The Route is Set and We Have A Name!

P-Rock once again.

Last week (Okay, it was two weeks ago now - we are so overtaxed for time) Blackie and I took some time to sit down and refine our routing for the trip. Also, tops on our agenda was to come up with a name for this ride. The list of candidate names was long, and many of them quite funny. After not too long of a discussion, however, we arrived at:

Ride to the Wild

Simple yet descriptive.

On the routing part, keep in mind that what we're showing here is a plan, subject to constant change as we get en route. Our thinking is that if we can get ahead of schedule (by some number of miles, not necessarily whole stops), we will have flexibility later to add things to the trip, or to take additional R&R time. One key change was that we concluded that starting an adventure such as this by trailering out to Chicagoland is just plain lunacy - so we will be starting in Allentown and riding the entire way there and back. New mileage total is around 10,500 in about 25 or so days.

The Trip North

We discussed several alternatives for the route north, including the straight shot to Chicago, a route through Buffalo and around the north end of the Great Lakes and a route that goes up through lower Michigan to the UP of Michigan and then across Wisconsin, Minnesota and a hard right turn into Canada. The latter route won out, although the trip over the top was a sentimental favorite. We have also added a ferry trip to Juneau, which should be very interesting. Blackie and I will have to wrestle to see who gets Sarah Palin to ride on the back though :)

Due to some limitations with waypoint count in Google Maps, we had to split the trip into two links. Thus the above link is only half the story. Also, for some reason Google can't handle the ferry trip from Skagway, AK down to Juneau, but handles the return ferry ride to Haines just fine. Go figure. Trust me, I tried everything to get it to use the ferry, considering you really can't drive to Juneau anyway. Also of note is that on the trip from Fairbanks out to Manley Hot Springs we plan to head north on the Haul Road (The Dalton Highway) as far as the Arctic Circle. The "halfway" point - if you will - is Denali Park near Cantwell, Alaska - from there we will make a few more stops then head back.

The Trip Home

After visits to Anchorage, Homer and Valdez, we'll start trekking back via a different and very scenic route. First we'll take a 150 mile long gravel highway called "Top of the World" through Dawson City, Yukon Territory as an adventure ride on the way back to Whitehorse. We'll then proceed down to the Cassiar Highway and head south through BC, stopping along the way at Stewart BC with a side trip to Hyder, AK - the most southern city in Alaska. Then on to Jasper, the Icefields parkway, Calgary (the Calgary Stampede will be on when we are passing through!) and down to Motorcycle Mecca, Sturgis. We'll miss the Sturgis rally by a few weeks, but it'll be cool to see the place and to tour South Dakota including Mt. Rushmore. From there back to see P-Rock's mom in Marengo, and back home.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

I see we have a couple of followers (finally!) after the last post - my sis Brenda and my cousin Chuck. And also one sarcastic comment from my most loving daughter in the world! Keep the comments coming, and one of these days Blackie will post up here - I promise!