Fairbanks to Whittier with stops in Palmer and Homer along the way

We departed Fairbanks after yet another visit to the Great Alaskan Coffee roasting Company - Brian kept insisting we go back hoping they would get his Coffee right but they never did.

I'm pretty certain he was attracted to all the weird alternatively comported individuals that hung out there.  (PIX Censored).

We had an ever increasingly smokey run to Heally/Denali where we stopped for a visit with an ADV Rider acquaintance that had offered us a free place to stay.  However as it was smokey as hell and only noon, Fred's Tiger 800 was operating on the original battery which was acting up, so we opted to continue on, past Denali towards Anchorage eventually opting for a "Cheaper" motel in Palmer rather than something in the "Big City".  It was warm, no, it was hot and Cheap Hotels in Alaska don't have AC.  Despite an excellent Greek Meal across the street, we all slept fitfully because of the heat.

The Mountain - Denali (previously known as Mt McKinley) clear but in the smokey haze

A quick coffee in the morning in Palmer, we walked up to a drive-thru coffee hut and a battery from the NAPA across the street got us underway for Homer AK and our rejoin with Phil and Charlene.

The first part of the journey was along large tidal flats

It was a smoky run from Cooper's Landing well past the Kenai River

and Sterling.  There was an active fire on the West side of the road, firefighters were setting backfires as we rode past carefully following the 35 mph speed limit as we were one car back from an Alaskan State Trooper who flashed his lights at me as I closed going 45 mph, JSNS!

Fishing for Salmon in the Smoke

We arrived at the Kings Landing in the early afternoon, unloaded

and headed for the Homer Spit.

The ocean and the beach at Homer were inviting

If you didn't want to see your boys for six months.

But the local kids were enjoying the warm day and some were in the water as well.

After a late breakfast at the "Two Sisters Bakery" in Homer,

we retraced our steps almost all the way back to Anchorage, through the still active but not quite so smokey fire zone.

Approaching the West end of the Whittier Tunnel

Waiting for all the Trucks, Buses, Cars and RVs to clear the tunnel so the bikes can go through last.

In the Tunnel of Death!

Arriving Whittier we are greeted by the Royal Princess - some 5,000 passengers in a town of 200!

Almost everyone in town lives in this old US Army Family Housing building built in the early 50's.  Our rooms were on the 14th floor looking over the harbor and directly at a glacier or two.

Start to Whittier 5,800 miles so far

Chicken AK to Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks with PIX.

After coffee with Mary in Chicken AK, it was a quick but frequently dusty run to Tok AK where we enjoyed our lunch at  "Fast Eddy's" it seemed like only a few minutes we were at Delta Junction,



the end of the Alaska Highway and then in Fairbanks.  We had a great Cuban Dinner in Fairbanks followed by a "Fire Alarm" at the hotel which emptied the rooms into the parking lot.


At 0900 Brian, Fred and I set out for Deadhorse up the Dalton Highway - 500 miles of sketchy road, our destination was Coldfoot AK the halfway point and last fuel stop 245 miles from Deadhorse.

We made great time to Coldfoot and after our late lunch, 1400, great weather, and a 0200 sunset we decided to press on the 245 miles to the next gas and our ultimate destination, Deadhorse.

The hour and a half ride from Coldfoot to the Atigun Pass was wonderful, and when we arrived the pass was clear,

As you can see in the picture above, the weather in the background looks threatening and as we started North the temperature dropped, the North Brooks Range Arctic Wind began to blow, it was foggy and rainy and the road turned to slop.

We arrived in Deadhorse just after 2200 (10:00PM) a long and treacherous six-hour run.  We did see some Barren Ground Caribou about 50 miles outside of Deadhorse but no pix.  Brian got a picture of this Musk Ox and later we saw a whole herd of Musk Ox but it was too treacherous to stop for a picture.

 Thankfully, Justin at the Deadhorse Camp found rooms for us and even cut us a deal because we arrived so late.

Monday morning, after a Deadhorse Camp Buffett Breakfast - $15.99. and fuel at $5.49 per gallon,

we set forth for Coldfoot about 0900 expecting the slop of the day before.  The Arctic Wind had blown all night, the rain and fog were gone, and the road was hard and fast.  We were in Coldfoot before 1300 (1:00pm) after a glorious day.  We had booked rooms in Wiseman, just North of Coldfoot, so after fueling we went to our rooms and were all asleep by 1900 (7:00PM).

Tuesday morning we were on the road for Fairbanks by 0700.  Our plan was to ride the 120 miles to the Yukon River Crossing, stop and fuel both machines and riders about 0900.

"The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men"........three Flat Tires later, all on my bike, we arrived at the Yukon River with yet again another flat tire.  Somewhere between Coldfoot and the Yukon, I picked up a little Arrow Head like Rock in the rear tire.  I noticed pressure dropping and we stopped.
I quickly found the rock and pulled it, then plugged the hole.

That plug held air for about 10 miles before failing.

I plugged it again, using two plugs, this lasted another 10-15 miles before failing.

We stopped in a turnout about 23 miles from the Yukon, removed the rear wheel and plug patched the tire from the inside.

Fun, Fun, Fun

Nothing like working in the sand and dirt

Three more stops to fill the tire got us to the Yukon well afternoon where we fueled our bodies with Brunch,

our bikes with gas, and received permission from the kind maintenance man, Justin, to attempt to fix the tire in his shop.

Sam, a rider from Louisiana gave me a tube of Rubber Cement as the stuff I had was suspect. We pulled the Wheel/Tire and re-patched with a larger patch using Sam's cement -, thankfully it held all the way to Fairbanks where Brian and I both got in line at Dan's www.ADVCYCLEWorks.com for new rear tires.

Dan's lot was full of motorcyclists getting tires before attempting the Dalton Highway.  We were finally fixed and on the road about 2200 (10:00PM).  Dan runs 24 hours a day during the season.

After a late dinner at "Denny's" we washed Dalton's grime off the bikes and our riding gear at a local carwash, $15 each to get the rough stuff off.  We slept in this morning and were dressed and ready to ride to Denali NP at 1000 when I suggested we spend another night in Fairbanks.  Brian and Fred both agreed, we shifted out of "Full Gear", unpacked and went to breakfast at the Alaskan Coffe Roasters.  OK Coffee, Good food, a weird mix of staff and clientele.

Fred and I enjoyed our visit to the Fountainhead Antique Automobile Museum co-located with our Hotel.

On the way to breakfast, we discovered that the clutch on Brian's VStrom was acting out.  We noticed an ever-increasing drip of clutch fluid on the ground.  We filled and bled the clutch several times before determining that the Slave Cylinder was leaking badly.  Fortunately, the local Suzuki Dealer had the part we needed to repair the cylinder and we enlisted Dan of ADVCYCLEWORK.COM to make the repair.  This time there was no line at Dan's and after less than an hour, we were on our way.

We had a great dinner at Geraldo's, an Italian place near our hotel. 

We left for Denali in the morning.

Whitehorse to D2D to Chicken AK - With PIX

We left Whitehorse the morning of Wednesday, June 19th.  A good days run to Dawson City was impeded only by a flat tire going across a wooden bridge construction project 40 miles North of Whitehorse.  It took less than 30 minutes for me to locate, identify and plug the hole.

We arrived in Dawson City YT in the early afternoon.

After getting out of our gear we explored Dawson City afoot

 Supper was in the Eldorado Hotel followed by a Great "Parking Lot Social" with our Canadian FJR Friends

 and a few ADVRider buddies I had arranged rooms for at the Eldorado.  This photo was taken about 2200 (1000 PM)

Thursday morning Brian Maddy and I discovered a great spot for Coffee/Breakfast - a cute little French Canadian girl was the early morning Barista and we enjoyed breakfast and coffee the for the next three days.  PIX disappeared on me :(

We "Steamed Independently" Thursday afternoon, signing up for the D2D events and then exploring Dawson City. I went to several of the museums and then took a ride on the Princess up and down the Yukon River with Phil and Charlene.

The Blue Klondike River flows into the Grey/Tan Yukon River at Dawson City

Thursday evening we ate at the Tripple J hotel before attending the "Early Show" at "Diamond Tooth Gerties" Gambling Hall and Saloon.

Friday we had a late start, after coffee at the aforementioned Bistro we signed up for the D2D poker Run, a 60-70 mile jaunt through the Dawson City Mining District West of Dawson City on dirt and gravel roads. I was in the running for the first two cards, drawing two Aces, but couldn't find any love after that, Brian had three 10's but the winner had Four 6's.

One of the Poker Run Stops - it was hot and dusty the whole route

The D2D dinner was excellent, lots of SWAG was given away as door prizes, I won a Sheepskin seat cover from Alaskan Leather.

Hair Again - Gone Tomorrow!

After the dinner, we all participated in observing the "Biker Games" consisting of a slow race, a slalom, Blind Race, Baloon Toss and the famous or infamous "Weenie Bite"

At Midnight the "Group Photo" was taken

Damn Video won't load - it was daylight and there were a lot of bikes and people there, Trust Me!

Saturday morning we slept until 0700. Brian, Fred and I went for Coffee one last time but alas our cute little French Canadian girl had been replaced by the Bossy Barrista.

We left Dawson City by Ferry at 0900.  Motorcycles have "Head-of-the-line" privileges and we drove right onto the Ferry passing a line of 100 Cars, trucks and RVs all waiting to go to Alaska via the Top of the World Highway.

The TOTW was beautiful, the kind border agent let Brian Maddy back into the United States with a minimum of fuss.

Next stop was Chicken Alaska where we enjoyed a coffee prepared by Mary, a local Barista from Common Grounds Coffee Shop in Spearfish who has worked in Chicken AK for the past few summers.