Day 18 – Beaver Creek, YT to Fairbanks, AK
September 7, 2010 2 Comments
Day 18 – Beaver Creek, YT to Fairbanks, AK 09/07/10 Mileage: 319
Today was all about crossing into Alaska and getting to Fairbanks. The weather was the same as it has been since leaving Colorado….cool to cold…some sun, lots of rain.
Here's what $68 gets you in Beaver Creek, YT...half a single wide trailer.
Back in the U S, back in the U S...back in the U S (S) A!
The scenery was good, but mostly obscured by clouds so I hardly took any pictures. I did see a female moose walking around in a shallow lake, so I stopped to watch for a while. It seems they also eat aquatic plants…who knew?
Roadside moose...
Roadside moose...
Anyway, what I lack in pictures I will make up for in a harrowing tale. I stopped for lunch in Tok, AK and had lunch at the Grumpy Grizz. Being cold and wet, I ordered coffee…4 cups of coffee in fact to try and warm up. Now, those of you who know me well know I don’t drink much coffee and no other caffeinated drinks for sure. You might see where this is going. So, I got back on the bike and started making miles for Fairbanks. Just about the time I was sufficient distance from Tok to be in the middle of f—ing no ware, the urge to have to go numero dos snuck up and became, umm, rather urgent. Now, in the wilds of Alaska, if a bear shits in the woods and nobody hears it, will anybody know? Well, if I shit in the woods, I don’t think anyone would know either, but what’s stopping me from pulling over is the hummingbird size misquotes that would use my bare ass for a pin cushion. Rather than suffer that fate, with gritted teeth and clinched cheeks (of the rear end variety), I pressed on. But that is not the harrowing tale I am speaking of, but merely what I was thinking at the time that I hit an unmarked section of loose grave doing 85 mph. The rear tire as you may recall is half bald and offered little grip on the ball bearings they use for gravel up here. The sensation was that the front of the bike was in a race with the rear, and the rear was winning. In fact, I waved to it on its way by and thought, boy, those side bags are filthy, someone should really clean those up. So in the end, I would have shit myself for sure were it not for those 4 cups of coffee….
From Deadhorse Down 
Glad you’re okay.
Also, a bit of warning about the moose. I don’t want to be a downer and you probably already know this, but just in case, they do kill people from time to time, especially if there are any babies around. If there are any in the road don’t go around them. Back up and wait for them to get off the road. This is what my son and daughter-in-law do because you never know if you’re between mama and calf. They’re not anything you want to deal with.
Hate to say this, but neither my son or daughter-in-law go out of their condo in Eagle River (just outside of Anchorage) without carrying a gun. There’s a pack of wolves in Eagle River that are afraid of virtually nothing and it’s a problem all over Alaska. Not trying to scare you – just saying be alert and be careful.
The scenery is beautiful. Have a nice day – just be aware of your surroundings all the time.
Lynn
Hey Lenny, Thanks for all the updates. Killer trip. If it wasn’t for winter comming early in Alaska and you freezing your ass off the trip wouldn’t be as interesting for me to read about. So somehow that makes me interested in your ass. Give me an address and I’ll ship up these electricly heated snowmobile gloves i got for my Brazillian wife when she came to jersey. Good luck!