Finally a good internet conection!

A good internet connection has been hard to find in a convenient location in Alaska. Most small towns are connected. However, with the midnight sun we have been riding until around 11:30 at night. So, it has been difficult to get time to update things. The sun has amazing powers. It seems that even with only a few hours of sleep, if the sun is shining brightly you seem ready to go! Too bad that didn't work in college.

After a week of good weather the rain came this afternoon. So, we decided to knock off early and get a hotel room in Haines Junction, YT. So, let me recap some of the things that have happened.
We started on Monday in Anchorage and headed toward Denali NP. After a beautiful afternoon, we first saw the mountain in Willow on route 3. What a sight! Dawson, the owner of a True Value which this picture was taken, told us it was the first he had seen the mountain in a few weeks.


People that climb Mt McKinley typically start in a very small town on the Susitna River south of the park called Talkeetna. In earlier days, supplies would be brought by barge or rail road to this port and flown to base camp on one of the glacier. This town was on my short list to visit. The down town area has a few shops and the historic Fairview hotel.


Legendary bush pilot Cliff Hudson started Hudson Aviation in the 1950's. We were fortunate enough to book a flight around Mt McKinley and land on the pica glacier. Hudson Aviation had bought back a group of 8 climbers from Mt McKinley the morning before our flight. They were sorting equipment in the hanger when we arrived. They had spent 21 days on the mountain with 18 days of snow. Avalanche conditions we too severe for a summit attempt. From the snow coming off of the top we could see why.
After a memorable flight, we headed to Elk Ridge Cablins via rt 3. The "ridge" in the title should have been a clue as to where the cabins were located. The 1.2 mile dirt rode to the cabin had numerous switch backs and gained about 1000 ft of elevation. John Spillane was right, we should have gotten BWM GS's instead of the Harley's. After getting to the top, the cabins had great view. The only fear we had was going down! Unfortunately, we don't have a good picture of the road because no one wanted to stop and take it.
The bus ride though Denali NP was long, but good. We saw many animals including bears, caribou, tarapin, moose, and a wolf.






The next morning we went down the goat trail and headed off to Fairbanks to pickup our Alaska license plates. Due to some technical difficulties we were not able to pick them up in Anchorage. After a side trip to see the Alaska oil pipe line we finally got the plates.We briefly flirted withing making a run to the Arctic Circle, but decided not to go. Doug, the sales manager, told us that they had lost 10 bikes on the haul road this season already and we wanted no part of the carnage.

We headed off on route 2 south towards Tok after a brief stop at the North Pole to see Santa and send some post cards. We stayed at the "Off the road" bed and breakfast in Tok, AK. It was owned by a wonderful German woman named Helga. It too had a 1 mile dirt road for a drive way, but this one was flat.

The Alcan highway starts in Delta Junction, AK. Most of the highway is paved, but the section from Tok to Haines Junction is by far the worst. Between the gravel, frost heaves, and RVs, it can be tricky going. The section around Destruction Bay was particularly bad, but incredibly beautiful. We finally ended the day in Haines Junction, YT in the Raven hotel.

We have changed planes slightly. We are going to make a run to the cost on rt 3 into Haines and take the ferry to Skagway. This should put us in Whitehorse, YT tomorrow night.