Alaska Summer 2009

Stardates: June 28 & 29, 2009

2009-06-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

Grand Teton NP to Paria Contact Station (about 40 miles east of Kanab, UT) Hwy 89/ Zion National Park
658 miles
South Campground

Drove all night after a quick shower at Jackson City, WY. We drove to Paria Contact Station.
We tried our luck at getting next day permits to hike the Wave on Coyote Buttes Area.
Here is a link for some more information if any of you are interested http://www.zionnational-park.com/coyote-buttes-paria.htm

We got there at 5 am and slept a few hours until they open at 8:30am. By 9am they had 47 entries with only 10 permits available for the next day.
Unfortunately we were not lucky enough to get a permit.
I highly recommend any and all of you to make it to this place. We will be applying for permits through their online lottery. It takes about 3 months to get a permit if you are lucky.

Here are some pictures .

Just like the Big Lotto.

There were other hikes and places to explore but we were dead tired and just wanted to get some sleep so we bailed to Zion NP where the temps were a balmy 104F under the shade.

Cool multicolored cliffs adorn the hwy back to Zion.

Tomorrow we will be up and early to ride one of my favorite places, Gooseberry Mesa
After a few hours of riding we will be on our way home back to LA.

We had an awesome time doing this trip and like all great things in life it has come to an end. However, it also has opened other doors for places to explore more in depth for the future.
Thank you for all your comments here, facebook and IH8MUD.

Hasta la vista baby !!!!

Stardates: June 27 & 28, 2009

2009-06-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Grand Teton NP
20 miles (round trip)
From String Lake to North Fork Campground

Yesterday we got a permit to go and snow camp (do a loop) up and down the Paintbrush Divide.
However, we ended up making up to Solitude Lake just below the 10k mark at the divide due to inexperience in our part.

Early on the day it was gloomy but an hour later the clouds lifted giving us amazing shots of the Tetons and other surrounding mountains

Owen's Peak but not 100 % sure.

Possible climb for the future ??

So we made it to Solitude Lake after setting up camp just below the lake and watch how this team of two slowly inch their way down the mountain.
Here is a close up of the two.

We waited for them to ask about conditions on the other side of the divide. An hour later they glissaded down on one of this chutes to the far right.
We got the skinny and although with not much experience they informed us that the other side had quiet a lot more snow and they were apprehensive of glissading on the other side due to avalanche danger.

We stayed almost until sundown admiring these amazing mountains.
It is nice to have snow at the end of June isn't it ?

Our campground. We wanted to camp on snow but this place has strict rules on where to camp.

Picture of the Grand Teton at sundown. View from the North east side.

Next morning we decided to hike down and on the way down, we were informed they had closed the Paintbrush divide due to avalanche danger.

Beautiful Alpine view on our way down. Marmots were abundant around here.

View from south side of Jenny Lake.

Driving away from the Teton's Range.

Stardates: June 25 & 26, 2009

2009-06-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone NP to Grand Teton NP
103 miles
Lizard Creek Campground

Today we drove only 100+ miles as we found out through the Ranger Station that the only campsite with open spots was the closest to us. Off we went.....

Mammoth Campground doesn't look like much but the views to the other side were awesome and we spotted a black bear on the way back from seen Old Faithful.

Last night during a campfire we tried the local brewers and this morning we saw the message on the back of this bottle cap. That was a good laugh !!

If yah click on the pic yah will see the post piles on the very top of this land slide. It all dumps to a river below...

Tower Falls, although we hiked to the bottom to see them the trail was washed out and had to settle for the river shore.

We saw this big guy off of the hwy.

Here is a video of the big guy.

A whole herd of them at a distance.....

Llanos (plains) like this were common around here with fishing spots all around..

Dragon's mouth was one scary (somewhat) spring that made this Dragon like (thus the name) sound. See the video below

Churning Caldron, but dont let the name fool yah. The water is not at boiling point. The boiling-like are gases scaping from under the earth... It was still pretty hot.

Lewis Lake

Lewis Waterfall

Leaving Yellowstone with about one gazillion mosquitoes trying to get a bite at me.
Onward to El Parque Nacional de Las Tetas Grandiosas (Grand Teton NP) !!!

Colter Bay Campground
We did not do much today as we were planning to go snow camping, but the weather did not break until late on the day, so we'll do so tomorrow.

Stardate: June 24, 2009

2009-06-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone NP
50 miles
Mammoth Campground

After driving late into the early morning hours we got up and drove to West Yellowstone and then off to Mammoth Campground to secure a campsite as they get full right after midday.
The drive on the NP is restricted to 35 mph due to wild life on the road and there is construction going here too. However, this is one place were I dont mind getting stock in traffic.

Young Reindeer just a couple of feet from us.

One of many hot springs near the campground.
That tree has been there for a few years now.

Selene wondering what happened to the trees. :)

I wonder why she told me to stand here and smile..... !!

Taking some poser shots..and boy does she looks good or what ??

On the way back..
Now I gotta say a had a few peeps take pics of our rig as we parked or where driving away from many of the geysers and spring we saw through out the day, I thought that was really cool.

We came to see Old Faithful but were blown away by this Geyser called Bee's Hive. It went on for almost 5 minutes and it shoot upwards of 150 feet.... AMAZING !!!

The Old Guy shooting up !!!

Grand Prismatic dumping hot water on the creek below.

Selene walking around the Grand Prismatic. Love the clash between the top and bottom of this pic.

Looking down at the rock/minerals formation on the floor.
The smell on this spring is of a strong hydrogen Sulfide.

Beautiful colors formed by the minerals.

Checking out the colors and texture up close.

FYI Eh !!

Grand Prismatic... it really is quite a natural wonder and we feel very fortunate to be able to experience a place like this.

Sun hitting the bottom of the floor.

Trees like this adorn the hwy through out the park. The lighting was just perfect.

This is the reason the speed limit is 35mph in and around the NP. To-date 15 of this big guys have been killed by drivers going too fast. This big guy was just around the bend and came fast at us.

He owns the road around here.... very cool experience to see them roam freely around the park.

Lake at the bottom with the sundown fast approaching us.

Another poser shot with the right lighting on the background....
Man We love this rig !!!

Video of the old man blowing his load !!! hehehehe...

Stardate: June 23, 2009

2009-06-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

Glacier NP, Montana to Yellowstone National Park, Montana
419 miles
Rainbow Campground

After a good night sleep at a cabin on Apgar Village the next morning we got up and Logan Pass. We had tried to go up the other side but it was closed due to road construction and snow removal. So, today we went up the other way (west side) with the intent to either hike or ride our bike to the top of the pass.
Here are the pics... this place is sweet !!!

A few miles up the road from Lake MacDonald

One of many awesome views from near the top.

Snow cap mountains this place is huge !!

One of many constructions sites going on through the road to Logan Pass. Single lane around here as the road is washed out in some sections. See the guy on the cage?

Logan pass right in the middle of this pic

Once we made it to where the road was closed we jumped on our bike and went up the mountain. Only 3 miles but at starting to pedal at 5600 feet of elevation was pretty hard.

Hi, look at me Ma !!!

The ride here was pretty short for David Z (roady and MTB buddy) standards but, boy did it have the views or what ???

Riding through this section we pedal as fast as we could.

Getting closer to Logan Pass.

Nice rock wall on the back ground to her left and amazing views to her right !!!

Made it to Logan Pass. Cold and super windy up here...

Back ground on Logan pass was/is very impressive.

Riding down to the car.

On our way out of Glacier NP.

Bear Grass Plants, not flowers, plants !!!!

In full bloom all over the place they look pretty between the trees.

Stardate: June 22, 2009

2009-06-23T00:15:00.000-07:00

Glacier NP
106 miles
Apgar Village

Here are some pictures. Unfortunately, the day started with cold and rain coming at us sideways. The road to Logan Pass (Going To The Sun) was and will be closed until July 1st due to road repairs. We tried to bike from the east side to Logan Pass (you are allowed to hike or bike up to the pass), but the rain and the wind had it their way at the end. So, we jumped back in the car and drove to the west entrance of the park. Tomorrow we will try to bike from this side up to the pass...weather permitting.

Driving out of Many Glaciers Campground.

Going up from St. Mary's up to where the road was closed.

Heading over to the west entrance.

Stardate: June 21, 2009

2009-06-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

Jasper NP, Alberta to Glacier National Park, Montana
370 miles
Many Glacier Campground

Spent a freezing night at Wilcox Creek campground.
Probably the coldest so far on this trip.
We drove through so much beautiful scenery.

Here are two pics of what we thought is the best ( the real deal is that we are tired of uploading pictures and you need to make it up this way to experience how awesome this places are).

No name Lake before we stopped at the town of Banff.
If you come to this town, stop at Phil's restaurant.
It is located north of the main strip and they have really good food here.
The coffee is really good too.
We stopped in Calgary at the Mountain Equipment Co-Op Store (MEC)
The equivalent to REI in the USA.
After a couple of hours drooling over all the cool toys they sell here we were off to Glacier NP in Montana.

À la prochaine Canada !
A rainbow appears in front of us as we get closer to the Canada-US border.

Stardate June 20, 2009

2009-06-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

Jasper NP
68 miles
Wilcox Creek Campground

Got a tent site at Wapiti with showers included and as much wood for campfire as we wanted.
Got up with clouds and rain.
One minute later after folding away the roof top tent (man I love this thing !!! ) we went into town for breakfast and we were off to the Ice fields.
All we knew is that they were some 100+ kilometer ahead.

Jasper is known for views like this !!!

Poser shot, this is probably one of a hundred shots we took.

Getting closer to the Ice Fields we notice the huge Glaciers hanging down this peaks.
Amazing how they just hang there for hundred of years.
Unfortunately most of this Glaciers are receding.

Hey there !!!
Truck is running nice and cool on some of the more steepest passes.

Selene contemplating the immensity of this place..
Yeah, it really is mind bugling.
Later we found out the thin crust of ice you see on this pic ( top left corner) is about 300 feet thick, woah !!!

Ice Fields right behind me.

So, we decided to take the $50 tour and rolled on one of this huge shuttle buses.
There is actually two shuttles the first one takes you from the Hwy to where the Glacier starts and then we jumped on this "Ice Explorer" and it took us up the Athabasca Glacier about 2 miles into the actual glacier "this is probably the easiest I had it going up a glacier".
We then were allowed to walk about for a few minutes and walk on the glacier...
Very cool !! We were surrounded by other glaciers from both sides..

On the Athabasca Glacier with the top of the glacier on my back..

Previous version of the "ice explorer".

Cockpit of the "ice explorer".

Triple Stick shift.
These things supposedly run about 1,375,000.00 each.

For comparison purposes we park next to one of them at the parking lot !!!
These things are HUGE !!!
But, then again everything around here is huge....
Man, Texas ain't got nothing on Alberta !!!

Self shot with Andromeda Glacier at our back !!

Shot from the parking lot.

Last shot before we are on our way to the next campsite 2 miles away from here. :)

So we get to our campsite and decide to do this small hike on the other side of the Hwy.
If I knew this trail was here I would of done this instead, and it had some mix climbing to boot.

At the top of our hike with Mount Athabasca behind us.
This is the only Glacier I know of one could climb from the bottom to the top and back, in one day.

Selene coming back from the top as the sun starts to set behind the mountains.

On this shot the Glacier looks like is just a few feet away from us. It actually is about 3 miles, maybe more from were we stand.

FYI: if you click on the pics you will get the a better view.
These are large files !!

Stardate: June 19, 2009

2009-06-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

McLeod Lake Provincial Park, BC to Jasper National Park, Alberta
318 miles
Wapiti Campground

Made it to Mt. Robson.
I must say even with the clouds towering on top of this monster of a mountain it had a very impressive stance !!
We wished we could of stay but the forecast called for rain the next few days ahead.
One more place on the long list of "must comeback places".
The weather went from sunny to cold and wet in a matter of minutes.

Entrance to Mt. Robson Park.

Just on the other side of the park and looking at Jasper up ahead.

Mt. Robson area behind us with its own forecast.

At the Alberta border. A few minutes later we were in Jasper and looking for a campsite to crash-in.

Stardate: June 18, 2009

2009-06-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

Muncho Lake Provincial Park, BC to McLeod Lake Provincial Park, BC
600 miles
Whiskers Point Campground

Got up this morning feeling much better after sleeping almost 10hrs.. Damn Im getting old !!!
So, our drive took us to some of the most beautiful scenery in BC.

Here are some pics..

Oso (that's Bear for all yah non-bilingual peeps). Right off the road he looked at us and kept eating... I think we saw more wild life in BC than we did in AK. We did not take pics of many bear sightings as they came up around the bend and fast at us.... This shot I was actually able to come to a full stop and take a good pic of it.. it was around 8 am before any Tim Horton's coffee.

Selene standing at one of may scenic views of BC between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson. This place has as many Mesa's like AZ or Utah does, but the difference is these are lush and the clouds are plentiful !!!

Ok, so the story with this guys starts when we first saw/met him at Teslin, Yukon while we stop to have breakfast at this little restaurant on our way to AK.
We saw him and chatted with him agian in Fort Nelson...on our way back from Alaska.
Turns out he is from Japan and decided to ride from Fairbanks, Alaska to Edmonton, Alberta.
That's a total of 1,800 miles plus !!!
His whole set up according to him weighted 70 kilos or 154lbs (((( OUCH !!! )))))
He had a total of 4 extra tires.. two where mtb tires as the road in many places turns into gravel for tens of miles at the time.
We saw many riders doing cross country rides like this......
When I think back and remember all we have driven this guy actually rode !!!!
Dude....HE ROCKS !!!!

Got into McLeod lake and found this SUPER NICE campground at Whisker Point Camp Ground.
The kid employed by Canada Parks turned out to be a Hyperactive dude and we must of seen him a few hundred times that afternoon... I think Selene should also work for Canada Parks as she too is Hyperactive.
Time we shot this pic was around 10 pm.

Sunset was around 12:45am, but boy were we glad the sun was going down...
Having a camp fire under the sunlight is just NOT right eh !!!

Poser shot..... Selene took this really good pic of the LC !!!

Having a campfire at 1:30 am when finally it was totally dark and cold !!!
NICE CAMPFIRE !!!

Stardates: June 16 & 17, 2009

2009-06-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

Homer, AK to Muncho Lake Provincial Park, BC
1368 miles
Strawberry Flats Campground

Today we (although did not want to) left this wonderful place with a promise to comeback next year and perhaps work here during the summer.

We have a lot of ground to cover so with the only rule of "no driving at night time" we drove from here to British Columbia when it started to get somewhat dark.

On our way out of Homer, AK we spotted this good looking rig..
Homer was the town where we saw the most land cruisers (6) including a nice FJ45.

Spot of Sunshine on a cloudy day.... right before getting to Anchorage, AK.
It was around 6pm by then.
About 200 miles past Anchorage, AK we saw The Matanuska Glacier which was a wicked sight as we could see it from the Hwy and under a cloudy day and lots of rain it was still an impressive sight...If you're ever in Alaska, try to make it to this glacier.

Sunrise at around 2am. This amazing cloud formations were a welcome sight and with the distant mountain ranges on the back ground it was a great drive...

One of many rainbows we saw at around 3 am. This one was pretty wide and strong. We only hope this pic shows the beauty of it.

Hasta la vista, Alaska !!!

Buffalo on the side of the road on the BC side.

So the picture does not show it but it finally got some what dark, swear !!
We made it to the end of this lake and and got some much needed zZzZzZzZzZ.

Stardate: June 15, 2009

2009-06-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

Homer, AK
Seaside Hostel

We spent a day here getting to know this town.

We go up early 5 am had breakfast and went to the very end of "East End Rd." pop it on 4wd low and came down to the beach on a very steep dirt road.
We actually got to do some mild wheeling on sand and mud where various creeks dump into the shores.. Here are some pics.

How would yah like to wake up to this every day !!

Here is a map of the general area and the glaciers listed by name.
We are thinking of coming back here next year and exploring this some of the surrounding towns as there is plenty of places to climb summit a lot of the peaks in this area. Most peaks on the back ground are around 5k with the glacier starting right at around 2k of elevation...SAWIIIT !!
We opted not to get a water taxi to the other side of the bay as we really want to make another trip out this way and spend a few days on that side and camp out.
Water taxis here are expensive. A round-trip to the other side of the bay which is only 3-4 miles out is $80 per person. We will probably rent out some kayaks and make our way out that way and explore explore explore !!!

Secluded area right before we drove down to the beach !!

At sea level with the glaciers on the other side..

Same spot with a panoramic view !!!

Later today we went for a 14 mile ride around town and got to see this fisherman cutting the catch of the day... 15 miles out and they had about 40 fish in a bucket. Halibut each weighted around 25@.

On the way back my bike's suspension fell apart....well, a bolt got loose and dropped some where on the beach.. so we decide to limp back to the car which is about 7 miles out.

On the way back Selene finds this rusted bolt on the side of the Hwy and tells me to try it out....
The chances of this thing having the same thread and width are pretty remote.....

Well, how bout that eh !!! It fits and we are happily on our way back to the car...

Another shot from where the area we camp-out out of....

Views from our campsite its 12 midnight and the sun is finally setting in... Damn is hard to go to sleep with this much light and awesome views...
Anyways... we going to bed as we are stressed out......not !!!

Starday: June 14, 2009

2009-06-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

Denali NP to Homer, AK
460 miles
Seaside Hostel

Drove from Denali NP to Anchorage with not much to see due to rain.
We did drive by Talkeetna, Ak.
This is where most climbers fly out to the base camp on Denali on Kahiltna Glacier . West Buttress Route, that is what I want to climb in the next one to two years... but we'll see.

Once we got past Anchorage the Tundra changes dramatically and much more beautiful and has some breath taking views...

Here are some pictures...

Coming out of Denali NP on a rainy day...

Just south of Anchorage and the views go from this to Woah !!!

Portage lake and its many glaciers.
We discussed going to Whittier, AK and doing a boat tour but that would of put us 2 days behind schedule.
Yet, another reason to come back and explore this place.

Homer, AK welcomes you with this cool sign and this view of the glaciers which makes you wonder where the glacier stops and the clouds begin, very pretty and unique place.

Bald eagle standing on some sort of antenna on Homer Spit Rd., AK
This thing must of been 25 lbs. We later found out there were two of them that hang on the pier and feed on fish from some of the tourist ( you are not to feed wild life, but.......)

http://www.xyz.net/~seaside/home.htm

So, we go to the local town info center and they give us the beta on where the tent sites are. We head to Homer Spit Rd. and although very much a noisy and industrial like area the views from here we think are amazing so we go ahead and get a tent site.

We then go to the local laundromat not to do laundry but to take a much, much needed hot shower. Around here all the laundromats offer showers to a lot of the locals and tourists alike.
We asked why is this and were told that the local population year round in this town is 4k but on summer (usually 2/3 months) it soars to 10k and most houses do not have plumbing. Obviously it seems that almost everyone that we talk to is not from AK but some other part of the world. Most have come to visit and have chosen to stay. We can see and feel the allure to this place.

Since sunset is not until 1am we then decide to explore "East ends Rd" under the advice of "Mattie" the lady from Ohio running the laundromat.

As we are going down the road we come up a hitch hiker ( one of thousands that we have seen during our trip). This time however we decide to pick him up. "Igor" was his name and turns out he is originally from Russia and speaks Spanish with an Argentinian accent. "Small world" we say. After some small talk Igor suggest staying at a local hostel and raves about it. We ofcourse decide to check it out and are amazed as to why we were never told of this place at the info center. We drop Igor off and drive back to Homer Spit Rd. campground and, although we have already pay $11 for our camp site for that nigh we pick our things up and spend the night at this magical-like hostel.

Here are some pics and check out the views from this place..

We opted to tent out (first time on this trip) but how could we not.
Look at the views from this place... the beach is just a few steps away from the green tent on the pic above.

View of one of many Glaciers across the bay from the hostels beach front.

Highly recommend this place if any of you ever make it this way.....

I know where we are going to stay next time we come here.

Stardate: June 13, 2009

2009-06-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

Denali NP (2nd day)

After booking our bus tour of Denali we found out you could actually ride your bike all 85 miles (one way) and not pay the tour fee.. Oh well guess that is another reason to come back again ??

This ride would involve a mountain bike as only 3 miles of the whole ride is paved and the rest is a dirt road.

The views and wild life experience would be most excellent !!!

On, to Homer, Ak.

Mamma bear and cub.

Stardate: June 12, 2009

2009-06-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

Denali NP
Riley Campground

Rest day!
Came out of the gamma quadron at warp speed 9, we made it to Denali NP at 2:30 am with daylight still on. Today, we decide to lounge around the park, ride our bikes, and update our blog. Here's the pic taking it easy.

Tomorrow, we will do a tour of the park and will head out towards Anchorage/Whittier.

Stardate: June 11, 2009

2009-06-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay, AK to Denali NP
620 miles
Riley Campground

Long day today.

Started our day with a Tour of Prudhoe Bay as the last 8 miles to the Arctic Ocean are not accessible to the public due to security reasons.

Jump on a bus with a bunch of "old fogies" and headed to the shores for an hour tour of ocean shores... We could not see much as fog covered most of the area. We did however got the skinny on how this place works and the dude (Grant Arnold - a local from Imuruk Basin) doing the tour was also the local police/guard/EMT/ and quite the joke teller.. I think his salary was around 300 k a year "whoah". He was very interesting to say the least.

Since there are no trees from the Brooks Range to this place, they came up with their own version of a National Forest.

Saw some of the coolest machinery out here, including these "rollagons" which are used during the winter to move about on the frozen tundra. We also found out they only drill on winter time so as to not make an impact on the environment. We also were told they do not drill once it gets past -30 degrees as metal drill bits get brittle and brake right off.

These are Muskoxens which are related to the Buffalo (buffalo soldier brought from SA). Anyways.....

The Brooks Range up ahead but since weather was not cooperative we did not get to see it at its finest....Still a very impressive place to visit !!!

Big trucks making their way on this narrow road... we opted to pull out of the way as it was a on and off rainy day and the spray from these trucks was just too much !!!

Atigun Pass which is only 4k and change on elevation but deadly for some. The side rails along this section was all smashed in from 18 wheelers loosing control on severe weather conditions.

Poser shot !!

As soon as we went across Atigun Pass and the Brooks Range the tundra changes dramatically and we got to see this big guy right on the road and growled at us as I took this pic.... He was a HUGE bear of a bear !!!

Alaska Pipeline and part of the Brooks Range on the background

The Dalton Hwy with a beautiful sky full of clouds....

Stardate: June 10, 2009

2009-06-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

Coldfoot, AK to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay, AK MP 414
245 miles
Arctic Caribou Inn

Although only 245, it took us about 5 to 6 hrs to make it here as weather conditions turned bad from Atigun Pass on. Temperatures on Prudhoe Bay were 35 degrees during the day and a bone chillin' 20 degrees at night. So, we opted to stay at the Caribou Inn, our first and probably only motel during this trip.

Our stay at the Inn, had an expected T-bone Steak and shrimp....freshly flown in from Anchorage, AK.

Most of the people working here are from the lower 48 states and making really good money with a work schedule of 2 wks on and 2 wks off with a daily 12 hrs shift. They eat like royalty.

We made it and the rig is running cool like that! This is how we roll...

Jose, do you wanna wash my truck? It probably has 2" thick mud on the rear.

Stardate: June 9, 2009

2009-06-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

Tok, AK to Coldfoot, AK MP (mile post) 175 via The Dalton Hwy.
458 miles
Coldfoot Camground

Drove on The Dalton Hwy today.
Known as the Haul Road and Featured on a TV program where they feature truck drivers that drive through the harsh winter conditions ( I dont know how the hell they do it).
It is the only road to Prudhoe Bay, Ak which is a industrial town and where the APL (Alaska pipe line starts, it ends on Valdez, AK)

Driving on this road is somewhat scary as it is the only road I know of where big trucks have the right of way and the road itself is pretty narrow on some sections and on almost every bridge crossing.

We made it to Coldfoot which is basically a truck stop with some tent sites and hotel for tourist.
Once we made it past the Artic circle the mosquitoes seems to turn into Hulklike creatures.. (freaking huge and hungry for your blood)...

The sun did not set until 1am but it really never got dark.
Sleeping was a challege.
After a few hours of sleep we were awaken to a howling pack of wolves that were on the campground.
There was a group of motorcycle riders that had to get up and start and rev their bikes as they were afraid the wolves might come and have an early morning snack.
We were cool on our roof top tent... (I like earplugs).

Here are the pics...

c

This fellow canadien dude is "Al".
He turns out to be from Ottowa, Ontario, Canada.
He has been on the road for the past 4 weeks.

Stardate: June 8, 2009

2009-06-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Teslin YT to Tok, Alaska
498 miles
Moon Lake Campground

Today, we drove through Whitehorse, which turned out to be a nice little Canadien town. From Haines Junction to Kluane Lake, we saw some of the best mountain ranges, the Saint Elias Mountains in Kluane NP. Although the weather was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, a big part of the Kluane Lake was frozen.

Around 5:30, we made to the Alaskan/Yukon border and drove into the town of Tok and stayed at Moon Lake campground, that turned out to be the 2nd best campground on this trip of ours.

Here are some pics:

Kluane Lake - Air temp was about 75 - 80 degrees, but half of the lake was still frozen.

We're laughing because Frank stepped on my big toe, he was running towards me as we used a timer to take this picture.

The moose came out of nowhere and as soon it heard us coming, it turned back into the woods.

Crazy Canucks eh !!!

2009-06-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to mention that I have met a few dudes out here that are doing the touring and are averaging aboot 80 miles a day on their road bikes..

Met one guy going from Whitehorse to Prince Rupert and other guy from Teslin YK to Fairbanks AK.

Amazing eh !!!!

Stardate: June 7, 2009

2009-06-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Burns Lake, BC to Teslin, YT
755 miles
Campground around Teslin

We did the Cassiar Hwy (37) and boy, it was an amazing drive! We saw plenty of wildlife including 2 Grisly cubs, 2 black bears, and big horn sheep (we think). The 2 Grisly bears came up across the hwy real fast, they looked like they were 300 lbs each. The one black bear was feeding on a roadkill on the hwy and the 4th bear was hanging around on the side of the road. The sheep we saw was a herd crossing the road.

Here are some pics, however, they don't make this place justice.

Stardate June 6, 2009

2009-06-06T23:35:00.000-07:00

Cultus Lake, BC to Burns Lake, BC
570 Miles
Burns Lake Campground

No pics today as we did a lotta driving.
But yah'll should of seen the views we saw today.
BC is indeed a beautiful place and I dont think any pics would make justice for such an awesome place.

We did see another FJ60 between Yale Town, BC and Hells Gate, BC.

We made it to Burns Lake Campground and glad to found WiFi service out here in the boondocks.
BTW, the damn mosquitoes are out on full force... hope it gets colder oh and its freaking weird as it was 10:45pm and we still could see the blue skies above us.....

Stardate: June 5, 2009

2009-06-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

Mt. Rainier, WA to Cultus Lake, BC
207 miles
Sunnyside Campground

Got up this morning after it rain most of last night...
Our roof top tent held up with no problem..but we made the mistake of leaving some things outside.

Left Mt. Rainier this morning and slowly inched out way out of the mountain under cloudy skies and closer to the Canadian border...

Stopped at an REI in Seattle and when we came out to our surprise there was an FJ40 parked right next to us with California tags...what are the chances of that eh ??
Turns out that is this guy--whose name scapes me righ now-- who just moved from SoCal and has been in Mexico for the past 6 months..

Once at the border we were held up for about half hour and were on our way to Cultus Lake, under the recommendation of one of the customs officer...

First order of things was to stop at TIM HORTONS and get a "large double double eh !! " and a "everything bagle w/ cream cheese".

Yah baby... IM HOME !!!

Im sure the customs officer meant well but I would not recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice place to camp...

The whole damn town seemed to be there at this little campground.
The place was really nice and picturesque but just too busy...

I would recommend driving another half hour to the city of Hope, BC an crashing there.. much much less crowded..

Here are some pics of Cultus Lake

Stardate: June 4, 2009

2009-06-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

Cougar Rock Campground (2nd day)

Got up late and had some breakfast. We wanted to ride our bikes to Paradise, but the ranger advised us not to because of several sections of rock fall along the way. Instead, we went out for a hike and took some more pics. After that, we went to Paradise and to the museum/info center, perused and decided to gear up and play in the snow.

Later, went back to camp to have diner and decided to take a bike ride and finish with a nice campfire...

June 3, 2009

2009-06-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

Redwood National Park to Mt. Rainier, WA
565 miles
Cougar Rock Campground

Went up to Paradise for some pics ops. of Mt. Rainier. Got to Cougar Rock campground around 8pm, fixed a quick meal and went to bed at 10pm since we didn't have any firewood for campground fire.

June 2, 2009

2009-06-05T13:57:00.001-07:00

Gold Bluffs Campground (2nd day)

Went for an awesome bike ride along the coast into the woods.

Stardate: June 1, 2009

2009-06-01T23:29:00.000-07:00

Ghalala, CA to Redwood National Park
239 miles
Gold Bluffs Campground

Starship Federation Betsy has ran flawless to this point.
With engine and tranny temps running at 195 and 165 respectively, we will be at Redwood NP by in a few hours..
Although speeds were only on the mid 50's the drive is one of the best drives we have done in a long time. The scenery was beautiful and we are glad we decided to drive on Hwy 1 and 101 Fwy.
For all you roadies, I want to ride from Gualala CA to Leggett, CA this would probably be one of the best all around kick yah on the ass whoa what great ride that we one could ever do.
Anyways.. we made it to Leggett, CA and did not know about the drivethru tree.
Starship Betsy or as some of you so kindly refer to it "the bitchen truck" would not fit under it but we took some posser pics... enjoy them.....

We are having a blast out here and will spent the night by the beach and hope to ride some single track tomorrow and hopefully make it to Mt. Rainier in two days... Yeah we know, we know.. we dragging our butts ...... :)

Laters!

May 31, 2009

2009-05-31T16:41:00.000-07:00

Covina, CA to Ghalala, CA
502 miles
Ghalala Point Regional Park Campground

Left Covina to Fort Bragg. On the way, we had two scheduled stops with two of the coolest guys that we know.

Simi Valley was our first stop were we met with Peter (DYNOSOAR), who thanks to him, this trip has become a reality. With the same token, if something breaks downs, it will also be thanks to him. BTW, he takes no credit either way........
As always Peter went the extra mile and offered his help any way he could if we were to breakdown.

45 minutes later, we were onward to San Francisco via the I-5.
Met up with Merrick (Chino Cochino). Merrick is one of the dudes that help with the engine conversion. It was really cool to have met him, his beautiful family and friends.
He was kind enough to invites us over for a cold beer and really tasty home made fish tacos.
We compared LC's (he also did his own conversion with his brother's help) and did some cruiser tech talk. Merrick thanks for the steering wheel eh !! Two hours later, we said our goodbyes (hang loose brah !!! )

Being that this is our first time in this part of the country (average speed around this area was between 20 - 35 mph), we continued on Hwy 1 (Pacific Shore Hwy). Although our destination was Fort Bragg, we managed to make it to Woodside Campground in Salt Point State Park, but within 5 minutes of hearing drunken college kids yelling for help and thinking that Jason (Friday the 13th) was coming to get us, we continued to Gualala Campground were we spent the night.
Very nice and quiet campground and the best part was that nobody was screaming out for help.

Here are some pictures from our first day: