"...its about the journey, not the destination..."

    ...(to the tune of Sailing by Christopher Cross)..." ♫ its not far down to paradise, at least its not for me..if the road is right you can ride away and find serenity...the cycle can do miracles, just you wait and see...when you go riding...♬"

The Tin Rooster Dease Lake BC

Corey sitting and having his breakfast before I interrupted him!

     Up at 7am, out the door by 8:15. I went to the Tin Rooster Deli and Bistro right near the motel. There I sat on the deck and had breakfast. As I was doing so I got into a conversation with Corey, who was from Vancouver. Originally he had been born in Dease Lake, but adopted in Vancouver. He had come up for a  mountain bike race, and to meet members of his family that he never knew. His mother worked at the Tin Rooster, and he got to meet uncles and cousins. A very interesting guy.

Snow capped mountain along the route 37.

     Leaving Dease Lake my destination today is New Hazelton BC, about 330 miles south.  Route
37 again proved what a great motorcycle rode it is on the trip south to TC 16. There were some areas of construction which could make the trip "iffy," but it was generally a nice road.

Yet another great view along the Cassiar Highway.

     The bike was running great. Although skies were blue I had been told by two women bikers that New Hazelton was forcasted to have thunderstorms. By 3pm I started to ride under dark clouds. By the time I reached TC 16 at the southern end of highway 37 the skies were dark indeed.

Rainy New Hazelton.

     I had to put on rain gear for the 12 mile ride to New Hazelton. Along the way I had a front row seat to some lightning strikes across the river. This only added to my desire to reach the motel. Once settled into the motel I sat on the front "deck" of the motel, which also included a liquor store. Enjoying a Honduran cigar, and a cold Labatt Blue Dry...a perfect end to the day. A young woman named Deborah Starr got out of a car, introduced herself, and welcomed me to town. As a show of generosity she bought me a second Labatt Blue Dry! What a nice person!

"...its about the journey, not the destination..."

Along the highway from Whitehorse YT to Watson Lake YT

     INITIALLY....I had intended to ride from Whitehorse YT to Watson Lake YT. BUT... as I rode this morning I realized that I would get to Watson Lake by 3pm or so. I felt like riding longer. What to do?

Valerie outside of the Continental Divide Lodge. People like Valerie make motorcycle traveling so much fun! 

     Pondering my options I stopped for lunch at The Continental Divide Lodge (mile 721 on the Alaska Highway). There I met Valerie who not only took my order and cooked my lunch, but entertained me and another gentleman by singing along with country and western songs on the radio. She was another of those special people you meet when you travel. As I sat there a gentleman walked in wearing a motorcycle jacket. He looked around and asked me if I was on the yellow R1150GS outside. When I answered him in the affirmative he told me he had owned a 2002 model. Then he said he had owned 26 motorcycles and that the R1150GS had been his best bike ever. High praise!

The view as I rode along route 37, the Cassair Highway.

     I spoke with Valerie about my options. She said that she had heard that the town of Dease Lake was nice, had motels and restaurants. She helped me find it on a map of BC and it seemed "just the ticket." SOOOO... when I reached the junction of the Alaska Highway and route 37 I made a right and rode for another 150 miles to Dease Lake BC.

Route 37,  also known as the Cassair Highway. No lines. No Shoulder.

Just a great motorcycle road!

     The bike was running great and the road from Whitehorse to Watson Lake is very scenic...BUT...
when turned onto route 37, I found a real motorcycle road! Lots of curves, lots of changes in elevation, riding the bike, changing gears, picking the line through the curves and leaning into them... great fun. I arrived at the town of Dease Lake by 6pm, and checked into the Northway Motor Inn. Large, clean, spacious room. After dinner I settled in for the night.

Historical marker along route 37 between Watson Lake and Dease Lake. Can you believe a 4 1/2 POUND gold nugget! 

"...its about the journey, not the destination..."

     Up and at 'em early this morning. Up at 5am, bike loaded and on my way by 6am. I was repeating a ride I had done before on the way up to Fairbanks. There was significant cloud cover, but no rain. I would not ride in rain at all today.
   

My last photo in Alaska. 😪

     My first goal was to ride to Buckshot Betty's for breakfast, a ride of about 120 miles. I was surprised to find several bikes on the road this early. As I approached the Canadian border I stopped to take my last picture in Alaska.

Inside Buckshot Betty's!

   

At the border I caught up with three bikes that had passed me on the way. The customs officer was perplexed at three motorcycles from Arizona were riding with one from Delaware. We explained we were not together. Eventually she believed us and we were admitted to Canada.

My first break of the day to enjoy the scenery and a good book! 

   Arrived at Beaver Creek by 9am local time. When we crossed the border we lost an hour. Now I am only 3 hours behind Delaware. I gassed up and was at a table in Buckshot Betty's by 9:15. The fellows from Arizona came in and sat at the next table. We had a great conversation as we had breakfast. I was out the door first and on the bike heading east. I was taking my first break of the day when they passed me.

Once again my feeble attempt to capture the beauty of the scenery falls short!

     I pulled into Whitehorse, filled up with gas, then on to the hotel. Dinner was two blocks away at the Burnt Toast Cafe, an excellent Kobe beef burger. Back to the room to finish my blog and watch some TV.

Sitting at the bar having dinner. 

Kind of funky. Everyone seemed to be having a good time!

"...its about the journey, not the destination..."

A gentleman from New Hampshire that I met in the parking lot of the motel this morning.
   He is traveling with his family, and they were going camping in Denali. We probably spoke
for 1/2 an hour or more. This type of meeting makes touring special!  

     "Did I mention that I am not very..." I woke up during the night thinking about what to do today...I was scheduled to spend Sunday night in Anchorage and leave Monday morning. There are three roads into Anchorage, and I had already ridden 2 of them. They were calling for rain Monday in Anchorage, but not on Sunday. I decided that I would leave Anchorage and ride to Tok today, while it was still dry, and that is what I did. What a GREAT decision

Today it wasn't snow capped mountains. It was about snow COVERED mountains!

     Today was, without a doubt, the best motorcycle day of the trip. The first 1/2 of the road from Palmer to Glennallen at times felt like the Blue Ridge Parkway. Great surface, a number of curves, some of them 40 or 30 mph, and a road that went up and down. Just wonderful. The weather for Monday in Anchorage called for rain. Today I rode through sun breaks, warming temperatures, and incredible scenery.

The mid morning break along a river with a view. Thanks to my daughter I was very comfortable in my chair. 

      I could probably have stopped 50 more times to take pictures. There were numerous places to stop and take pictures. Often there were 2 or even 3 motor homes/trailers at many of them. People taking pictures and just staring at the vista. I stopped for lunch about 1/2 way between Palmer and Glennallen. The scenery was so dramatic that I just had to take a picture of it.

     I pulled into Tok (pronounced "toke", like "♫...one toke over the line...♬") around 5:15 and checked into my motel. Tok is a busy place, I guess because it is a junction of highways to Canada, Fairbanks and Anchorage. At any rate LOTS of bikers staying here. The main restaurant here, Fast Eddies, was so busy they had a waiting list, and you couldn't hardly get to the hostess to give her your name! Instead I went to a small cafe in an RV park and had a very good sandwich. Then back to the room to finish the entry for today. Up early tomorrow (I lose an hour!), cross the border back into Canada (90 miles away) and then  on to Whitehorse. 386 miles tomorrow. If its dry it'll be a good ride.

This is a picture of a glacier that was moving down a valley that I passed.

"...its about the journey, not the destination..."

A look down the street at the corner near the motel at the mountains surrounding  Anchorage.

     OK...I'm not very good at sitting around...Woke up at 6:30...took a nice shower...going to be here for two more nights...hopefully my bike will be done fairly early...cloudy day today with some showers possible...122 miles or so to Seward...breakfast at Leroy's just down the street; pretty good...did I mention that I'm not very good at sitting around?...

Good place for breakfast...did I mention I'm not very good at sitting around?

     OK.....SO....I sat around waiting for a call from the BMW shop until 11am; I didn't want to appear ungrateful for the effort they had put forth getting my bike done. HOWEVER...I'm not very good at sitting around so I called for a taxi and went to the dealership. The bike was done. It had needed wheel bearings in the rear wheel! I rolled out of the dealership around 1pm headed for Seward Alaska, 122 miles south.

Yet again another BMW dealership that went out of their way to help me!

     As I rode south I rode out from under the cloud deck, but as I got closer to the mountains the sky appeared very dark. The farther south I rode, the darker the sky became. The interesting thing is that I didn't run into rain until about 12 miles from Seward.

On the way south out of Anchorage towards Seward and dark clouds.

Then it became a heavy mist and the road was very wet; not raindrops but tiny specks of water. I had lunch in Seward at the Highliner Restaurant, and then headed north in that heavy mist. By the time I had covered 10 miles or so I was out of the mist and soon the road was dry.

Riding back north towards Anchorage.

     Arrived back in Anchorage by 6pm. Filled the bike up with gas, and then back to the motel. Dinner at a restaurant nearby, then back to my room to finish my entry for the day, and plan the ride tomorrow. Probably watch a movie too!

"...its about the journey, not the destination..."

     WELL...once again I wanted to get to Anchorage in time to check into a motel, unload the bike, and then go the BMW dealer here (The Motorcycle Shop) in the hope that I could drop off the bike so they could get started changing the oil and replacing the rear brake pads. Sometimes there has to be a balance between what you need to accomplish and enjoying the ride. As it turned out I left Haley AK at 7:15 under a cloudy sky, and the clouds only got worse. As a result few pictures today. I just kept riding to see if I would ride out from under the cloud deck. As it turns out I didn't.

Riding under the cloud deck. Chilly, but no rain yet!

     As I rode I began to notice a vibration in the bike. It felt like I was running over small ridges: thump, thump, thump, ect. As I slowed down it became more apparent, as I sped up it seemed to diminish. As I rode I tried to figure out what it could be: the road, the tires, the rear brakes, wheel bearings? I needed to get this sorted out before I left Anchorage.

     "...just a thought..." When I started motorcycling many years ago the equipment was not as good as it is today. Rain suits often leaked, or made you sweat profusely. Saddle bags didn't hold much, and weren't "very" water proof. As a result often you rode through rain all day, getting wet, and then, when you set up your tent or checked into a motel you had damp clothes in the saddle bags to put on instead of the wet ones from the ride. Today saddle bags are much more water tight, and often they are detachable. You can just unlock them from the bike and carry them into the hotel, ect. The problem with that is that the saddlebags have been out in the weather, just like the rest of the bike. They are very dirty, just like the rest of the bike. The answer is to use saddle bag liners. The saddle bags keep them dry and clean so you don't make a mess in your motel room. Also, if the saddle bags do leak a little they keep your stuff dry. Believe me it is one of the simple pleasures after riding in rain all day to put on a set of dry clothes. As my ex-father in law used to say, "...it costs very little more to go first class."

Saddle bag liners: keeping your stuff dry and your room clean.

     I arrived in Anchorage around 1pm. I checked into the Sockeye Inn, unloaded the bike, and headed over to the shop. There a very nice young lady remembered our conversation over the phone, asked me to leave the bike there so they could get started on it. I called a taxi and got a ride back to the motel. I got a call from the dealer saying that they found that a wheel bearing in the rear wheel was bad, and that they had the bearing and the rear seal they needed to complete the repair.

Kriner's Diner, my kind of place! Simple but good food.

     Later I crossed the street from the motel to have dinner at Kriner's Diner. After dinner back to the hotel, do some laundry, watch a movie and get some sleep. Hopefully the bike will be done in the morning so that I can take a ride out to Seward. It's supposed to be a nice ride. We'll see!

   

"...its about the journey, not the destination..."

   
"...just a thought..." As I ride along I thought about the difference in doing this trip on a bike, rather than in a car. In the car you are in a little cocoon, isolated from the outdoors. Heat, air conditioning, quiet, what ever you want. You watch the world go by through a screen, kind of like watching TV.

Along the highway between Fairbanks and Denali. 

      On a motorcycle you are not isolated, you are part of what's going on. If its hot, you're hot; if its cold your cold; if it is raining you are wet. You can smell the rain coming, or smell fresh cut grass. I'm not saying it is always pleasant, but you are always a participant! I think that is one of the things I like most about motorcycling touring.

Inside Denali National  Park.

     Today was a really easy day. 122 miles to Denali National Park. When I called for reservations I found most of the motels booked. I ended up finding a room at the White Moose Lodge in Healy Alaska, about 10 miles from the entrance to the park. Since I got here so early I rode into the park on the park road until I was turned back. If you want to go farther you have to ride a bus. This trip is about riding a motorcycle. I turned back.

The White Moose Lodge Healy Alaska.

 
      I checked in to my room around 2pm and laid around. Then into town to the Totem Inn Pub for dinner. Back to room to finish my entry for today, then watch a movie and to sleep. Up at 6 out by 8 in the morning for the 252 mile to The Motorcycle Shop for a oil change in Anchorage. I plan to spend three nights there exploring the area. An early start in the morning insures an early arrival in Anchorage, I hope.

The view out the window at the Totem Inn Pub Healy Alaska.