Kevin B Parsons

The Book Is Out!

2014-09-11T08:23:00.001-07:00

50 States in 50 Weeks: Easy Rider Revisited is here! Woo hoo! Yes after much writing and rewriting,editing and tweaking, it's available on Smashwords. Simply go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/473944

and it should pop up. If it doesn't, go to www.smashwords.com and search under Kevin B Parsons. Faithful followers will recognize the cover.

You'll be treated to thrill and spills, snow, rain and a hurricane. Meet Dan, who taught me about living one day at a time. Enjoy a 'test drive'of a Dodge Ram pickup with a Viper engine. Tour museums and Capitol buildings. Bear with Kevin as he gets screwed by a church.

$2.99, cheaper than a gallon of 87 fuel.

43,000 miles of fun! Hope you can ride along.

Libby Gets a New Tire

2014-07-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

I fired up Libby one hot, dark morning (90 plus in Vegas) and saw the 'low tire' light. Riding off anyway, she felt squishy. I stopped and saw a very low back tire. Drat! It's a very new, very low back tire. I parked her and took the truck.
That night, I filled the tire while stupidly hoping it somehow healed itself. Nope.The next morning an inspection revealed a screw in the tread. Yep, I got screwed.

It must be easy to change a Gold Wing tire, right? I heard they were engineered similar to racing bike wheels, where the wheel bolts on from one side. Simple.
Putting her up on the center stand, I removed the rear fender, the trailer hitch, and the wheel. Huh. It doesn't come out the back. Drat again.
Good old YouTube. I searched 'change rear Gold Wing tire' and got a detailed video, where a guy laid the bike over and pulled the wheel out the bottom. I checked the time on the vid... three minutes, thirty six seconds. Nice and quick. That's installing it too!
To prevent scratches- although why I would care, she's been down enough times- I set some moving blankets down. I walked her onto her side like I learned from the video. Then I grabbed the bottom side, lifted it and slid the center stand under her. I took off the five lug nuts that I wisely left loose before tipping her over.

Off to the tire shop. Can they patch it? It's just slow leak. Oh, nonono! Not in America, the Land of Litigation! New tire. It's just a teeny weeny pinhole! It lost ten pounds in fourteen hours! Sorry. $359, free mounting. I picked myself up off the floor and squeaked, "Okay." Waited a bit and out he came with a brand new tire to replace the brand almost new tire.

Back home I mounted it, unjacked the center stand, and back-walked her upright. Stood back and admired my work. An hour and forty-five minutes. Actually two days.A bit slower than the video.
I checked fluid levels- she lost none- and fired her up.She started like nothing untoward had happened to her. Not a scratch, either. At least no new ones.
But now I know how to do change a rear Gold Wing tire.
$359. Ridiculous.

That's how a new tire looks on Libby. No one stops to look and says, "Hey, new tire. Nice."

My Favorite Highway Sign- And a Rant

2014-07-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

On our recent trip to Alaska, I once again saw the signs:

'End Double Penalty Zone'

You've seen them, at the end of a construction site. Here's the way I read it:

'Sale! Half Price Speeding Tickets!'

It all depends on your perspective.
The sign is wrong, so wrong, on a number of levels. First, if the penalty is doubled for speeding in work zones, why would you tell drivers that it is over? If we're concerned about safety, let the guy drive in ignorance to Topeka, Kansas, going the speed limit.
Next, can't we figure it out ourselves? Like this scenario:

Quilter Girl: "I don't see any dozers and loaders."
Me: "Yeah! We passed that flagger a few hundred feet back. And the highway isn't torn up anymore."
(We ride on for another mile or so.)
QG: "I think we're past the construction."
Me: " Do you think? The highway looks old, the shoulders are covered with grass and weeds, and nothing is disturbed."
QG: "Just great! We could have been speeding all this time, at a discounted rate."

Finally, what a waste of money. I know, it isn't much. A Public Works Sign like that probably only cost the taxpayers maybe a thousand dollars. Multiplied by a jillion construction sites, and it's millions of dollars, a paltry sum. But you add a sign, and another, and other ridiculous add ons and we're wasting cash, friends.
What can the common man, the peasant, do?
Just whine, I guess.
And be careful to speed only when it's half price.

Alaska Pictures VII

2014-07-01T15:12:00.001-07:00

Now there's a plow from the days when men were men.

Nancy, I don't need to meet you. I know all about you already! One in every big city.

What do they do with their seaplanes when the lake freezes?

Took this pic from the bike... stupider than texting.

If you look closely, the siding looks like fish scales. A motel/fish. Fishy motel?

An upscale-fly in-to-your-house neighborhood. Jim looks majestic, doesn't he?

A restaurant in Homer started with this humble van, cooking it up on the Homer spit.

Beauty, beauty everywhere.

A rather typical Alaskan's yard.

Once a boat, now a landscape feature.

That's it! Thanks for following.

Stay tuned Thursday for my all time favorite highway sign, and a Rant.

Alaska Pictures VI

2014-06-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

I refused to pay.

Big landscape makes the bikers look small.

My favorite bumper sticker was, "I brake for animals. Then I shoot them, eat them and wear their fur."

Mel and a muskox, warming up.

Bikes, water, mountains... doesn't get any better than this!

Whittier... so dang pretty!

Access to Whittier is through this long, dark, dank railroad tunnel... kinda sketchy but cool.

Old school. We didn't lodge here, but a cool looking building.

Lots of wood everywhere. Unlike my desert.

Every year they put one of these on the river and have a contest to see when the river breaks up. When the thing breaks loose and floats,that's the winning time. Because so many people enter, last year's prize was over $300,000. 25 different people won.

All right! Monday we'll wrap it up.

Alaska Pictures V

2014-06-27T21:53:00.002-07:00

Yeah, a few grass stains...fortunately, Mel wore good gear.

Bridal Veil Falls. Yeah right! No bride, no veils.

An old pickup? Nope. Planter box.

So dang pretty we just had to stop.

When you're a desert rat, you appreciate the water. Not the rain, however.

Mel feeds Red Bull the reindeer. Velvet antlers, this time of year.

Chris Jacot, my old racing buddy and his wife Terry. Real Alaskans.

Best B&B! A converted dairy barn. This was where the muck went. Cleaned up real nice.

The Iditarod room. With a real sled, over 10k miles on it.

Gorgeous. The mountains dip right into the water.

And more tomorrow! See you then.

'50 Stories in 50 States' is Here!

2014-06-27T13:13:00.002-07:00

Yes folks, book V is here! '50 Stories in 50 States; Tales Inspired by a Motorcycle Journey Across the USA Book V, The West' is available. And I'm looking to win the 'Longest Book Title' award as well.
This book, the last of the series, covers the west, home. Now each state has their own story.
Follow a couple of kids who decide to strike it big by quiltnapping; see what happens when a couple decides to buy a derelict vineyard and winery. And decide for yourself if the last state, Nevada, is nonfiction or science fiction. Think Area 51. There's even a nice motorcycle story woven through one state's story, for a change. And spoiler alert, one state features a murder too.
Book V is available, along with books 1-4, on Smashwords and Barnes and Noble. Go to www.smashwords.com and search '50 Stories', and you should find it.

Alaska Pictures IV

2014-06-26T21:59:00.001-07:00

Bikes, buddies and beauty. Just a few minutes before Mel's crash.

A road like this is super cool! Unless you overshoot a turn.

The Valdez ER. Look at Mel smile, what a guy. That's before he saw the bill.

Valdez is so pretty it gives you a sideache. Stunning beauty.

Now it's June! Do we just hit them?

A big, high scary bridge.

A big, deep scary canyon. Takes your breath away, but doesn't stop your knees knockin'.

Pedestrian bridge, McCarthy. I gave myself special dispensation and rode across it.

Another fine example of a braided river, hence the name.

Muskox. Rather ugly and I bet they stink. We saw no real ones.

Skeeter casualties. Six hours after a sparkling clean face shield.

More shots tomorrow! See you then.

Alaska Pictures III

2014-06-25T13:12:00.001-07:00

Snowmobiles- er, snow machines. Been around a long time.

Sometimes tacky is cool.

The Christmas House, Christmas all year long. Please shoot me.

Biker trash. And Mel. This was at a burger joint, but not MacDonald's.

Upscale gas station. Way better than many!

So much for that 'sleigh and reindeer' rumor. Makes more sense, really.

Beauty everywhere, and lots of it. Water, trees, mountains, snow.

A kids' park in Tok. Wear your mukluks.

Logs, the most common building material. This is the biggest...log something.

Even the inside views are fabulous.

See you on the next post, more photos!

Alaska Pictures II

2014-06-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

This looked like an old married couple. Frustrated enough to want to fight, tired enough not to. They held up our bus for ten minutes in Denali Nat'l Park.

How's that for a snow machine? Both pontoons rotated opposite ways and the thing somehow worked.

The gang, in front of the lodge by our cabin. Inside, Jon showed gorgeous slides from decades of his photography.

The cabin. Austere, with a bush pilot theme. It works.

The railings are made of gnarly spruce, indicative of decades of violent, nasty weather.

We toured a fabulous auto museum, every car (84 of them) ran. Awesome.

The pipeline, the pride of Alaska. 600,000 gallons of a bubblin' crude a day.

The Arctic Circle, 60 miles from our 'motel' on a dirt road. We made it up in 58 minutes.

Dinner at a... place near the Yukon River stop. Trailers, containers and lean tos.

The Yukon River 'motel', a recycled work camp from the pipeline building days. $200 a night. Common bathrooms, classy.

That's it! More tomorrow.

Alaska Pictures I

2014-06-22T15:45:00.002-07:00

Talkeetna. Great little tourist trap. And we saw that Alaskans decorate their pickups with rust.

Living proof that bears love ham and beer too.

Jean, daughter of Mary Carey, who homesteaded here, with her awesome view of Mt. McKinley. Somewhere. She had amazing stories. And great blueberry pie.

Crazy looking old loader with cam/chain lifting bucket. Bikes and Inn in background.

Alaska. Biggest state, biggest fireplaces, biggest wood piles. Maybe it gets cold here in winter.

The Denali Dome Home, Bed & Breakfast. And a huge addition. Awesome quarters!

Homemade cart...something...thingy.

Lots of stunted spruce trees, although I think we saw more birch trees than anything.

Braided rivers. In spring, the ice breaks up and the water goes a different direction, eventually making a wide swath.

Sheep grazing, Denali Nat'l Park.

More tomorrow!

Alaska- Mutterings, Musings, Rants and Raves

2014-06-21T16:54:00.001-07:00

Mutterings:
Man, the roads in Alaska are rough, torn up from frost heave. Like riding a roller coaster though, and you control the speed. Fun on a bike.
They say Alaska has two seasons, winter and construction. Lots of bright green outfits with reflectors. And pilot cars.
When Mel broke his ribs, we were riding on a back road, dirt, and having a blast. Suddenly our world changes and we're in the middle of nowhere, 20 miles of dirt road to the ranger station, and another 60 to some kind of civilization. Sobering.
All this talk about bears, we didn't see any, except in the park. Bears schmears. We saw one moose outside the park too.
I didn't know reindeer and caribou were the same, the one domesticated, the other wild. And when their antlers are velvet, they are sensitive. They grow new ones ever year, and are the same pattern, individualized, every year.
They say the state bird in the Last Frontier is the mosquito, and wow, in some sections they are thick. They are lazy, slow and don't bite. At least not me. I guess I smell or taste bad.

Musings:
We learned to speak Alaskan. A four wheeler, a quad, is called a wheeler. A snowmobile is called a snow machine. Yee and Haw are directions for sled dogs. Yee means 'turn...' uh, left... or right. Haw means the other way.
It always amuses me that Alaskans pay four bucks a gallon for fuel while 600,000 gallons a day slurps by in their back yard. They should pay two-fifty or so, but 'put it to' the oil company in taxes. Looks like the oil company got the last laugh. The pipe in the line is kept warm to keep the oil flowing, and the stanchions are kept cold to stay frozen and strong for support. Weird.

If you don't like hunting or fishing, better not live in Alaska.

Interesting that the native American Eskimos don't live on reservations, mix well with society, and seem pretty healthy, culturally. They look quite successful. But their music is terrible.

Rants:
Call me a racist, but Maunel should not be a National Park bus driver. I'm sure they have a quota to make, and I have nothing against Manuel, but he could hardly speak English. With an older cross section of passengers, people couldn't understand him. An eight hour bus ride and he hardly spoke. Put him to work, but doing something else until he can speak the language. I bet it showed with his tips.
Alaska Airlines dropped the ball on our flight, switching gates,wait no, yes, uh... switching gates, and delays. They notify you by text, way after the fact. Oops.
The weather wasn't much, seldom climbing over 62, Mr. Sun infrequently making an appearance, and a couple of hard rains. Took a lot of fun and beauty out of many places, particularly Valdez.
Are all ERs ridiculously slow? Mel was the only one there for quite some time, than a local girl came in with her friends with a bad back. I think they use the emergency room for Friday night excitement. Pretty quiet town. Anyway, five hours for stitches, a couple of x-rays and a 'tsk tsk, you have broken ribs.'
The stupid iPad (the tool of Satan) screwed me again. I didn't even try loading photos, but simple text would climb up the page- and down- and I couldn't get to it to edit. It does so many things well, but blogging makes me want to use the 'fish bait' app.

Raves: Jim at the Dome Home provided excellent customer service. And the sauna in our room didn't hurt either.
Alaskans are super nice, friendly people. You need directions or a hand, they can help. Cool.
It's nice to wear good gear. I stayed pretty dry through all the rain, but the cold was challenging. When we picked up the bikes, I saw a plug hanging down. I could have plugged in my suit. D'oh! Left the thermostats and liner at home.
I liked the 650 Kawasaki. Great dual sport bike. A bit top heavy, but dependable and did both sports pretty well.
A tip of the visor to Mel Nason. The guy cowboyed up and rode, even with stitches and broken ribs. He said if he couldn't have ridden, he would have finished the adventure in a rental car. Mel, you da man!
I highly recommend an Alaska Adventure. Go in the summer by cruise ship, train, plane, car or motorcycle. Go in winter for snowmobiling, snowshoeing, or even a dog team adventure. Just go! What a great state.
Finally, a huge shout out to Mel, the meticulous planner, who didn't miss a thing. Thanks to him, we stayed at great cabins, motels and B&Bs, ate at cool places, and saw way more interesting features that I would have missed. Great job, Nason!
Stay tuned, now that I'm home with a PC, I can do pictures. Ten a day, for... awhile. With clever captions. It's going to be fun.

Alaska Awards

2014-06-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, time for the awards. Everyone sit down; you sure do look nice in your gowns and tuxes.

Best Place to Stay:
Pioneer Ridge B & B, Iditaord Room. The room featured artifacts from the race, including an actual sled with over 10,000 miles on it. The building was a refurbished dairy barn, and beautifully appointed. Runner up, the Denali Dome Home.

Best Section of Road:
Thompson Pass to Keystone Canyon, enroute to Valdez. At one spot you can observe three magnificent waterfalls cascading down between the green foliage. Not to mention the viewpoints and glacier. Even Mel enjoyed it, with freshly broken ribs. Fabulous.

Most Interesting Character:
Jean, daughter of Mary Carey and owner of the McKinley View Lodge. She had fascinating tales of her mother's struggle to make it, homesteading in Alaska. She was as sweet as her blueberry pie.
Jon Nierenberg of the Earthsong Inn received second place with his slide show and Iditarod knowledge.
The two teenagers in the emergency room got honorable mention, giving Jim and me a native's viewpoint of living in a village.

Prettiest Town:
Whittier. Love getting there through the railroad tunnel, and it has an authentic fishing village feel because it is. Interesting museum too, and Whittier got wiped out in the '64 quake with the earthquake, tsunami and fires. Valdez fell out of grace with it's hideous weather.

Best Food:
I questioned my traveling companions and we drew a blank! All good or all forgettable, I guess. Pioneer Ridge B & B provided the best breakfast, delicous.My Chicken Fajita Pita at the Potato in McCarthy was surprisingly tasty, and the only rhyming meal on the trip.

Best Museum:
We saw a lot. Too many. After awhile, one just wanders through, overloaded on information. However, the Portage Lake Visitors Center featured a great 20 minute film and afterwards the curtains opened with a full glass view of the lake, the mountains, and the Portage Glacier. No one got up to leave, but sat there in awe. PLVC gets the gold.

Best Animal Sighting:
Two bears that looked to be facing off, blocking the road in Denali. They eventually trundled off to the shoulder and sat in frustrated semi-reconcilement.

Tomorrow (I know, I promised it Today) I'll provide the Mutterings. Musings, Rants and Raves. Going too long today. Find out if I'm a racist. And photos after that! Daily, starting Saturday when I get in front of a PC, not the iPad (the tool of Satan). See you then.

Alaska Adventure Day 11- Anchorage

2014-06-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

It was tight, packing everything before the trip. After buying two sweatshirts and adding a set of longs johns, I needed to make rooom for the return flight. I tossed the raingear (a couple of rips), an old t-shirt and any other little thing I could find. Still, jamming everything into two bags became a wrestling match.

We checked out of the motel (a cheap junky place, but warm and dry) and had time on our hands, so we zipped over to Earthquake Park. A more appropriate name may have been Earthquake Skeeter Park, the pesky little beasts attacking us relentlessly.

We stood at the top of a slope and peered down, fifty feet or more to the slab of earth that used to be up here. Wow, what a temblor. On Good Friday of 1964, the earth shook with a 9.2 rating, and lasted over three minutes. The damage was horrific, with streets broken, houses crushed, tsunamis and fires. The worst sounding effect of the event, in my opinion, was a tsunami in Homer that carrried flaming oil with it.

We swatted our way to the bikes and headed to a house built in 1915 (how did it survive the earthquake?), and after searching, found it to be closed. Off to a sandwich shop for a delicious lunch and quite nicely priced, then we still had time on our hands, so we toured Anchorage. We found an affluent neighborhood where one could fly home in a seaplane and dock it in front of the house. How nice! Alaska leads the world in seaplanes per capita.

Back at MotoQuest, I needed to add the helmet, Gerbing pants and gloves to the already tight bags and it bacame a two man wrestling event, thank you Jim for the extra hands.

Alaska proved to be a great adventure, truly the Last Frontier, with over 300 miles of the trip over dirt roads and much time riding through very remote areas. The weather never really got good, but the viewpoints, flora and fauna were staggering. Truly a place of pristine beauty.

Tomorrow we'll post the Awards, along with Muttering, Musings, Rants and Raves. Read it and decide if I'm a racist or not. See you then.

Alaska Adventure Day 10- Seward to Homer to Anchorage, 420 Miles

2014-06-16T23:31:00.003-07:00

We woke to gray and wet, the drizzle making the black streets shine. After a fine continental breakfast at the Best Western Plus (the Plus means it features more amenities, like a nice breakfast with omelets, waffles and sausage), we climbed into rain gear and headed out taking the side streets for a quick view of Seward. This quick tour happened throughout the tour, the adventure fitting into two categories; ride to the next place, spend one night, ride again, and the second to stop at visitor centers, museums and tourist traps, ride again. We don't sit still much. Fine with me.

I saw my shadow, twice today, a first. The weather vacillated between gray and cold to gray and rainy, so the sun was a brief, wonderful encounter.

We rode beneath huge mountains, their tops disappearing into the fog. Turning toward Homer, we skirted an ice cold mint green river teeming with fishermen, lined like soldiers. A fisherman described it as 'combat fishing.' The weather cooperated, the moisture managing to stay in the clouds. Soon we followed the coastline, the trees stunted with peekaboo views of the ocean, vacation cabins dotting the grassy landscape.

Homer hangs on the edge of the coastline, jutting into the water. We stopped for lunch at an organic bakery. I've learned that 'organic' means, 'we get to charge a lot more,' and charge they did. Two cups of hot chocolate and a cup of clam chowder, $18. I s'pose they were organic clams, however.
Once again we dressed for rain, as the sky looked daunting, yet we'd experienced minor skirmishes. Backtracking, we spotted the same fishermen. You'd think the fish would be wise to them.

We stopped at a viewpoint and Mel noted that Alaska does not provide rest areas as he headed off into the woods. When he returned, we both remarked how the weather hadn't hammered us like we expected.

Oops.

Soon after starting, the skies opened and dumped rain on us, the oncoming trucks showering the bikes with spray. Worse, a side wind whipped at us, pushing us toward oncoming traffic. Wind is terrible as one cannot see it and adjust, so all adjustment are reactive.

We stopped for gas and a pit stop, taking twice as long to get prepared as our hands were too cold and stiff to work buttons and zippers. Finally the rain abated again, leaving it's mark with soaked boots, gloves and other edges. The wet wicks up one's pant legs, even though they hide behind rubber gear.

We found the motel, the same one from the first night, and checked in to the exact same room. Two fans run full speed, drying out clothes and shoes. But for a twenty mile section, the day was pretty darn good.

Alaska Adventure-Day 9, Wasilla to Whittier to Hope to Seward, 270 Miles

2014-06-15T23:45:00.002-07:00

Whittier is a cute little fishing village accessed by rail, boat, or a vehicle (like motorcycles) through the railroad tunnel, a long dark thing where one must ride between the rails on the concrete. Clammy and dark, the place feels foreboding and has that damp, musty smell.

Whittier became something during WWII, as the military built a huge barracks for a thousand men to help protect Alaska from the Japanese. And for trivia, the Japanese did land and fight on Alaskan soil. The town also provided much needed lumber for the war effort, complete with a huge sawmill. The earthquake (9.2 and over three minutes!) and subsequent tsunami really wiped out the town. Immediately following that destruction was a huge fire, finishing it off.

The Alaskan people rebuilt and now it's a fishing and tourist village, really nice except for the huge gray hulk of the old military building, six stories of concrete with no windows, and anything of value vandalized or stolen.

The handful of glaciers in the area make the water a beautiful mint green. The mountains drop right into the sea like a hoop skirt dipped into water. The green slopes are slashed by high waterfalls, dropping and turning white for hundreds of feet. Giant glaciers, a blue tint, lie on use slopes and slide down at a glacial (pun intended) pace.

We enjoyed halibut and chips at a small cafe and ate on the outside deck, the weather a bit cooperative. Then off we went.

We rode to Hope, and the road could be the best road we've ridden, two lanes, winding and snaking with green trees a canopy over the pavement. And smooth, the road somehow avoiding the frost heave blues. We toured tiny Hope, a hamlet tucked against flat tidelands, the houses camouflaged with dense trees.

With so many stops today, we rode into Seward around nine a bit tired and snippy with one another. The tour is getting to be a marathon, not a sprint. Hopefully a good night's rest will reset the emotions.

Tomorrow we ride to Homer, 'A drinking town with a fishing problem.' Then back to Anchorage. See you then.

Alaska Adventure- The Crash.

2014-06-15T23:26:00.001-07:00

First, Mel broke a couple of ribs on Thursday.
Second, I apologize for typos and grammatical errors lately. The iPad (the tool of Satan) will not let me scroll up or down on the blog page for editing. Back to Mel.
We rode a 42 mile dirt road, fast and free, a bit of dust and clear sailing. After stopping we headed back on the same road, me in front, Mel in the middle and Jim taking up the rear. On a turn, Mel overshot it for a number of to reasons: it was an off camber turn, meaning it sloped away, opposite of what a NASCAR track does. Also it was a g-out, which means the road dropped down as it turned, lowering the g(gravity) forces, so the bike becomes very light. Intertia drove it straight and he sailed- or scooted- though the woods, crashing around fifty feet in and twenty feet from the shoulder. And breaking a few ribs. Somehow in spite of wearing a full coverage helmet, he cut his ear where the earlobe attached to his head. I think he hit his head pretty good during the melee.
Jim found him after he crawled to the roadside and helped him a bit, then chased me down.
We got Mel upright and wrestled the bike back onto the road. And God bless Mel, he cowboyed up and rode it out of there!
After arriving at Valdez, we escorted him to the ER, where in five short hours they found his broken ribs, stitched up his ear (ten stitches!) and sent him on his way. We all fell into our respective beds around midnight.
Since then, Mel has persevered, and done really well, in spite of his pains. He's no whiner, so you can't tell if he's in pain unless you ask or he coughs. What a hero.

Alaska Adventure Day 8- Lake Louise to Wasilla, 220 Miles

2014-06-15T00:10:00.002-07:00

Today was one of those days where you sit inside with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and watch the drizzle. But nooooo. We put on our gear, including rain gear, and headed out, splashing through puddles, soaking our feet and soon our gloves were saturated too. The cold wicked in through every opening, crawling up our legs and arms. With spattering rain on our face shields and condensation inside, vision became a struggle. Around twenty five mile in, Mel turned in to a restaurant. We slogged in, dropped our gear and heated up with hot java and chocolate. Hopefully the rain would abate. But nooooo, it drove on, and we donned our wet gear and walked away from the wood stove that called our names. Back into the driving rain we headed west, the oncoming trucks misting us with spray. Mel (today's leader, not a bully nor a wimp) turned into another place and we ate an early lunch with a view of mountains and a glacier, just under the cloud cover.
Reluctantly, we threw legs over our steeds again. "We'll ride to Wasilla, skip all the stops, get into that Bed and Breakfast, dry out and warm up," I promised myself.

Yet the rain abated and the clouds-well, they continued to look like they would drop their crap any moment. Yet the wind dried our gear- somewhat- and we all regained the will to live.

In Palmer we stopped and toured a museum/house that was part of FDR's New Deal. A person, supposedly a farmer, could be chosen and move to Alaska, get a decent house on forty acres, and get a new start in life. $3,000 and financed. It was hailed as one of the great success stories of the New Deal, Alaska showing the best results at 40% success. Really? Sounded terrible to me.
Yet the house, restored to 1930-40 era, proved to be quite interesting with its hemlock floors, linoleum, plywood walls and old stove. Mel recognized a lot of tools and hardware from his youth. He's an antique.

On advice from my good friend Chris Jacot, we headed up Hatcher Pass, complete with a raging river, green mountains, and a wonderful winding roadway. We got close to the top and found it to be socked in with fog. Enough of that, we turned down again and enjoyed the same views froma different perspective.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Mel delivered the B&B, a large place with a huge living room boasting mountians views, a sauna, pool table, (he beat me easily), giant Jacuzzi tub, and comfy beds. This could be the trip winner.

We zagged and zagged through Wasilla and visted Chris Jacot, my old racing buddy and great friend. When the recession body slammed him, he found work in Alaska and moved the family up here. Quite a change from Vegas. He said the people here are the salt of the earth, great friendly and helpful folk that live by a slower clock. We enjoyed a tasty meal courtesy of him and Terry, his wife. Just like every other stop, this one was too short and before we knew it we had to head to the comfy inn.
A really bad day turned out really good after all.
Tomorrow I disclose what the big secret was, the vent that happened on Thursday. The next of kin has been notified, so I can post it. Sounds like someone died! Actually, spoiler alert, it involves a few broken bones.
See you tomorrow.

Alaska Adventure Day 7- Valdez to McCarthy to Lake Louise, 350 Miles

2014-06-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

After our late night, we slept in, wonder of wonders! Creaking out of bed, we got our stuff together and headed for the Totem Inn Restaurant, complete with a huge moose head hanging on the far wall. Alaska. We got our first taste of reindeer sausage, which resembled kielbasa, quite tasty.

Today we separated, Mel staying at the cabin for a few hours, Jim and I riding to Chitina, then he headed to Lake Louise while I rode on to McCarthy. For the first time, the three of us rode alone.

I headed up the dirt rode toward McCarthy, the road smooth and fast in most parts, passing an occasional car or truck, and seeing random vehicles returning. 60 miles each way, in 120 I saw probably fifteen other vehicles. The Wrangell Mountains stood tall in the distance, and the Copper River vacillated between appearing and hiding behind the trees.

McCarthy, 60 miles of dirt and thirty more from the highway, teems with fishermen, mountain bikers, hikers and outdoor lovers. Diesel generators sounded throughout the third-world-feeling village. Relying on a ranger's advice, I ordered dinner at the Potato, a roach coach hidden behind siding, a screened porch and roof. The Chicken Fajita Pita (I ordered it because it was the only item that rhymed), tasted most excellent. While enjoying the simple meal, I realized that the gas station where I previously fueled, and would need to fuel on the return trip, a throwback to the fifties, lacked a card reader. If the store closed, no fuel. I fired up and headed back, hoping they stayed open. Fortunately, they were, otherwise I probably would have run out of gas.

Mel greeted me at the Lake Louise Lodge and escorted me to my room, an austere place with a killer view of boat docks, trees and lake. Tree topped islands dotted the view too. Great choice Mel!

Alaska Adventure Day 6- Tok to Valdez, 340 Miles

2014-06-13T23:24:00.000-07:00

We mixed it up with pavement and dirt today, the Nebesna Road taking us into the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest in the country. The road started as pavement and soon switched to dirt, hard packed and mostly smooth. Mel told me to ride as fast as I wanted, so they could stay out of my dust. Sweet!

We rode approximately 42 miles into the park, seeing mailboxes and occasional cabins along the way. Apparently we rode into and out of the park. Repeatedly.

Afterwards we headed west and south to Valdez, a bit disappointing as the clouds and rain tinted the gorgeous views with cold and grey. Mel once again rocked it with a nice cabin on a pond. Actually, it was more of a puddle.

The Halibut House served up it's namesake, fried, moist and flaky, a tastebuds delight.

Other things happened today, but I'm sworn to secrecy by a member of our group, and will disclose the event after the trip. You'll have to live in suspense.

We crashed into bed looking close to midnight, a long and tough day.

Alaska Adventure Day 5- Yukon River to Tok, 350 miles

2014-06-11T21:21:00.001-07:00

Apparently to become a sourdough (whatever that is) you must pee in the Yukon River, so the three of us, after breakfast, did just that. I wonder what's the next step. Probably wrestle a grizzly bear, or moose or something.

The Yukon River restaurant, lodge, and gas station is an old camp from the pipeline days, and quite austere. No phone, no wifi except in the common room, and a common shower. No control over the heat either, so even this Vegas heat lover slept warm. I needed to remember that as the day ran on, cold with intermittent rain, not enough to don rain gear, but messy enough to ruin visibility.

Off we went, back down the Dalton Highway and at around 200 miles, Jim ran out of fuel. On dual sport bikes, they have a petcock that turns to off, on and reserve. Should you run out, the reserve tank holds... some gas. We have 45 miles to go. Does Jim have enough?

20 miles later Mel ran out, and a few miles after that I did too. I did the math, guessing at our reserves, and figured Mel and I would make it and Jim would not. Bingo! Okay, less drama. He carried three liters of gas for just this reason. We all made it to The town of Fox, complete with a gas station.

We stopped at North Pole, Alaska and toured the Santa Claus House or something. I'm Mr. Principles, so it galls me to have a Christmas shop open year 'round. Don't we overdo it enough anyway? We wandered through it and Jim got a few things... Visited the reindeer. Brother. We rode off, me with a stupid Christmas song stuck in my head. Santa's giving me coal, for sure.

I didn't sleep well last night, and neither did Mel, him with a great reason, he took the floor. Anyway, I did something I've never done before. I fell asleep on the bike. Only for a second or two, but it hit a dip in the road, startled me and scared the liver out of me! Jeez. Need to stop and rest. Yet between the cold and rain, how can one rest? I stayed awake after that.

We arrived in Tok and unloaded at a cool cabin, courtesy of Mel, who sweated every detail. The guy upgraded us to the Denali cabin, complete with a Jacuzzi tub. I'm going to give that a shot. If I fall asleep there, good.

Alaska Adventure Day 4-Healy to the Arctic Circle, back to Yukon River, 380miles

2014-06-10T23:25:00.001-07:00

380 miles and 200 of those on dirt roads. And there are two seasons in Alaska, winter and construction. We found our share and parked in the road, waiting for the pilot car. Riding takes focus, as one must watch for potholes, ruts and dips that can upset the motorcycle. We rode hit and miss in the morning, stopping at a museum, lunch and a really cool auto museum in Fairbanks. It contained 87 cars, all but two owned by the man who put it all together. Each one, built between 1900 and 1939, had a story. Like the ugly little one, built by a local Alaskan kid who had never seen a real car, only photos. He built the frame, put two barstool seats in it, salvaged a two stroke motor from a sunken ship, and used a gas pipe for a steering tiller. He built it to impress a girl and it failed. She moved on, but he reminisced that she married three times, while he found a keeper and they lived happily ever after for 53 years.

Another car, a Dodge, was purchased by a man and shipped by boat to the Last Frontier, but he grew frustrated since there were so few roads. He sold it to a man who used it for a transport. People who rode in the car (the men, anyway) had to help whenever it got stuck, which was quite often. However, it was worth it, as it made travel so much faster.

Every car runs, and they drive them around the neighborhood and in parades to keep them fresh. Imagine looking out the kitchen window and seeing a 1927 Exelsior rattle past. Or a Stanley Steamer.
Onward we rode, to the Dalton Highway, the road to the top of the world. The road is a schizophrenic mess of paving, crushed rock and had packed dirt, yet speeds could be kept around 55 or sixty. Or maybe more.

We made it to the Yukon River and checked in to our 'motel'- really a logging camp with dorms and a common shower. No wonder the price was so cheap... $200 a night! After a quick check of the sparse room, we fired up again and headed north. The land is so remote and untamed that one can look every direction and see no power lines, no roads, nothing but forest- except for the Alaskan Pipeline, snaking mostly parallel with our route, carrying over 650,00 gallons of oil daily.
We arrived at the Arctic Circle waypoint and took photos of our victory. I remarked about the balmy weather, as it was sunny and sixty something, much warmer than we anticipated. On our return, the skies turned black and foreboding. Sure enough during a delicious meal of hamburgers at a restaurant made of trailers and shipping containers, the skies opened up and we rode the last five lies in rain. Not too bad, since it wasn't too long.
Two twin beds for Jim and me, and a nice floor for Mel. What a guy.

Alaskan Adventure Day 3- Denali National Park. 34 miles, 120 bus miles

2014-06-09T23:07:00.001-07:00

We toured Denali National Park via bus, and being 6 million acres, saw a small part of it. The park is bigger than many states.
All us tourists riding on the bus watched for wildlife, and had permission to yell 'stop!' should we see something of interest. So if a person saw a caribou or bear on a hill 7,000 yards away, we would stop. "Look! It just stood up!" Sorry, I'm a bit of a cynic. It's a spot on the hill! We did get close to some bears however and it was, I admit, interesting.
The mountain eluded us, as when we approached the viewpoint after trundling along the side of cliffs for 60 plus miles, the fog set in, and we couldn't see much of anything. The rest of the park rewarded us however, laced with birch and spruce, with snow drooling down valleys like melted ice cream.
We touched down tonight at Henry's Coffe House and Earthsong Lodge, where John treated us to a slide show of Alaskan life, showing over three decades of beauty, flora and fauna. He is a retired park ranger and runs the cabins as well as sled dog guided tours in the winter. Man, that sounds fun.
Love to write more, but getting wifi requires sitting outside at a picnic table and I overheard the mosquitoes plotting to carry me off intact and sucking my blood in a remote location. Like this isn't remote?
Tomorrow, off to Fairbanks and the Yukon River.

Alaska Adventure Day 2, Anchorage to Healy 320 miles

2014-06-08T23:55:00.002-07:00

Random things:
We crossed Montana Creek today. Funny how they name stuff after places far away.
Sled dogs eat 10,000 calories a day when they are working.
Usually 16 dogs pull a sled. With 70 entrants, that's over a thousand pooches at the Iditarod start.
Frost heave occurs when the ground thaws at different rates, because part is in the sun. It mkaes for a roller coaster of a highway.
I continue to deny my geezerhood, but the three of us rode quite a bit with our turn signals on today.
Kawasaki KLR 650s work great.

We stopped at the McKinley Lodge, where we met Jean, the proprieter. Her mother was Mary Carey, who decided to move from Texas to Alaska. She bought a station wagon, in the 60s, and drove up, then boated the rest of the way as there was no road. She found an awesome spot with a viewpoint of McKinley and decided to Homestead it. She got 150 acres and had to clear 40 to grow soybeans.
She ordered the materials for a house and had it shipped from Seattle. It took nine months to get to her, but the boat sunk just before arriving. She ordered (and paid) again and waited another nine months, spending her first Alaskan winter in a tent.
Mary nagged the governor for a road to her place. It became a seven month protracted battle, Mary using the power of the pen, using her writing skills and challenged him in the newspapers, to move him. The goverrnor's first response was, "We already have two roads, why do we need three?"
Mary got her road, and it is now the Parks Highway, the main thoroughfare from Anchorage to Prudhoe Bay. The state legislature wanted to change the name to Mary Carey Highway, so she went to Juneau to appeal to the lawmakers. You see, she could tell she had the finest view of Mount McKinley in Alaska, and knew the Feds would exercise Eminent Domain and run her and her bar/motel/restaurant business out. So she asked them to draw a circle around her place and make it a state park, for free, rather than spend millions changing the name. Voila, done. Smart gal.
We rode and toured all day, finishing at nine p.m. In broad daylight, cold and weary. But a great day riding.
Tomorrow, Denali National Park.

Alaska Adventure Day 1

2014-06-08T06:51:00.003-07:00

Woo hoo! Off to The Last Frontier! A nice SWA flight to Seattle and a not good 2-1/2 hour delayed Alaska Airlines flight to Anchorage. Between us sat Tim, a retired single guy who lives in Alaska. He bought a bike in Cincinatti and rode around the country visiting relatives. Seven weeks and eight thousand miles. That made our plane ride better. Even though late, we got here before sunset. That's a joke, as it is 10;45 p.m. and the sun has yet to set! Very difficult to settle and get to bed.
We've laid out some ground rules. Okay, MEL has laid out some ground rules. Actually, thank God someone has a plan. Some rules:
One guy leads every day and we rotate days. That guy gets the best bed the night before. Tonight, Jim got best bed and will lead us tomorrow. I got a bed too, since it's my birthday. And Mel bought my dinner too, what a guy.
We have a very thorough and detailed itinerary that included nothing of my input. Guess who did. Mel indicated it wasn't set in stone and we could deviate from it if we filled out forms in triplicate. Kidding on that last part!
I joke about Mel's love of detail, but we took a shuttle to the motel (America's Best Value Inn, product placement), and it is a block from Motoquest and Gwennie's Restaurant. The eatery is 51st out of 665 Anchorage restaurants. Mel informed me of this important fact. He has done his homework. The salmon dinner was delicious and the service was excellent.
Off to bed to try to sleep. Mel reserved the bikes for tomorrow, a brilliant move, as we landed much too late.
Tomorrow we ride through Wasilla and the Ididarod Headquarters, the Musher's Hall of Fame, and will end up in Healy.
Tomorrow I'll have more photos on Facebook.
Thanks for following.