A+ for Tok and On to Fairbanks

P-Rock nursing a Tok-induced brain banger

Day 11 - Tok, AK to Fairbanks AK


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I was foggy enough this morning that I forgot to take the odometer picture once again. Sorry about that... I promise to not let it happen again until next time. Here's a suitable substitute.

I am certain Blackie is echoing this same sentiment, but we sure did take a liking to Tok and the people in the town. We had a great time (maybe a little too great?) at the Tok Lodge Bar last night and met some local people who were very friendly and fun. Michelle (Mutt) and her husband (Glen?) along with the bartender (... having trouble remembering her name through the fog.. Delilah perhaps?) had us captivated with everything from political to local gossip discussions all night long. There's a possibility that we will be able to stop there again before we head on to Dawson City next weekend. Hopefully we'll do a little better meal planning next time though, as we ordered a pizza at the Lodge just a little too late - and had it delivered by the Tok Taxi. Yes, Tok has a taxi - which shocked both Blackie and I. The pizza was excellent by the way.

We stayed at the Westmark Hotel and had our first beer there while we were doing last night's blog. Those two beers (one each) cost us $22.oo (!!!) at the hotel. The explanation from the bartender was that it costs a lot to ship kegs of beer to Tok - but I'm not buying that. When we headed over to our now favorite bar in Alaska, we paid less than half that for the same size beer ($4.50 each I believe).

The ride to Fairbanks was one that I did not have high expectations for. I expected to not see a lot of scenery, but boy was I wrong. Blackie and I were both shocked at the mountains - many snow capped. Fortunately today was a nice day, but there is still a haze in the air that is making the real great shots hard to come by. At any rate, there are still some spectacular photos. We also reached the end of the Alaska Highway in Delta Junction, which I tastefully commemorated with a shot including the PJ's hat. If I were you PJ, I'd put a Whelihan's right in Delta Junction along with Fairbanks, and why not one in Tok too while you're at it. Halfway between Delta Junction and Fairbanks we got our first glimpse of the Trans-Alaska pipeline which runs from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.. The shot is terrible simply because it came up on us very fast and I had to take the picture while going over a bridge. I'm posting it anyway even though we'll get some better ones tomorrow. I'm sure Mrs. Rock is shaking her head at my photo skills as she reads this. Sorry Mrs. Rock - just remember it was on a motorcycle in motion.

Tonight we took some time to clean up the bikes in preparation for our trip to the Arctic Circle tomorrow on the Haul Road (the Dalton Highway). Now I don't know what Einstein thought of cleaning up the bikes before about 100 miles of dirt road (OK, actually it was me) - but we did get the big chunks of stuff off the bikes and they do look a whole lot better.

Blackie and I are planning on a quiet evening tonight, and possibly even tomorrow. Tok has taken it's toll on these two old bags of bones. :) A light dinner at someplace local and then catch up with photo uploads and maybe even check out some of Blackie's videos. From what I've seen so far they are fantastic, when the lens isn't full of bug DNA that is.

I do have to say that we are finding the people here to be universally very friendly, open people. I have always found it interesting to see how people interact in different places and Alaska (at least so far) is really at the top when it comes to personable, down-to-earth people.

This is day 2 of no rain. I don't want to jinx us, but riding without having to deal with rain and cold is pretty exhilerating. I don't think we had any idea how much energy it was taking out of us riding in the cold rain every day until we finally had these rain-free days.

I got to speak with my daughter today and let her know we'll be cruising on through Rock Island IL on the way home to see her. I'm really looking forward to that. Kids grow up so fast, don't they?

Oh, and the brake line? Still holding up fine.

P-Rock - on the mend