Stewart to Dease Lake

Last night we suddenly decided we had not had enough riding for one day, so we loaded up on the bikes again and headed for Alaska. We crossed the US-Canadian border onto a peninsula and into the town of Hyder. What a neat little logging town with gravel streets and store fronts squeezed all together. Fred was in charge of finding an eating place so we stopped at his first choice. Fred went in to check out the cuisine but came back out and said it was full to capacity with senior citizens and he didn't think we fit there! So, off to another place of his choice which turned out to be excellent. We all had seafood of some variety except Mitch who chose steak. Our seafood was the best any of us had ever had. One of us ordered Halibut and it was so good we passed it around the table like a community dish. It was fabulous. Cudos to Fred for finding us that place. We rode back across the border to Stewart for the night but before the night was through, we met up with a group of Harley riders and all of us sat around the motel taking it easy, drinking lots of beer and telling big lies.

So, this morning Smoke had a hangover. The waitress asked him what he had been drinking and Smoke thought she asked what was he thinking and he told her that was sort of personal!
Anyway, we left Stewart and followed a river basin that was framed by gorgeous snow-capped mountains. The wilderness was green and lush - breathtakingly beautiful. It rained most of the day and the temperature was 48 from the time we left until this posting. Even with the cooler termperatures, we are all having a great time and enjoying every minute. Smoke keeps eveybody laughing and even with the long, wet, cool ride today, everyone is in good spirits.

We are having some trouble with fuel. Because the fuel locations are 200-250 miles apart, we had to buy gas cans and strap them to our bikes.

As for wildlife, a moose crossed the road directly in front of Ken and Pawn Dog today. That was awesome to see. We also saw a herd of wild horses and they were beautiful.

We rode about 20 miles of gravel road today which gave us a taste of what to expect as this ride continues. We will have lots of gravel roads to travel.

Everyone is sitting on the front porch of the motel drinking beer with mosquito nets over their heads. It is a site. John has his net on and his famous hat on top of that. Hopefully someone will get a picture of him.

Off to the Yukon Territory tomorrow.

Prince George to Stewart

Last night when we were eating dinner in Prince George, an aging Indian woman walked by and stopped to speak. She tapped Smoke on the shoulder and laughed as she pointed to John who was wearing his hat with one side flipped up. Guess he looked a little odd.

We rode for 10 hours today and covered 450 miles. We crossed over to Pacific time so the days seem even longer. It rained today as we left Prince George and that lasted about 2 hours. It quit raining for a while and then started again, but we were prepared for it. Everyone is doing great. We are all tired at the end of the day but this trip is well worth any aching body parts.

We were riding about 80 mph today when Fred scared up a big dog that darted from the middle of the road to the side. As Ken and Pawn Dog approached, the dog darted back onto the road; Ken went one direction and Pawn Dog went the other into loose gravel. The dog nearly wrecked Pawn Dog and it would have been a bad one. John and Smoke led the way today. They got in the lead early and cruised there for the rest of the day.

We stopped in a very small town today for lunch (can't remember the name). The locals asked us if we liked hockey and since we were from TN if we like the Nashville hockey team. Of course we said yes and they proudly told us about a 17 year-old high school graduate who was drafted by the Nashville team. Very proud of him. John and Smoke knew who they were talking about.

Western Canada is not as spectacular as central but still has a certain beauty. Noticed early on that the Fir trees looked to be suffering from the same type of disease that the white pines suffered in the southern US.

The last section of the road today was similar to the Cherohala Skyway. Ice from the top of the mountains was melting and flowing into the river below. Very serene and beautiful to see.

Mitch is enjoying the ride. He was relatively quiet today.

So, tonight we are in Stewart, which reminds us of a small coal town similar to Petros. Looking forward to a good meal, a good cigar and a good night's rest.

Pincer Creek to Prince George via Golden

Tonight we are in Prince George, just slightly over half way to Alaska. Last night we were in Golden, Canada after a long ride from Pincer Creek. The ride to Golden was uneventful. We did go to Lake Louise Park late yesterday and enjoyed that immensely. Once again, we took lots of pictures. After that, we sat outside and Smoke provided cigars for everyone like he does every night. Ken, John, and Smoke told about their medical school experiences and cutting up cadivers - we all had some good laughs.

The ride from Golden to Prince George was beautiful. We left at 7:30 this morning on Hwy 93 to ride the eastern side of the Rockies and then Hwy 16 into Prince George. We rode 375 miles in about 11 hours as there was lots of traffic and some rain this afternoon. We were ahead of the rain most of the day, so it didn't really bother us. It was 51 degrees at the top of the Rockies with snow still on the sides of the road. We saw a black bear looking for food and we saw some big horn sheep. We didn't have lunch today because when we did stop, the cheapest thing they had was a cheese sandwich for $5.00 - whew! Way too expensive. So, we snacked on trail mix and dried fruit. As we walked back to our bikes, 4 adults and 2 children were sitting at one of the tables. The oldest man asked where in TN we were from. We answered the Knoxville area and his wife spoke up and shouted "Go Vols!" Apparently the oldest man played football at TN in 1979. It was nice to speak with them = Johnson was their last name. Since lunch was light, we will eat well tonight and maybe drink a beer or two. Gasoline calculates to be about $5/gallon.

I forgot to mention that while we were in Montana, the Montana police scolded Smoke and Pawn Dog for passing on the wrong side of the road. He reminded them that "We don't pass on that side of the road in Montana"!

Having a great time. We are expecting light rain the next 2 days. Stay with us. Pictures will be posted. Anxious for everyone to see them.

Missoula to Pincher Creek, Canada

Slept in this morning. Didn't rush to start. Backtracked to get on the eastern side of the Rockies and cruised north on Highway 200 all the way to Glacier National Park at 80-85 mph. No traffic to speak of. Had an absolutely beautiful ride all day. The temp is about 60 and it is cool, crisp air. We have traveled about 350 miles today and as we rode along the backroads of Montana you felt peace and satisfaction with yourself. Nothing but you and the road.
Mitch has worn out a rear tire already so we will try to find him one for tomorrow. Smoke pissed off some Harley riders, the real deals with tattoos and leathers. They got into a real race and Smoke blew them sideways. The Harley riders came in to town after us so we managed to get some good pictures of their bikes as we were leaving.

John, Ken and Fred are quiet so far.

We are going to work on getting our pictures up to the laptop abd onto this blog. There will be lots of pictures when it happens.

Jackson Hole to Missoula

Left Jackson Hole at 7:30 sharp this morning and rode through Yellowstone and near the Grand Tetons. Old Faithful was resting and we couldn't wait 60 minutes to watch it erupt, so we took pictures and pushed on. We saw buffalo and wolves and elk. Beautiful ride except for later in the day when the wind picked up and the cross wind and dust was blowing 40-50 mph. Had to stop and get eye drops and water to wash out the dust. The temperature is cooler, much cooler. Traveled 450 miles today in 12 1/2 hours and everyone is exhausted. We haven't traveled the first mile of interstate as we are enjoying the back roads for the ride as well as the scenery. Once again we have lots of pictures but haven't learned to upload them yet. Stand by. We will post a bunch just as soon as we can.

Leaving in the morning and going into Canada. Plan to ride about 300 miles so it will seem short after the long day today. So far, it's a great ride and experience.

Vernal to Jackson

Left Vernal UT. this morning with our destination of Jackson, WY. Bizzare geologic formations and amazing scenery. Today was much cooler and only reached 90. We saw a number of dead deer and other furry creatures along the side of the road. We need to be careful not to make contact with them. There are lots of suicidal praire dogs that run into the middle of the road and look at you as you bear down on them. They dodge at the last second if they are lucky. Some are not. Today we covered about 350 miles and we were all worn out when we got here. It seems that even the BMW butt jewelry riders complained that their custom made seats put a hurting on them. The V-strom riders also complained but not as loudly. I expect the KLR to be uncomfortable so nothing to complain about. It seems that the more expensive the bike the louder the complaint. Pawndog is currently rubbing alcohol on his nuts.Along the way to Jackson we crossed into Idaho and stopped at the Arctic Circle for lunch. Its a small burger and milkshake place in Montiplier ID and the lunch was okay but the real arctic circle is much further down the road. We figured that we are only 5% into the trip and I am already sore. This is not good.In Jackson we had a good dinner and walked around the town. We drank a 5$ beer at the million dollar cowboy bar and now know why its named that.Tomorrow we're off to Montana via Yellowstone Park.

Day 2 Utah to Wyoming to Idaho and back to Wyoming

We left Vernal this morning about 8:00 a.m. and had a beautiful ride along the Snake River Canyon. Absolutely beautiful. Still hot and dry, but clear and uneventful. As soon as we figure out how to upload pictures, we will post them. We are in Jackson Hole, Wyoming tonight as today we made a loop into and out of Idaho. Everyone is enjoying the trip. Smoke brought cigars with him to share with everyone, so we have to stand outside the motel to smoke them. Having a great time.

Day 1 on the bikes

Spent some time in the Denver area last night so that Ken and Smoke could visit with their daughters who are both in that area. We left Ft. Collins this morning at 7:00 a.m. Stopped in Steamboat Springs for lunch. John led us via a toll road today so we paid the toll as we entered, but at the end, when we were supposed to pay again, that didn't happen. John is taking a lot of grief for our new nickname "The Toll Road Fugitives". It was hot, hot, hot today. We are spending the night in Vernal, Utah at the local Motel 6. We will eat some dinner now and drink a little beer. Butts are a little sore but looking forward to the ride through Utah on Sunday.

We're Off!

We left today and have stopped in Topeka, Kansas. The bikes were trailered. Tomorrow we'll continue trailering to Fort Collins Colorado, then start riding our bikes towards Alaska!

Here are some pictures!

The Crew!