearse. Without Gary's advance planning of the road trip we all would have been lost. It became quite obvious he spent countless hours setting up way points, highway choices and riding times. We used the hard copy Mike carried so much it was almost in shreds by the end of the trip. Mike (Rocket Man) did a lot of the front running for the pack with Pearse in second with the fuzz buster when needed. When in doubt, Mike picked up the pace in almost all situations. Pearse (Zen Master) set the tone of the trip by keeping us all focused on what was important.....enjoyment and harmony. I personally learned a lot about BMW riding and appreciated Gary's, Mike's and Pearse's guidance. I believe my riding skills have improved and consequently a safer rider.

I have now checked off one of my major bucket list items. Thanks to all for the kind thoughts, words, and encouragement that enabled us to make this trip of a life time and all arrive home safe and sound. Take care.

PS: Hey Gary....what's next?

July 26 - gw

2010-07-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I was the last to make it home, but arrived mid afternoon today. Total miles 11,784 over the past 38 days. We had a wonderful experience; got to see alot of sights, wildlife almost each day, good food and many miles of riding. What a trip!

Key take aways from the trip:
-Awsome places to see: Ferry across Lake Michigan, Black Hills, Glacier Nat'l Park, Banff, Lake Louise, Icefields parkway, Watson Lake Sign Village, Coldfoot, Atigun Pass, Prudhoe Bay, Talkeetna, Hwy 99 heading into Whistler, Vancouver, Columbia Gorge, Redmond, Moab, Arches Park, Durango.
-Riding Buddy - Pair up, don't ride alone. At times we did ride alone, not smart, no really stupid; especially on the trip up to Prudhoe Bay.
-Spot - we should all consider purchasing a Spot device for those extended rides or even short ones around home. Good safety device in case you get in trouble.
-Pack based on the climate(s) but pack light - you don't need as much as you think. Use layers
-Blog - glad we did it. Many folks will want to follow progress - we had 30 or so. Also good mechanism to update the family, especially when phone service is not available. Interestingly, we often had wifi where we did not have telephone support.

Many thanks to our families for supporting the trip. It sure makes the trip more enjoyable.

While I am glad we made the trip and had the experience, I must say I would not do this trip again. For me, too long away from home, friends, etc. - even though my wife met us and enjoyed a couple weeks with us on the road.

25 Jul 2010 Peru, Il. RW

2010-07-25T04:12:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say we are back on the road again after only a day of down time for repairs at Gina's BMW shop in Iowa City, Iowa. Can't say enough good things about the service we received from Gina's. They expedited parts from California by Fed-ex for next morning delivery and had both Gary's and my bikes repaired and on the road within a few hours. Fantastic effort by their entire team.

We are currently in Peru, Il, and Gary will split off to see his friend Jon in Culver, In while I continue on my way home to Michigan. By Monday evening the entire team should be back home after a great adventure.

Current mileage is 11388.

July 23 - gw

2010-07-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well, today was full of surprises. Some good, some not so good.

Temps: 70's going into the high 80's. Very muggy day, lots of clouds.

We left Lincoln, NE this morning around 7:30 or so heading for Lasalle, IL. It seemed like all day we were chasing rain. We rode on damp or wet Interstate all the way to Iowa City. Luckily we only had to ride in a slight rain for maybe 5 minutes. We sure thought we were going to see heavy rain all morning, but, again, we were very fortunate.

Now for the bad news... As we neared Iowa City, all of a sudden, Rusty noticed a heavy vibration coming out of his bike. We pulled over and discovered that his final drive bearing had deteriorated to the point the back wheel/brake rotor was rubbing on his brake caliper. Bad JuJu! Then we decided to check my final drive and found mine was loose also. We were lucky in that we were only 6 miles from Gina's BMW in Iowa City. They immediately dispatched a truck and trailer to come pick up Rusty's bike. We got into the dealership and they put our bikes in front of others, checked bikes out and confirmed final drives were bad on both our machines. They went on line and found there were only two of the drives in the U.S. and they were in Stockton, CA. They arranged, on a Friday afternoon, to get them air-shipped into their dealership for delivery tomorrow morning. So, with luck we should be back on the road tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed. (The dealership said our drives were the first they had to replace in over 4 years. Just our luck.)

Mike said he couldn't wait on us and took off and headed for Michigan. What a guy!!!! Just kidding; when it was determined that Rusty and I had to wait on parts and he couldn't help, he did move on and it was the right decision. He called to check on us after riding a heavy down pour of rain all the way into mid Illinois. He should be home tomorrow. Hopefully with better weather for him.

Wish us luck on the parts getting here and enough time tomorrow to get them fixed. If not, we will be stuck here until Tuesday before we can get moving again.

July 22 - gw

2010-07-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, today we put the gals in the shuttle from the hotel to the airport in Denver. They flew home arriving safely in the mid afternoon. That is a good thing.

Temps: 60's to high 90's. Clear to partly cloudy skies.

Mike, Rusty and I began the long grind home; riding today via Interstate from Denver to Lincoln, Nebraska. In general, nothing to look at except alot of corn! Today the weather was hot, damn hot. And tomorrow, it's gonna be damn hot too! Maybe some rain also. I hope not, but we will be lucky if we escape the rain tomorrow.

This is the boring part of the trip, but it has to get done. Just a few more days and we will be home. We plan to put another 450 miles or so on the road tomorrow and bed down, just West of Joliet, Il.

July 20, 21 - gw

2010-07-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

The past two days have been a bit different, but very relaxing and enjoyable. The weather has been very iffy with regards to rain.

July 20 - Temps in the 70's and low 90's
Mike and Lea went the twisty and high altitude route from Durango up through Silverton, Montrose, and Black Canyon. The altitudes were too high for me to ride that route, so Rusty, Pam, Janet and I took the easier, more mundane route through Pagosa Springs and Del Norte. Got to ride through a couple mountain passes, but not near as high as Mike and Lea. Luckily we did not have to ride through rain, but Mike and Lea were not that lucky. We met in Salida for the evening meal and hotel. Around 200 miles for the day

July 21 - Temps the same
We again split up. Mike and Lea were headed for Pikes Peak and a longer ride for the day, while the rest of us headed up Route 285 into Denver. We stopped in the BMW shop to buy a few small items. You can't pass up a BMW shop I always say. And Janet agrees. We are now in the Fairfield Inn at 3 p.m. drinking our lunch. You see, we carry wine and Crown for these down times when you need to mello out! Around 150 miles today.

Tomorrow the gals get on the shuttle for their flight back to Detroit and the guys mount up to start the long ride across the plains to get us home.

July 18, 19 - gw

2010-07-19T16:33:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple pictures of Shoshone Falls and Arches Park

July 16, 17, 18, 19 - gw

2010-07-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

Haven't provided comments for 4 days now, sorry - though others have been giving some updates. Anyway, here goes.

July 16 - No miles, temps in the 70's and 80's, few clouds. We spent the day at the BMW Rally. Got to see all the farkles. Wanted to get the Ohlin shocks put on the bike, but chickened out. Wish I had done that now. The shocks on the bike (I think) are getting loose. Will have them checked when I get home at the BMW dealer. Only bought about $100 worth of stuff, so I would call that a good thing.

July 17, 18, 19 - Temps from high 70's to low 100's, skies clear. Highest temp we hit was 109! When someone calls it "dry heat" out hear and tells you it is not that hot. Tell them they are full of crap! When its hot, it's hot. Not much to tell about the trip other than there is alot of wide open spaces between Redmond, OR and Durango, CO. We saw really nice twisties East of Redmond, then basically it was heads down on the Interstate system through Boise, Salt Lake City and Provo, UT. We then got into nice twisties for about 100 miles into Green River, UT. We toured Arches National Park in Eastern Utah this morning after leaving Green River about 7:30 a.m. I think it was in the 90's by the time we saw 10 a.m. Got into Durango about 1:00. Just goofing off for the rest of the day and saving myself for dinner. It is in the 90's here in Durango. We will spend the next couple days riding in Colorado and ending up near the Denver airport so Janet, Pam, and Lea can board their planes bound for Detroit on Thursday morning.

18 Jul 2010 Twin Falls Id to Green River, Utah

2010-07-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

Today we started off with a visit to Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho and then rode to Green River, Utah. It was incredibly hot during the last half of the day (109) leaving the canyons and heading into plateau and plains on the way to the Moab desert tomorrow.

Expect to pass 10,000 miles of riding tomorrow.

17 Jul 10 RW

2010-07-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

Attended the BMW rally yesterday. Pearse headed back to Michigan after spending yesterday at the rally. Lea spent the last couple of days resting trying to get her back in shape for the remainder of the ride.

Today we had a long ride from Redmond, Oregon to Twin Falls, Idaho. While the first half of the ride was interesting, the last half was extremely hot (103-104). We put our cool vests to good use today. The really work !!!

We have over 9500 miles logged.

Picture 1 Twin Falls Gorge

Picture 2: For those of you who know Janet, that is not a glass of Chardonnay. It was that hot at the rally.

Picture 3: Bachelor Mountain framed in rally entrance.

Temperatures from the 50's to 90's at the rally and over 100 on the road between Redmond and Twin Falls.

Pics July 13, 15 - gw

2010-07-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

July 13, 14, 15 - gw

2010-07-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

Again, apologies for not updating - things were a bit hectic.

July 13 - Temps in the low 50's going into the low 80's in the p.m. Clear skies.
Today the group had to split up. Rusty and I rode a very short day, about 70 miles from Squamish into Vancouver BC and met Pam and Janet. Mike, Lea, and Pearse passed through Vancouver and headed for Seattle. While we were walking around Vancouver with a half day off, the other group were getting new tires put on their motorcycles in Seattle. The plan was to catch back up at the BMW rally in Redmond, Oregon.

July 14 - Temps out of Vancouver were low 60's going into the high 80's in Portland. Again, another split in the groups as follows: Mike and Lea rode across the Southern border of Washington and then headed South to Redmond. Pearse rode by his lonesome out of Portland, Southeast into Redmond. Janet and I rode to Portland and spent the nite there. While Rusty and Pam rode on into Eugene where they spent the nite with Pam's daughter who is due to have her first child any day now. Janet and I were ablel to eat at Richard Santucci's sister's restaurant in Portland. What good barbeque! If you are ever there, eat at Russel Street Barbeque located at 323 Russel Street NE in Portland.

July 15 - Temps in the high 60's going to mid 90's - very hot and clear sky day.
Janet and rode into Redmond today - about 175 miles. We followed the Columbia Gorge for 50 miles or so to The Dalles, then cut south to Redmond. Nice water falls and lots of twisty roads heading south on Route 97. Don't miss this road if you are out here. I went to the rally where I met up with Pearse and Mike. Rusty and Pam arrived about 6:30 and we all had a wonderful dinner next to the hotel here. Tomorrow we spend the majority of our time at the Rally.

12 July 10 Prince George to Squamish BC RW

2010-07-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today's ride was over 400 miles with the last 100 miles on the Sea to Sky canyon road. It was hard to see the scenery and watch the road as it got narrower the further you drove. For anyone traveling to this part of the world, this road should not be missed. It has winding roads, views of snow capped mountains, a fast moving river, waterfall, canyons and challenging road switchbacks.

Temperatures ranged from 47 to 65. Overall it was cold and rainy a good part of the day.

We stopped for lunch in Williams Lake. It was an A&W with real glass mugs. Tonight we ate at Pepe's and Gringo's. You wouldn't guess it but they had excellent Italian food.

Total miles to date are 8277 and counting.

July 10 - gw

2010-07-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

Temps: 57 to 82 degrees. Very cloudy with low ceiling leaving Stewart but after 40 miles outside of Stewart the low ceiling of clouds went away and partly cloudy skies for the rest of the day.

Last nite we went across the border and into Hyder; tried to see bears catching the salmon. But.... no salmon, so no bears. The salmon are running late so we were out of luck on that idea.

It is noteworthy to say that there is no border control going from Canada into the U.S. at Hyder. There is border control, requiring a passport, for the return into Stewart, Canada. I guess that says something about Hyder! Very small town, with no roads leading outside of Hyder to Northern Alaska, so I guess it is safe.

We departed Stewart at 7:45 a.m. rode the same 40 miles back to Route 37, seeing the glaciers and water falls again on the way out. The rest of the 430 miles we rode today was high rolling hills / small mountains for the morning and turning into smaller rolling hills all the way into Prince George. Nice ride day but noting of interest in terms of sights to see.

Rocketman and the Zen Master got into the ride as the day went on. The more miles we clicked off, the more MPH they wanted to ride! We made good time arriving here around 4:30 p.m. and checked into the Best Western in downtown.

Tomorrow we head for Pemberton - near Whistler

10 Jul 10 Stewart RW

2010-07-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

Today's ride was beautiful once we got past the road construction. The lower Cassier is really breath taking and hard to do justice because of the limited pull offs for taking pictures.

Over 7400 miles since we left Michigan.

Picture 1 Downtown Hyder Alaska (Southern most tip). Very small town but known for the Salmon run and bear feeding. It's supposed to start any day but we didn't see any bear other then what we ran across driving the Cassier.

Picture 2 View of the Cassier shrowed in clouds.

Picture 3 Bear Glacier (fantistic blue color but the camera didn't do it justice.

July 9/10 - gw

2010-07-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Not able to get on the web last nite.

July 9 - Temps in the 60's getting into mid 80's. Partly cloudy. Got pretty hot in the p.m.

Great day though a short day - only 160 miles. Got to see all the signs posted in Watson Lake. Pretty interesting to see all the folks who have made the trek and put memorabilia up. Hit some road construction along the way. Saw a number of "mirror lakes" that were fantastic. I think Rusty already posted pics.

July 10 - Temps in the low 50's all day until late p.m. then into the 60's. Looked like rain all day; heavy overcast. We were on wet roads part of the time but it did not rain on us. Even with the overcast and heavy cloud cover, the scenery was out of this world. Rode along the mountains all day, saw glaciers, waterfalls, lakes, etc. Mountains were ringed with clouds all the way. We arrived in Stewart after 275 miles today by about 1:30 p.m. Later this afternoon we will head across the boarder into Hyder (furthest Southern town in Alaska) for dinner and hopefully to see the bears trying to get at the salmon. Tomorrow we head for Prince George. Just a couple more days into Vancouver.

Rusty was quite taken with the glacier we saw. Hopefully he can post a pic or two. All going well.

Dease Lake 09 Jul 10 RW

2010-07-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

Just a quick set of pictures as we left Watson lake and went down the Cassiers highway to Dease lake. It was an easy day with little traffic and road conditions were better than anticipated with only minor road construction hold ups.

Picture 1 Gary at Jade city rock mining co. on Cassiers highway

Picture 2 Lea and Mike waiting for construction to clear so we could proceed down the Cassier.

Picture 3 Reflection of mountains, trees and clouds in crystal clear water on Cassier.

Picture 4 Sign forest at Watson lake with more than 60,000 signs from around the world. (Gary, Lea, Mike, Pearse).

Only covered about 200 miles today. Slow and easy riding day.

08 Jul 10 Watson Lake

2010-07-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

Problems with internet has precluded pictures for the last few days.

Gary updated blog, I am attaching a few pictures.

Total miles as of today are 7002.

Picture 1 Haines Junction view from room.

Picture 2 Glen Highway

Picture 3 Tok cutoff

Picture 4 Pam enjoying Talkeena

July 8 - gw

2010-07-08T18:49:00.003-07:00

Well, another pretty good riding day. Covered about 330 miles today, with a total trip-to-date of just over 7000 miles.

Temps: 52 - 87 degrees. Pretty wide range for the day. Sunny with clouds all day.

We determined that I lost some wheel weights yesterday, but were unable to find a store that carried stick-on weights. Finally found a Honda shop in Whitehorse and was able to get the weights from them. Took about 2 minutes to put them on the wheel. Now the bike rides alot smoother.

Today was mostly covering ground that we already travelled going North, so no news about new sights, other than we saw a brown bear today on the way. We headed mostly East today and are staying the nite at Watson Lake. We will head back west for approx 15 milwa to connect with the road heading South towards the Cassiar Highway. Looks like we are in for some construction again as we head South.

Pearse was losing his Zen today because his bike was dirty. When we got into the hotel he had to clean his motorcycle. I think he can relax now! Mike played Rocketman this afternoon and set a good pace. Rusty was stuck on Mike's back fender all the way - I think challenging Mike to pick up the pace a bit.

July 6/7 - gw

2010-07-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't get input to the blog the past two evenings. Couldn't get to the internet at the motels we were at. It was traumatic, but we persevered and made it through.

July 6 - Temps in the high 50's and up to about 70 degrees - Skies cloudy.
The ride took us South to Wasilla then West to Tok. Alot of nice mountain scenery heading to Wasilla, but the ride West to Tok had alot of tall mountain roads along the river but later turned to rolling hills as we got closer to Tok. We got to see a moose along the road. Full grown male, big antlers and a nice looking coat. He was right beside the highway when we came upon him. Pearse's exhaust (I think) scared him a bit and he began running and cut into the brush. Too quick to get a picture.

July 7 - Temps in the high 50's heading into the high 70's. Clear all day.

I had a shimmy in my bike as we headed out of Tok. In about 10 miles we encountered construction for many miles. Then later we hit 50 miles of very rough blacktop roads. Looked like wash-outs in the road that were patched and were very rough. Also, alot of roller coaster type road surface, causing Mike/Lea to have to slow down to navigate the roads. Somewhere during the day we noticed that one of my wheel weights came off the front wheel. I stopped at a couple tire repair places, but no one had stick-on weights. Hopefully I can get one tomorrow in Whitehorse as they have motorcycle dealers there. Lets hope. Got into the hotel and found it to be clean and nice. Haines Junction is the only town for nearly 100 miles in any direction. It is basically a cross roads, with a police station, gas station, motel, rv park, general store and 3 restaurants. We go to the first restaurant and believe it or not we couldn't eat there because we did not have a reservation and they were full. Had to take second best and eat at the motel restaurant. I don't think we are starving though.

Tomorrow on to Whitehorse, then Watson Lake.

July 4/5 - gw

2010-07-05T17:09:00.000-07:00

We took July 4th off so did not post yesterday - so here is a quick run down of the 4th and 5th.

July 4 - Temps in the 60's and 70's. Cloudy to sunny all day.
We spent the day scrubbing on our bikes. The calcium chloride took alot of elbow grease just to make them reasonable looking. Still much more to clean when we get home. Also a good day to complete a bit of laundry. Went to an outdoor restaurant for all you can eat salmon, cod, halibut and prime rib. All were hungry and ate well. The salmon and halibut were very tasty!

July 5 - Temps in 50's and 60's. Cloudy all day, raining when we left, but it quit soon after we were on the road. Very windy and a cold ride.

We departed Rivers Edge at 10 a.m. in pouring rain. Not the best weather for the guys, but our wives just loved it. They especially appreciated the wet hair inside the helmet. Its not often they get that loving treatment at home. We rode about 300 miles today through wind, rain and high winds. Beautiful scenery going past Denali Park, but too cold to stop for pics.

Arriving in Talkeetna, we found out the water and sewage was not working at the hotel we booked. We had to scramble but found rooms where Pearse was booked. At least we have a room and bed. What else could I want!

Tomorrow, we split up. Pam and Janet take the train to Anchorage and the rest of us start heading South to meet up with them in Vancouver.

Prudhoe Bay 02-03 Jul 10 RW

2010-07-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well.....I believe Gary summed things up well in his Blog input. I can sum up my comments in 4 words.....Fantastic Experience, Never Again. Yep, that does it.

The scenery was unbelievable and the experience of making it to the Arctic Ocean is something to remember for a life time.

Picture 1-RW Bike at Prudhoe Bay

Picture 2- Arctic Caribou accommodations

Picture 3- Driving into the storms Atigun Pass

Picture 4- Bikes at Coldfoot (half way point on Dalton Highway heading to Prudhoe Bay)

Picture 5- Arctic Circle

July 2/3 - gw

2010-07-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

So, we made it to Prudhoe Bay and back over the last two days! After making this trip, I continue to ask "Who's idea was this anyway?" Problem is I think it was mine so I am to blame.

So here's the deal...

July 2 -Temps in the 50' s thru 70's. Lotsa rain in the a.m. turning to clear mid day.

July 3 - Temps in the 30's going up to the 70's as we get closer to Fairbanks in the p.m.

If there was a list of all the obstacles one can encounter on this trip, we hit them all, with exception of snow. We departed Fairbanks at 7 a.m. on July 2 and early-on ran into a steady rain. This was ok for the initial 80 miles but then the roads changed from blacktop to dirt. Good part is no dust, bad part is the roads is very slick due to calcium chloride they use to keep the dust down. (The tire change to knobbies was key in my book). We ran in rain all the way North (330 miles) to Coldfoot Camp. Rain ended, good roads (this is relative, still very rough in places where road construction was in play) to Atigun Pass. About 10 miles out of Atigun Pass we hit washboard roads, then losta loose gravel, then a 15 mile section where they dumped new rocks on top of the road for repairs (golfball to softball size!). Arrived at 8 p.m.

July 3 - departed 6 a.m.at 38 degrees, got lost in Prudhoe Bay, finally left at 6:30; saw a herd of Caribou about 10 miles out. Ran into fog and had to ride for approx 3.5 hours with about 50 ft of visibility to Atigun Pass. From there on in, it was dry, but had to stop for road construction. Avoid stopping if you can - lotsa big mosquitos attack you! The rest of the way in, very dusty conditions. Also, I had a flat tire due to something cuting my new tire, putting a large gash in it. Had to stop for repairs twice. I guess the first one didn't take. Anyway, finally made it back at 8 p.m. Then took the bikes to the shope for washing and tire changes to new Tourances for the trip home. Got back into the our cabin at midnite - looonnnnnggggg day.

If ever you are asked to do this Prudhoe Bay trip; think long and hard. Think about taking two days up and two days back rather than 1 day each way like we did. It is a very difficult ride given the road conditions and weather. If wet, very slick. If dry, very dusty. Either way plan for a 10 - 13 hour trip each way! Am glad I completed it, but not for the faint of heart

Tomorrow is a much needed down day.

I Can See Russia From My Porch...

2010-07-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

We we are hold up in Fairbanks, the rest-up, bike maintenance outpost. Gary, Mike, and Rusty followed through on their bucket list commitment to ride to Prudhoe and back in two days. They left early Friday morning and rode straight through every type of weather that is possible during this time of year. They returned yesterday (Saturday) afternoon and spent the early evening getting tires switched out and oils changed by Dan and Shawn (the 24-7 super maintenance and chat service). By all accounts they do great work at all hours of day and night at reasonable rates.

I ran into a couple guys at the Harley shop that attempted the Prudhoe run the day before and reported horrendous conditions, very wet and dangerous. I was greatly relieved to hear from Mike that they had all returned without serious incident.

Our accommodations here in Fairbanks are very nifty. Nice little private cottages at the banks of the Chena river. As for me, I have enjoyed the time off of the road and have used the time to bare down on my training module (6 Sigma stuff) development responsibility. I did some minor maintenance my self but opted for the Harley/BMW franchise across the street.

The ladies arrived Saturday in time for dinner on the river and I enjoyed their company. They spent all day the following day on a bus tour of the Artic regions.

I am sure today will be a rest-up for the 3 adventure tourers (and spouses) and we will depart as planned for Denali on Monday morning.

Look for Gary's upcoming blog (I am sure) detailing the great Prudhoe adventure.

July 1 - gw

2010-07-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Temps today - 50-s and 60's until late afternoon then about 70 degrees. Very cloudy during the a.m., thought we were going to get rain but luckily no rain again! Rumor has it we are getting rain day after tomorrow - we'll see.

First, a couple thoughts I forgot to put down yesterday:
1. Dawson City - the roads end at Dawson City and, get this, all the streets are dirt. The sidewalks are all "board walks" about 8 inches up from the street level. I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it. Another tid bit is the entire surrounding areas is riddled with large piles of rock that were the remains of the gold mining/sluicing machines used to mine gold there. They have done a wonderful job of maintaining the old look of the town - as you can see from the photo's.
2. Travel from Dawson City to the Boarder and crossing the boarder was interesting. Picture the a 3 hour drive from the Yukon river to the boarder. All of a sudden you are up in the clouds and you see a border crossing sign. Then you pull up and have to wait for the border guards to get ready for us. Then you ride in mud / gravel / blacktop for another 3 hours to get to the next town. (Chicken is really a gas stop with a lunch counter; not really a town per se). I mean, you just don't get up a say I'll run to the store for a dozen eggs or a gallon of milk. This is out in the boonies. How do you get people to take that job?

OK, now for today. We left Tok this a.m. in hopes of getting to to Fairbanks by 10 a.m. We wanted to get knobbies put on our bikes for the trip to Prudhoe Bay since it is to a large degree gravel for 500 miles. Well, we got here on time, only to sit in line at the bike shop and wait our turn. We finally got out tires changed bay about 3:30 p.m. We are trying to get a room in Coldfoot so we could ride 250 miles there today and finish the trip North tomorrow, but that isn't goint to work. We are taking a break for the rest of the afternoon and will make the 500 mile run up to Prudhdoe tomorrow and return to Fairbanks the following day. For now, we are sitting outside our cabin looking at the river and getting a bit "relaxed". In fact, Pearse is so relaxed you might call him "taken to his Scotch" this evening - though I don't think he is Scottish.

Top of the World Highway 30 Jun 10

2010-06-30T19:49:00.001-07:00

Gary took the attached pictures. Exciting ride.....

June 30 - gw

2010-06-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

We made it to Alaska! All safe and sound.

Temps: 50's and 60's all day. Very cloudy and overcast but only a few sprinkles for the day.

We departed the hotel in Dawson at 8 a.m. and headed for the ferry which is on the edge of town about 1/4 mile from the hotel. Had to wait for 30 min to get on the ferry to cross the Yukon River. The river is very fast moving and takes a skillful hand from the ferry captain. But the crossing went well. We then headed up the "Top of the World Highway" heading for Chicken then Tok. The first 110 miles to the Alaska / Canada border was all gravel. We saw our first vehicle heading the opposite direction at about 100 miles. No houses, facilities of any kind at all; just alot of twisty turns up, down and across the mountains all with no guard rails. Once up there, you understand why the road has the name Top of the World. We rode through the clouds, at times barely seeing the person in front of us. Great fun! Very cool though. As we crossed the border, the gravel turned to muddy roads for the next 10 or so miles; a bit slippery. And this is where Mikes tail bag came off his bike. We had to pick it up and re-mount the bag. All is well with the bag. We rode the last 80 miles into Tok, washed the mud off the bikes, clothes, etc., had dinner and are now kicking back. Heading for Fairbanks in the early morning.

I guess you have to "be there", but the expanse of land we viewed from this highway is a site to behold. Janet asked if we were getting tired of riding, which I said no. Looking forward to seeing Janet, Lea and Pam is just a few more days.

Rusty posting pics.

June 28 / 29 - gw

2010-06-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

I couldn't sign on yesterday, so will update here for two days.

June 28 - Temps 54 to 74 degrees, with partly cloudy skies. No real rain, so another good day.

Muncho Lake Lodge was quite a place as you saw in the pictures already posted. Clean rooms, wonderful view. The water was so clear in the lake you could see straight to the bottom with no problem. Got to see several animals; Black Bear, Brown Bear, and Moose. 400+ miles into Whitehorse. Whitehorse was an "unremarkable" town, though it is the capital of the Yukon Territory. It is mile '0' of the Alcan highway and it was good to get pics at the milepost there.

June 29 - Temps 48 to 70 degrees. Again, partly cloudy skies with just a quick sprinkle of rain.

Riding today, as well as yesterday, was superb with long winding roads and twisties. We crossed many rivers and travelled for many miles along the Yukon River. What a large river; and the high cliffs and hills along the way provide the natural habitat for falcons and eagle. (Though I didn't see any today). Total distance ridden today just over 330 miles. Coming out of Whitehorse, we had to stop at Braeburn lodge for the humongous Cinamon Bun. Made me a bit sick by late morning. We then rolled into Dawson City by about 4 p.m. had a nice dinner. I had Char for the first time and boy was it delicious. Tomorrow we head for Chicken.

Whitehorse to Dawson City Yukon Terriroty RW

2010-06-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

Cool in the morning, mostly sunny day with a few sprinkles and fantastic riding. Did a lot of winding roads by the river. The roads were mostly empty. Nice calm quiet riding. A few surprise patches of dirt and loose gravel but again, no issues. The bikes have been running great.

As usual, we didn't miss any meals. We even stopped for "2nd breakfast" which is a favorite of hobbits. Attached are a couple of pictures of the cinnamon roll we ate. Not much in the way of wildlife today. We arrived in Dawson City which only has a single paved road going right to the river. The rest of the town is all dirt streets with planked sidewalks. It's like stepping back in time but with lots of dust.

Traveled 333 miles today.

Tomorrow we are off to "Top of the world" highway. It's almost all dirt (about 189 miles) with a short stop planned in "Chicken".

Whitehorse Yukon Territory 28 Jun 10 RW

2010-06-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day for riding. No rain, mostly good roads (5 km of dirt) and beautiful scenery. There were a lot of bridges as we spent a fair amount of time riding by the rivers and crossing back and forth. Most have steel grating so it can be interesting keeping things going straight. Lots of mountains and trees as far as the eye could see.

We saw a herd of buffalo crossing the road about 40 miles into the ride this morning, next a mother and cub black bear and down the road about 30 miles a brown bear (don't know if it was a grizzly and didn't stop to ask).

442 miles today with a total of 3920 since we started. Tomorrow it's off to Dawson City.

June 27 - GW

2010-06-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

Temps 60 - 74 degrees. Almost all day in the 60's with 74 degrees finally reached around 2 p.m. just before the clouds and a bit of rain set in. The temps then returned to the mid / low 60's

All in all another good day of riding. As we left Dawson Creek we saw about 100 miles of continuing prairie / farm land, then we returned to steep hills (or small mountains depending on how you look at it). Alot of twisty roads for the day - excellent riding. Saw some moose and mountain goats today.

Rusty seems to have come out of his conservative norm... Rumor has it that he increased his speed today to about 140 km but don't believe that rumor. I can attest that he was at least 162 km/hour at least twice today though the speed limit was 100! Oh, and Rocketman (Mike) had motorcycle trouble today. We think his throttle was stuck because it seemed like we made excellent time. We rode about 425 miles today, stopped for lunch, and still made it here in Muncho Lake by 5 p.m. Tomorrow we head for Whitehorse; another 400+ mile day.

Muncho Lake Yukon Territory 27 Jun 10 RW

2010-06-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today we started off 8am sharp from Dawson Creek and arrived 440 miles down the Alcan highway at Muncho Lake. Scenery was much improved over the prairies of yesterday. We saw several moose beside the road and deer from time to time. One moose was about 5 foot off the road as we passed.

The road conditions deteriorated from previous days. Today had stretches of gravel and when combined with spot showers, made for interesting riding. We also crossed several bridges with either wood or grate roads. Weather was mostly 50's, 60's, and low 70's. All in all it was another fantastic day for riding bikes.

June 26 - gw

2010-06-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

Day 8 and still having fun!

Temps today 49 - 73 degrees. Skies clear with a few clouds. No rain.... all good stuff.

We left Jasper around 8:30 heading for Grande Prairie then to Dawson Creek. Miles and miles of backwoods Canada from Jasper to Grand Prairie. I never imagined trees as far as the eye can see. We passed a sign saying next gas 135 km (80 miles), and for that period, we saw few cars (only saw 3 going North in the entire time). Beautiful scenery, though today was void of mountains, that included forests which then turned to farmland at Grand Prairie and on to Dawson Creek. Very strong winds between GP and DC. I guess I know why GP is called GP. For awhile I thought we were back in South Dakota; the winds were so strong.

Dawson Creek is Mile "O" of the Alcan highway. We begin riding on that road tomorrow morning.

A note for Bridgette - my favorite Doctor. I noticed you were following the blog... I was good and got my other medical check-ups before I left Michigan, but did not get to see you for by overdue pelvic exam. I need to make an appointment with you when I get back. The last appointment on you "short day" might work for a lunch as well. I am sure I will need food after the exam.

Dawson Creek 26 June 2010 RW

2010-06-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today it was a chilly start (49 degrees) and cool most of the day. We left Jasper this morning and headed to Grande Cache, Grande Prairie and ended up in Dawson Creek. Total of 330 miles which seems pretty easy until you factor in the high head winds which blow across the prairie. The roads were excellent and we made pretty good time. The weather gods have been looking out for us and we didn't run into any rain today.

Tomorrow morning first thing we will ride past the Mile Post stating we are at mile zero of the Alcan highway.

Total miles traveled is just over 3035 miles.

Jasper 25 Jun 10 RW

2010-06-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

The attached pictures don't do Icefields Parkway justice. The views were breath-taking.

We saw a couple of critters today (bear cub and mother crossing the road on our way out of Lake Louise). A couple of stone sheep and a small herd of goats had cars backed up on the roadside.

Tomorrow Zen-master Pearse will be giving instructions on how to pass slower moving traffic in a timely fashion. We are all a-titter with anticipation.

PS: Bob J: Please tell Richard at Bodes that his corn beef breakfast is sorely missed. Give our best to the rest of the crowd.....yes, even Garry.

Almost Switzerland

2010-06-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hey these Alberta Rocky Mountain parks are great! I am attaching a couple pics just to wet the whistle.

Missed the posting about our Calgary stop over at Dave's 'Anderworks' on Thursday. Dave is the local BMW super wrench and runs a very friendly and informative shop. During our visit he shared his projects of side hack conversions and his greatly up-scaled HP2 Enduro. Dave is super big on Ohlins and almost had us all converting from our stale OEM suspensions to Ohlins on the spot. Dave invited us to stay in touch for tech advise. There was another group of riders there en route to Alaska. We continue to see these guys pop up along our route.

Haven't seen the Navy Seal team since Thursday in Seeley Lake. I was hoping to see them again on the road to see if they would play in the curves with me (you know, being Navy Seals and taking on all challenges). Since the Seals are on the way to Alaska, we may see them again. They were really nice gents and invited us all to party and share in their celebrity. They are on a fairly well sponsored memorial ride for a fallen comrade. All sporting new GSs. Do Seals get canyon chasing special ops training?

I am offering to act as 'passing coach' to my 3 riding buddies free of charge. I conducted a post ride lecture on 'deliberate passing protocall'. It was shrugged off as Pearse's daily nag. Dinner Lecture Subject: "Executing the proper passing procedure with vengeance" I have yet to tally the class evaluations.

Fri, June 24 - gw

2010-06-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

Temps - Low 50's to High 70's, skies clear early going cloudy during the mid afternoon

Another great riding day; but for a few kinks. Pearse forgot to charge his two way radio battery so we had to wait until he charged up this morning. Then I figured out that I did the same thing. We are both charging batteries right now.

We departed Cochrane and headed for Banff, Lake Louise, and ended up in Jasper at the Tonquin Inn for our acomodations for the nite. Since I couldn't talk with anyone, I peeled off from the group and went into Banff. What a neat little town. It has alot of the quaint stores with the hint of the ski area. Very nice. I then moved on to Lake Morain and then to Lake Louise. As it happened, I saw the other guys bikes in the parking lot and hooked back up with them for the last 130 miles into Jasper. Next site was the Icefield area - got pretty chilly, but then warmed up for the last 20 miles into Jasper. Tomorrow we head for Dawson Creek.

Pearse lost some Zen today. Hopefully he is back in form tomorrow!

Zen Master Speaks Out

2010-06-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Can't let the day pass without notable mention of Gary up and raring to go in the morning.

Gary wakes Zen Master from deep slumber by saying "hey, time to get going... it's 7:20, we'll be late".
In focused response Zen Master says... "but it is still pitch black outside, how can it be 7:20?"
Gary suggests... "ah, well ...the mountains must be hiding the sun".
Zen Master compiles available data and verifies correct time as 4:30 and councils Gary to reconsider current energy level.
Gary realizing his over enthusiasm (and error in time keeping) and with hearty laugh councils Zen Master to return to meditation. Zen Master quickly complies. No pictures of this exchange.

2010-06-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

June 24 - gw

2010-06-24T18:06:00.001-07:00

Temps 60 - 80 degrees. Sky clear temps stayed in the 70's until later in the afternoon.

We crossed into Canada at the Rooseville entry point. Really a big crossing - one lane. We were the only vehicles until we were almost cleared for entry. One car pulled up behind us. No real issue with the crossing; so we were happy about that.

We rode about 310 miles today; so all in all a short day in the saddle. Took two lane roads all the way from the border up Cochrane which is about 15 miles west of Calgary.

Stopped at lunch at "little New York" excellent food - other than Rusty's soup. It turns out Mediterranean is not his favorite! Then headed for Calgary to a BMW repair shop to get some engine oil for the bikes - nothing wrong with the bikes, just normal oil usage.

Rode through steep mountains, next to the fast river and later open plains for this day. This is REALLY a rural area. We made a turn and saw a sign - Nest gas 135 km ( approx 80 miles).

Rusty didn't try to kiss any dear today while riding. We did see a Big Horn Sheep / Ram Horn Sheep along with her small lamb. Another good thing is that Pearse did not try to kiss them either. Speaking of Pearse, the Zen Master lost part of his Zen while getting frustrated trying to determine how to get a gas pump work work, but I came to his aid and he did get his Zen back!

Anyway, another great day of riding. Tomorrow we head for Banff and Lake Louise.

Pictures Glacier Park 23 Jun 10

2010-06-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

Glacier Park 23 Jun 2010 RW

2010-06-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today we rode 405 miles including part way into Glacier Park. The Sun highway is closed due to snow so Gary and I only went part way into the park. Attached are some pictures. Another beautiful day of riding and fantastic scenery. Pearse made reservations at an Italian eating establishment and the food was great. As usual, no one left hungry.

Bozeman to Whitfish Montana

2010-06-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

Well, today we departed from Bozeman at 8:00 am and rode to Whitefish Montana. We covered roughly about 375 miles of spectacular country that had great roads with many sweeping curves. These great roads and wide open spaces allowed us to enjoy the performance capabilities of our motorcycles and hone our riding skills for Alaska. We arrived in Whitefish about 5:00 pm.

Our luck has been 100% so far and we have avoided the rain! We know sooner or later we will have to deal with the rain, but so far it has been wonderful to not have to suit up for it. We were told that they had terrible storms including tornado's in Seeley Lake Montana where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we all shared a piece of Peach Huckleberry pie with ice cream..., and we all agreed that it was absolutely the best piece of pie we have had in a long time. We resisted and only shared the one piece because our motorcycles cannot handle any more wieght. Just joking...!

We have had good luck missing all the storms so far, and we have truly appreciated the great riding weather we have enjoyed up to this point.

Our ride has taken us through many valleys and plains. As we turn a corner and look through the tree line we can see often mountain beautiful vistas. The mountains are covered with snow and have elevations over 9,000 feet. We had hoped to travel from St. Mary, Montana through Logan's Pass on the "Lake of the Sun Highway" to West Glacier Montana, however the road was still closed this afternoon due to too much snow cover. We are all a bit disappointed we could ride this road, but we still had some great scenery to appreciate all day.

Whitefish is about 1-hour from the Canadian border and we will be crossing into over Canada tomorrow morning as we head to Cochrane, Alberta.

Bikes are performing well and a real pleasure to ride. Not many pictures today, just a lot of great roads and riding.

22 Jun 2010 RW

2010-06-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

Today started off leaving Spearfish SD and took a ride to Devils Tower WY and ended up in Bozeman MT. Total miles on the bike today were 485. We took mostly paved back roads today which afforded us great views of the landscape. Besides beautiful scenery, there was a variety of wildlife. It varied from a baby skunk skittering across the road in front of us to large mule deer which also skitter across the road in front of us. All in all, it was a beautiful ride with cool weather while we dodged almost all of the rain showers.

A Rider's Perspective on June 22nd

2010-06-22T22:06:00.000-07:00

Today's ride can be described as creating a common sense of relaxation in individual demeanor as well as in riding style. Rusty's lead today had a calming effect on 'yours truly' and on the group at large. Previous discontinuity in terms of pace and riding expectations were replace by a steady and smooth pace where every rider performed as more of a unit. Although the unit thing isn't necessarily the intent for this ride, it is as if we collectively exhaled today, shedding much of our unwanted energy. We all have different riding styles and expectations and yet there is much to be gained from slowing the cadence and performing with relative unity. Perhaps the person who is in the calmest mood (of the day) should lead the ride for that day. Judgment over emotion. Weather conditions, road conditions, and probability of meeting livestock will drive our daily riding mood as well.

June 22 - gw

2010-06-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

Temps: 60 - 80 degrees. Mostly sunny in the a.m. turning to afternoon thunderstorms mid afternoon. Blind luck again in that we did not have to ride in the rain save a few sprinkles.

Just a quick note about yesterday's ride - Janet, we ate at Peggy's Place again in Keystone. For all others, if ever in Keystone (Black Hills area), you need to have lunch at this very nice local eating establishment.

Well, Rusty led the ride today. I find that he rides very fast when he is leading. He tried to marry up with a couple deers this morning but then got that out of his system for an uneventful ride the rest of the day. The scenery in Montana was just out of this world. It is no wonder they call it "Big Sky" country. Awsome scenery.

We left Spearfish this a.m. , then rode to Devils Tower (pics posted) and from there rode about 200 miles on two lane roads before coming onto I 90 and riding another couple hundred miles into Bozeman, Montana where we are spending the night. Excellent weather for the day; not too hot, note too cold, just right.

2010-06-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

Jun3 19, 20, 21

2010-06-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

June 19 -

Temps - 70 - 90 degrees, skies clear.

The four of us departed Plymouth, MI at 6 a.m. heading for Muskegon. We took the 10:15 a.m. ferry to Milwaukee with hopes of making La Crosse, WI that evening. Given we were so full of energy, we decided to make it to Albert Lea, MN only to find there were no rooms available to due (get this) a softball tournament and road construction workers. We then had to push on to Jackson, MN. This put us at 600 miles on the first day! - plus the 2.5 hour ferry ride!

June 20

Temps 70 - 90 degrees, raining early, turning into hot and muggy conditions; tornado warnings late that evening when we were in the motel.

On Father's Day we were met with rain as we left the motel but soon ran out of the rain. This day was totally uneventful as we rode for miles and miles and miles and miles across Minnesota and South Dakota. We arrived in Spearfish, riding about 510 miles. Michael had to have Culvers custard so we walked across the lot ready pay up the big bucks for a late evening treat... but instead we received free sundae's for being fathers! This was a great end to the day.

June 21

Temps: 53 - 88 degrees, sunny and clear all day other than late afternoon thunder showers, though we were lucky and skirted the rain only through dumb luck.

Monday was an excellent day riding the Black Hills including Needles Highway and Iron Mtn Highways. What a gorgeous place to ride. It is no wonder the Indians call this Holy ground.

Total miles today, 150.

June 16 Update

2010-06-16T09:42:00.001-07:00

All have been completing bike prep work including electronics and especially packing to make sure we all have correct clothing, tools, spare parts, etc for the trip. Final oil changes and final drive lubrications completed earlier this week.

Enjoyed a group dinner last evening. Departure set for 6 a.m. Saturday, June 19. Weels must be rolling NLT than 6 in order to make the ferry across Lake Michigan late morning in Muskegon. Weather currently looks like rain Sat morning!

April Update

2010-04-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

Pearse now has reservations made for himself in Fairbanks and Talkeetna since he is no longer going into Anchorage for a few days. Mods for the bikes are being made. Gary is about finished. Mike still needs to add 2 way communications to his GS. Pearse just finished brake bleeding, etc on his "S" model and Rusty... well Rusty just retired a week or so ago and he is beginning to get this radio, gps, 2 way communications etc added to his GSA. I can't hurry the old guy too much since he is retired and all.

We are now arranging for service in Fairbanks and determining tires choices so they are waiting for us when we arrive. We all will need new tires for the trip from Fairbanks up to Prudhoe Bay - most likely full knobbies give the road conditions from Fairbanks North.

Janet, Leah and Pam have agreed on thier plans from Fairbanks South. Janet and Pam will shop while we travel to Vancouver. Leah will ride with Mike on his GS. Starting in Vancouver we will all be riding to the BMOA Rally in Bend, OR.

P.S. I retired on Feb 1, so I am like Rusty so I can't give him too hard of a time!

Reservations made

2010-01-20T16:23:00.001-08:00

Mike Morelli now joining Gary, Pearse & Rusty. Mike bought a GS and will be riding to Prudhoe Bay with us. Itinerary agreed in December. Leaving June 20 and returning July 25. About 35 days on the road. Meeting Janet, Lea, and Pam in Fairbanks then later in Vancouver. They will ride with us from Vancouver to Denver then fly home from there. All are buying farkles of some sort to outfit the bike(s) for the trip. Rusty bought the GSA so not too many things to add there other than communication. Mike has the PIAA lites and the P-3 lites and will add autocom like Mike. I added a v-strom shield, Excel Cycle shield struts/braces and will add autocom, zumo 660, XM radio, P-3 lites and Mixit 2. Oh yes, I just sent seats into Bill Mayer for a custom seat for my new GS. I also added Jesse bags to my GS as well.

The Beginning

2009-10-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

Pearse, Rusty and I have spent alot of time discussing, researching and planning a trip from Michigan to Alaska and back. This blog is our attempt to pass along what we learn and experience during our trip from Michigan through Canada, Alaska, Prudhoe Bay, Washington, Oregon, 2010 National Rally, and back home. We will ry to provide daily updates beginning in late June and through most of July 2010