It rained for most of the night. Which made me glad that I didn't have to pack up a wet tent in the morning. After having a cup of coffee, I packed up and headed for Beaver Creek, which was 55 km away, hoping that I had enough gas. About a third of that distance was done behind a pilot car due to more road construction. I made it easily and didn't even have to switch back to reserve again. That was 275 km. I stopped at the Alaska border sign to take the obligatory photo. It must really be the end of the season as I was the only one there. The border guard had questions about the Ural as he had been looking at getting one and was surprised to hear that the dealer had moved to Delta.
The Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge visitor's center was about 10 miles after the border crossing and was a good place to stop and do things such as put away my passport, switch the units on the GPS back to "Statute" and put in my earplugs. As you can see from the flag, I still have a head wind to deal with though it is pretty moderate compared to the wind at Haines Junction. The pano below was taken from the deck of the visitor's center.
Upon reaching Tok Junction, I stopped at Fast Eddy's restaurant as they have a nice salad bar. The last time I had a decent salad was in Pasco, WA. After lunch and checking the weather, I went to Eagle's Claw Motorcycle Campground just south of Tok. The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow and it's around 200 miles to Fairbanks. Tonight, the temperature is supposed to drop to about 36°F so I opted for the "bunkhouse" option for the same price as a campsite. The cabins have a propane heater and I must be getting old. Or my sleeping bag is getting old…
Today was about 240 km.
Posted with Blogsy
As to "getting old" because you opted for heat tonight....enjoy it, some don't get to get old.
ReplyDeleteThe skies looked pretty smoke-free.
Fast Eddy's, Eagle claw....all memory evoking names.
Not a trace of smoke anymore.
DeleteI hope the memories are good. I looked forward to the salad bar at Fast Eddy's on just about every trip north.
I'd pick the bunkie too - Nothing better than being warm. Hard to believe you're back in Alaska already; it makes me feel like the season must be really over too.
ReplyDeleteNine travel days from OR at Ural speeds. About the same as Chicago to Portland. All day today I was passing hillsides covered with trees with bright yellow leaves.
Deletethe leaves are turned already eh? we've got perhaps three more weeks before that happens fully here.
DeleteI thought it was really early but it's colder around here. Maybe that's why it's earlier.
DeleteThanks for sharing these many usefull tips;I'm planing a trip from Montreal to Seatle this spring andit gives me a good idea on the administration P O V I drive a2013 gaer up,and Iwas wondering how mutch fuel Iwould need.I might just stay in the NEW england area instead of going west thank you
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