Prudhoe Bay Trip - Day 2 continued

...We had planned to eat lunch at Yukon River crossing, but after talking to the people in the visitor center decided to go a little further and eat at the Hot Spot, instead. I had heard of the Hot Spot, but didn't realize where it was. We drove about 15 miles North of Yukon River crossing when we saw the sign. What a cool place! Anyone who misses this spot has missed a major high point of the ride. I'll let a few pics tell the story why.







The burger is as big as my head!

After we ate Bobby looked more closely at my bike's fork seals. He did not like what he saw. He tried to downplay his concern, I think. But I could tell from his face that the rest of our trip was in jeopardy. Nonetheless, after we ate we got back on the bikes and continued North.

Bobby decided that the main road was too easy. Let's try this, Karen!



Back in 2004, this region was hit by one of the worst fires in Alaska history. 706 fires burned a total of 6.6 million acres. In 2005, another 4.6 million acres burned. The trees of the taiga were reduced to ash with only a few charred poles remaining of what had been the boreal forest. Jump ahead to this summer. Fireweed is a flower seen everywhere in Alaska, but it gets its name from being one of the first plants to grow in areas that have been burned by forest fire. We timed it so that vast mountain sides were covered in the pinkish purple blooms of this beautiful flower.





Along the road sides in the areas with fireweed we saw this plant. I don't know what it is, but it has the most beautifully intoxicating scent of any flower I have ever smelled. The closest I can come to describing it is a mix between jasmine, plumeria, and chai tea.



As we climbed in elevation we came to the area of finger mountain, another well known Dalton Highway landmark.



Upon leaving Finger Mountain we continued to head further North. I was scooting along watching the road when I passed a sign that said "Arctic Circle" with an arrow. Surely there would be more to the arctic circle crossing than that! I turned around and followed the area a short distance off the road. And there it was! Proof that we'd crossed the circle!



You'll notice that the sign is well kept, and clean. The back side of the sign, however, is full of graffiti.
and what is this?



Yep, TwoWheelFemales.com is now represented at the Arctic Circle, baby!

We hit pavement again, and had a relatively easy ride almost all the way to Coldfoot. Coldfoot is an ugly nasty place. I am very glad we didn't stay there. The visitor center on the other side of the road, however, is a very nice place.



From Coldfoot it was only a 15 mile dirt ride into Wiseman where we spent the night at the Arctic Getaway Bed & Breakfast.





Our cabin was fantastic, and the folks who run this place are the best!



Had we stayed in Coldfoot we would have slept in a closet on narrow hard twin beds. Here, for the same price we got a cabin to ourselves with tons of books to read, and comfortable beds with real down comforters. We also got a yummy breakfast and some great conversation.



The owner's cabin.



The cabins are on a river, and there would have been some great photo ops, but we were tired. After Bobby did some work on my bike, we showered and crawled into bed for a great sleep. Then we got up and closed the curtains because here North of the Arctic Circle the sun would have been shining in the window all night. Once the cabin was dark we slept like logs until the next morning.
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Prudhoe Bay Trip - Day 2

The next morning we woke bright and early to the sound of birds chirping in the bushes behind our tent. The sun was already up and warm. A man in a car stopped by to chat. He and his girlfriend were driving to Prudhoe Bay in their car. We talked a bit, and he took a picture of us behind our tent.


We broke camp and set off for places further North!

It took only a few minutes to wind our way through the morning traffic in Fairbanks to where we hit the Steese Highway out of town. I went to college in Fairbanks, and even though the area has changed a lot, it was nice to drive this road. We passed an overlook that I spent many hours sitting at during college as I thought about life, living, and my latest boyfriend troubles.

Just outside of town we came to an informational wayside next to the Alyeska Pipeline.



From the Steese Highway we turned onto the Elliot Highway for a short time until it intersected with the Dalton Highway, the infamous Haul Road!

The true adventure begins!

The road immediately turns to gravel and climbs a long steep hill with winding curves. It's as if the road is telling you from the start, this is serious folks, I'm not playing. We'd only been on the road for a short time when a lynx ran across in front of me. Cool!



25 miles or so into the ride the road turns back to asphalt. Unfortunately the asphalt is broken and frost heaved, so it is not necessarily easier riding than the gravel.

The road was bordered in pink grass that grows everywhere in Alaska. It is very pretty, but also very sharp and will cut you if you handle it carelessly. The views are impressive from the beginning, but the road requires full concentration.



Even a momentary lapse can cause major problems.
Shortly after stopping for that photo op, we came across a section of asphalt. I relaxed more than I should have and didn't see the HUGE step when it turned back to gravel. It was a momentary lapse, but it almost ruined the rest of our trip. When I hit the step it caused my bike to totally bottom out on the front forks. Nut hit it too, and shortly after we stopped to talk about it. Almost immediately we noticed that my left fork seal was leaking now, in addition to the one on the right. "We'll have to watch that," Bobby said. Uh, yeah!

We continued on toward the Yukon River crossing at mile 56 of the Dalton. On the way we rode some beautiful road. We rode through beautiful country on a not so beautiful mud road. Then we got right behind the water truck that was spraying water and calcium chloride on the road.



The infamous wooden deck of the Yukon River bridge.



The Yukon River and bridge from the visitor information center.



The fins on the supports for pipeline are designed to let off heat. The pipeline runs through a lot of permafrost that would be damaged, and could cause the pipeline supports to collapse if it melted. The fins help keep the temperature down.



There were several other bikers in the visitor area, but we only waved and didn't really get a chance to talk. For those heading South, they were reflecting on their trip and taking a moment to relax as it neared its end. For those heading North, we were wondering what the road would bring us, whether we'd soon be sitting here with a dirty bike, a big smile, and a sense of lifetime accomplishment.

We had planned to eat lunch at Yukon Crossing, but after speaking to some more experienced travelers, we chose to eat the Hot Spot instead.

to be continued...

Prudhoe Bay Trip - Day 1

I have been lazy and haven't been keeping this blog up for the past year. I will catch up on some of these older rides, and then keep up with what we are doing now. This ride took place in the summer of 2008.






The first day of our ride to Prudhoe Bay dawned cold and rainy. I had all my heated gear on and was wondering whether riding North in this kind of weather was really a good idea. I had visions of snow, ice, and misery, but since I'm not one to back down from an adventure, we were off.

Our first stop was at the store to pick up our satellite phone. We sincerely hoped we wouldn't need it, but we would rather be safe than sorry! I agreed to take pictures of us using the phone along the Dalton Highway (mockup photo's) for the company to potentially use in its advertising.

The rain continued until we got to Denali National Park. I was enjoying the ride, but the clouds and drizzle were beginning to get old. We stopped at one of the overlooks where on a nice day you can see Mt. McKinley, but on this day we could only see banks and layers of cloud.

Soon after crossing the pass however, it began to get warm. I turned down the electrics and was buzzing along without a care in the world. There are some pretty views in the area and I was enjoying all of them. Then I noticed a light come on. What the heck? Why would my ABS Brake light be on? I pulled over to the side of the road and waited for Bobby to catch up. "Do you think there is something wrong?" "What?" I turned off the bike and re-asked my question. He wasn't sure why the light would have come on either, but we figured we could ride into Fairbanks and check the bike there. I tried to restart the bike, and nothing happened. Not even a sound. "Uh, Bobby, My bike is dead." He tried to start it. Nothing. We tried to jump it. Nothing. We tried to bump start it. Nothing. My battery was as dead as it could get. (We figured out later that my aux lights and heated gear had completely drained it) So there we were 150 miles from Fairbanks in the middle of no where. My bike was dead, and was late afternoon. Bobby called the Harley dealership in Fairbanks and found out they would be open until 5:00. If he rode like a crazy man, he might make it before they closed. So, off went Bobby to get me a new battery. I spent the next several hours sitting on the side of the road watching all the people go by.

There were 11 dual sport bikes that passed me-a 40 something woman by myself, my bike on the center stand, seat on the ground, and not one of them stopped to help or even ask if I was ok. Then a state trooper pulled up and told me I needed to move my bike. Gee Thanks! I'll get right on that! Finally two guys on Harleys came by. They stopped and asked if I was ok and if there was anything they could do to help. Thanks guys. For anyone out there holding on to the motorcycle brand stereotypes, GET OVER IT! These guys were the only caring people who passed me in the VERY long time I sat there.

Finally Bobby came roaring back up the hill. We replaced the battery and were back on the road. We pulled into the campground along the Chena River later than we had hoped, but the midnight sun kept us warm and lit the evening so putting up our tent was a breeze. We had planned to cook on the Jet boil, but decided after the rocky start to our trip that maybe a restaurant dinner and a couple glasses of wine would be a better idea.

After a delicious meal we walked back to our tent, relaxed and visited with other campers for a while, then went off to bed.

Bikes are Packed and Ready to Ride!

Today we made sure the bikes' tanks were full, and that everything was ready to go. Once we knew the bikes were ready we started packing. SInce we've changed our mind about motels, and will be doing quite a bit of camping, our load has increased a bit. Bobby has extra gas in his panniers, as well as extra fuel for the jet boil, WD40, a tarp to cover the bikes, tools, 2 spare inner tubes for my tires, and a tubeless tire patching kit. His extra camp pillow and an extra blanket for me are also in the panniers. He is carrying a dry bag with our sleeping bags, and a collapsable cooler for some liquid refreshment when we are done riding for the day. Tomorrow morning we'll pick up our satellite phone that will also go in his panniers.

I have our emergency kit, gravel plates, tire pressure gauge, glasses cleaner, cell phone, camera and extra lens in my tank bag. In the top case are our tent, both air mattresses, a can of Off, baseball caps, and a supply of Power Bars. Farkle will be riding sweep on this trip. I have Mountain House dinners in one dry bag strapped to my bike, and our extra clothes in the other dry bag. I'm carrying a two liter bottle of water with a squirt nozzle to spray my radiator down to keep it a little cleaner, and our camp towel.

So now we are ready. LET'S RIDE!

Prudhoe Bay Trip is less than a week away!

Well, our plans have changed a little. We are now planning to camp as we pass through Fairbanks. We have reservations at a campground on the Chena River. It's the same campground I stayed in back in May. We also changed our plans about staying in Coldfoot. We are going to go to The Arctic Gateway B&B in Wiseman instead. I am very excited about this change. I feel like we'll get a better night sleep here, and am looking forward to meeting the family who runs the place.

We have also gotten our emergency plan into place. Two friends will have all of our itinerary information and Iridium phone number as well as the numbers to call for emergency personnel if we aren't back home when we are planning to be (with a 48 hour cushion).