July 21: There was a few light showers as we head out, but nothing that got us wet. On the good side was that with each turn of the pedals there was less smoke. I really feel sorry for the folk’s’ that live in Fairbanks. Our plan was for an easy day, just going 14 miles to the town of North Pole (population 1,616). I knew deep in my heart that we would not stop with just 14 miles for the day.
North Pole - Every day is Christmas in North Pole, Alaska. Imagine a town where they never take the Christmas decorations down. Where candy canes and garlands are an everyday occurrence, even in mis-summer (as it was when we were there). Every Christmas thousands of letters arrive at the post office addressed to Santa at the North Pole. So townspeople volunteer to answer each one.
As I had thought we moved on, after all it was still early morning. With not many places ahead I knew it would be a log day, we rode 105 miles. It was an easy ride with the first 50 miles being flat, followed by 20 miles in the hills and then 35 miles flat into Delta Junction.
Our road was the Richardson Highway, which was once the primary road of rural Interior Alaska. It linked Fairbanks to the port of Valdez and was developed in the early 1900's as a military trail. It is now known mostly for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline which parallels the road.
We made a stop at ‘The Knotty Shop” known for it’s mounted wildlife display, which was very good, but we will always remember it for the great ice cream (big scoops for a low price). Have I said “life is good.” As we got closer the Delta Junction (population 840) was began checking the motels for a room. Everyone was full. We learned that there were two major construction projects going on in the area, thus all the rooms were taken. There was a road construction project and also a military base project. There were just no rooms. As we were about it leave the last motel in town, which had no rooms, the lady asked us if we wanted a room out-back in the Pipeline Motel. We grabbed it. The room was OK, in between our other Pipeline places. We were just happy to have a place.
Dinner was at “Alaskan Steak House & Motel,” yes, I had a steak and it was delicious. While touring the town we saw a mother moose with two babies enjoying garden greens planted near a cabin. Delta Junction is the official end of the Alcan Highway. The local market sells ice cream cones for $1.50 for good size scoops.
Delta Junction & near by Big Delta - Visit Big Delta State Historical Park. Shop at “The Fur Shack” home of “Ethel” and her World Famous arctic fur Bikini.
July 22: This was a very hard day, long climbs, strong head-winds, a two lane road with little to no shoulder and several rain showers. We also had seven stretched of road construction with the longest being 1.5 miles. As we left town a moose and her calf crossed the road in front of us. We rode by the larger military base where most of the motel occupancies were working. I would guess that Alaska has more military bases than any other state.
I found, on the roadside, my second Leatherman (PST II), multi-purpose tool. The first had a knife blade that had been sharped several times and was not in good shape. I left it in the motel room with a “free” sign on it, some weeks ago. This one was like new so I kept it. I wonder just how things get lost, out on the open highway.
Since we had a hard time finding a place to stay yesterday, David rode ahead to the town of Paxson to find a room (I was moving much slower than he was.) Paxson (population 30) is a very small town. My worry was that since Delta Junction was so full that Paxson, which was the next town just might also be full, it was not and we had a room.
Dinner was at the Paxson Lodge, where we were staying. The waitress , up front, told us that she was cooking tonight and she was not a very good cook. She also told us that there were out of potatoes, tomatoes and lettuce (as was most of the restaurants along this road.). I don’t remember just what I had but I am still alive.
July 23: This would be a short day (54 miles) so we decided to take a little detour on the “Denali Highway.” This highway is 135 miles long, with only 24 miles being paved. It’s a great ride if you are on Mt. Bikes (we meet some riders who were going to take this road and were on road bikes but I sure would not recommend it.) The road connects the Park Highway with the Richardson Highway. We rode only part of the paved part, due to what looked like rain up ahead.
This is want is said about this road in respect to bikes: “The Denali Highway and trails in the area can be rough, and have dust, wet areas and sharp rocks. Milepost and many trail heads are not marked. Come prepared with adequate maps and repair equipment.” We are told that it’s a very beautify ride, with great scenery and wildlife viewing. Just come prepared. Going around is 435 miles, the north route or 600 miles the south route. By the way the same warnings that apply to bikes also apply to car.
With only a few light showers and mostly down-hill it was a great ride to the town (really it looked more like a place) of Sourdough (this town is so small it has no population), and the Sourdough Roadhouse our overnight. We were dropping down out of the mountains into a big valley. Ever so often we got a glimpse of the “Trans-Alaska Pipeline.” I was surprised that it was as none-conspicuous as it was. A lot of it was even underground. A question that I had and it that took sometime to get an answer to, was how long does it take for a drop of oil to travel the full length of the pipeline? about 4 days (oil flows at 7 MPH). Today they are only pumping about 1.2 million barrows of oil per day, down from the 2 million when it first started to pump.
Checking-in, we met a real “sourdough,” the man was just not happy with the world. Our cabin, while kind of nice, it was a converted chicken coup, shower were in separate building and the bath room was in still another building. But it was home for the night. Now dinner in the lodge was great, homemade meatloaf, it was very taste, prepared by the “Sourdough’s” sister.
As we were sitting around, just watching the cars and trucks speeding up and down the highway in rode Phil. He was doing the loop from Anchorage to Fairbanks (north on the Richardson Highway) and then back to Anchorage (south on the Parks Highway). He was pulling a very heavy trailer. His tires were about shot but he did have two new tires with him that he put on while talking to us. He them rode off into the dust (literally - see picture)
July 24: During the night we had thunder and lightning. It was a cold night - 36 degrees. The morning was beautify, blue skies and bright sun. Later in the day it would cloud up. We got to see the mountains that where smoked in when we rode part of this road before (going to Anchorage.) Today we had 11 road construction section.
After having lunch in Glennallen we rode on to Copper Center (population 362) our overnight. After checking out the town we found a place on the edge of town - “Grove’s Klutina River Camp.” This is a RV fish camp, where you could park your RV and fish right out your window, if you wished. They also had a rooms - looked like another pipeline motel. The showers, bathroom and laundry where all in one room. When it was your turn to use this room you would just lock both doors and do your thing.
The definitive place to stay into is the “Copper Center Lodge.”A historic Roadhouse est. 1896, as the “Holeman Hotel”. Rooms start at $109.00. Our room was a little less (much less.) The dinning room in the lodge is maned “Mummy’s” were we had dinner, the meal was excellent.
Copper Valley - Visit nearby Kennicott, known for the richest deposits of copper that have ever found. Find and visit the saloon in Copper Center, it has a great 1:24 scale historic operating model of the Chitina Local Branch of the Copper Valley & Northwestern Railroad (clue - it’s just down the block from the Copper Valley museum.)
July 25: Today we wanted to get as close to Thompson Pass (2,771 feet) as we could, just to make the next day easy as possible. But with very few places to stay we had to stop at the Tiekel River Lodge. The lady running the place was another “sourdough” and when we asked her if there was another place down the road where could stay, she answered “NO.” Tomorrow we will find that there was and it is a very nice place with a restaurant and just 10 mile down the road.
This place (Tiekel River Lodge) had a restaurant but the lady stopped cooking a few years ago (we will find out why tomorrow - oh well, I might as well tell you know, she’s is famous for her bad cooking so no one would stop to eat.) Now all you can get is hot soup and cold sandwiches.
By the way this place has been for sale for 11 years. I do think we were the only “guest” that stayed this night. There was one bus load of people that did stop for cold drinks, coffee and snacks. A few of them did buy some of the local handcrafted items. My last comment about this place is “it did not make you feel at home.” So if you are in the area, drive the extra 10 miles (south) for great food, a nice place to stay and a owner that is happy to have you stop by.
July 26: We hit the road with clouds and it was cold. Just 10 miles down the road we stopped and had a great breakfast (Alaska Rendezvous Lodge and Tavern). We asked the owner if the lady up the road knew that he was there. “Sure” he answered. It’s a long story but it seems that he use to send a lot of business her way (he started out by running a fishing guide service but had no place for his customers to stay). Then one day he stopped by and asked if he could take a shower. She “yes” but when he finished she wanted him the pay $5. So he has stopped sent business her way and built his own restaurant and soon to be finished motel. Both building are gorgeous, being made of knotty-pine and large logs. His motel is not finished but he told us that if we had stopped he would have found us a place for us to sleep. Now this is the kind of treatment I expected in Alaska.
After breakfast the rain started and would not stop for the rest of the day. The wind also picked up, but we did not noticed it until we started the downhill side of Thompson Pass. Up we climbed. Just below the pass we stopped for a peanut butter sandwich.
Over the top we went and what was ahead of us was an awesome downhill. The kind that bikers just love. Long straight stretched of road, sweeping curves, great road surface, wide shoulder, light traffic - which allowed you to ride in the middle of the road. It does not get much better than this. On the downside was the wind and rain, really just the wind. It was so strong that we were being push all over the road. You just could not let the bike roll. But the views were so great that you almost did not mind the slow descent.
David and I got separated as we entered Valdez (population 4,036). We had agreed to meet at the Visitors Center, which David found very easily, while I had a little trouble. When I asked for direction, the guy sent me in the wrong direction. Asking a second time, different person, I was sent in the right direction. After checking a few places to stay we decided in the “Downtown B&B.;” Besides nice rooms, deluxe continental breakfast (fresh fruit, juice, yogurt, rolls, muffins, jellies & jams, assorted cereals, coffee, teas, hot chocolate and doughnuts) they had a place for our bikes that was inside. Also they were very nice people. Different employees took turns setting up breakfast, but when Sharron (she and her husband own the place) set up breakfast she would make a big pot of hot cereal (with all kinds of stuff in it and very taste.) “Life is Good”
The next ferry out of Valdez was not until July 29 so we had time to see the town which we did by foot. After checking in we cleaned our bikes and just did not want to get them muddy again.
July 27: The rain continued for most of the day, so we walked all over town. Situated in a majestic fjord, where the 5,000-foot-tall Chugach Mountains rise from Prince William Sound, Valdez is often called Alaska’s “Little Switzerland. We decided to book a Glacier Cruise for tomorrow.
Valdez - hike, fish, sightsee, observe wildlife, take a cruise, see a video tour of Alaska’s petroleum industry, visit Egan Street Pub, read the Valdez Star or the Vanguard, go for a sea kayak adventure, mountain biking, climb “Civic Center” hill, visit Bridal Veil & Horsetail Falls, explore Mineral Creek Canyon, sail the Sound, visit the Alaska Cultural Center, look for Bald Eagles, tour a Salmon Hatchery, take a helicopter tour, visit the Museum’s quilt exhibit, go camping, pick berries, pan for gold, see Peter Toth Indian Carving, go rock climbing, raft the Lowe River, listen to KVAK radio (AM or FM), enjoy some coffee at Bad Ass Coffee, have a fish meal at “Sea Moor Fish,” enjoy a snack at “Northern Treats.” Just to name a few of the things that you can do.
July 28: Still raining and a lot of clouds and as well some fog. Never-the-less off we went on our Glacier Cruise, we chose “Stan Stepherns Glacier & Wildlife Cruises” and I must say that in spite of the bad weather they did a great job so that we had a very enjoyable time. I highly recommend them. We took the “Columbia and Meares Glacier Cruse.” This one included lunch and a late afternoon snack. The length of the cruse is 9.5 hours.
Columbia Glacier - This glacier was the last of Alaska’s tidewater glaciers to go into a retreat. The retreat began in1978, and by 1983 it had moved off it’s terminal moraine, losing an increasing amount of ice. In 2002, it had retreated for a distance of 7.5 miles, leaving approximately 18 miles to go before reaching bedrock on shore. This retreat is truly “history in the making.” Since this glacier is retreating it means that a lot of ice is breaking off. With so many iceberg we could not get close to the glacier it’s self. We did get some great views of icebergs.
Meares Glacier - This glacier is advancing in size which means not so many icebergs are in the water so we could get to within 1/4 miles of it. We could see and hear it calve (release a mass of ice into the ocean.)
Wildlife that we saw on this cruse, puffins, bald eagles, bears, whales, sea lions, sea otter, porpoises, and seals. We saw many other birds but just could not identify them. Lunch was good and the clam-chowder snack sure tasted good. The captain did everything he could to made this a great trip. I am so glad that we took this cruse.
July 29: We are now heading back to Anchorage via, bike, ferry and train. This ferry does not sale everyday so it fills up very fast (make your reservations early.) When I called to make our reservations they told me that they were full. When I told them we were on bicycles and they said, great we have room.
We rode our bikes to the ferry is a light rain. It was a fast trip to the town of Whittier (population 290). With time to kill before our train we ate lunch and then we just sat around. It would have been great to go for a ride but due to this town having mostly dirt road (remember it was raining - which means MUD) and really the town is so small it would have been hard to even ride a few miles. Whittier is really a muddy town. Now when you get there, there will be no more mud as they are in the process of paving the town.
There are 290 people who live in Whittier and 80% of them live in the same apartment building (the 14-story Begich Towers). We went into the “The Ice Cream Shop” to get some ice cream. It was a small shop with two men in it. They were both smoking and the shop smell very strongly of smoke and besides they seemed not to want to wait on us, so we walked out. We did find a very nice bakery and coffee shop.
We had time and could have ridden back to Anchorage but there was one problem, besides having already ridden this road. A tunnel. The 2.5 mile “Anderson Memorial Tunnel” opened in 2000 and is the longest vehicle tunnel in North America. Motorists bound for Whittier generally travel through on the half-hour (it’s a one lane tunnel) while vehicle leave Whittier on the hour. There are occasional delays when the trail traverse the tunnel. Did I mention that bikes are not allowed through the tunnel? So one way or the other we would half to take the train. Another way was to try and hitch and ride with some car, RV or truck. This did not sound like fun and besides it’s fun to ride the Alaska Railroad.
I don’t like saying this but it does apply. We were told that the best phrase that describes Whittier is: “Whittier is Shittier.”
Finally it was time for our train and boy were we glad to get moving. The train that arrived in Whittier early in the day, noticed that a rail has shifted and that it was unsafe for the outbound train to ues. So we sat. Finally we got the OK to get moving. On board we had dinner. I had Reindeer stew in a bread bowl, which was delicious.
Pulling into Anchorage we loaded the gear on the bikes and headed for our favorite Hostel. We still had 6 days before our flights home but it sure fell like the tour was over. We had allowed extra days in the plan for weather delays, bike problems or whatever and did not need them. These 6 days are covered in the “Home” link.
