On the eve of our departure here is a rough itinerary of our trip. Miss Daisy is my riding companion on this trip. What follows in the post is mostly our communications with friends as the trip proceeded.
Starting mileage: 71,675 miles on a 2000 Honda GL1500SE “Goldwing” (yes I rode all those miles previously, actually I will go over 400,000 miles total on motorcycles with this trip)
June 12 - Short trip to Cumberland Gap for last equipment check, this will allow for mistakes like forgetting our passport and to make sure the Goldwing (motorcycle) is up to the task. The Goldwing has a new set of tires front and rear (the rear is actually broke in with @ 2,000 miles on it) and all new brake pads. One area of concern though, is my water pump or drain bolt had a small leak but after refilling the radiator it has stopped leaking (A little prayer might go a long way here). Oh God be with us! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13)
June 13 - Long hard ride to get as close to Mackinaw City, MI (the bridge is the key event).
June 14 - Easy ride across the bridge to other piece of Michigan and on into Wisconsin or Minnesota.
June 15 - Should be entering Canada and past Winnepeg, MB.
June 16 - Long ride towards Edmonton, AB passing through Saskatoon, SK.
June 17 - Short ride to Dawson Creek, BC, start of the Alaska Highway, only 1500 miles to Fairbanks, AK usually a two day ride but I'll kick back and make it in 3 days.
June 18 - Long ride to Watson Lake, YT/ Liard River Hot Springs (Canada's second largest hot spring system, might be looking for something warm by then with water at 42C/107F...they say look out for moose & wood bison).
June 19 - Short ride to Whitehorse, YT.
June 20 - Long ride into Alaska camping somewhere around Fairbanks, AK, maybe Eielson AFB (Air Force Base)
June 21 (Summer Solstice) (Happy Fathers Day to you Fathers) - Prep for ride to the Arctic Circle and beyond!!! Prudhoe Bay (Alaskan Pipeline). This may be the worst and most dangerous part of our trip. They recommend carrying 2 spare tires mounted on rims in "The Milepost." (for cars mostly, would like to have trail tires about now, but I have done this before on another Goldwing in Colorado when I ended up on a dirt/trail road heading down a mountain and rode through Wolf Creek pass when it was snowing and raining, quite a mess, but I didn't have any problem getting through). I will have to tanker fuel if I am going to attempt a ride to the Arctic Ocean.
June 22-July 15 - Ride, play, minister, and camp throughout Alaska (Denali NP, Talkeetna, Mt McKinley and glaciers, Anchorage, Elmendorf AFB, Seward, Kenai Fjords, Homer, Clam Gulch and many more places). Hope to see God's wonders and lots of wildlife (bears, bison, moose, caribou, seals, fox, eagles, puffins, salmon, crabs and even those big mosquitoes I've heard about). Maybe I'll dream of being a Bush Pilot while I'm there?
July 16-28 - Ride back into Canada and explore some of the Canadian Rockies, camping somewhere in the Baniff & Jasper NPs taking a different route back to the US.
July 29-31 - Ride to Glacier NP, MT and Yellowstone NP, WY.
Aug 3-7 - Sturgis Bike Week in South Dakota, this will be Miss Daisy's first experience of a motorcycle rally.
Aug 8-? - Limp our way back home via Colorado, gosh its going to be a hot ride.
We will have no phone while in Canada, but when I am in the major cities in Alaska or in the lower 48 we will have service. If an emergency should come about please leave a message anytime or email us. We will contact ya when we come out of the wilderness.
Stay tuned,
Griz
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