2 Texans to Alaska (and back)...

[Mastercylinder]

Keep it coming. Loving it.

[traindriver]

Looks like the camp spot I used this summer at Dawson creek nice report.

[MK160]

Dude, do you realize how lucky you are? Every picture of your wife shows a smiling face and an adventurer's spirit. Great ride report....I'm in. Have I mentioned how lucky you are?

MK160

[Rutsref]

Subscribed! Thanks for posting!

[jglow]

Originally Posted by MK160

Dude, do you realize how lucky you are? Every picture of your wife shows a smiling face and an adventurer's spirit. Great ride report....I'm in. Have I mentioned how lucky you are?

MK160

Oh boy, do I !
And to top it all, she rides too.





This summer we will be doing a 2texans on the TAT (west) on 250's, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to finish this write-up first.


And by the way...

Thanks to everyone for the comments, it really helps motivate me to get theses days hammered out and posted up. To all you guys writing Ride Reports: It is amazing the amount of time it takes to do these. Anyhow, back to work...


jordan

[wmfleet2]

thanks again for the RR

[jglow]

Dawson Creek, BC to Fort Nelson, BC


Day 9 – June 8, 2010
Mileage today: 482
Total trip mileage: 3,342



It had rained overnight, and was still somewhat drizzling when we woke up. We broke everything down wet and headed for the Tim Horton's. Tim Horton's, I am guessing, is about the Canadian equivalent to Dunkin Donuts. We got some coffee and donuts (naturally). The lady at the counter asked if I wanted a paper "to go" cup or a mug, and I opted for the mug (same price) since we were sitting inside. The mug probably held 5 oz and the cup was 12oz. The part that they leave out is that there are no free refills of coffee. The moral of this story is, don't get the mug of coffee unless you are a stupid, unaware tourist . We also met a local here that was dropping F-bombs like they were adjectives (which they were for him). He informed us to be careful because everybody driving on the Alaska Highway was F*ing nuts and we would probably be destroyed . We left feeling like we probably wouldn't be a frequent visitor of Tim Horton's.

Leaving out of Dawson Creek.



This was just going to be one of those days for us. The weather was a bit damp and demoralizing, and to top it all off, my netbook was no longer connecting to the internet. We had tried to connect at the laundry mat, campground, and the Tim Horton's with no luck. It's not like it was a huge deal, but we were trying to keep a live blog, and we were heading out into the sticks now. I felt like I i couldn't get it resolved now, then we wouldn't probably have an opportunity to do so until we reached Whitehorse, or maybe even Fairbanks. We had tried a couple of places in Dawson Creek, but everything was still closed, as it was probably 6 am. Hell, the local Wal-Mart in town does not open until 9am. We looked ahead on the map. Ft. St. John was written in Bold writing, so I figured there would be a chance of us finding a store where I could pickup a new netcard.

A really far away crummy shot of the Peace River Bridge before St. St. John:



We pulled into Ft. St. John and I was blown away with all the stores and shopping they had. In my head, once you got onto the ALCAN then that was it. You were off into the woods. I had hoped to find a "mom and pop" sorta electronics shop for the netcard, but I found this:



It just seemed really weird to me. So for anyone planning a trip up this way, just a quick note that you can pickup office supplies right up in Ft. St. John, right on the Alaska Highway .

We continued on for a while and stopped in this little town to take a break. The welcome center lady informed us that the church down the road let people use their wifi, so we took a break and updated the blog and I did a few work things.



Turns out that my netbook was fine. It connected to the internet without any issues here, so I didn't even need the new netcard. I suppose that all the internet was just down in the whole of Dawson Creek and thats why it wouldn't work. Oh well, add it to the heap of stuff we are carrying. I'm sure it won't be the straw that breaks this camel's back.

Back on the road, it begins to stretch out. Really straight flat and boring for the most part through this area. Kinda like Texas, but with trees. I think we call that East Texas.



Quick stop for gas and a snack at Sikanni River.



Then back on the road. No one in front.




No one behind.



When we arrived in Ft. Nelson we ate at the A&W where we scouted out our route. Nothing was real near, and this was our 9th day out camping, so we pondered our options. Looking out the window, I noticed a Super 8 motel with a huge sign that said “waterslide”. We needed to look no further.

True luxury! With space to set up the tent and let it dry out.



We just needed to get off the road today. In hindsight, this was a great call. We had more fun than grown (growing) adults should have on a water-slide and it was a great time to recharge our mental batteries.

Tomorrow we push to Watson Lake and have one of the most visually epic days of the trip!



jordan

[ClearwaterBMW]

thanks for continuing the report
great stuff
can't wait to read more

[Bob]

Nice report!

[bingo43]

My son needs a cushion for his bike. Where did you get those fluffy pads? They look great!

[presto88]

Great report, thanks again for posting.

Today, I didn't get to the computer until the afternoon - first I checked my gmail account (of course) and then I looked for your latest post! It's really fun just getting small portions at a time. Kinda like the trip itself would be.

If I ever check for your post before checking my e-mail....well that may signal that I have a problem.

[jglow]

Originally Posted by bingo43

My son needs a cushion for his bike. Where did you get those fluffy pads? They look great!

We got ours from Alaska Leather LINKY. I am pretty sure they are a supporter of the ADV site, and offer a discount to inmates. You may check out the "vendors" section here.


jordan

[Tricky One]

I would enjoy doing a long trip with the wife but honestly don't know how both of us would be able to pack all our stuff on the bike. My wife can fill all the bags on a bike by herself, any tips.

[equipment junkie]

Great report - Thanks for posting!

[jglow]

Originally Posted by Tricky One

I would enjoy doing a long trip with the wife but honestly don't know how both of us would be able to pack all our stuff on the bike. My wife can fill all the bags on a bike by herself, any tips.

Tricky One,

The biggest space hog, as far as our packing is concerned, is camping gear. The tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, associated cooking equipment, etc. takes up most of the space. For us, we use light weight camping gear. We had most of this stuff already from backpacking.

As far as how to help downsize your wife's packing, I would suggested weening slowly. Prior to this trip we did other smaller camping and moto/camping trips, where I tried to ease Nikki into the whole "less is more" thing. Us dudes mostly don't care to shower, or if we are in the same clothes for the better part of a week. But, try to tell your wife that she is only allowed 2 pair of underwear for a month long trip - not gonna happen. My suggestion would be to utilize layers. Maybe have multiple clean shirts, underwear, socks, but only 1 pair on pants (they are bulky). We wore overpants, so our regular jeans/pants were always clean (or at least not splattered with dead bugs).

If none of this sounds feasible, then you may need to just get bigger cases on your bike. Remember, you have to pick your battles.


jordan