Tuesday, June 10, 290 miles
I break camp at 10a.m. and ride towards Quincy, follow Hwy 89 North to Lassen Volcanic National Park where I find Hwy 89 still to be closed for snow about 6 miles into the Park. The snow next to the Hwy reaches at least 10 feet high in places. Lassen Peak had its most significant activity in 1915 and minor activity through 1921. Lassen Volcanic became a national park in 1916 because of its significance as an active volcanic landscape.

All four types of volcanoes in the world are found in the park. Over 150 miles of trails and a culturally significant scenic highway provide access to volcanic wonders including steam vents, mudpots, boiling pools, volcanic peaks, and painted dunes.

I backtrack to Hwy 36 and connect to I-5 North to exit on Hwy 299 West in Redding. It is about 4.30 p.m and traffic is bad all the way to Whiskey Town Lake. Traffic improves and so does the scenery. I barely make it to Hwy 96 North to check in at a small lodge with cabins for $55.00. Take the well deserved shower and do some laundry in the sink and enjoy some TV. What a luxury.

Wednesday, June 11, 300 miles
I mover very slowly this morning and watch a little TV. I am beginning to relax. This is my vacation. It starts to sink in.

By 11.30 a.m. I am on the road again, fresh laundry and all. Hwy 96 NE along the Klamath River forest scenery. A smooth but fairly fast ride.

The I-5 has me back too fast. Continue North into Oregon and take Hwy 66 E. to Klamath Falls where I get groceries. No disrespect but I surely do not find the better parts of town. I am quite amazed how industrial this town is. So quickly onto Hwy 97 North along upper Klamath Lake towards Chiloquin. It is Waterwheel Campground where I will rest for the night. The tent area is on my own island for this night. Below you see the scenery lit by the evening sun and presented to me just from where the tent is pitched. No complaints here. For your information: Pictures of big RVs parked right next to me on the 'Mainland' and of the Hwy just 300ft behind me could spoil the ambiance for sensitive individuals and subsequently have been omitted.

Thursday, June 12, 180 miles
The night was cold, moist and at times noisy. But the warm morning sun makes me forget any distress and I continue on Hwy 97 North and Hwy 62 North to Crater Lake National Park which one hundred years ago one of America's first national parks. Crater Lake is widely known for its intense blue color and spectacular views. While during summer, visitors may navigate the Rim Drive around the lake or hike some of the park's various trails including Mt. Scott at 8,929 ft., I find myself confronted with Winter once again. The Rim Drive to the East is closed.

Still in awe I continue my trip on Hwy 138 E and Hwy 97 N. I stop at Chemult for a coffee. It is here where The Beemer "Doc" Fred Carr approaches me. Is it because his helmet matches the color of my Goldwing? Fred is not only a very friendly and talkative guy, no, he tells me that he is also a founding member of BMW-MOA. Member #0035 of over 12000 members today. He rides an airhead and talking about my R1150RT he admits that he is not in favor of these modern bikes with all the fancy electronics. Fred is a sharp-witted gentleman in his 7th decade and enjoying every day of it. It was a real treat to meet him and his friend on their way to the BMW Rally in John Day. Erin, Chris , Bob and Graham are headed to the rally as well. Since I am on a schedule to meet up with Yolanda in Seattle I have to pass.

Slightly buzzed by the uplifting effect of the unlikely encounters, I continue on small, unfrequented Hwys 61, 46 and 376 along remote lakes and burned forests to Bend. To give the day the festive ending it deserves, I stay at a rather plush hotel. In a room with view of the Deschutes River. Very pleasant. A decent steak dinner with red wine concludes the 6th day. But not before a sales guy on a business trip tells me after a he had few beers at the bar that I'd be the kind of guy he'd want to be friends with if I only lived close by. I am sure he meant it in a straight way, since he seemed to be impressed with my plans of going to Alaska on the bike. But anyway, this is too much for me to sort out tonight. I am exhausted, I bid him a god night and off to bed I go.

Friday, June 13, 180 miles
After a good nights sleep in a comfortable bed I head North on Hwy 20 only to find Hwy 242 closed due to snow (figures). Take Hwy 126 West instead along the McKenzie River. Stop for a lunch break. It starts to rain and I slip into my rain gear for the first time. As I wear the rubber shoes over my very light and airy regular shoes it dawns on me that this is not going to work in the long run. The rubber is way to sensitive and will easily tear on contact with the tarmac or with any extended walking. Note to self: Yolanda has to bring the heavy duty leather/goretex boots after all.

Past Eugene Hwy 126 is less exciting but takes me swiftly to Pacific Coast Hwy, where I turn North to visit the Sea Lion Caves. It must have been 1985 when I came here first and I do not remember it very well. As I see it again I find the cave quite impressive. One Sea Lion poses for the camera shot.

The area is also a bird sanctuary. I see hundreds of them gathered on the cliff. I do like the Light House in the background. I continue South to Reedsport and check-in at a local Motel. While I do the laundry I meet a gentleman from Ketchikan who is on his way back from Arizona. Mike used to be a purser on the Malaspina Ferry, the very ship we will take on our return from Alaska. He tells me how much he is looking forward to leave Ketchikan for good. He says something about 12feet of rain per year. It must be gray, gray, gray. (Little do I know now that I will be thinking of him four weeks later while experiencing what gray really means - while going past Ketchikan...)

Saturday, June 14, 280 miles
Time to head North in a straight line. I heard Hwy 38 to be one of the best roads for motorcycling in the U.S. While it is scenic it does not offer any special thrills for the motorcyclist in my opinion. There is an elk viewing point just off the coast.

Monday, June 12, 308 miles

After waiting for twenty minutes and having great fun with the flagger lady we're off to experience a more sparse and almost California Desert like scenery. Temperatures rise to hot levels and I feel right at home. We even stop at a fruit stand in the Lytton area similar to the ones you find frequently in SoCal along the Hwys.
We are now on Hwy 97 also known as the Cariboo Hwy. we get higher in altitude and temps recede slightly. At 100 Mile House, a funny name for a town like setting, we get groceries at a well stocked supermarket. Almost everybody speaks German here. A store full of German tourists? Outside I ask an apparently German gentleman who just pulls in right next to the bike. He is Danish he tells me concluding that most people here are indeed of German descent.
A few miles down the road we stop for a picnic. In Lac La Hache we find a pleasant campground located at the lake called the Fir Crest Resort for about Can-$18.00. The owners have been here for eight years. She is English and he a German. The sun sets slowly and we can already sense the difference in latitude.

Tuesday, June 17, 400 miles

Wednesday June 18, 410 miles
The in-the-sink-laundry-process which I apply for the few pairs of socks and some underwear I brought, is an almost daily routine. Wash one, wear one, have a spare. Now, this morning things are slightly different and hopefully advanced. Equipped with a microwave I try to perfect the drying procedure for my socks, 80% cotton, 20% nylon. I have read or heard that a microwave makes a supreme dryer for clothes when used in compliance with OSHA and the EPA and when conventional dryers are not at hand. Admittedly I have tried this before where I placed wet socks in the radar. But I never had the guts to exceed a minute or so of drying time. The socks would get warm and steamy, but alas they were still wet. Not so today. I was patient, had plenty of time and would finally perfect the method of sock nuking. And afterall the socks had a headstart from air drying over night which left them damp rather than soaking wet. I open the machine, in the socks go. I turn the dial all the way to the right. 10 minutes sound reasonable and should make those socks toasty and dry. With the sincere intend to check for progress in between, I leave the humming oven with the socks inside by itself and return to my important business of packing. Minutes later I notice the faint smell of freshly baked baguette. Free breakfast for everyone at the front desk with French bread right from the oven? Hmm. As this pleasant thought sinks in and puts a grin on my face, the smell turns into a corrosive stench. OH MY GOD - The socks. I run to the Radar Oven which exudes with heavy and toxic gases. I yank the door open and thick smoke literally oozes from the inside filling the room with poisonous smog. Is this the end - do we have to die? At this point even Yolanda wakes up and wonders if we are under a Sadam sponsored Canadian terrorist gas attack. Is this the hotel room where the weapons of mass destruction are really hidden? I rip the door and windows wide open - coughing. I am alarmed and so is Yolanda. The smoke detector is the only one who keeps this quiet. As it won't even expel a beep I am quite happy and have to laugh. I am being spared a public embarrassment by a faulty smoke detector. As the smoke dissipates, the smell will linger on, I look at the socks which disintegrated into pieces of charcoal. Another experiment gone wrong.
My recommendation: Do not use the microwave - try the hairdryer. Which by the way gave up the ghost in the plush hotel in Bend a week ago while I put a sock over it for the purpose of instant drying. Housekeeping gladly replaced the hairdryer but I couldn't find it in my heart to give this procedure another try. Now that it has been confessed I will promise to restrain from all methods of drying other than air drying, dryer drying, and open fires.
Yolanda who tries occasionally to pass a pair of my socks as her own is immediately convicted of stealing, the pair is confiscated and this leaves me with one pair to wear.
By 9a.m. all has been sorted out and we go grocery shopping at IGA. We take Hwy 29 North to save about 50 miles on our trip while bypassing Dawson Creek. As a true natureseeker I am willing to sacrifice cultural gems for nature on this trip. One disadvantage is that we do not get to take a picture at mile 0 of the Alaska Hwy which starts in Dawson Creek. Hwy 29 is a good choice, almost zero traffic and pretty along the Peace River. We stop to take pictures of the scenery and ourselves, check the album area.

Saturday June 21, 327 miles

Sunday, June 22, 250 miles
Fairbanks is our next destination. We leave at 10 a.m.

Tuesday June 24, 40 miles around town
Today we take it easy. Wash the Goldwing, do some maintenance and oilchange. Go to the Internet cafe in the afternoon and post the following:

Wednesday June 25, 210 miles
It is time to leave Santaland and Fairbanks behind. We head towards Denali on Parks Highway, also known as Anchorage-Fairbanks Hwy. It was completed in 1971 and road conditions are quite good.

Thursday, June 26, 334 miles
This is a new day and we leave late at 11 a.m. - The showers felt good! We cross over the highway. On the other side is the Perch, a small and well hidden restaurant perched on hill between trees. It is a lovely little place and we stop for coffee to enjoy the great ambiance.
At Marys' Mc Kinley View Lodge we won't be disappointed,as we see for ourselves in the clouds:

Saturday, June 28, 160 miles
We are headed for Valdez on the Richardson Highway South. The weather is beautiful and so is the ride. On our way we stop in Copper Center at Rons' restaurant and bar. Ron is an author and model train aficionado. He created a 1:24 scale model train 'world' that runs throughout the backyard and into his bar.

Sunday June 29, 20 miles around town
We stay around town. Spend time with Sue, Joel, who join us for our visit of the earthquake museum. Most parts of Valdez were destroyed during the 1964 Good Friday earthquake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale. The afternoon we spend at the Internet cafe where I download the following:

June 29, 2003

We are in Valdez with our new friends Sue and Joel. Sue lives here and it is because of her that we decided to detour from our route to experience the splendors of Valdez.

Tomorrow we will leave for Tok and then continue on to Chicken and Dawson City. The Klondike Loop will take us Southeast back to the Alcan. July 4th we will be in Haines where we board on the Malaspina Ferry for our three day cruise to Bellingham, WA.

Monday June 30, 270 miles
After breakfast with Krystal we are off to Tok.

Mount Drum

It is a very fast ride on the Tok-Cutoff. There are plenty of waves in the road. This is our second stay at Tundra Campground in Tok (see also 6/21) Tok is the one place you have to go through twice on your Alaska round-trip. It is a warm evening 78F. I am looking forward to leaving Alaska and being back on the nice roads in the lower 48. As much as I have enjoyed the trip I feel it is time to move on and back home.

Tuesday July 1, 207 miles

The Taylor Highway presents us with an easy ride to famous downtown Chicken. This little place was high on my priority list, probably because I read so much about it. It really is in the middle of nowhere but it is fun. As we get there we are greeted by name by Greg --> Krystals' husband who happens to deliver the AlaskaYukon guide just as we pull in. He recognizes the orange Goldwing. It is just amazing what a small world this is at times. We enjoy a good lunch with <--buffalo burgers and reindeer sausage prepared by the owner of Chicken (of 14 years), Susan Wiren. Her father tends the bar where we hang for a while for an ice cold beer gossiping with other road travelers. The arrest of a woman we witnessed yesterday in Tok had made its way already. This is a fun place.

Two hours later we are on the Top of the World Highway heading towers the border. It is all gravel and very dusty. We stop for pictures at the
John Wade Dredge
where a full bearded Panner reminds us of the good old times.

The border right there on Top of the World. Impressive scenery once again.

Dusty, sweaty and tired we arrive at Greg and Krystals property just outside of Dawson City. A nice place, still undeveloped. As much as I like it here, we are in desperate need of showers. We cross the Yukon river on the ferry and stay at the Bonanza Motel on the other side of town. This was the warmest day on record for us North of the lower 48. 80F, and it felt warmer to me. Must be the heavy bike moving slowly on challenging gravel roads...

Thursday July 3, 206 miles

We are up early and chat with <-- Marica and Sergej from Estonia, who came in late last night. We remember passing him on the Alcan as it was cold rainy and windy. We are humbled again as we hear his story. 2nd round the world. This time through Europe and Alaska, he is on his way to fly from Anchorage to Siberia. He will cycle across Russia going home West to Estonia. I am truly amazed at what people can do and what people chose to do.

We leave for Haines, our last destination in Alaska. Along the Haines Hwy we see another two bears.

It is a cold (Winter) ride, 46F. Sparse landscape - a gray day. Cancel our reservation at Eagles Nest Motel, which does not seem appealing and check in at Fort Seward, propped on a hill close to the water for two nights, $80.00 each.

Have lunch at the Taco Stand, check out the Internet at the library and meet Leonard and Karyn --> a Canadian couple on a Harley with a nifty pop-up camp trailor. They are a fun couple to be with and we enjoy the Seward bar and the Famous Halibut place for dinner with their company. Now, talking about expansive, we find dining in Haines to be expensive and not even that great.

Saturday July 5, 5 miles, Ferry

Time to say good-bye. Get groceries and stay in line at the ferry terminal. We won't be mushroom people after all. (people that pitch a tent on the deck) For a mere $410.00 the sell me a four-berth cabin. I take it gladly.(I did the right thing as three days can get very very long!) There she is. <-- The Malaspina was built in 1963 and is the first ferry of the than newly conceived Alaska Marina Highway. She is small(even after being stretched in the seventies). She feels old. The cabin is OK. We have a window. But you it doesn't open. I am a fresh air freak and this gives me a bit of claustrophobia. I am not kidding. The air provided by the ventilation seems to be sufficient but I never lose the sensation of being enclosed and suffocated while in the cabin. Just image all the cabins without windows. Days come and go. But they do this very slowly while on board the Malaspina! We stop in Juneau, but don't see the capital as it hides around the corner.

Sunday July 6, Ferry. In the morning we stop at Petersburg and I take some nice morning pictures.

I read a the 'Reader' written by Schlenkman a German author. I n the afternoon we stop and go grocery shopping in Ketchikan. It is gray. The trip has been constantly gray and in my opinion quite depressing. I walk on the deck in circles for exercise as do many others. I read 'Double Alibi' by an Italian writer. Bad.

Monday July 7, Ferry
reading walking, eating...Talk to a young physician (on 1200C BMW) who leaves and works in Kotzebue for two years. Summer all light, Winter all dark. Very dedicated and friendly guy.

Wednesday July 9, 326 miles

Get up 7 a.m. I am looking forward to ride the coastal road South. I am done with camping for this trip and we ship 36 pounds of gear back home. The bag on top of the trunk is gone and the bike feels much lighter. We take Hwy 38 and cross over to Hwy 101. The weather is beautiful. Fish and chips in Port of Bandon - one of the nicer sea towns in Oregon. The coastal ride is relaxing. We make it into California and stay in Crescent City.

Friday July 11, 510 miles
Coastal fog and sun. Bypass San Francisco heading South on Hwy 580. Heavy traffic and construction. We have to get used to the limitations of civilized live. The coast has us yet once again as we enter into Southern California.

Our destination is Santa Barbara. But is is Friday and we have no reservations. 12 miles further South we find a Motel 6 with one room left. This is our last night.

Final Remarks
Turning into my driveway after 8500 miles was a relief.
This was not the weekend trip to Big Bear.

I could have easily kissed the ground, like the pope, in appreciation of having returned safely. It always feels good to come home in one piece. There are no guaranties for a safe return. And when I imagine how many risks I had taken in leaving, I find it always worth to give the return a moment of Zen.

Mentally I had prepared for a trip to Alaska for about 3 years. In 2000 I first started reading about motorcycle trips to Alaska on the Internet. The Internet has become my main source for any kinf of information and the material to be found for travel of all kind is amazing. Many travelers have their own websites similar to this one, where they share their information with anyone who is interested. To create a simple website like this is a lot of work but there are many rewards. Friends and family can follow your trip as it happens. This also is a picture album and journal for my own benefits and it is simply fun to share adventures with other people, as it gives you a greater sense of accomplishment and validity when you have an audience.

I was very impressed with people attempting this kind of trip. And I thought a GS BMW or similar motorcycle would be the only way to go. Chosing the Goldwing was mainly based on concerns for the passenger since it is a very comfortable and highly reliable motorcycle. Admittedly, I was quite nervous thinking about the gravel roads we would have to negotiate, in order to get to the Arctic Circle and other places. The Goldwing did better than I imagined, however, there were increased risks as to tire wear and handling in more extreme situations, such as sandy surfaces and muddy conditions. In these situations I often wished for a lighter, more manageable motorcycle.

The actual preparations for this trip took about two months. We had to purchase the right gear. Since this was the first trip of this magnitude, we relied on travel reports and our common sense. We did well. It is very important to have good rain gear and warm enough clothing. Underwear and T-shirts can be easily washed in a sink with just some soap or shampoo. We took the bare minimum.

Many things seemed to be easier than envisioned. The tremendous amount of miles to be driven, however, was for real. 8500 miles on a motorcycle in a short time are just a lot of miles. Our trip was cut short on both ends, and I was worried in the beginning, if we would be able to meet our schedule. We increased our daily mileage initially and came out ahead of schedule which permitted us to be more flexible later into the trip. I experienced some tension in regards to durability of the equipment. As we hit the bad roads, I was very careful not to overstress the bike. With the experience gained and seeing for myself how well the motorcycle coped, I began to relax. This motorcycle took a lot of abuse it wouldn't normally see on our local roads and it managed well. Now that it is cleaned up, back in the garage I find only minor blemishes. But there could have been easily more.

The weather palys a major factor in motorcycle travelling as it contributes to comfort and discomfort and safety. One is very easily discomforted with the wrong clothing as the window of tolerance for temperature is quite small. This is the main backdraw of motorcycle riding. The right gear is of utmost importance.

This trip was exciting and cofidence building. I now know that I can do it, and I want to do more. As it wqas challanging in regards to miles, it was easy in respect to language and culture. Future trips to Mexico, Central and South America will show how I cope with those issues.

The ride is the trip, not the destination.