Alaska or Bust....(we busted!)

In 1996, my friend Denver Chuck (now Texas Chuck) and I set out to ride to Inuvik, NWT and hit Alaska while we were at it.  I was retracing in someways a solo trip I had taken in 1994 on my first FJ1100.  We had such a great time that we decided to do it again in 2002.  In the fall of 2001, I rode to Paonia, Colorado with Phoenix Chuck, a Beemer rider from Arizona.  We met Denver Chuck there and while he and I were discussing our Alaska trip, Phoenix Chuck decided he'd like to go too.  It turned out that Denver Chuck couldn't make it so it was Phoenix Chuck and I.  We set out from my house in Chandler, AZ one morning in June and the photos you see here were the result of our trip.  But....we did not make it to Alaska.  We were about 100 miles up the Alcan (now called the Alaskan Highway) when Phoenix Chuck discovered that his rear tire was going away very quickly.  It only had another 1000 miles or less left and we had almost that far to go just to get to Tok, our turn-around destination.  We could not find a tire in Fort. St. John so we turned back and he purchased a new tire in Edmonton, Alberta.  We then set sail for Arizona and three 500 mile days later were home.  The secret to doing days like that on a heavily loaded 650 single is the SEAT....Rick Mayer built ours and they were saviours!

We entered Alberta from Montana on the eastern edge of Glacier Park.  Beautiful 'hills.'

This is the most beautiful falls I've ever seen.  Not very high, probably less than 100 feet or so, but the entire Athabaska River, and not a small river, is funneled through a gap about 75 feet wide.  The roar and the mist is incredible from the little bridge where these photos were taken.  I've been here three times and want to go back again.

This was a typical camp though we didn't camp often due to 'inclement weather.'  As I get older, the thought of putting up and taking down a tent in the rain has less and less apeal.

This overlook is on the Icelands Parkway between Banff and Jasper.  It is a spectacular spot and I have pictures of three different bikes of mine parked here!

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