US/Canada Travel Log Summary for 2008
Well after wiping out both the bike and rider in the Yukon, what can happen to top this list? Having your personal equipment stolen from the hospital could just make your day. Seems that the gear that was MEDEVACED from Mayo to Whitehorse, Yukon got legs. It’s too bad that this had to happen, but at least someone out there is enjoying the gear.
Itinerary
Picking up the bike in Long Beach, California in transit from Sydney, Australia and with 2hrs sleep from an over night flight from Hawaii causes the body to question the “common sense factor” of traveling. Bike put together and with a full tank of petrol it was off to Nevada. Crossing the dessert in the middle of the day, dumb….. From Nevada crossing over to Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and finally Alaska.
By the time I had crossed back into the Yukon heading east, my travels had just gone over the 10,000 mile mark and the odometer had crossed the 65,000 mile indicator. I did not do any bush camping on this trip; all of my stops were in places indicating a RV camp site or a state or national park. So it was hot showers just about every night and questionable on fresh clothes…..
Good
A Special Thanks to the nurses at the Mayo Health Clinic, Yukon for their help; the road crew and medic getting me to Mayo; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for retrieving my personal gear from the wreck site; the doctor and ER staff at Whitehorse General Hospital; Swedish Hospital and staff for repairing the Grey Nomad and finally the flight nurse and MEDEVAC crew of Airlift Northwest. Some how some where I will find a way to thank these people for their kindness and that extra effort that made my MEDEVAC a lot more enjoyable. Now, who stole my socks….?
Not once on this trip did I incur the wrath of anyone. Maybe just traveling by yourself and wearing the blond toupee convinced everyone that this guy is harmless. Being back out on the open road again with every mile before you another adventure, how anyone can say that they been there before and nothing is learned. Just meeting people from all walks of life, the ability to converse with them, learn their desires and why they are part of the nomad’s way of life. Everyone has a story and if you can learn to listen, their lives become a part of yours.
Having never lived in the US per say as an adult, the diversity and beauty of the North America is undoubtedly beyond what I could have ever imagined. My goal for the next few years will be to transverse as many National Parks and Wildlife Refuges as possible.
Okay, enough of my rumblings.
Motorcycle shops: If you ever get a chance to pass through Columbia, Missouri, please stop at M.C. Cycle. They are good, efficient and provide a forum for a good level of BS.
Camp sites: KOA site at Goodland, Kansas; RV camping ground in McBride, British Columbia and Tetsa River Outfitters (bakery!!), just north of Fort Nelson, British Columbia.
Of all of the National Parks that I went through, the Grand Tetons’ has to be one of the most photogenic. The wild flowers where out in all of their glory and the weather was perfect. Glacier NP for its raw beauty and the Road to the Sun.
Bad
Camp Sites: As much as I hate to say it, but the bulk of KOA sites were not laid out with the camper in mine. In stead of having the loo’s and wash rooms central to the site, it seems that the majority of the washrooms were next to or adjacent to the check in office. The only ones benefitting from this was the site managers. The worst site had to be the RV (KOA) camp grounds of Fort Nelson. The city land fill would have been preferable.
Motorcycle Shops: The Outpost, Fairbanks, Alaska for incompetence, attitude and just poor service all around. Next would be the BMW shop in Las Vegas for poor workmanship, stripping bolts when reassembling and hoping this faux pas would not be found out until I was many miles down the road.
The MEDEVAC insurance company. For total lack of concern on getting me to a hospital. More concerned on the bottom line of cost and the amount of BS that they could generate to justify their position.
Road construction from Haines Junction to Tok, Alaska. I believe that they have been working on this section of the road for the last 200 years, but I could be wrong.
Petrol prices; believe me, you are not going to find a sympathetic ear on my part. As anyone knows, the rest of the world has been paying these 4-6 dollars prices, if not higher, for years. And another item that shows just how far the US is behind the curve is the metric system. Someone some where has to extract thy head out of the sand and realize that there is a world out there besides ourselves. Don’t be surprised if within the next 5-10 years, the only export product that we will have is our military.
Motorcycle: F650GS 2005 65,000 miles (104,000K)
Repairs:
Las Vegas, Nevada- Brake fluid chg and valve adjustment. Swing arm, shock bearings greased, clutch cable replaced, spark plugs.
Salt Lake, Utah– Changed out coolant, coolant hoses and seat recovered.
Columbia, Missouri – Gas filter changed, windscreen replaced, oil/filter chg, chain & front/rear sprockets chg, air filter chg.
Fairbanks, Alaska- brake pads replaced and front and rear tyres.
Tools:
Bead breaker, tyre irons, front/back tyre tubes, air compressor, tool bag, assorted metric nuts and bolts, short handle metric wrenches ( 7-13mm), sockets, BMW spare parts, coolant/oil/lubricant, assorted nylon ties, rubber mallet,
Clothing:
Dri-rider jacket (OZ), BMW Rallye-Pro trousers, rain gear, SIDI water proof boots (talk about smell!),
Noland helmet, summer/winter gloves, bacalvar, ear plugs
Accessories:
4 Season 2 man tent, sleeping bag, air mattress and pillow, 6 (1 litre) fuel bottles, 2 (1 litre) water bottles, clothes pins, washing up liquid, paper towels, head lamp, AM/FM radio, Zip lock bags, chair,
Sandals, sneakers, 1 long sleeve shirt, 3 t-shirts, 3 pair of shorts, 1 pr of trousers, 1 log sleeve rash guard, 4 sets of socks(never washed), towel, toilet kit
Navigation:
Garmin GPS 60Cx with 2 gig storage card and North America City Navigator software installed.
Road maps were acquired through CAA/AAA
Cameras and accessories:
Canon 20D SLR digital camera. Canon G5 Point and Shoot and SmartDisk 40 gig hard drive.
Emergency Equipment:
1. Verizon cell phone
2. EPIRB with GPS (emergency satellite beacon)
3. MEDEVAC flight insurance
4. CAA/AAA road side and recovery assistance
5. USAA auto insurance
6. First aid kit
Reference Reading
1. Frank Clifford, The Backbone of the World (Portrait of the West along the Continental Divide
2 James Galvin, The Meadow
3. Dan O’Neill A land gone lonesome (an inland voyage along the Yukon River)
4. National Audubon Society
Familiar Flowers of North America (west)
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
17-20 July 2008 Dawson City, Yukon to Hawaii
7.17-20.08 Dawson City, Yukon - Seattle, Washington, US - Hawaii
Weather for the next few days was rain but this morning, some what overcast but great weather for riding. Whitehorse was the destination for the day and being that there is only one road, Rt 2, a mix of sealed and gravel. It was going to be a long ride but I was finally heading east to Quebec and eventually Pennsylvania. Another 6-8 weeks of travel.
About 3 hours into the ride on gravel when I was coming up on a road grader working the right side of the road. The grader was leaving a small ridge of gravel which I would have to cross to get around him. As I was crossing the ridge, the front end of the bike started to oscillate badly, bad enough that this was the last thing I remember until I woke up on the roads earth embankment.
Waking up on my back with head facing up the embankment. Of course the first thought is I am alive, next looking at my right arm my next thought was, “I believe I have a compound fracture!". Next it was clearing away the vegetation debris and rolling over on my left, getting myself up and start climbing back to the road. Just as I got to the top, the road grader operator was there. He had all readied called his boss and their medic. The medic was there in minutes, set the arm as best as possible. The crew boss next had me in his truck and down the road to the Mayo Medical Clinic about 40k away. I was pretty much still out of the picture, but aware of what was going on.
Mayo, Yukon (pop 400)
Into the clinic, wounds cleaned, pain meds administrated, X-rayed showing a beautiful compound fracture. The doctor commented that if I had not been wearing all of my motorcycle gear, we would probably not be holding this conversation.
Now this is where it gets interesting. I had taken out air medical evacuation insurance and once at the clinic a call was made to the insurance company. They called back and for 4-5 hours could or would not make a commitment to get a plane in to Mayo for shipping me to Whitehouse where there is a major hospital. Finally the nurse got on the phone and in so many words told the company (insurance) that they had 30 minutes to make up their minds or she was calling in a medical evacuation. Needless to say, I was flown out in two hour’s time. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had at this time gone out to the wreck site and brought as much of my personal gear as possible back to the clinic and was loaded onto the aircraft for the trip to Whitehorse.
Whitehorse, Yukon
Into hospital ER where after signing everything under the sun and another set of X-ray’s where taken. The ER doctor had at this time lined up Orthopedic surgeon at Swedish Hospital, Seattle, Washington to operate on my forearm upon arrival. And as there was a medical flight coming through Whitehorse for Seattle, a ride with this aircraft. I next called the insurance company and told them of the medical flight. It was the same story all over again, they would not cover my cost for the flight and they were looking at flying me back to Hawaii for surgery instead. The ER doctor got on the phone and said it was not possible to fly an injured patience with an open wound on a commercial aircraft. The company would not hear of this and I heard more BS then the lord allows. It finally got down to where the RN nurse with the flight told me that they will fly me to Seattle regardless if they get paid or not. On to the aircraft was leaving the bulk of my personal gear at the hospital with the intensions of having a freight forwarder box and ship the equipment to Hawaii.
The flight nurse had removed my motorcycle boots and immediately regretted that and quickly had them stuck in plastic bags. My feet had to smell just as bad and they were right next to his head for the whole flight.
Seattle, Washington at 0330hrs, operating room 0400hrs and four hours later I was in my room with a 400lb cast on my right forearm. The Swedish Hospital, located near the University of Washington, had just been open for a month. The rooms had everything imaginable under the sun for bells and whistles. Once I came out of the daze and got the doctor’s approval for a flight to Hawaii, I was back on the phone to the insurance company for a flight. And as true to form in dealing with this company, I asked for an isle seat to make it as comfortable as possible with the cast. Sure enough, they had me sitting in the middle. A short conversation with the stewardess quickly fixed that problem. A six hour flight on a 737, packed to the max and everything cost……….
Everyone that was connected some how or some where with my accident were wonderful in all respects. I can not thank these people enough. If my pockets were deep enough, we would all be lined up at the pub for a proper pint or two and a bag of chips.
The air medical insurance company was a total disaster. On a score of 1-10, they would not even register.
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Weather for the next few days was rain but this morning, some what overcast but great weather for riding. Whitehorse was the destination for the day and being that there is only one road, Rt 2, a mix of sealed and gravel. It was going to be a long ride but I was finally heading east to Quebec and eventually Pennsylvania. Another 6-8 weeks of travel.
About 3 hours into the ride on gravel when I was coming up on a road grader working the right side of the road. The grader was leaving a small ridge of gravel which I would have to cross to get around him. As I was crossing the ridge, the front end of the bike started to oscillate badly, bad enough that this was the last thing I remember until I woke up on the roads earth embankment.
Waking up on my back with head facing up the embankment. Of course the first thought is I am alive, next looking at my right arm my next thought was, “I believe I have a compound fracture!". Next it was clearing away the vegetation debris and rolling over on my left, getting myself up and start climbing back to the road. Just as I got to the top, the road grader operator was there. He had all readied called his boss and their medic. The medic was there in minutes, set the arm as best as possible. The crew boss next had me in his truck and down the road to the Mayo Medical Clinic about 40k away. I was pretty much still out of the picture, but aware of what was going on.
Mayo, Yukon (pop 400)
Into the clinic, wounds cleaned, pain meds administrated, X-rayed showing a beautiful compound fracture. The doctor commented that if I had not been wearing all of my motorcycle gear, we would probably not be holding this conversation.
Now this is where it gets interesting. I had taken out air medical evacuation insurance and once at the clinic a call was made to the insurance company. They called back and for 4-5 hours could or would not make a commitment to get a plane in to Mayo for shipping me to Whitehouse where there is a major hospital. Finally the nurse got on the phone and in so many words told the company (insurance) that they had 30 minutes to make up their minds or she was calling in a medical evacuation. Needless to say, I was flown out in two hour’s time. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had at this time gone out to the wreck site and brought as much of my personal gear as possible back to the clinic and was loaded onto the aircraft for the trip to Whitehorse.
Whitehorse, Yukon
Into hospital ER where after signing everything under the sun and another set of X-ray’s where taken. The ER doctor had at this time lined up Orthopedic surgeon at Swedish Hospital, Seattle, Washington to operate on my forearm upon arrival. And as there was a medical flight coming through Whitehorse for Seattle, a ride with this aircraft. I next called the insurance company and told them of the medical flight. It was the same story all over again, they would not cover my cost for the flight and they were looking at flying me back to Hawaii for surgery instead. The ER doctor got on the phone and said it was not possible to fly an injured patience with an open wound on a commercial aircraft. The company would not hear of this and I heard more BS then the lord allows. It finally got down to where the RN nurse with the flight told me that they will fly me to Seattle regardless if they get paid or not. On to the aircraft was leaving the bulk of my personal gear at the hospital with the intensions of having a freight forwarder box and ship the equipment to Hawaii.
The flight nurse had removed my motorcycle boots and immediately regretted that and quickly had them stuck in plastic bags. My feet had to smell just as bad and they were right next to his head for the whole flight.
Seattle, Washington at 0330hrs, operating room 0400hrs and four hours later I was in my room with a 400lb cast on my right forearm. The Swedish Hospital, located near the University of Washington, had just been open for a month. The rooms had everything imaginable under the sun for bells and whistles. Once I came out of the daze and got the doctor’s approval for a flight to Hawaii, I was back on the phone to the insurance company for a flight. And as true to form in dealing with this company, I asked for an isle seat to make it as comfortable as possible with the cast. Sure enough, they had me sitting in the middle. A short conversation with the stewardess quickly fixed that problem. A six hour flight on a 737, packed to the max and everything cost……….
Everyone that was connected some how or some where with my accident were wonderful in all respects. I can not thank these people enough. If my pockets were deep enough, we would all be lined up at the pub for a proper pint or two and a bag of chips.
The air medical insurance company was a total disaster. On a score of 1-10, they would not even register.
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Saturday, July 19, 2008
07/19/2008 End of Tour
I just got word in from Norm that he has had an unfortunate accident. I don't know much detail other than the following
"not the way to finish off a trip. once i get up to speed using left hand. once i get home i will finish sending the travel log up to getting medevac from the yukon."
As soon as I know more I'll post an update
Alan Sciascia
(New Zealand)
"not the way to finish off a trip. once i get up to speed using left hand. once i get home i will finish sending the travel log up to getting medevac from the yukon."
As soon as I know more I'll post an update
Alan Sciascia
(New Zealand)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
16 July 2008 Tok, AK to Dawson City, Yukon
This was my last day of travel before the accident.
7.16.08 Tok,Alaska to Dawson City, Yukon
After spending a pleasant night in Tok, it was the famous, "Top of the World Highway" that was on the agenda for today's travel. Out of Tok, heading east to Rt 5 north. Once you got off the sealed road and back to gravel/dirt life becomes a bit more interesting. As we are traveling on the US sector, it is full of pot holes and just a very poorly maintained road. You pass RV vehicles going at a snail's pace as they are getting hammered by both pot holes and corrugations in the road. For once being on a bike has its advantages. Of course if you meet a fuel tanker coming the other way, the cloud of dust completely wipes out any sense of direction for the next 5-10 seconds. Well we've been on the road a bit before pulling into Chicken, Alaska. Chicken is not to be passed up as it has just about everything and nothing. The cafe has fresh baked goods that put 10lbs of weight on you just from smelling the aroma. The woman that runs the place spends a month in Maui, Hawaii during the winter as Chicken is sealed off from the outside world by snow bound roads and the population drop's to 12.
We leave Chicken continuing east to the Canadian border. The higher up we go, the road conditions improve(little). Finally reaching the border, the check of the passport and a few annal questions and you are back in Canada. Road conditions improve by a multiple of a 1000% with a mixture of sealed and gravel. The gravel is hard packed and traveling in speeds 100kph or faster is possible. Eventually you work your way down off the ridge into Dawson City. Crossing of the mighty Yukon River is a must as city of lights is only a stone throw away. I estimate the current flowing down the Yukon at a minimum of 4 knots or better. Getting the ferry, which is free, across the Yukon is a work of art. Regardless of which side the ferry leaves from, the current has the ferry at a disadvantage and its interesting watching the ferry beat its way back up river to reach the other side.
Dawson City has its annual music festible, the largest in the Yukon(whatever) this coming weekend and I can get only one night as the town is booked solid. It would have been interesting to spend another day here as it has history of mining and a bit on the wildside to read about.
Didn't spend much time in the city as it was people amassed(that can't be a word) but they did have hummas, red wine and a proper bag of chips for dinner.
The next day thougts of going north to the Arctic Circle was in the plans. This was quickly shot down from a follow biker who had just returned with another tale of bad weather coming and the road in terrible condition from rain. Unless I hear different from the vistor center in the morn, I am heading south to Whitehorse.
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
7.16.08 Tok,Alaska to Dawson City, Yukon
After spending a pleasant night in Tok, it was the famous, "Top of the World Highway" that was on the agenda for today's travel. Out of Tok, heading east to Rt 5 north. Once you got off the sealed road and back to gravel/dirt life becomes a bit more interesting. As we are traveling on the US sector, it is full of pot holes and just a very poorly maintained road. You pass RV vehicles going at a snail's pace as they are getting hammered by both pot holes and corrugations in the road. For once being on a bike has its advantages. Of course if you meet a fuel tanker coming the other way, the cloud of dust completely wipes out any sense of direction for the next 5-10 seconds. Well we've been on the road a bit before pulling into Chicken, Alaska. Chicken is not to be passed up as it has just about everything and nothing. The cafe has fresh baked goods that put 10lbs of weight on you just from smelling the aroma. The woman that runs the place spends a month in Maui, Hawaii during the winter as Chicken is sealed off from the outside world by snow bound roads and the population drop's to 12.
We leave Chicken continuing east to the Canadian border. The higher up we go, the road conditions improve(little). Finally reaching the border, the check of the passport and a few annal questions and you are back in Canada. Road conditions improve by a multiple of a 1000% with a mixture of sealed and gravel. The gravel is hard packed and traveling in speeds 100kph or faster is possible. Eventually you work your way down off the ridge into Dawson City. Crossing of the mighty Yukon River is a must as city of lights is only a stone throw away. I estimate the current flowing down the Yukon at a minimum of 4 knots or better. Getting the ferry, which is free, across the Yukon is a work of art. Regardless of which side the ferry leaves from, the current has the ferry at a disadvantage and its interesting watching the ferry beat its way back up river to reach the other side.
Dawson City has its annual music festible, the largest in the Yukon(whatever) this coming weekend and I can get only one night as the town is booked solid. It would have been interesting to spend another day here as it has history of mining and a bit on the wildside to read about.
Didn't spend much time in the city as it was people amassed(that can't be a word) but they did have hummas, red wine and a proper bag of chips for dinner.
The next day thougts of going north to the Arctic Circle was in the plans. This was quickly shot down from a follow biker who had just returned with another tale of bad weather coming and the road in terrible condition from rain. Unless I hear different from the vistor center in the morn, I am heading south to Whitehorse.
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
10-15 July 08 Chetwyn,BC to Tok, Alaska
if anyone out there expects me to improve on my typing for the next few emails, forget it. typing with my left hand is a work in progress as the cast does not come off my right arm for another 6 weeks. I do want to thank all of you that have expressed speedy recovery on my mishap. My kid's maybe not, knowing that dad will become a major pain in the butt for that frosty glass of beer at all times of the day. Pain medication as directed by my local doctor!
7.10.08 Chetwyn to Fort Nelson, BC
Light at 0330hrs and by 0530hrs I was ready. Rt 29 - Hudson's Hope - rain- FT ST John's, still raining, and once on Rt 97 north we were back to clearer weather. But does riding on a road with trees on both the right and left for miles on end really improve your sunny disposition, I think not. Got into Ft Nelson where the RV site was one step away from being the city dump. Christ was it ever a s...hole. Its too bad as the place has the potential but its been sold and resold so many times over the past years and they have a midget running the office. Does it ever get better then this! The dumpster is over flowing with trash, the men's shower room is closed so you have to use the one at the office, which of course is right next to the laundry and if, that's after you deposit $2.00 for hot water, anyone is using the washing machines, forget hot water, matter of fact forget water.....
7.11.08 Fort Nelson,BC to Watson Lake, Yukon
Its Rt 97 NW, the only road, and just a great ride and made up for the day before. The scenery was excellent plus 3 herds of bison(Buffalo to you locals in the lower 48 states). Reindeer, mountain sheep, black bears, foxes, and the best of all was the rip-off on fuel prices the more isolated you got. Anyway Rt 1 got you into Watson Lake for the night. RV campsite just as you enter town. Clean and well attended to. The visitor center is a must see as it has license plates from all over the world posted on wooden stakes.
7.12.08 Watson Lake to Whitehorse, Yukon
All cell phones from the US or any where else will not work in the Yukon, North West Territories. The only cell phone that will work is the one that only services the two provinces. So if you break down, you are in deep trouble. How the Canadian govt can allow this is beyond even the people who live there. And was it a cold night and the morning brought even colder temps. I was bundled and multilayered to the max on the road to Whitehorse. Wildlife viewed, one female moose with two juveniles and plenty of rabbits.
7.13.08 Whitehorse,Yukon to Tok, Alaska
Of course it had to rain last night until the early morn, so the tent was packed away wet. You are multilayered until 1100hrs before you even begin to feel the sun. From Whitehorse(Rt 1) to Haines Junction(great bakery shop) to US border then Rt 2 to Tok. From Haines to Tok, the road is in terrible condition due to repairs. If you have to travel this road do it on a Sunday or a holiday or be frustrated to the max on delays. Well here we are in Tok, weather has been fine all day, at the camp site setting up tent the skies open up with heavy rain, hail and more rain. The inside of the tent is getting wet, I am swearing so bad that I am surprised that my profanity is not burning off the rain about me. Thirty minutes later everything is back to normal, I steal enough paper towels out of the loo to wipe dry the tent. Wild animals sited; 2 Bald Eagles and a black bear. And did I say that this place has the best ice cream ever.....!
7.14.08 Tok to Fairbanks, Alaska
Except for a brief sprinkle, life is good and underway by 0700hrs. Did I mentioned that Alaskan roads are terrible in relation to the Canadian roads, but give it no thought........Finally settled on staying at a RV site as a motel was $180.00 a night and that was cheap. Reason for stopping in Fairbanks was for another set of tyres. The Mitas tyres that I brought with me for this trip has served me well through my other travels through New Zealand and Australia. Average mileage per set has been 12 - 15,000 US miles at $180.00 per set. I purchased a set of Metzsler Tourance tyres at $415.00 a set. Trails End BMW had moved their shop to The Outpost, Harley Davidson dealer. As I got there late in the afternoon, the service manager recommended that I return 0900hrs next day and tyre replacement would only take an hour. The dialog gets better believe me. Wild animals seen in transit, one male moose with a fine set of antlers, one female with 2 juveniles and
one female just killed by a pickup truck.
7.15.08 Fairbanks to Tok, Alaska
Arrived at the dealership 0830hrs along with other bikers. Even with me removing the rims, it took them over 4 hours to do the job. If I thought I was the only one to suffer the BS I had other HD's bikers with the same problem. The service manager had his head up his ass along with some of the mech's with an attitude problem. Trails End BMW does not have personnel, parts or anything else at the HD dealership but a sign indicating that they are there period. Your best bet is either go to Anchorage or the Kawasaki dealer in town. I finally got out of there with a $550.00 bill. And if you think I was pissed after dealing with these clowns, your close! Back on the bike and the thoughts of going north was canceled to inclement weather for the next 3 days. So a very boring ride to Tok it was, but just thinking of the ice cream at the RV site was a very positive motivator.......!
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
7.10.08 Chetwyn to Fort Nelson, BC
Light at 0330hrs and by 0530hrs I was ready. Rt 29 - Hudson's Hope - rain- FT ST John's, still raining, and once on Rt 97 north we were back to clearer weather. But does riding on a road with trees on both the right and left for miles on end really improve your sunny disposition, I think not. Got into Ft Nelson where the RV site was one step away from being the city dump. Christ was it ever a s...hole. Its too bad as the place has the potential but its been sold and resold so many times over the past years and they have a midget running the office. Does it ever get better then this! The dumpster is over flowing with trash, the men's shower room is closed so you have to use the one at the office, which of course is right next to the laundry and if, that's after you deposit $2.00 for hot water, anyone is using the washing machines, forget hot water, matter of fact forget water.....
7.11.08 Fort Nelson,BC to Watson Lake, Yukon
Its Rt 97 NW, the only road, and just a great ride and made up for the day before. The scenery was excellent plus 3 herds of bison(Buffalo to you locals in the lower 48 states). Reindeer, mountain sheep, black bears, foxes, and the best of all was the rip-off on fuel prices the more isolated you got. Anyway Rt 1 got you into Watson Lake for the night. RV campsite just as you enter town. Clean and well attended to. The visitor center is a must see as it has license plates from all over the world posted on wooden stakes.
7.12.08 Watson Lake to Whitehorse, Yukon
All cell phones from the US or any where else will not work in the Yukon, North West Territories. The only cell phone that will work is the one that only services the two provinces. So if you break down, you are in deep trouble. How the Canadian govt can allow this is beyond even the people who live there. And was it a cold night and the morning brought even colder temps. I was bundled and multilayered to the max on the road to Whitehorse. Wildlife viewed, one female moose with two juveniles and plenty of rabbits.
7.13.08 Whitehorse,Yukon to Tok, Alaska
Of course it had to rain last night until the early morn, so the tent was packed away wet. You are multilayered until 1100hrs before you even begin to feel the sun. From Whitehorse(Rt 1) to Haines Junction(great bakery shop) to US border then Rt 2 to Tok. From Haines to Tok, the road is in terrible condition due to repairs. If you have to travel this road do it on a Sunday or a holiday or be frustrated to the max on delays. Well here we are in Tok, weather has been fine all day, at the camp site setting up tent the skies open up with heavy rain, hail and more rain. The inside of the tent is getting wet, I am swearing so bad that I am surprised that my profanity is not burning off the rain about me. Thirty minutes later everything is back to normal, I steal enough paper towels out of the loo to wipe dry the tent. Wild animals sited; 2 Bald Eagles and a black bear. And did I say that this place has the best ice cream ever.....!
7.14.08 Tok to Fairbanks, Alaska
Except for a brief sprinkle, life is good and underway by 0700hrs. Did I mentioned that Alaskan roads are terrible in relation to the Canadian roads, but give it no thought........Finally settled on staying at a RV site as a motel was $180.00 a night and that was cheap. Reason for stopping in Fairbanks was for another set of tyres. The Mitas tyres that I brought with me for this trip has served me well through my other travels through New Zealand and Australia. Average mileage per set has been 12 - 15,000 US miles at $180.00 per set. I purchased a set of Metzsler Tourance tyres at $415.00 a set. Trails End BMW had moved their shop to The Outpost, Harley Davidson dealer. As I got there late in the afternoon, the service manager recommended that I return 0900hrs next day and tyre replacement would only take an hour. The dialog gets better believe me. Wild animals seen in transit, one male moose with a fine set of antlers, one female with 2 juveniles and
one female just killed by a pickup truck.
7.15.08 Fairbanks to Tok, Alaska
Arrived at the dealership 0830hrs along with other bikers. Even with me removing the rims, it took them over 4 hours to do the job. If I thought I was the only one to suffer the BS I had other HD's bikers with the same problem. The service manager had his head up his ass along with some of the mech's with an attitude problem. Trails End BMW does not have personnel, parts or anything else at the HD dealership but a sign indicating that they are there period. Your best bet is either go to Anchorage or the Kawasaki dealer in town. I finally got out of there with a $550.00 bill. And if you think I was pissed after dealing with these clowns, your close! Back on the bike and the thoughts of going north was canceled to inclement weather for the next 3 days. So a very boring ride to Tok it was, but just thinking of the ice cream at the RV site was a very positive motivator.......!
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Monday, July 14, 2008
7.14.2008 Missoula, Montana to Chetwyn,British Columbia
Factoid: National Parks Grand Teton; wild flowers and beautiful scenery
Yellowstone; Bison and bears and Glacier; just incredible raw beauty with the glaciers and mountains.
As of 7.14.2008 have just completed 10,000 miles (16,000K)
7.5.08 Missoula, MT to St Mary's, MT
After a good case of heartburn from the red wine the night before, I was on the road. Got into Glacier, National Park from the west end going over the road to the sun. Of course the road had just opened the day before from the latest snow storm. The traffic was backed to the hilt and every twit out there had to stop and take a picture of something some where. And of course the road got down to one lane and this just added another hour to the trip. The scenery was excellent so the delays were well worth it. The caravan site was, well you needed a hiking pass just to get to the loo but it was okay as the bushes caught hell.
7.6.08 Glacier National Park
Coming in from the east at a very early hour to Logan Pass(road to the sun) allowed me the extra time for photography. And catching the mountains from another aspect of the sun. Traffic of course was building up coming in from the west end. Stopped at Avalanche Gorge, about 2k walk and the it was all on a wooded boardwalk. The gorge with the glacier waters rushing through was worth every bit of the walk. Back on the bike and had just cleared Lake McDonald when a deer jumped out of no where and proceed in my direction. Does the word "Oh s..t" come to mind. Luckily for me my left handle bar hit the deer on its right cheek sending him down. If he had been one more step ahead of me I would not be writing this trip report. Looking in my rear view mirror as I came to a halt, the deer had flipped 2-3 times got up and was away before I could turn around. I would say from the time the deer broke from cover on the 2 lane road and hit the bike, it could not of been more then 2-3 seconds. And for the rest of the trip back to St Mary's it was a very pleasant ride.
7.7.08 St Mary, Montana to Radium, British Columbia
Coming into Alberta, flat lands with farming as far as you can see. North through the Canadian Rockies and the main road which was heavily traveled made the trip pretty much an ho hum affair. Radium, BC was just another tourist town with all of the bell's and whistles to go with it. And of course my tent site that night was next to 3 families that had decided to place all of the girls in one tent next to mine. so until 2400hrs I heard all of the gossip and giggles to go along with it.
7.8.08 Radium, BC to McBride, BC
Out of Radium and up through Banff NP and Jasper NP. This goes right down the middle of the Rockies and you really don't appreciate the glaciers until you reach the Columbia Ice field (Jasper NP). It is just so beautiful in its mass and size. Of course it is a major tourist site for everyone.
Rain out of Jasper into McBride for the night. To date McBride has to be one of the better RV(caravan) sites that I've stayed in.
7.9.08 McBride,BC to Chetwyn,BC
Rain early, tent away wet but everything else in good nick. Even washed my clothes after 6 days of wear. Stopped on Route 16 at Purden lake for coffee. The owner was telling me that from McBride to Prince George, the road is called, "The Road of tears". It seems that women over the years have disappeared or were found murder along the road. She, the owner will never pickup a man regardless of their condition and a woman is questionable. Stopped in Prince George for Camping Books from the CAA(AAA) that covers Canada and Alaska. From there it was to Chetwynd for the night and a change of oil for the bike.
Norm
The Grey Nomad
Yellowstone; Bison and bears and Glacier; just incredible raw beauty with the glaciers and mountains.
As of 7.14.2008 have just completed 10,000 miles (16,000K)
7.5.08 Missoula, MT to St Mary's, MT
After a good case of heartburn from the red wine the night before, I was on the road. Got into Glacier, National Park from the west end going over the road to the sun. Of course the road had just opened the day before from the latest snow storm. The traffic was backed to the hilt and every twit out there had to stop and take a picture of something some where. And of course the road got down to one lane and this just added another hour to the trip. The scenery was excellent so the delays were well worth it. The caravan site was, well you needed a hiking pass just to get to the loo but it was okay as the bushes caught hell.
7.6.08 Glacier National Park
Coming in from the east at a very early hour to Logan Pass(road to the sun) allowed me the extra time for photography. And catching the mountains from another aspect of the sun. Traffic of course was building up coming in from the west end. Stopped at Avalanche Gorge, about 2k walk and the it was all on a wooded boardwalk. The gorge with the glacier waters rushing through was worth every bit of the walk. Back on the bike and had just cleared Lake McDonald when a deer jumped out of no where and proceed in my direction. Does the word "Oh s..t" come to mind. Luckily for me my left handle bar hit the deer on its right cheek sending him down. If he had been one more step ahead of me I would not be writing this trip report. Looking in my rear view mirror as I came to a halt, the deer had flipped 2-3 times got up and was away before I could turn around. I would say from the time the deer broke from cover on the 2 lane road and hit the bike, it could not of been more then 2-3 seconds. And for the rest of the trip back to St Mary's it was a very pleasant ride.
7.7.08 St Mary, Montana to Radium, British Columbia
Coming into Alberta, flat lands with farming as far as you can see. North through the Canadian Rockies and the main road which was heavily traveled made the trip pretty much an ho hum affair. Radium, BC was just another tourist town with all of the bell's and whistles to go with it. And of course my tent site that night was next to 3 families that had decided to place all of the girls in one tent next to mine. so until 2400hrs I heard all of the gossip and giggles to go along with it.
7.8.08 Radium, BC to McBride, BC
Out of Radium and up through Banff NP and Jasper NP. This goes right down the middle of the Rockies and you really don't appreciate the glaciers until you reach the Columbia Ice field (Jasper NP). It is just so beautiful in its mass and size. Of course it is a major tourist site for everyone.
Rain out of Jasper into McBride for the night. To date McBride has to be one of the better RV(caravan) sites that I've stayed in.
7.9.08 McBride,BC to Chetwyn,BC
Rain early, tent away wet but everything else in good nick. Even washed my clothes after 6 days of wear. Stopped on Route 16 at Purden lake for coffee. The owner was telling me that from McBride to Prince George, the road is called, "The Road of tears". It seems that women over the years have disappeared or were found murder along the road. She, the owner will never pickup a man regardless of their condition and a woman is questionable. Stopped in Prince George for Camping Books from the CAA(AAA) that covers Canada and Alaska. From there it was to Chetwynd for the night and a change of oil for the bike.
Norm
The Grey Nomad
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
7.9.2008 Casper,Wyoming to Missoula, Montana
Factoid: I have found that there is more hair on my helmet liner then my head. I am thinking that it just might be the 6 day socks,5 day t-shirt or the 14 day shorts that are causing the problem.
Petrol cost in British Columbia 1.48 per litre
6.29.08 - 7.1.08 Casper, Wyoming to Jackson, Wyoming
It was an early start and with the wind head on and the last remembrance of Casper was the Tokyo Massage Pallor(open) as I moved west. The first hundred miles was all prairie but once beyond Shoshoni, the landscape gets a lot better. And passing through Dubois everything improves from landscape to wild flowers. The Grand Teton National Park has been the best scenery yet of my travels. Fields of wild flowers which delayed my arrival into Jackson by hours. Jackson, Wy is probably the biggest tourist trap that I have encountered in my travels. The prices of a Big Mac is 2-3 dollars more then you can buy in Hawaii. The caravan site was 12 miles south of Jackson with a small market within a mile. I was a stone throw away from the loo and within walking distance of a cuppa early in the morning.
Spent a day just running around the Grand Teton NP looking for wild flowers and the odd gravel road. Made a loop ride that included going over to Idaho and return.
7.1.08 Jackson, Wyoming to West Yellowstone, Montana
Had a senior moment once I reached Idaho Falls and went west instead of east. Welll, after 350 miles of going in the wrong direction the brain, whats left of it, decided that we were in towns that just did not meet where I really should be. Did see a bit more of Idaho then I really wanted to but it was overall a interesting ride. Approaching West Yellowstone, there was a huge cloud of yellow dust, later to find out that it was pollen, and rain following. Wet gear was on in 5 minutes and it was a grand welcome to Yellowstone.
7.2 - 7.3.08 Yellowstone National Park
Spent 2 days running around the National Park trying to capture as much as possible on ye camera. You had to get an early start as the bulk of the tourist were in by 1000hrs. And of course you have the twit stopping in the middle of the road with hand extended with either camera phone or digital taking pictures of what ever. Heaven help you if anyone sees a bear, everyone stops and life comes to a stand still. The Bison is a ho hum affair but let a bear appear.....! Get a life and go to the zoo.
I did Old Faithful but my timing was off as he was not to spout off for another hour so I caught some of the minor pools burping away.
7.4.08 West Yellowstone, Montana to Missoula, Montana
Of course before packing up the tent it had rained with the added benefit a very heavy pollen residue all over it. It was through numerous small towns in Montana and of course traveling on the 4Th of July there were parades every where. I manged to get caught in 3 of them and the last one, a very small little weasel breath of a twit was holding a water gun. You guessed it, the twit hit me full on with a burst of water.
On my way to Missoula, traveled through Virgina City. An old mining town with a great bake shop. It is worth a trip back there just for its history.
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Petrol cost in British Columbia 1.48 per litre
6.29.08 - 7.1.08 Casper, Wyoming to Jackson, Wyoming
It was an early start and with the wind head on and the last remembrance of Casper was the Tokyo Massage Pallor(open) as I moved west. The first hundred miles was all prairie but once beyond Shoshoni, the landscape gets a lot better. And passing through Dubois everything improves from landscape to wild flowers. The Grand Teton National Park has been the best scenery yet of my travels. Fields of wild flowers which delayed my arrival into Jackson by hours. Jackson, Wy is probably the biggest tourist trap that I have encountered in my travels. The prices of a Big Mac is 2-3 dollars more then you can buy in Hawaii. The caravan site was 12 miles south of Jackson with a small market within a mile. I was a stone throw away from the loo and within walking distance of a cuppa early in the morning.
Spent a day just running around the Grand Teton NP looking for wild flowers and the odd gravel road. Made a loop ride that included going over to Idaho and return.
7.1.08 Jackson, Wyoming to West Yellowstone, Montana
Had a senior moment once I reached Idaho Falls and went west instead of east. Welll, after 350 miles of going in the wrong direction the brain, whats left of it, decided that we were in towns that just did not meet where I really should be. Did see a bit more of Idaho then I really wanted to but it was overall a interesting ride. Approaching West Yellowstone, there was a huge cloud of yellow dust, later to find out that it was pollen, and rain following. Wet gear was on in 5 minutes and it was a grand welcome to Yellowstone.
7.2 - 7.3.08 Yellowstone National Park
Spent 2 days running around the National Park trying to capture as much as possible on ye camera. You had to get an early start as the bulk of the tourist were in by 1000hrs. And of course you have the twit stopping in the middle of the road with hand extended with either camera phone or digital taking pictures of what ever. Heaven help you if anyone sees a bear, everyone stops and life comes to a stand still. The Bison is a ho hum affair but let a bear appear.....! Get a life and go to the zoo.
I did Old Faithful but my timing was off as he was not to spout off for another hour so I caught some of the minor pools burping away.
7.4.08 West Yellowstone, Montana to Missoula, Montana
Of course before packing up the tent it had rained with the added benefit a very heavy pollen residue all over it. It was through numerous small towns in Montana and of course traveling on the 4Th of July there were parades every where. I manged to get caught in 3 of them and the last one, a very small little weasel breath of a twit was holding a water gun. You guessed it, the twit hit me full on with a burst of water.
On my way to Missoula, traveled through Virgina City. An old mining town with a great bake shop. It is worth a trip back there just for its history.
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Saturday, June 28, 2008
6.28.2008 Columbia, Missouri to Casper, Wyoming
Petrol 4.09 per US gallon Wyoming
6.24.08 Columbia to Rock Port, Missouri
Leaving Columbia under the threat of rain was a no brainer. No further then 5 miles up the road north then I am making a quick change to the wet gear. And it stays like this for the next 200 miles, rain, lighting and a bit of hail. Finally pulled into Rock Port, Missouri for the night. Seeing that it was still over cast I upgraded myself to the luxury of a cabin. And did I say it rained all night looooong. Its amazing just how nice life can be when everything is dry for the next morning ride.
6.25.08 Rock Port,MO to Thedford, Nebraska National Park
The clouds were heavy this AM and you could almost taste the water in the air but forward I go. Left Rock Port and crossed into Iowa where the ground was saturated with water on both sides. It is estimated that over 2 million acres of farm land alone in Iowa is under water. Look forward to a healthy bump in food prices in the very near future. Crossed over the Missouri River into sunny Nebraska and again initially the farm lands are under water but this cleared up as I moved further west. Looking at the map of Nebraska, Route 2 seemed to be the way to go as it goes right through the Sand Hills(whatever that means) and there is a National Park. Arrive at the NP and my thoughts were to, and I hate to say this, sleep on the picnic table. This was settled with the tent going up in minutes as the mosquito's and deer flies made their presents known. It was a quite night except for the coal trains passing through and I just know that those low life engineers were hitting the air horn a bit heavy knowing that campers were just 200 meters away.
6.26.08 - 6.27.08 Thedford,NE to Hot Springs, South Dakota
I have a feeling that it must be my 6 day socks that bring the bugs in, but I am just guessing on this one.... Packed up and back on Rt 2, which is really quite nice but not a lot of scenery, small towns and as rural as it can get. Got to Route 250 and headed north for the South Dakota border. Crossed the border and immediately was in Indian tribal land. The first tribal town just over the border reminded me of the aboriginal towns that I had passed through in Australia. Run down and in terrible shape. The tribal lands did have one thing going for it, the largest Casino out in the middle of no where and was it packed with cars and buses. And another sure sign of success was the two huge beer trucks heading into the township that I had just passed through. Any way it was route 18/385 north and just a beautiful drive into Hot Springs, SD. It was a camp site for the next 2 nights as the Blackhills/Badlands and Mount Rushmore National Parks were in a days ride.
It was a full day running the roads through the various national parks. I have never waved at so many bikers in my life. And to think that Sturgis is only a couple of hours away(the annual show as much skin as possible bike -a-thon held once a year in Sturgis SD). Buffalo within touching distance but some how they would completely ignore you. The weather was picture perfect for the day regardless of the rain early AM.
6.28.2008 Hot Springs South Dakota to Casper, Wyoming
With a clear night and morning, everything dry, and my 6 pancakes for breakfast, it was time to move on. Out the door to Custer, then Route 16 into Wyoming then heading southwest to Casper across prairie lands as far as the eyes can see. Besides the strong winds out of the northwest at 15 knots trying to push you off the road, the ride was some what humbug but still enjoyable.......to a very small degree. Into Casper it was for the night. Due to the holiday(July 4th) coming up have made tent reservations in Jackson and West Yellowstone for the next week....and can you image that the prices have moved up accordingly!!!!!!
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
6.24.08 Columbia to Rock Port, Missouri
Leaving Columbia under the threat of rain was a no brainer. No further then 5 miles up the road north then I am making a quick change to the wet gear. And it stays like this for the next 200 miles, rain, lighting and a bit of hail. Finally pulled into Rock Port, Missouri for the night. Seeing that it was still over cast I upgraded myself to the luxury of a cabin. And did I say it rained all night looooong. Its amazing just how nice life can be when everything is dry for the next morning ride.
6.25.08 Rock Port,MO to Thedford, Nebraska National Park
The clouds were heavy this AM and you could almost taste the water in the air but forward I go. Left Rock Port and crossed into Iowa where the ground was saturated with water on both sides. It is estimated that over 2 million acres of farm land alone in Iowa is under water. Look forward to a healthy bump in food prices in the very near future. Crossed over the Missouri River into sunny Nebraska and again initially the farm lands are under water but this cleared up as I moved further west. Looking at the map of Nebraska, Route 2 seemed to be the way to go as it goes right through the Sand Hills(whatever that means) and there is a National Park. Arrive at the NP and my thoughts were to, and I hate to say this, sleep on the picnic table. This was settled with the tent going up in minutes as the mosquito's and deer flies made their presents known. It was a quite night except for the coal trains passing through and I just know that those low life engineers were hitting the air horn a bit heavy knowing that campers were just 200 meters away.
6.26.08 - 6.27.08 Thedford,NE to Hot Springs, South Dakota
I have a feeling that it must be my 6 day socks that bring the bugs in, but I am just guessing on this one.... Packed up and back on Rt 2, which is really quite nice but not a lot of scenery, small towns and as rural as it can get. Got to Route 250 and headed north for the South Dakota border. Crossed the border and immediately was in Indian tribal land. The first tribal town just over the border reminded me of the aboriginal towns that I had passed through in Australia. Run down and in terrible shape. The tribal lands did have one thing going for it, the largest Casino out in the middle of no where and was it packed with cars and buses. And another sure sign of success was the two huge beer trucks heading into the township that I had just passed through. Any way it was route 18/385 north and just a beautiful drive into Hot Springs, SD. It was a camp site for the next 2 nights as the Blackhills/Badlands and Mount Rushmore National Parks were in a days ride.
It was a full day running the roads through the various national parks. I have never waved at so many bikers in my life. And to think that Sturgis is only a couple of hours away(the annual show as much skin as possible bike -a-thon held once a year in Sturgis SD). Buffalo within touching distance but some how they would completely ignore you. The weather was picture perfect for the day regardless of the rain early AM.
6.28.2008 Hot Springs South Dakota to Casper, Wyoming
With a clear night and morning, everything dry, and my 6 pancakes for breakfast, it was time to move on. Out the door to Custer, then Route 16 into Wyoming then heading southwest to Casper across prairie lands as far as the eyes can see. Besides the strong winds out of the northwest at 15 knots trying to push you off the road, the ride was some what humbug but still enjoyable.......to a very small degree. Into Casper it was for the night. Due to the holiday(July 4th) coming up have made tent reservations in Jackson and West Yellowstone for the next week....and can you image that the prices have moved up accordingly!!!!!!
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Monday, June 23, 2008
6.23.2008 Columbia, Missouri
Has anyone checked the price of petrol lately....it is $3.79 per US gallon(3.7litres) in Missouri as of this morning. The only place any cheaper is China where the government subsidizes the cost of petrol.
What does one do when you volunteer for 10 days at sea with a laboratory that is a front for moonshine whiskey for the state of Missouri. Wellllll, as any god fearing male at an undisclosed age bracket can tell you, drink and be merry.
Getting back to this volunteer job which when I checked in, the project had dropped to 5 days at sea. Good enough as I can handle this. You leave Missouri and travel 9 hours via truck to South Haven, Michigan. This is my first trip to this part of the USA ever but as I had a room to myself and cable TV, can life get any better.
Next morning it was loading out the ship with gear. Underway shortly there after, on site within an hour and the port engine(for you land lubbers, its the left engine looking at the pointy end of the boat)breaks down. Needless to say we did finish with the sampling for the day. Back into port and diesel mechanic was scheduled for the next morning.
Mechanic is there bright and early next morning and it will be 2-3 days before the repair part will be available.It seems that the part is manufactured in Nepal and has to come across the desert by camel. Off load all of the gear and its another 9 hours travel back to the USGS laboratory in Missouri.
If anyone out there thinks that trucks don't move the bulk of the freight in the US, don't ever travel the roads from Chicago south.
While in Columbia, MO I stayed at a couples farm in the outback. The husband is consider a "Gentleman's Farmer", short for someone that has just tooooo much time on his hands. The wife works at the laboratory on a part time schedule as one of the many cleaning ladies. Her other occupation is working nights at Walmart as the Welcome Lady at the door.
I am back on the road tomorrow heading north-west to the Badlands National Park in South Dakota
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
What does one do when you volunteer for 10 days at sea with a laboratory that is a front for moonshine whiskey for the state of Missouri. Wellllll, as any god fearing male at an undisclosed age bracket can tell you, drink and be merry.
Getting back to this volunteer job which when I checked in, the project had dropped to 5 days at sea. Good enough as I can handle this. You leave Missouri and travel 9 hours via truck to South Haven, Michigan. This is my first trip to this part of the USA ever but as I had a room to myself and cable TV, can life get any better.
Next morning it was loading out the ship with gear. Underway shortly there after, on site within an hour and the port engine(for you land lubbers, its the left engine looking at the pointy end of the boat)breaks down. Needless to say we did finish with the sampling for the day. Back into port and diesel mechanic was scheduled for the next morning.
Mechanic is there bright and early next morning and it will be 2-3 days before the repair part will be available.It seems that the part is manufactured in Nepal and has to come across the desert by camel. Off load all of the gear and its another 9 hours travel back to the USGS laboratory in Missouri.
If anyone out there thinks that trucks don't move the bulk of the freight in the US, don't ever travel the roads from Chicago south.
While in Columbia, MO I stayed at a couples farm in the outback. The husband is consider a "Gentleman's Farmer", short for someone that has just tooooo much time on his hands. The wife works at the laboratory on a part time schedule as one of the many cleaning ladies. Her other occupation is working nights at Walmart as the Welcome Lady at the door.
I am back on the road tomorrow heading north-west to the Badlands National Park in South Dakota
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
6.10.08 Gooseneck,Utah to Columbia, Missouri
Factoid: I must apologize to all of my Australian friends. The road kill that I always bitched about is nothing compared to the feedlots that I have en-counted traveling through the mid-west. Not only do they smell but they are huge and you wonder where does all of the waste go........ No wonder McDonald's hamburgers are so cheap!!
Gooseneck, Utah to Alamosa, Colorado 6.3.08
After having survive the winds of Gooseneck, did I mention that I met a young couple from Germany and the price of petrol is $8.00 plus for a gallon. Down to Mexican Hat for petrol then cross over to Colorado to 4 corners. This is where the 4 states meet(Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona) and there is a plaque for which you pay $3.00 to see, yeah right!
Leaving 4 corners and heading east on Route 160, both sides of the road are littered with empty glass and plastic bottles. Just a dump.
Up until you reach Durango on Rt 160 everything is humbug, but after Durango and through to Del Norte it is just a very beautiful ride. After that it is back to the humbug status to Alamosa.
Alamosa, CO
Spent part of the day at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. To climb the dunes you have to cross this very cold, snow fed stream. Once you get to the other side where the dunes are you can climb to your hearts content and then roll all the way down. Also you have the US Fish & Wildlife Sanctuary which you can do an auto tour.
Alamosa,CO to Gunnison,CO 6.5.08
It was a wet morning and knowing that I would be crossing into the Rocky Mountains I had 6 layers of clothing on just to be on the safe side. Crossed the Continental Divide(this is some imaginary line that someone drew though North America from North to South after he had a proper pint or two indicating the length of your knee socks) and Slumgullion Pass (11.4K) and to add a bit of excitement it was snowing and the snow plows where out in force. Finally into Gunnison for the night.
Gunnison,CO to Rocky Mountains National Park, CO 6.6.08
Having not checked with the locals( as usual), headed north through Almont where again I was told that the pass was closed with snow until Mid or late June. So back down the road again. So finding another way through Monarch Pass(11.3K) and Fremont Pass(11.3K)the most scenic of all passes, we end up at Lake Granby, part of the National Park.
Rocky Mountain NP to Goodland, Kansas 6.7.08
Hoping that the Trail Ridge Pass, part of the NP, would be open but unfortunately it had snowed the day before and the pass was blocked. So it was back down the hill to Granby then north to Walden before heading east over Willow Creek Pass(9.6K) and Cameron Pass(10.3K) to Fort Collins. The La Poudre river follows the road to Fort Collins and of course it was Saturday and every river rafting company was out there on a 2 lane highway along with push bikes which just adds to the pleasures of the traffic.
I don't think there was any road through the Rockies that was not a pleasure to ride on. Of course once out of the Rockies you hit the flat land and its humbug again with straight roads. It was a 9 hour day on the bike and you just feel like someone beat you with an ugly stick.
Goodland, KS to Independence KS 6.8.08
It was a very, very, very long day and another 10 hour ride. But with my case of Depends on one side and the 5 gallon jug of red wine on the other .....
Pulled into Elk City Lake State Park. As the day had been pleasant, the skies were clear and nothing on the horizon to indicate problems. It was another night sleeping on the picnic table( I thought). Well around 2130hrs I was awaken but this loud noise(wind) and lighting next and then, and I mean then, it rained buckets. Everything was instantly wet and having not setup the tent I was in deep ....... I was wet, the gear was wet, I packed everything away wet and finally found within the state park a covered area but open on all four sides. I had every piece of clothing on but being that the clothes were wet, within a very short time I was suffering from hypothermia. How I made it through the night is anyone's guess. Come to find out this storm covered the mid west from Texas to North Dakota and caused massive flooding and deaths.
Independence, MO to Springfield, MO 6.9.08
Well after spending a very refreshing night even with my winter gloves and balaclava on and then finding said wallet in muddy water. It was time to put on a new face and see how the rest of the world was handling itself. Got underway heading east with rain and over cast skies greeting me as I traveled. Pulled into Joplin, MO and stopped at McDonald's and being the sponge that I was, it was a continuous puddle from the door to the counter and return. Had my cuppa and 3 pancakes before I got back on the road to Springfield,MO. Rented a cabin for the night and by the time I had all of the wet gear hanging from rafters the cabin smelled like.............!
Springfield, MO to Columbia, MO 6.10.08
I estimated that just about 75% of my gear had dried out by morning. As Springfield was besett with heavy fog I didn't get underway until 1100hrs.
Taking mostly secondary roads through the Capital of Missouri, Jefferson City, I continued north to Columbia in about 3 hrs time. I'll be in Columbia,MO until the end of the month doing volunteer work for the United States Geological Services (USGS) up on the Great Lakes.
Anticipate I will be back on the road going northwest (Alaska) come the first of July.
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Gooseneck, Utah to Alamosa, Colorado 6.3.08
After having survive the winds of Gooseneck, did I mention that I met a young couple from Germany and the price of petrol is $8.00 plus for a gallon. Down to Mexican Hat for petrol then cross over to Colorado to 4 corners. This is where the 4 states meet(Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona) and there is a plaque for which you pay $3.00 to see, yeah right!
Leaving 4 corners and heading east on Route 160, both sides of the road are littered with empty glass and plastic bottles. Just a dump.
Up until you reach Durango on Rt 160 everything is humbug, but after Durango and through to Del Norte it is just a very beautiful ride. After that it is back to the humbug status to Alamosa.
Alamosa, CO
Spent part of the day at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. To climb the dunes you have to cross this very cold, snow fed stream. Once you get to the other side where the dunes are you can climb to your hearts content and then roll all the way down. Also you have the US Fish & Wildlife Sanctuary which you can do an auto tour.
Alamosa,CO to Gunnison,CO 6.5.08
It was a wet morning and knowing that I would be crossing into the Rocky Mountains I had 6 layers of clothing on just to be on the safe side. Crossed the Continental Divide(this is some imaginary line that someone drew though North America from North to South after he had a proper pint or two indicating the length of your knee socks) and Slumgullion Pass (11.4K) and to add a bit of excitement it was snowing and the snow plows where out in force. Finally into Gunnison for the night.
Gunnison,CO to Rocky Mountains National Park, CO 6.6.08
Having not checked with the locals( as usual), headed north through Almont where again I was told that the pass was closed with snow until Mid or late June. So back down the road again. So finding another way through Monarch Pass(11.3K) and Fremont Pass(11.3K)the most scenic of all passes, we end up at Lake Granby, part of the National Park.
Rocky Mountain NP to Goodland, Kansas 6.7.08
Hoping that the Trail Ridge Pass, part of the NP, would be open but unfortunately it had snowed the day before and the pass was blocked. So it was back down the hill to Granby then north to Walden before heading east over Willow Creek Pass(9.6K) and Cameron Pass(10.3K) to Fort Collins. The La Poudre river follows the road to Fort Collins and of course it was Saturday and every river rafting company was out there on a 2 lane highway along with push bikes which just adds to the pleasures of the traffic.
I don't think there was any road through the Rockies that was not a pleasure to ride on. Of course once out of the Rockies you hit the flat land and its humbug again with straight roads. It was a 9 hour day on the bike and you just feel like someone beat you with an ugly stick.
Goodland, KS to Independence KS 6.8.08
It was a very, very, very long day and another 10 hour ride. But with my case of Depends on one side and the 5 gallon jug of red wine on the other .....
Pulled into Elk City Lake State Park. As the day had been pleasant, the skies were clear and nothing on the horizon to indicate problems. It was another night sleeping on the picnic table( I thought). Well around 2130hrs I was awaken but this loud noise(wind) and lighting next and then, and I mean then, it rained buckets. Everything was instantly wet and having not setup the tent I was in deep ....... I was wet, the gear was wet, I packed everything away wet and finally found within the state park a covered area but open on all four sides. I had every piece of clothing on but being that the clothes were wet, within a very short time I was suffering from hypothermia. How I made it through the night is anyone's guess. Come to find out this storm covered the mid west from Texas to North Dakota and caused massive flooding and deaths.
Independence, MO to Springfield, MO 6.9.08
Well after spending a very refreshing night even with my winter gloves and balaclava on and then finding said wallet in muddy water. It was time to put on a new face and see how the rest of the world was handling itself. Got underway heading east with rain and over cast skies greeting me as I traveled. Pulled into Joplin, MO and stopped at McDonald's and being the sponge that I was, it was a continuous puddle from the door to the counter and return. Had my cuppa and 3 pancakes before I got back on the road to Springfield,MO. Rented a cabin for the night and by the time I had all of the wet gear hanging from rafters the cabin smelled like.............!
Springfield, MO to Columbia, MO 6.10.08
I estimated that just about 75% of my gear had dried out by morning. As Springfield was besett with heavy fog I didn't get underway until 1100hrs.
Taking mostly secondary roads through the Capital of Missouri, Jefferson City, I continued north to Columbia in about 3 hrs time. I'll be in Columbia,MO until the end of the month doing volunteer work for the United States Geological Services (USGS) up on the Great Lakes.
Anticipate I will be back on the road going northwest (Alaska) come the first of July.
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
6.3.2008 Ely, Nev to Gooseneck, Utah
Ely, Nev this morning was nothing but pure sunshine and everything was dry. After my morning cuppa, it was time to pack up and head east for the Utah border. Again we are traveling across the Great Basin which has mountain ranges on both sides of you and the basin in front of you. Roads don't change and the scenery like wise. But you do get the feeling just how big the US is when you have been confined to the Hawaiian Islands for the last 25 years. Especially when a really big day in Honolulu is going 20 miles in one direction.
Let me regress just a minute here. Going to the loo with all of the proper gear on is a 20 minute struggle. For example, we fist remove the helmet, next the day-glow safety jacket, next the water proof jacket ( are you still with me??) then the motorcycle jacket, followed by the inner jacket..... we have now removed all of the upper garments and by this time the bladder is in emergency hold...and for the final act 4 more layers of trousers, etc, etc before, yes and someone jumps the line and takes your stall! It is getting to the point where Depends is now becoming a bi-word for this Grey Nomad.
Getting back to Utah, picking up Route 50 into Hinckley we then head north to Nephi, south on Rt 132 then east up to Fairview. From here it is an incredible ride over the Mantila Sal National Forest to Scofield. It has to be one of the nicest rides to date. We then head south to Helper, a boom town 80-100 years ago. A lot of stores boarded up but we find the artsy crowd have moved in and things are looking up. Helper will be my base for the next few days due to waiting on parts from BMW Salt Lake City. For a side trip I went back over the national forest but this time continued south along Rt 31 which brought you back to Huntington. Again a ride not to be missed.
Helper to Moab(still in Utah)
Pretty much following the road south to Moab. Moab is as touristy as it can get.You have hiking, biking,4WD and raft rides on the Colorado River. In the same area we have the Arches Natl Park and Canyonlands Natl Park. Arches was on the program for the afternoon. Nice to visit if you don't mind fighting traffic. The park was saturated with tourist but I did find a gravel road that provided some entertainment.
The next day it was to Canyonlands Natl Park. This I enjoyed as there are gravel roads to the max. Some of them over 100 miles in length and a great place to get lost. Again a great place to go to get away from the crowd of crowds. And to say that some of the roads are a bit rough, I bottomed out the bike at least 6 times and I was competing with mountain bikers at the same time. Before I forget, Route 128 which is just north of Moab follows the Colorado River for 30 miles east. It has camping sites all along the route and believe me if I had known this I would have stayed there vice at the caravan site.
Moab to Gooseneck State Park (Utah)
North out of Moab to I70, west to Rt 24 south, next catching Rt 276 to Lake Powell. Ferry across the lake and Rt 276 to Rt 261 south. Route 261 just takes your breath away from the scenic beauty all along the road. What is even spectacular is the view that you have just as you start taking the gravel switch road back down. The view covers the whole mesa and I imagine that you are looking out 30 miles to the horizon. Gooseneck State Park was the finally stop. Again a place not to be missed at all. The San Juan River had done what no artist could of done with the surrounding land. Image a river cutting a series of bends over millions of years which you are looking at from 1000 feet above.
Spending the night at the state park was a bit different. With sleeping mat and sleeping bag on a picnic table for the night was going to be a piece of cake. Wrong on all accounts, the wind had dropped off to nothing by 1900hrs(7 PM) but Mother Nature had a surprise waiting for me. At around 2100hrs, the winds picked up and proceeded to blow until the early morning hours with gusts up to 20 knots. I just managed to hang onto my bedding but for other campers along the rim, their tents where just getting nailed. Looking around at 0530hrs, none of the campers from the night before were still around. Believe me once there was enough light to get my gear back on the bike and the wind was down I was out of there.
Utah has it all for those that just love the out doors. And what is even better is the lack of people.
As this is my first trip across the US since the early 60's, the experience is just unbelievable regardless of those 6-7 hour days on the bike.
Let me regress just a minute here. Going to the loo with all of the proper gear on is a 20 minute struggle. For example, we fist remove the helmet, next the day-glow safety jacket, next the water proof jacket ( are you still with me??) then the motorcycle jacket, followed by the inner jacket..... we have now removed all of the upper garments and by this time the bladder is in emergency hold...and for the final act 4 more layers of trousers, etc, etc before, yes and someone jumps the line and takes your stall! It is getting to the point where Depends is now becoming a bi-word for this Grey Nomad.
Getting back to Utah, picking up Route 50 into Hinckley we then head north to Nephi, south on Rt 132 then east up to Fairview. From here it is an incredible ride over the Mantila Sal National Forest to Scofield. It has to be one of the nicest rides to date. We then head south to Helper, a boom town 80-100 years ago. A lot of stores boarded up but we find the artsy crowd have moved in and things are looking up. Helper will be my base for the next few days due to waiting on parts from BMW Salt Lake City. For a side trip I went back over the national forest but this time continued south along Rt 31 which brought you back to Huntington. Again a ride not to be missed.
Helper to Moab(still in Utah)
Pretty much following the road south to Moab. Moab is as touristy as it can get.You have hiking, biking,4WD and raft rides on the Colorado River. In the same area we have the Arches Natl Park and Canyonlands Natl Park. Arches was on the program for the afternoon. Nice to visit if you don't mind fighting traffic. The park was saturated with tourist but I did find a gravel road that provided some entertainment.
The next day it was to Canyonlands Natl Park. This I enjoyed as there are gravel roads to the max. Some of them over 100 miles in length and a great place to get lost. Again a great place to go to get away from the crowd of crowds. And to say that some of the roads are a bit rough, I bottomed out the bike at least 6 times and I was competing with mountain bikers at the same time. Before I forget, Route 128 which is just north of Moab follows the Colorado River for 30 miles east. It has camping sites all along the route and believe me if I had known this I would have stayed there vice at the caravan site.
Moab to Gooseneck State Park (Utah)
North out of Moab to I70, west to Rt 24 south, next catching Rt 276 to Lake Powell. Ferry across the lake and Rt 276 to Rt 261 south. Route 261 just takes your breath away from the scenic beauty all along the road. What is even spectacular is the view that you have just as you start taking the gravel switch road back down. The view covers the whole mesa and I imagine that you are looking out 30 miles to the horizon. Gooseneck State Park was the finally stop. Again a place not to be missed at all. The San Juan River had done what no artist could of done with the surrounding land. Image a river cutting a series of bends over millions of years which you are looking at from 1000 feet above.
Spending the night at the state park was a bit different. With sleeping mat and sleeping bag on a picnic table for the night was going to be a piece of cake. Wrong on all accounts, the wind had dropped off to nothing by 1900hrs(7 PM) but Mother Nature had a surprise waiting for me. At around 2100hrs, the winds picked up and proceeded to blow until the early morning hours with gusts up to 20 knots. I just managed to hang onto my bedding but for other campers along the rim, their tents where just getting nailed. Looking around at 0530hrs, none of the campers from the night before were still around. Believe me once there was enough light to get my gear back on the bike and the wind was down I was out of there.
Utah has it all for those that just love the out doors. And what is even better is the lack of people.
As this is my first trip across the US since the early 60's, the experience is just unbelievable regardless of those 6-7 hour days on the bike.
Monday, May 26, 2008
5.26.2008 Las Vegas to Ely, Nevada
Leaving Las Vegas under overcast skies and heading north west for Death Valley. Being that I was a bit on the bright side and not paying enough attention to the map. I took a short cut on Rt 156 which I thought would save me time getting over the mountains to Death Valley. Well, at the 8000 ft level with snow and at a dead end and a very strong recommendation from the Park Ranger that I turn around.....
So back to square one and a couple of hours of wasted time I finally got into Death Valley. Spent the night in the valley with the winds blowing in excess of 20 knots but I had enough large rocks holding the tent down that I was in the No Worries stage.
Next morning out of the National Park to Scotty's Junction where the weather was a bit nasty. At this point is was all of my multiple layers of clothing, winter gloves, balaclava and anything else that would take a bite out of the wind, rain, cold and outright nasty conditions that would stay with me for the next 6 hours.
Someone, some where forgot to tell Mother Nature that summer is here......
Across the Great Basin it was and if I thought that the roads in the outback in Australia were straight, the Great Basin proved me wrong. Straight roads from horizon to horizon with snow on the mountains all around you. The only thing missing was road kill and the great smell that went along with it.
It was the late hour that I pulled into Ely, Nevada for the night. It was a grass lawn for the night with clear skies for the first few hours before it was rain, hail, rain and finally frost. The morning sun did come about but it would be many hours before the rays would envelope the tent. The camp site did have free coffee which put a glow on the morning activities.......
Being that I thought an extra day spent in Ely would prove beneficial to the local business and a chance to check out the local areas. Weather cancelled all thoughts of going any where as it was either raining or hail or both and snow on the road to add another flavor.
Tomorrow its into Utah for another week or so
So back to square one and a couple of hours of wasted time I finally got into Death Valley. Spent the night in the valley with the winds blowing in excess of 20 knots but I had enough large rocks holding the tent down that I was in the No Worries stage.
Next morning out of the National Park to Scotty's Junction where the weather was a bit nasty. At this point is was all of my multiple layers of clothing, winter gloves, balaclava and anything else that would take a bite out of the wind, rain, cold and outright nasty conditions that would stay with me for the next 6 hours.
Someone, some where forgot to tell Mother Nature that summer is here......
Across the Great Basin it was and if I thought that the roads in the outback in Australia were straight, the Great Basin proved me wrong. Straight roads from horizon to horizon with snow on the mountains all around you. The only thing missing was road kill and the great smell that went along with it.
It was the late hour that I pulled into Ely, Nevada for the night. It was a grass lawn for the night with clear skies for the first few hours before it was rain, hail, rain and finally frost. The morning sun did come about but it would be many hours before the rays would envelope the tent. The camp site did have free coffee which put a glow on the morning activities.......
Being that I thought an extra day spent in Ely would prove beneficial to the local business and a chance to check out the local areas. Weather cancelled all thoughts of going any where as it was either raining or hail or both and snow on the road to add another flavor.
Tomorrow its into Utah for another week or so
Saturday, May 24, 2008
5.24.08 Honolulu to Las Vegas
Well does it ever feel good to be back on the road again. Got back from my last trip to Australia on 19 March with bike in crate and waiting to be shipped back to the US.
The bike arrived in California on 9 May, it took 10 days for it to get through Customs and clearance. And I thought that Australia Customs was bad! The cost for Customs and etc was another $800.00 on top of the $1000.00 for shipping the bike. I am surprised that they didn't hit me up for a bloody coffee break!
The flight over from Honolulu wasn't too bad especially when the movie for the night was about some kid finding the Loch Ness Monster just hatched on a Scottish beach. If this movie didn't keep to you glued to the seat, nothing else would. Thank goodness that the flight was only 5 hours long.
Into California at 0500hrs, catch a shuttle to the fright forwarder and wait 2 hours for the business to open. BMW Sydney had crated the bike and a fine job they did. Got all of the bike bits put back together and it was Las Vegas for the next stop. Of course the day I decide to head to Las Vegas the temperature is 107F, now add the temperature of the asphalt to this equation and I believe that we could add another 10 degrees to this trip. Believe me when I say that I made a pit stop often just to hydrate.
My biggest problem was staying awake on the bike as I had only an hour or two of sleep in the last 24hrs. Twice I found myself asleep on the bike and is this a bit of a wake up call!
Into Las Vegas it was, the last time I was here was 10 years ago and has the city of sin expanded. Spent the next week getting the bike fixed, camping gear in order, spending money and enjoying the hospitality of the city that never sleeps.
Off for Death Valley and the road untraveled.
The Grey Nomad
The bike arrived in California on 9 May, it took 10 days for it to get through Customs and clearance. And I thought that Australia Customs was bad! The cost for Customs and etc was another $800.00 on top of the $1000.00 for shipping the bike. I am surprised that they didn't hit me up for a bloody coffee break!
The flight over from Honolulu wasn't too bad especially when the movie for the night was about some kid finding the Loch Ness Monster just hatched on a Scottish beach. If this movie didn't keep to you glued to the seat, nothing else would. Thank goodness that the flight was only 5 hours long.
Into California at 0500hrs, catch a shuttle to the fright forwarder and wait 2 hours for the business to open. BMW Sydney had crated the bike and a fine job they did. Got all of the bike bits put back together and it was Las Vegas for the next stop. Of course the day I decide to head to Las Vegas the temperature is 107F, now add the temperature of the asphalt to this equation and I believe that we could add another 10 degrees to this trip. Believe me when I say that I made a pit stop often just to hydrate.
My biggest problem was staying awake on the bike as I had only an hour or two of sleep in the last 24hrs. Twice I found myself asleep on the bike and is this a bit of a wake up call!
Into Las Vegas it was, the last time I was here was 10 years ago and has the city of sin expanded. Spent the next week getting the bike fixed, camping gear in order, spending money and enjoying the hospitality of the city that never sleeps.
Off for Death Valley and the road untraveled.
The Grey Nomad
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
US/Canada Travel Log for 10-15 July 2008
if anyone out there expects me to improve on my typing for the next few emails, forget it. typing with my left hand is a work in progress as the cast does not come off my right arm for another 6 weeks. I do want to thank all of you that have expressed speedy recovery on my mishap. My kid's maybe not, knowing that dad will become a major pain in the butt for that frosty glass of beer at all times of the day. Pain medication as directed by my local doctor!
7.10.08 Chetwyn to Fort Nelson, BC
Light at 0330hrs and by 0530hrs I was ready. Rt 29 - Hudson's Hope - rain- FT ST John's, still raining, and once on Rt 97 north we were back to clearer weather. But does riding on a road with trees on both the right and left for miles on end really improve your sunny disposition, I think not. Got into Ft Nelson where the RV site was one step away from being the city dump. Christ was it ever a s...hole. Its too bad as the place has the potential but its been sold and resold so many times over the past years and they have a midget running the office. Does it ever get better then this! The dumpster is over flowing with trash, the men's shower room is closed so you have to use the one at the office, which of course is right next to the laundry and if, that's after you deposit $2.00 for hot water, anyone is using the washing machines, forget hot water, matter of fact forget water.....
7.11.08 Fort Nelson,BC to Watson Lake, Yukon
Its Rt 97 NW, the only road, and just a great ride and made up for the day before. The scenery was excellent plus 3 herds of bison(Buffalo to you locals in the lower 48 states). Reindeer, mountain sheep, black bears, foxes, and the best of all was the rip-off on fuel prices the more isolated you got. Anyway Rt 1 got you into Watson Lake for the night. RV campsite just as you enter town. Clean and well attended to. The visitor center is a must see as it has license plates from all over the world posted on wooden stakes.
7.12.08 Watson Lake to Whitehorse, Yukon
All cell phones from the US or any where else will not work in the Yukon, North West Territories. The only cell phone that will work is the one that only services the two provinces. So if you break down, you are in deep trouble. How the Canadian govt can allow this is beyond even the people who live there. And was it a cold night and the morning brought even colder temps. I was bundled and multilayered to the max on the road to Whitehorse. Wildlife viewed, one female moose with two juveniles and plenty of rabbits.
7.13.08 Whitehorse,Yukon to Tok, Alaska
Of course it had to rain last night until the early morn, so the tent was packed away wet. You are multilayered until 1100hrs before you even begin to feel the sun. From Whitehorse(Rt 1) to Haines Junction(great bakery shop) to US border then Rt 2 to Tok. From Haines to Tok, the road is in terrible condition due to repairs. If you have to travel this road do it on a Sunday or a holiday or be frustrated to the max on delays. Well here we are in Tok, weather has been fine all day, at the camp site setting up tent the skies open up with heavy rain, hail and more rain. The inside of the tent is getting wet, I am swearing so bad that I am surprised that my profanity is not burning off the rain about me. Thirty minutes later everything is back to normal, I steal enough paper towels out of the loo to wipe dry the tent. Wild animals sited; 2 Bald Eagles and a black bear. And did I say that this place has the best ice cream ever.....!
7.14.08 Tok to Fairbanks, Alaska
Except for a brief sprinkle, life is good and underway by 0700hrs. Did I mentioned that Alaskan roads are terrible in relation to the Canadian roads, but give it no thought........Finally settled on staying at a RV site as a motel was $180.00 a night and that was cheap. Reason for stopping in Fairbanks was for another set of tyres. The Mitas tyres that I brought with me for this trip has served me well through my other travels through New Zealand and Australia. Average mileage per set has been 12 - 15,000 US miles at $180.00 per set. I purchased a set of Metzsler Tourance tyres at $415.00 a set. Trails End BMW had moved their shop to The Outpost, Harley Davidson dealer. As I got there late in the afternoon, the service manager recommended that I return 0900hrs next day and tyre replacement would only take an hour. The dialog gets better believe me. Wild animals seen in transit, one male moose with a fine set of antlers, one female with 2 juveniles and
one female just killed by a pickup truck.
7.15.08 Fairbanks to Tok, Alaska
Arrived at the dealership 0830hrs along with other bikers. Even with me removing the rims, it took them over 4 hours to do the job. If I thought I was the only one to suffer the BS I had other HD's bikers with the same problem. The service manager had his head up his ass along with some of the mech's with an attitude problem. Trails End BMW does not have personnel, parts or anything else at the HD dealership but a sign indicating that they are there period. Your best bet is either go to Anchorage or the Kawasaki dealer in town. I finally got out of there with a $550.00 bill. And if you think I was pissed after dealing with these clowns, your close! Back on the bike and the thoughts of going north was canceled to inclement weather for the next 3 days. So a very boring ride to Tok it was, but just thinking of the ice cream at the RV site was a very positive motivator.......!
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
7.10.08 Chetwyn to Fort Nelson, BC
Light at 0330hrs and by 0530hrs I was ready. Rt 29 - Hudson's Hope - rain- FT ST John's, still raining, and once on Rt 97 north we were back to clearer weather. But does riding on a road with trees on both the right and left for miles on end really improve your sunny disposition, I think not. Got into Ft Nelson where the RV site was one step away from being the city dump. Christ was it ever a s...hole. Its too bad as the place has the potential but its been sold and resold so many times over the past years and they have a midget running the office. Does it ever get better then this! The dumpster is over flowing with trash, the men's shower room is closed so you have to use the one at the office, which of course is right next to the laundry and if, that's after you deposit $2.00 for hot water, anyone is using the washing machines, forget hot water, matter of fact forget water.....
7.11.08 Fort Nelson,BC to Watson Lake, Yukon
Its Rt 97 NW, the only road, and just a great ride and made up for the day before. The scenery was excellent plus 3 herds of bison(Buffalo to you locals in the lower 48 states). Reindeer, mountain sheep, black bears, foxes, and the best of all was the rip-off on fuel prices the more isolated you got. Anyway Rt 1 got you into Watson Lake for the night. RV campsite just as you enter town. Clean and well attended to. The visitor center is a must see as it has license plates from all over the world posted on wooden stakes.
7.12.08 Watson Lake to Whitehorse, Yukon
All cell phones from the US or any where else will not work in the Yukon, North West Territories. The only cell phone that will work is the one that only services the two provinces. So if you break down, you are in deep trouble. How the Canadian govt can allow this is beyond even the people who live there. And was it a cold night and the morning brought even colder temps. I was bundled and multilayered to the max on the road to Whitehorse. Wildlife viewed, one female moose with two juveniles and plenty of rabbits.
7.13.08 Whitehorse,Yukon to Tok, Alaska
Of course it had to rain last night until the early morn, so the tent was packed away wet. You are multilayered until 1100hrs before you even begin to feel the sun. From Whitehorse(Rt 1) to Haines Junction(great bakery shop) to US border then Rt 2 to Tok. From Haines to Tok, the road is in terrible condition due to repairs. If you have to travel this road do it on a Sunday or a holiday or be frustrated to the max on delays. Well here we are in Tok, weather has been fine all day, at the camp site setting up tent the skies open up with heavy rain, hail and more rain. The inside of the tent is getting wet, I am swearing so bad that I am surprised that my profanity is not burning off the rain about me. Thirty minutes later everything is back to normal, I steal enough paper towels out of the loo to wipe dry the tent. Wild animals sited; 2 Bald Eagles and a black bear. And did I say that this place has the best ice cream ever.....!
7.14.08 Tok to Fairbanks, Alaska
Except for a brief sprinkle, life is good and underway by 0700hrs. Did I mentioned that Alaskan roads are terrible in relation to the Canadian roads, but give it no thought........Finally settled on staying at a RV site as a motel was $180.00 a night and that was cheap. Reason for stopping in Fairbanks was for another set of tyres. The Mitas tyres that I brought with me for this trip has served me well through my other travels through New Zealand and Australia. Average mileage per set has been 12 - 15,000 US miles at $180.00 per set. I purchased a set of Metzsler Tourance tyres at $415.00 a set. Trails End BMW had moved their shop to The Outpost, Harley Davidson dealer. As I got there late in the afternoon, the service manager recommended that I return 0900hrs next day and tyre replacement would only take an hour. The dialog gets better believe me. Wild animals seen in transit, one male moose with a fine set of antlers, one female with 2 juveniles and
one female just killed by a pickup truck.
7.15.08 Fairbanks to Tok, Alaska
Arrived at the dealership 0830hrs along with other bikers. Even with me removing the rims, it took them over 4 hours to do the job. If I thought I was the only one to suffer the BS I had other HD's bikers with the same problem. The service manager had his head up his ass along with some of the mech's with an attitude problem. Trails End BMW does not have personnel, parts or anything else at the HD dealership but a sign indicating that they are there period. Your best bet is either go to Anchorage or the Kawasaki dealer in town. I finally got out of there with a $550.00 bill. And if you think I was pissed after dealing with these clowns, your close! Back on the bike and the thoughts of going north was canceled to inclement weather for the next 3 days. So a very boring ride to Tok it was, but just thinking of the ice cream at the RV site was a very positive motivator.......!
Norm Garon
The Grey Nomad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
