Day 11, No surprise we started the day with a light rain that stopped when we crossed the US/Canada border. The low lying clouds made it difficult to see the mountains, but we did see a moose and her 2 calves. No pics though, didn't want to stop in the rain. Entering Alaska is a BIG bucket list for me, I've planned this trip for 6 years and attempted to make the journey 4 times, and for one reason or another did not start. A couple times my riding group canceled and the others were due to business. Standing at the border was AWESOME! West Canada is a beautiful country, Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon are great Provinces to travel, we will be back. Canada sent us out the way we arrived, WET. I've been riding motorcycles along time, and this is the first ride with seemingly never ending rain. We've had 3 dry days out of 11.
Re-entry to the US was a little more time consuming than entering Canada. The Custom's agent wanted to look in our panniers...really, what amount of anything could I be smuggling on a motorcycle? After riding 144 miles, we stopped in Tok, AK for a late breakfast and pick up my bear protection that was shipped prior to our departure. Thank you Barb and Brian. The last 100 miles into Fairbanks was dry, and the sun made it's first appearance. Upon arrival to Fairbanks we went straight to Adventure Cycleworks to have the new tires installed in preparation for the Haul Road. Dan was great and my daughter played with his American Spaniel, Zena. About an hour later, we were back on the road, headed to our hotel for the night. We dined at a local Japanese restaurant, then went to the hotel to start unpacking what we don't need for the next 4 days. We reduced our load by more than half, which will make the bike easier to manage. For the next 4 days, I may not be able to post. I'm told there is not wi-fi or mobile connectivity once we start the Dalton Highway. Along the 1,000 mile out and back route, there are two places to get fuel, Coldfoot (halfway) and Deadhorse at Prudhoe Bay.
In Fairbanks the sun doesn't set, you have a dusk setting for about an hour, other than that the sun is shining. In the Arctic, it doesn't go to dusk, there is no sunset or sunrise. Endless days.... Yesterday there was a Fairbanks golf tournament that started at midnight.
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Being cool in the parking lot, she looks like a jet fighter pilot...
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| That's it...? What a welcome sign. |
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| Standing in Canada and US. |
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| Finally! |
