Being a data sort of person, have to summarize info from this trip for those that might be interested in what is involved to go to Alaska and back.
Miles traveled:
Towing the trailer - 10,100
Riding around in the truck - 3,000
Riding around on the motorcycle - 1,935
Total miles traveled - 15,035
Rock Chips in the Windshield - 2
Camping:
Nights we camped - 67
Number of days spent in Alaska - 32
Number of nights we "boondocked" for free - 10
Nights we camped at Walmart - 3
Most we paid for camping - $48 at Whistler, British Columbia
Fuel Prices:
Most we paid for diesel fuel - $1.46 per liter, ($5.56 per gallon), in British Columbia
Least we paid for diesel fuel - $3.60 per gallon, Montana
Most we paid for gasoline - 1.78 per liter ($6.73 per gallon) for premium unleaded, Banff Nat'l Park, Alberta. Luckily we only needed one gallon in the bike to get back to town.
In Alaska, diesel fuel ranged from $4.15 to 4.23 in Fairbanks and Anchorage, but over $4.50 per gallon in most other parts of the state. The highest in AK was at Coldfoot, north of the Arctic Circle on on the Dawson Highway (see Ice Road Truckers....) at $5.29 per gallon.
Fish Caught:
18 salmon (plus lots released) - Valdez, AK
4 halibut (plus 3 halibut and 3 big cod released) - Ninilchik, AK
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
August 29-31 - The Drive Home
After over 9 weeks of living in the trailer and moving around every few days, we are both ready to head for home. It's sad to leave the mountains behind, so we look back and take pics whenever we can.
We have a lot of miles of prairie ahead of us, all of Montana east of the Rockies.
Stopped in Browning for a fill up. Nice teepee!
A few last looks at the mountains.
The seemingly endless prairie is pretty cool though.
Leaving the Blackfeet Country.
Prairie bikers!
Well, there's a lot to talk about in this pic......
Looks like a good spot for wind turbines!
Driving into one of the little towns along US 2.
Havre is actually one of the bigger towns we've seen in a while, well since Calgary anyway.
Just east of Havre, here's the train derailment we heard about on the radio. Cause still under investigation.
Kinda like some mini Badlands here.
We saw a couple of these wind turbine convoys going the other way. The blades for these things are huge!
So are the pedestals.
We spend the first night at a Flying J just east of the Montana/North Dakota line. No sense in paying for a campground when all you're gonna do is go to sleep, wake up, and get on the road again. We saw a lot of buffalo - herds of them, as we drove through the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the National Grasslands. The coffee hadn't kicked in yet though so the photographer missed the shots.
The second night, it was after midnight when we stopped at Black River Falls, WI and parked amongst a bunch of semis in the Perkins parking lot. We were just waiting for them to open for breakfast. When daylight came, there was no doubt we were in Wisconsin.
And we saw our first big orange Wisconsin moose too.
After getting through Chicago and Gary, which was about as much fun as we imagined it would be, the end of our trip is in sight.
We rolled into the driveway just before dark on Wednesday, the last day of August, 2011. We were happy to see Theresa and Jazzy the cat waiting for us.
Here's a map that shows where we traveled. In 9 weeks and 4 days, we pulled the fifth wheel over 10,000 miles, drove the truck about 13,000 miles, and put about another 2,000 miles on the motorcycle.
One thing is for sure, it's a long way to Alaska. It's about the same distance to drive to Bogata, Columbia. We'll pass on that trip though.
We will miss the long daylight hours we had in Alaska, but it won't be long and they will miss them there too.
We have a lot of miles of prairie ahead of us, all of Montana east of the Rockies.
Stopped in Browning for a fill up. Nice teepee!
A few last looks at the mountains.
The seemingly endless prairie is pretty cool though.
Leaving the Blackfeet Country.
Prairie bikers!
Well, there's a lot to talk about in this pic......
Looks like a good spot for wind turbines!
Driving into one of the little towns along US 2.
Havre is actually one of the bigger towns we've seen in a while, well since Calgary anyway.
Just east of Havre, here's the train derailment we heard about on the radio. Cause still under investigation.
Kinda like some mini Badlands here.
We saw a couple of these wind turbine convoys going the other way. The blades for these things are huge!
So are the pedestals.
We spend the first night at a Flying J just east of the Montana/North Dakota line. No sense in paying for a campground when all you're gonna do is go to sleep, wake up, and get on the road again. We saw a lot of buffalo - herds of them, as we drove through the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the National Grasslands. The coffee hadn't kicked in yet though so the photographer missed the shots.
The second night, it was after midnight when we stopped at Black River Falls, WI and parked amongst a bunch of semis in the Perkins parking lot. We were just waiting for them to open for breakfast. When daylight came, there was no doubt we were in Wisconsin.
And we saw our first big orange Wisconsin moose too.
After getting through Chicago and Gary, which was about as much fun as we imagined it would be, the end of our trip is in sight.
We rolled into the driveway just before dark on Wednesday, the last day of August, 2011. We were happy to see Theresa and Jazzy the cat waiting for us.
Here's a map that shows where we traveled. In 9 weeks and 4 days, we pulled the fifth wheel over 10,000 miles, drove the truck about 13,000 miles, and put about another 2,000 miles on the motorcycle.
One thing is for sure, it's a long way to Alaska. It's about the same distance to drive to Bogata, Columbia. We'll pass on that trip though.
We will miss the long daylight hours we had in Alaska, but it won't be long and they will miss them there too.
August 28 - Motorcycling Around Glacier
The forecast was for 85 to 90 degrees and sunny, a perfect day to take a ride. First stop though, the required picture in front of the sign
Goose Island, probably the most photographed spot in Glacier.
Stopped to have a look at Sunrift Gorge. First one is zoomed in, the next is zoomed out.
Just downstream from the gorge is Baring Falls.
On the road again...
Jackson Glacier. It won't be long at the rate we're going and it will be gone.
Getting close to Logan Pass, the highest point on the Going to the Sun Road.
A whole herd of Bighorn Sheep, right next to the road.
Looked like these two were about to get it on. We couldn't sit around long enough to see the fight.
Starting down the other side of Logan Pass, we can see the road winding along the other mountain.
Lot's of construction on the upper part of the road. More mud!
How many times can we say "WOW!".....
Haystack Falls (and others).
The Weeping Wall. Didn't get wet going by this one.
We're heading down there.
A fire went through Glacier NP and the surrounding area in 2003 and really cleared things out. During our first visit in 1996, we hiked up this trail, named the Loop Trail. Then the hike started through some thick woods. Today it would have been a hot walk through this open area with little shade.
Just upstream of McDonald Lake, on the west side of the park. That could be McDonald Falls in the background, but we didn't stop because we were tired of walking from yesterday and the walk to Baring Falls earlier in the day.
After finishing the Going to the Sun Road, we rode into Kalispell for lunch and a visit. By then it was getting close to 90 degrees. Time to head back up to the mountains. We took highway 2 on the return trip. It skirts along the south side of the national park. The highest point is named Marias Pass. We were surprised to see this memorial park at the top. We stopped for a break and to read about the memorials.
A fellow civil engineer.....
Back on the east side, we stopped at one of our favorite places, the East Glacier Lodge. This place has some history and is constructed of huge Douglas Fir logs.
Outside, we spotted this rock art. They are not glued together.
A passerby offered to take our pic - hey thanks!
The ride back to St. Mary on hwy 40 and hwy 89 had some great views of the mountains to the west, and in the last picture, the seemingly endless prairie to the east.
This used to be the place where all the indian tribes in the area headed to when buffalo hunting time came around.
A great last day of "vacation". Tomorrow we are packing up to head back to Michigan.
Goose Island, probably the most photographed spot in Glacier.
Stopped to have a look at Sunrift Gorge. First one is zoomed in, the next is zoomed out.
Just downstream from the gorge is Baring Falls.
On the road again...
Jackson Glacier. It won't be long at the rate we're going and it will be gone.
Getting close to Logan Pass, the highest point on the Going to the Sun Road.
A whole herd of Bighorn Sheep, right next to the road.
Looked like these two were about to get it on. We couldn't sit around long enough to see the fight.
Starting down the other side of Logan Pass, we can see the road winding along the other mountain.
Lot's of construction on the upper part of the road. More mud!
How many times can we say "WOW!".....
Haystack Falls (and others).
The Weeping Wall. Didn't get wet going by this one.
We're heading down there.
A fire went through Glacier NP and the surrounding area in 2003 and really cleared things out. During our first visit in 1996, we hiked up this trail, named the Loop Trail. Then the hike started through some thick woods. Today it would have been a hot walk through this open area with little shade.
Just upstream of McDonald Lake, on the west side of the park. That could be McDonald Falls in the background, but we didn't stop because we were tired of walking from yesterday and the walk to Baring Falls earlier in the day.
After finishing the Going to the Sun Road, we rode into Kalispell for lunch and a visit. By then it was getting close to 90 degrees. Time to head back up to the mountains. We took highway 2 on the return trip. It skirts along the south side of the national park. The highest point is named Marias Pass. We were surprised to see this memorial park at the top. We stopped for a break and to read about the memorials.
A fellow civil engineer.....
Back on the east side, we stopped at one of our favorite places, the East Glacier Lodge. This place has some history and is constructed of huge Douglas Fir logs.
Outside, we spotted this rock art. They are not glued together.
A passerby offered to take our pic - hey thanks!
The ride back to St. Mary on hwy 40 and hwy 89 had some great views of the mountains to the west, and in the last picture, the seemingly endless prairie to the east.
This used to be the place where all the indian tribes in the area headed to when buffalo hunting time came around.
A great last day of "vacation". Tomorrow we are packing up to head back to Michigan.
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