| Alaska
2012 | ||||||
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Day 15 July 19 | ||||||
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| Since this place advertises about all the wildlife and there is no good place to walk except the highway, I take the lazy choice this morning. It will be a fairly long day - 480+ miles and I figure the temps will begin to rise. I walk out a little bit and I do enjoy the pretty lake view. | ||||||
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The restaurant is open early, so it's the obvious and only choice. We get a booth near the window and talk about what's before us - "Now Alain, it's gonna get warmer and warmer as we head south. So don't say I didn't warn you!" He is going to ride all the way back to Holler with me, and I am tickled with that. Our grub comes and it doesn't take me long to make mine disappear. But then I'm quite the experienced hand at demolishing hen fruit and pig meat quickly. | ||||||
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| It looks like it's going to be one of those in and out of the rain sort of days, so I suit up to start with. As we move the ALCAN, we do spot the occasional wildlife. | ||||||
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| I'm amazed how these mountain goats just amble along the road with no concern about getting hit. | ||||||
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| These deer are bit smarter and stay further away from the roadway. | ||||||
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| But then we come to this which causes me to pause for a reflection. Momma Moose is on this side enjoying a salty drink .... | ||||||
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| and baby Mooses are on this side at the salad bar. Being raised in the country, I know what's gonna happen if I try to ride between them - I'll have my very own set antlers on my handlebars. So since discretion is the better part of valor, I ease up just a little and make some racket. I'm hoping I can get some of the attention of Momma Moose without a full inspection. My ruse works and she goes rushing across the highway to her babies and we go rushing past them before she decides to return to the salt bar. | ||||||
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| We're riding the part of the ALCAN that is south of where we came in from Hyder. It has some nice twisty bits but it also has | ||||||
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| rough paved bits as this sign indicates. | ||||||
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| The scenery is pretty nice until you come to ... | ||||||
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| stuff like this. It's fairly thick and down hill which does not make for pleasant riding conditions. | ||||||
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| And then every now and then you come to the construction zones with a pilot car which is usually a pilot truck. | ||||||
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| The flag lady here agrees to pose with Mr. Happy since it's pretty quiet while we wait for the pilot vehicle. | ||||||
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| Soon we are on our way through the muck and the mess. I notice Alain is riding to the left of the road and it finally hits me that the gravel is lot thinner over there. I'm a bit slow being from Tennessee but sometimes I figure things out. | ||||||
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| About four hundred miles into our day we come to the world famous Dawson Creek. | ||||||
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| I guess what makes it famous is that it is the official start of the ALCAN highway. | ||||||
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| Originated completed in 1942 as not much more than a gravel road, it has gone through many resurfacing and rerouting over the years. | ||||||
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| Another rider that comes up takes the shot of our ugly mugs under the sign. Fortunately Alain's camera is well built and the lens doesn't crack. I figure it must be military hardened to stand such abuse. | ||||||
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| In the park area is this grain elevator that has been turned into a museum. If we had more time it would be nice to go through it, but we're still over eighty miles from the motel. | ||||||
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| It's been a peaceful day as we make our way into Grand Prairie and the Super 8. When we get into the lobby, the lady behind the desk takes really good care of us. The room we end up with is a suite and very nice. | ||||||
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| She gives us a couple of places to check out for supper so we set out on foot to find them. First choice is an Italian place but it seems to elude our ability to find it. Fred is back in the room, so he's no help at all. We see the steak place, so it wins by default. Since Alberta is cattle country, I order up a piece of dead cow and am not disappointed. Tomorrow will be another long day so we head back to the room early. The beds are very comfortable and I take full advantage of them. But nothing will prepare me for what is coming with the new day. | ||||||
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