On to Anchorage!

Derek, Bob, and Rick (and I, the photographer) churn on toward Anchorage, which as you can see on the mileage sign was 315 miles away yesterday as we left Tok (Bert was driving the RV). We had a pretty easy day of riding. Smooth road, zero hills for the first 40 miles, nice weather. We had beautiful views of snow-covered mountains off to the south and in front of us during much of the ride. What a fabulous bike ride Bob planned for us (if only Janet were here).

Day 30 July 14. Tok to Grizzly Lake Campground. Distance 75 mi. My distance 53 mi.

We had the usual spectacular views, but interestingly, we've seen virtually zero wildlife since entering Alaska. I forgot to mention in the previous blog that three days ago, while Bob and I were riding in the rain toward Dawson City, we saw a porcupine! Anyway, we still enjoyed our lakes and mountain scenes today:

I was the third driver, and got this photo of Rick with Derek and Bob behind. Unbelievable scenery we have everyday, yes?

At one of my stops on the side of the road waiting for the guys to pass by, I took the opportunity to do another thorough cleaning of the RV. I'm always amazed at how much dirt I get off the floors. I took the rugs outside and shook and beat them, swept up the dirt and crud left behind, mopped the linoleum, bleach-cleaned the sinks, and sanitized the counters and toilet. And then vacuumed. Do you think anyone else noticed anything different? hahahaha

We had a very nice campground on a little lake. The other four rented two canoes and paddled around the lake. I had some bike work to do (which Rick later had to bail me out on, because my shift cables have been giving me trouble ever since that day when they both went bad - the day into Whitehorse when I had my only flat tire).

There was no Internet coverage, but there WAS cell phone service!!! Janet and I could talk and text (which makes life immeasurably better), and I could talk to Katie and Brian! Katie and Jeremy are moving on Tuesday to their new home in Eugene, OR!! Here's a photo of the RV in our pretty setting:

After our frozen-lasagna dinner (quite good!), we made Smores. Bob and Derek made the campfire. The day ended with Rick installing a new shift cable on my bike. He's The Man.

Day 31 July 15. Grizzly Lake to Gakona. Distance 49 mi. My distance 71 mi (I rode a little extra).

It was a short ride, with no hills for the initial 30 miles. Overcast and some rain, and "only" 49 miles. Funny how that is so short now. Luckily we have Internet, so it's a profitable afternoon for us. I arrived at our destination at only 12:45 pm, and our lunch was at 11:00 at the 25-mi stop.

Because of the rain, I did not take many photos. I did get this one of the "famous" Copper River, noted for their salmon. The fish swim 300 miles up this river to spawn, and we've seen lots of advertising for salmon fishing guide trips.

We are now getting ready to drive the RV 2.5 miles ahead to this historic roadhouse lodging, originally built in 1904. It is now a restaurant, and look at all the "junk" (oops, I mean antiques) in the front. I took this photo when I rode some extra miles since we finished so early.

Just one more day, then Janet, Bert's wife Tomoko, and Jessica Brown arrive!

Here is a map of where we've been in the past four days, and where we are headed over the next 10 days. In the upper right, the circled "town" is Chicken, where we stayed on our first night in Alaska. Three more circles to the west is where we are now (intersection of Hwy 1 and Hwy 4). Our Anchorage campground is actually in Palmer, 40 miles north of Anchorage. We have a day off on July 18 to tour Anchorage. The next day we go south to Seward for a night. Then we drive back to north of Anchorage, unload the bikes, and begin to ride toward Fairbanks. At that point, we will have eight people for three nights until we reach Fairbanks, when Bert/Tomoko and Janet and I will be in a motel as we will be in Anchorage/Seward. Got that everyone?