Alaska 2012
 
 

Day 14

July 18

 
   
 
 
 It's nice to get out early for a walk and see what Skagway looks like without all of the tourists. I get my two miles in and then wander down to the SweetTooth. It's a great local place for breakfast and I get my fix for the day. Once we get back on the ALCAN highway today, we will be headed back south to the Holler. Skagway marks the peak of the loop that I planned for this trip. This will be another big day of over five hundred miles, but we will be covering some roads that we have already been on.  
  
 The road, highway 98, out of Skagway is a pretty steady climb back up into the mountains. We catch a glimpse of the tourist train as it pulls the viewing cars up the steep grade.  
  
 And ahead, we see this interesting half-suspension bridge we will be crossing shortly.  
  
 Looking back down the valley, Skagway is obscured by the heavy cloud cover. 
  
 At the top of White Pass, there's a marker for the Klondike highway.  
  
 I also snag another Alaska State line Sign while I'm here.  
   
 The road down leads us to the lakes that provide the headwaters for the Yukon River. 
  
 The clouds are low and it is damp, but the views are still enjoyable. 
  
 We wonder if the clouds are going to just settle right down on the road.  
  
 Once again we have the road to ourselves and we ain't complaining. 
  
 What does amaze us is the distance between the Alaska border and the Canadian customs. In most places, they are pretty much within sight distance. This has not been the case in most of our Alaska/Canada crossings. 
  
 Once we come to the Canadian Customs, we see the old train station that serviced the route to Skagway.  
  
 

We get the usual questions asked, but this time the bugs are absolutely wild. I'm trying to answer the questions while swatting at them and not eating my fair share. As another customs officer walks by, he says with a smile -

"I deal with this every day."

I figure he's a much better man than I am for sure.

 
  
 We are in and out of the rain as we travel, so I'm appropriately geared up. Riding with wet britches is not a good option for a long ride.  
  
 But even with the overcast skies, the views are still a joy to behold.  
  
 The road just winds along side the many lovely lakes of the area.  
  
 Many are so peaceful they could pass for glass instead of water. 
  
  I've always found there is just something peaceful to me about riding beside a quiet river or lake.  
  
 This one reminds me a little bit of the Center Hill lake back in Tennessee that is surrounded by high hills. 
  
 I can only imagine the splendid isolation if you could live on this island.  
  
 As we get further south along the ALCAN, we see a few local residents.  
  
 

At Teslin, we stop for a fuel and food break. I notice the two BMW dual purpose bikes that have European license plates and a young couple enjoying a put together meal. Without thinking, I ask them -

"Are you from the UK?"

They smile and say "No, from Germany."

If I had bothered to remember, the designation on the plates would have told me. The are Jens and Kati and have been on the road for about fifteen years. They sold all they had and decided to travel the world by bike. They've spent lots of time in Australia, New Zealand, and South America to name a few places. They are in Canada now and plan to tour the United States next. Everything they have is on their bikes so this is their life. I tell them

"I'm planning a trip to New Zealand, so I'll be checking your site out."

When we hit the road, we get the joy of traversing that lovely grated bridge again at Teslin. But at least this time it's not wet but it's still long. Just outside of town there are a couple of ladies taking a survey for tourism. We oblige them by stopping and answer their questions as best we can. As we start to pull away, one of them says

"Watch out for the buffalo."

I thank her and say to myself -

"Yeah, just like all the moose signs - and no moose to be seen."

But just down the road a piece, lo and behold what do we ride up on -

 
  
 He decides to stay put and for that we are glad. Just a mile or two down the road, we see his first cousin enjoying a healthy green lifestyle. 
  
 But nothing prepares us for the scene over the next rise. I've ridden through buffalo herds in YellowStone and Custer State Park in South Dakota. But this is a pretty big herd and some pretty big individual animals.  
  
 They seem to be peaceable and we quietly idle by, not looking to be head butted into the next county.  
  
  Further down, we see another black bear but he's headed back to the woods.  
  
 Then we see Momma Grizzly and her two babies. Needless to say, we don't tarry long here either. 
  
 The sun soon peaks out from behind the clouds and it looks like we may have dry sailing for a while.  
  
 Just before we get to Toad River where we will be putting in for the evening, we make a stop at the overlook for Muncho Lake. It gets it's lovely green color from what they call 'rock flour', tiny rock fragments from the glaciers that reflect the light.  
  
 It's been a good but long day, so I am very happy to see this sign for the Toad River Lodge. 
  
 We check in and the cabin is really nice. The restaurant next door is still open and that's a good thing. We decide to order the buffalo burgers since we are safely out of the range of the herd, but they are out. So we settle for regular burgers and they are quite good. On the ceiling of the shop are thousands of hats stapled and nailed.  
   
 As I have my favorite Marine Corps hat on, I watch it closely to be sure it does not become a part of the collection. With supper finished, we make the short walk back to the cabin and soon I am off to lovely slumber land.