Friday, June 29, 2007
Alaska
Today I am writing from Fairbanks, Alaska. The day started with our departure from Dawson City, YT. Last night Doug wanted to go to a local tourist attraction called Diamond Tooth Gertie's. It is a dance hall, gambling establishment just like it was in the gold rush. Here is a picture of the main attraction.
I had a tough time dragging Doug out of the place!The ride began with a pleasant ferry ride to get across a river.
The ride from Dawson City to Chicken, Alaska was very difficult. Don't these people believe in pavement??? More dirt and gravel roads. Entering the United States was rather easy compared to what I had heard it would be. I showed my passport and was asked a couple of questions.
Chicken, Alaska marked our entry into Alaska as the first town we encountered. After Chicken the roads improved although for a long time there was as much gravel as not.
Tomorrow we will decide whether we will ride the Dawson Highway (Alaska Pipeline). We have hear stories about motorcycles being turned away recently for safety reasons. We have a hard time believing this since so many motorcyclists have done it in the past.
This is a very hard to ride road at best. At best means the weather is good. As we found out on the Dempster the weather can make the difference between a challenging ride and a life threatening ride. One of the dangers is large trucks hauling supplies, etc. to the pipeline companies. They will cover you with dust and gravel in a second. On the Dempster I just pulled over, made sure my face shield was down and held my breath! This only happened to me three times. On the Dawson it can happen much more frequently.
Of course, there is another Arctic Circle crossing on the Dawson. It would be fun to "make it" twice. Hopefully the next time I get to an internet connection we will have a fun story to tell. If I am physically not up to doing the ride Doug may do it by himself like he did on his ride to Inuvik.
The way I figure it, I have reached my goal and now I want Doug to fulfill his dream. If that means I wait it out then so be it. Besides, I could really use a rest. So, tomorrow will be a big decision point.
Dell
