7/24 Jasper National Park, AB

Our travels have taken us from Alaska, down the Alcan Highway through Yukon down to British Columbia and Alberta. Travels thus far in miles not km:

Alaska miles:

7/14 179 Anchorage to Seward
7/15 364 Seward to Denali
7/16 99 around Denali
7/17 355 Denali to McCarthy
7/18 6-McCarthy to Kennecott RT
7/19 366 McCarthy to Beaver Creek
7/20 386 Beaver Creek to Telsin
7/21 281 Telsin to Laird River Hot Springs
7/22 463 Liard River Hot Springs to Dawson Creek
7/23. 275 Dawson Creek to Hinton, AB. in rain.
7/24 122 Hinton to Valemont, AB

Including:

Denali highway 133 miles dirt
McCarthy road 63 miles dirt
McCarthy road dirt pit of death 50 feet. Times 2.
McCarthy foot bridge 100 yards

Some highlights:

Denali highway -clouds cleared for beautiful view of Denali = Mt McKinley. Spectacular scenery all the way. Appreciate hospitality at McClaren Lodge.

McCarthy Highway - dirt over old railroad bed. Treacherous construction including road crews dumping dirt and sending us through BOTH WAYS. All riders survived.

McCarthy - old town which supported nearby Kennecott copper mines in early 1900s. Thanks to Sara at McCarthy Lodge and Gary, pilot at McCarthy Air who took us on a breathtaking flight over mountains and glaciers.

Dawson City Signpost Forest- from all over the world, including Chico

Liard River Hot Springs. Very hot natural springs, complete with large mosquito population.

We have ridden in sun and rain, seen incredible natural beauty, and wildlife along the way including herds of bison, deer, goats, and at least 7 bear, black and brown, no grizzlies yet. Also several majestic moose, some running on road serving as pace car.

This will be my final post for the trip. Thanks to Mark for planning such an amazing adventure, and thanks to Mark, Ethan, and Spencer for being such great travel companions!

For ongoing coverage, please see:

Facebook- Epic Alaska Ididaride

Also I am uploading photos to:

http://heartsf.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Epic-Alaska-2012/24061427_V9JPtD

Thanks for following along!

Jack

July 15 Seward to Denali. July 16 Denali National Park

July 15 On the road 364 miles, mostly in the rain. Stopped for lunch in Wasilla, Sarah Palin's home town. Mt McKinley (Denali) mostly obscured by clouds. We are staying in a cabin along the river in Denali City. Good company and safe travel on very good motorcycle roads.

July 16 Denali National Park - beautiful scenery and outstanding visitors center. Once again, Mount McKinley hiding behind clouds. Public road access limited to 8 miles into the park, from there you must take a bus. We rode to the turnaround point, and saw one moose and one caribou. We hiked 2 miles around Savage River, seeing some of the oldest rock formations in North America. Hiking is fun when wearing full motorcycle gear! One again a great day, all safe, and no Mark the "restaurant" by the airstrip was nothing like the Royal Scot!

7/14/12- Anchorage to Seward

Travelers and bikes all arrived safely in Anchorage. We left Anchorage this morning, traveling south on the Seward highway. A whale watching spot yielded no whales. We traveled to Portage Glacier then to Whittier. A Princess cruise ship was docked at Whittier. If you are traveling to Whittier other than by ship, you must drive or ride through a narrow railroad tunnel through the mountain. This tunnel is long, and there is no margin for error on a motorcycle, as you are riding between between two train tracks We arrived in Seward and checked in to the Seward Military Resort. We then rode to the Kenai Fjords National Park, and took the one mile trail to the edge of Exit Glacier. Then back to Seward in the rain. We sighted a moose along the road to Seward, and a black bear near Exit Glacier. An awesome day, all safe, only the beginning. Alaska is truly awesome! On to Denali tomorrow.

Staging

I am excited to have the opportunity to report on our ride down from Alaska to California.  We have been planning for this trip  since we returned from our trip to Glacier National Park  and on into Canada in August 2010.   This is probably not the commonest photo to begin a ride report.  We could not figure how to make the trip to AK and back to CA in less than 3-4 weeks without serious long saddle time and not much sight seeing.  Darn careers, getting in the way of life again.  So we have shipped 4 motorcycles to Anchorage via Sacramento: 2- R1200GS ADV, 1-F800GS, 1-Kawasaki Versys.  We riders will fly up on July 12 and 13 to reunite with each other and the bikes.  Riders: Jack (me) - cardiologist and USAF Vet.  Mark - retired USMC and pharmaceutical rep.  Ethan - active duty USMC - did get 2 weeks leave for this trip! Spencer - recent high school grad.  Mark and I married 2 lovely sisters therefore we are brothers in law.  Ethan and Spencer are Mark’s boys, thus my nephews.  Our trip around AK and back to CA will take 2 weeks.  I hope my next  post will be July 13 or 14 after we pick up the bikes, likely a report from the Seward Military Resort.  Thanks for following along.
Jack