Consolidated

 CHAPTER 1

What am I getting myself into?

It’s really happening.

Two weeks ago I put in my notice at my job and today is my last day working here, May 10, 2018.

So over it!

Officially unemployed... Time to really live life.

Not sure how far I’ll go or where I’ll end up but this is it. Very soon I’ll be loading up my motorcycle and hitting the open road.

Pre-trip Overview:

I purchased a Kawasaki KLR650 from a local motorcycle shop last year (2017) when they where going out of business. They had it marked down significantly and the opportunity was too good to pass up. I’d considered buying a used one before, but this was just too good. Shortly after buying the KLR I took it for a two week trip up to Maine. This was my first motorcycle trip (a trial run perhaps) and I was hooked. For this trip I decked the KLR out with some inexpensive Tusk panniers and a lower seat (so my feet could more easily touch the ground). I bought a 2 person tent from a local sporting goods store, loaded the KLR up with clothes and food and was on my way. Left Virginia and went up to New York then out to the coast in Maine. Made my way up to Campobello Island, New Brunswick; my first time out of the United States. I was astatic. This two-week trip left me wanting more.

I’d dreamt of doing an “epic” trip for some time and saved as much as I could. I had a poster of a route around Lake Superior hanging on my wall in my bedroom that I got picked up from an Aerostich popup in 2016. But I knew from the 2017 trip I wanted to add some more modifications to the KLR. I added a top box for more storage space and got a few dry bags. Chopped the kickstand nearly an inch so the bike would actually lean when fully loaded. The KLR would just about fall over with the original kickstand length. I already had a cheap sleeping bag I picked up in California back in 2016 when I flew out there with a friend to meander along the coastal highway for a week; it will do for now. And I already had a tent from the previous trip to Maine.

The KLR had around 8,000 miles on the clock after the short 2017 adventure (and a lot of running around my hometown). Some amount of internet forums later, I discovered the horrors on the KLR failing “doo-hickey” and thought it might be beneficial to do the Eagle Mike doo-hickey mod. A few youtube videos later, a KLR maintenance book, and a motorcycle laid down on its side; the torsion spring doo-hickey mod was complete. Note that even after 8,000 miles the orginal spring seemed to be in good shape but I put the new one in anyways. I also added a tall windscreen and dashboard for charging my phone and GPS/Satellite Phone. Threw on some new tires and was ready to load up and head out.

How does one pack for a long trip? This motorcycle is already so heavy all loaded down it feels unstable while riding. It’s like I have too much weight in the back and the front tire is skipping across the ground around turns. Maybe I have too many gatorades and water. Do I really need to bring all this food? How much clothes do I really need? Decided I’ll leave the Gatorade behind. It’s still heavy but I’ll shed some of this excess food and drinks as I go.

What am I getting myself into? 

May 20, 2018

It’s go time. I had dinner with my mom last night to say “goodbye". This morning she decided she was going to come out to Purcellville and say goodbye again. It was about noon by the time mom got there, but I’m in no rush. KLR was packed and ready, my godmother made me breakfast, and we all said our goodbyes. Mom was crying cause she was going to miss me, but she was happy for me and very supportive. 

Okay, okay, really, it’s time to go. First stop... Kitchener, Ontario, only about eight and a half hours from Virginia. Headed to a family friends house for the first night or so. Just trying to ease into this trip...

The ride to Ontario felt so long. Five hundred miles the first day was way too much. There were a lot of thoughts and feelings go through my head by the time I made it to the house to stop for the night. Am I making a mistake? Is this trip stupid? Pointless? I don’t even have a game plan other than maybe making it to Banff and dreaming about Alaska... but damn that looks really really far away. I've kept my plans on the down-low to have less expectations from others. No-one needs to know I’m leaving or where I’m going. This trip is for me, not anyone else. 

May 21, 2018

Yorka was very welcoming. A guest bed, very clean house, she made me breakfast, and even let me park the KLR in the garage. We all went to Elora Quarry and walked around the parameter of the quarry. Also drank Tim Horton’s coffee for the first time today. It’s Victoria Day in Canada so we went to watch fireworks with her daughter and her sister and her kids. The next day was mellow and Yorka invited me to stay as long as I’d like till I’m ready to leave. So I stayed another night.

CHAPTER 2

Journaling…

May 24, 2018

Lake Superior. Stopped at a Provincial Park to find that camp sites cost $41 CAN and asked if the lady knew of anywhere more mellow (less expensive or free). She told me of a little place with free camping/ no amenities so I asked her to show me on a map how to get to it. She said when I see this sign for a motel to turn down the dirt road on the opposite side of the road. “It looks like a ditch but it’s a road”, she explained. (Uh. okay?)

After almost eating shit in the sand ditch with a fully loaded KLR, then riding through a small track of woods it opened up to this private bay with amazing camp spots. Watched a beautiful sunset over Lake Superior while I ate canned tuna, took a bunch of photos, and set up the tent. After a seemingly perfect evening I was drenched by the pouring rain over night. Woke up in the morning and decided to take a bath in Superior next to a giant chunk of ice. A little cold but well worth it. Batchawana, Ontario

May 25 & 26, 2018

“Wow your hair is so long” someone said from a distance. She asked how long I’ve been growing it and if I ever measured it. “Over 10 years, and haven’t measure it”, I said. She proceeded to ask how tall I was and I responded about 5’10, she looked at me puzzled. Homeless girl with dog, told me about Old Woman Bay. (Fishing in fog photo) 

Riding along the trans Canada highway right before Marathon, ON, I came up on a moose on the side of the road. I double backed and got my camera out to take a picture and two other motorcyclist came up on me, honked their horn, and pulled off to see if I was alright (don’t think they noticed the moose) as they stopped a trucker drove by and tooted his horn, the bikers ride off and the moose was gone. First moose I ever saw and couldn’t get a photo... bloodyhell.

To Thunder Bay. About 2 hours from Thunder Bay and in the distance I could see a storm in the direction I was going. Rode right into the rain and it wasn’t that bad, ended up zipping my rain jacket around the tank bag to keep the camera dry (it worked really well and I’ll be do that from now on.) Riding along the way there are scenic pull offs and I just can’t help myself I had to stop and don’t care that it’s raining I may never be here again. Snapped a few photos of the mountains on Lake Superior covered in fog and rain. A few cars and even other motorcyclist passed by and didn’t stop.... do I look crazy? Guy on moto stopped in pouring rain to take picture from the outlook, nah... 

Ended up staying in a cabin at Catfish Lake. Took this opportunity to get a nice shower and clean some clothes. Spider hanging above the shower. Washed my laundry by hand in the sink and hung it around the cabin to dry, but in the morning it was still wet. I then wrapped different pieces of clothes all over the bike in hopes that it would dry while I’m riding. It was working, my clothes were starting to dry as they dangled off my bike at 90km/h. That was until I rode right into a rain storm. So close to being dry...so close. 

Welcome to Manitoba. The tall pines have came to an abrupt stop and the mountains faded into flat plains. A change of scenery. Stopped at a campsite that sits behind a gas station and asked where I could change my oil. The nice guys said I could change it after 9pm at the diesel pump, so I did. 

Running into the same people at waterfall. Guy and his mom I met at a trail head in Lake Superior Provincial Park a day or two earlier. Back up... Aguasabon River Gorge and Falls was not what I expect but a pleasant surprise. It was just a pull off on the side of the Trans-Canada along Lake Superior. When I pulled up to the parking lot all I could see was a walkway into the trees and a van parked. Walked down the walkway and down stairs and was stunned by the beauty. Did not expect that! Tons and tons of water pouring off the cliffs edge into a river that runs all the way into Lake Superior. Laying right in front of me was this masterpiece of nature; pines and cliffs and waterfalls and rivers all leading to the vast ocean of a lake surrounded by pine covered mountains. Glory. 

May 27, 2018

Drove across Canada’s prairies over the last couple days. Spent the last couple days fighting crosswinds across Canada’s prairies.  

May 28, 2018

Today I rode from Winnipeg (St François Xavier), Manitoba to Caron, Saskatchewan, hell of a long day but went from central standard time zone to mountain time so gained an hour. Fought the wind for hours on end across the Trans-Canada Highway 1. Seemingly ends miles of straight flat roads will make one exuberant to come across a slight bend in the road or and exit ramp. Speaking of exit ramps I’d fill up on gas and seemed like the next turn I took was to fill up again. Did I mention the wind?  Today’s high was 88 Fahrenheit and sunny. Can’t complain about a nice sunny day but can’t wait to get back in the cooler mountain air. Fucking exhausted from today’s ride, but made it 7 and a half hours outside of Banff (the next destination) 

I did stop for the Saskatchewan entry sign tho! And yesterday I got a photo of the Manitoba sign and Centre of Canada. 

Making my way I supposed. 

May 29, 2018

Arrived at Waterton Lakes National Park, drove through multiple rain storms and heavy winds. Through long mellow hillsides then it opened up to an unbelievable view of the Rocky Mountains. A golden sun peaked through the storm clouds at almost 9pm. Trying to rush to get to the National Park to get a camp spot for the night. Couldn’t help but to pull off and take photos of the lakes in front of the mountain peaks at sunset. As I entered the park a brown bear bolted across the road.

May 31, 2018

The last two nights it poured rain. The first morning the sky was clear and sunny and by midday I was able to drape my soaked sleeping bag, pad, and tent over my bike to dry. Enjoyed the sunshine in the evening and rode around the few things still open in Waterton Lakes National Park. You see, last year (2017) there was a fire which destroyed a lot of the park. Now only one side is open and things like hikes and lookouts are closed for 2018. There is still a lot to see but I wonder what is on the other side of those barriers. 

Last night I went out for food (very rare) and ate... pizza!, of course. On the way out of the pizza place, walking up to my moto, a cop in his patrol car stopped and asked “how’s it going?” In my mind I was like ‘oh shit here we go’ but he proceeded to be intrigued and ask me more questions. “Where are you heading” “What kind of bike is that” “Are you enjoying Canada, eh” “Have you been watching your speed”  And he even told me of a few spots to check out along my route. After be hunched over for some amount of time to talk into the police troopers window and explaining to him how everything in the states is in miles not kilometers, he pulled off on a friendly note and wish me the best on my travels. (Positive I’ve been keeping a close eye on my speed, I’m getting use to watching the kmh not mph) 

The overnight rain hasn’t quit, although last night I was a bit smarter and put a tarp inside my tent to keep my gear dry while I sleep. But rain clouds do look awesome sweeping through the pines on the mountain tops. 

Tonight I’ll be giving in and treating myself to a nice warm hotel room. Sorry KLR I can’t bring you in. Time to charge everything and back up photos!

Last night (5-31-18) I got a hotel room and it happened to be right across the street from the pizza place. (Waterton is a small town) So again I got pizza, but this time I called ahead. It was going to be 10 minutes before my pizza was ready and I only had to walk across the street. After waiting I started walking to the pizza place only to realize there were two pizza places side by side on the strip and guess what I did... ordered from the wrong place. I walked into the one I wanted to get the pizza from and said I think I ordered from the wrong place but the girl working was glad to put in my order. I called and canceled the pizza from the other place.

While wait for the staff to make the pizza, they asked “aren’t you that motorcycle guy?”... ‘Yes from yesterday’  

They started asking more question like ‘Are you going to eat the pizza in your tent?’  ‘Where are you heading?’ ‘Do you hike?’ 

I explained that I got a hotel room for the night because of all the rain and tent camping. 

One of the employees at front started telling me things I should see, eventually I asked her to write it in my notes on my phone. 

(((

Waterton trails: wishbone to vimy or sofa mountain 

Banff: lake moraine really beautiful!! Tower of Babel hike

Johnston canyon has nice waterfalls about a 2km hike

Drum heller: hoodoos, canyons

BC: you can surf in Tofino and Nanaimo is another cool town I recommend checking out, the vibe is refreshing

))))

After chatting for some time about this and that I almost walked out without paying for the pizza. It was all good tho and I turned around and paid for it. They all wished me well on my adventure and I was off to enjoy my fresh pizza.

Chapter 4

Banff & Jasper

June 1, 2018

Rode from Waterton to Banff, but first stopped by in Calgary at a Mignapore Skate Spot. Got line nollie big heel bs disaster then back tail on ledge. Small park but fun park. When I left Waterton I forgot to put the master locks back on my top box, I left them onlocked hanging for the rear strap around the topbox. I realized this when I arrived at the skatepark only to find both locks were gone.... hopefully no one was behind me when they decided to jump ship. Guess I’ll be buying some new locks too. Big thunder storm rolling in so I was off to Walmart to try to stock up on groceries before the storm then head to Banff. The ride to Banff was only an hour and forty minutes, but had to stop to put rain gear on to drive thru the sheets of rain. Lots of signs for severe wind but didn’t have any bad gusts till I got in Banff National park. Got blown all over the road but the views entering the park are absolutely breathtaking. Even pulled over to mount the GoPro on my helmet to get the drive in. Stopped at first campsite I came across, Two Jack Lakeside Campground. The sign at the entrance said ‘full/complet’ so I rode up to the entrance booth anyways to ask where I could find a spot for the night. The lady at the kiosk said that she had a small spot open, so I took it. It was right next to the washroom and there were lots and lots of kids running around, even thru my camp spot. Went for a walk to look at the Lake and walk to shore. Took a bunch of photos as the sun started to fall behind the snow capped mountains. When I returned my neighboring camper (man with family) came over to ask about my bike and where I’m off to. He gave me a few must sees in the park, Castle mountain campsite first come first serve, honeymoon lake, and the icefields. Wonderful first evening in Banff.

June 2, 2018

Camped at Two Jack Lakeside Camp spot. In the morning on the way to Banff skatepark it feels like bike wasn’t tracking right, is the front tire low on air? After looking around a bit I noticed the lower subframe bolt had fallen out. Called a few places and no one seemed to have a 8x28 bolt. Called a motorcyle shop and the guy said he’s not going to look for a bolt for me, I’d have to come in and look thru a bucket of bolts. No thanks. Found a NAPA store 27km from me and called and they have an 8x30. Rode there sketched out, bought the bolt and the socket to replace it. Replaced it in the parking lot of Napa. Feeling better now that that was taken care of, I was off to explore Banff NP once more. Casually working my way thru the park, turned down all the turnout roads so far. Went up one with switchbacks the whole way up and saw a bunch of big horned sheep on the side of the hill. (Twice)(smaller ones then bigger sheep a little farther up) Are they eating the rock sides? These creature were so silly, turned off my bike and started it again and the all jumped and looked at me like wtf dude. Got a few pictures of them before continuing up the mountain. Near the top was Banff Lookout overlooking the city with mountains in background. A family ask me to take their photos with it in the background on their iPhone. After heading back down the mountain and thru the construction again, I made my way to Vermilion Lakes. Beautiful view of the lake and mountain in background. Went to the first campsite on 1A and it was fully booked. They lady told me to check out Castle Mountain I little farther up. (The place the guy told me to go last night) There we’re open spots so I got one.

June 3, 2018

Woke up early to go hike Johnston Canyon. Woke up at 5:30 to get ready to go hike a Johnston Canyon. Rode on 1A up to a barrier that had closed till 8am. Turned around and went all the way to the other end and it was closed for construction... uh... guess I’m trapped till 8 am. It’s freezing cold so I kept riding to use my heated jacket. Got an idea to film a flyby video with the mountains in the background so I set my phone on a tripod and rode by down a hill. Video was so so. Then I was riding and saw a train going by so I filmed my bike sitting next to the train moving along. GoPro was way low on battery but I tried to film a windy road through the pine trees. It does half way through. Went back to Johnston Canyon at bout 9 and realized it was on the inside of the barrier and I passed right by it before.... till not a huge crowd but damn.

Hiked up to the lower falls and then the upper falls. Stopped a bunch to take photos and realized how tiring it was to hike up those hills. Awesome aqua blue waterfalls and canyons and huge pine trees.

Denmark 63yr old guy with brother and brother son.

Met a guy named Ove Jensen from Denark

As I got my camp spot at Lake Louise, I was sitting at a picnic table on the spot and I notice three other motorbikes come into the campsite. They parked a few sites over and setup their site then left. I waved as they left as do I with all motorcyclists.

After finishing my sandwich and a bottle of water, decided I would go over to Lake Louise on the moto before I set up camp for the night. They other three motorbikes were at the same place and I parked in the spot next to them.

Stayed at Lake Louise taking photos of the lake for quite so time. Long exposures of the clear aqua colored water with giant mountains in the background and one snow covered avalanche looking mountain in between the others. A couple stopped and asked me to take their photo of them in front of the lake. And as I was taking long exposures a girl came and asked about what filters I had, I showed her what they were and the picture I got. She had a Sony A whatever mirrorless.

Took a bunch more long exposures and it started to lightly rain. Kept shooting. Eventually I made my way back to my bike and headed back to the campsite (only bout 10 minutes away)

Started setting up my tent in the rain and trying to get everything inside before it got too wet.

Sitting inside the tent with my boots on but outside I hear “Hey you boy” I look up and it’s the older of the 3 moto guys. He asks me what I’m doing and i respond just trying to get my things off the bike before they get too wet. He asks where I’m heading and so on. He tells me he’s from Denmark and explains that’s he has rode around the world on his BMW in 1980 (took him a year and half) and his brother did it 10 years later.

I asked many questions about where he’s been and about his trip. He then tells me he’s on his way to Jasper with his brother and brother’s son. Then they are going back to Washington state and he’s continuing to Anchorage Alaska. Then he will ferry back to Seattle. He asked me if I wanted a beer, but I declined cuz I don’t drink.

He seemed very interested in what I was doing on my trip “Are you running from something?”

“What did you do for work before this”

He then handed me his business card and told me if I’m ever in Denmark to contact him and if I’m in Washington State to contact his brother.

“You have to come to Denmark, Denmark would love to have you”

He invited me to come see the bike and meet his brother. His brother was very nice and gave me his number to stay in Washington state if I pass thru.

June 4, 2018

Went straight to skatepark from campsite lake Louise. Then went to Moraine Lake. Drove thru some rain on the way up the mountain and when I was shooting photos of the lake it started to snow.

June 5, 2018

Woke up to frost on bike, very cold. Was warm in my sleeping bag until I got out to get my breakfast from my pannier. Instant cold. My site was right next to the bathroom and I needed to use it. One urinal, one toilet. It was a revolving door. Couldn't get in to take a shit for a good hour. Part of the site was being used by a large group of young adults. Busy busy busy. The food they were cooking for breakfast smelt good tho. Made me eat a second pop tart. Waited for a while for my tent to thaw out and dry. It was flurrying the night before at the campsite and at Lake Louise. Wanted to get up early and go hike at Moraine Lake and skate before I headed to the Icefields Parkway. Didn’t happen. Thought I could just go and find a place to skate along the way. Didn’t happen. Rode all the way to Jasper and skated at 6pm.

Took a long time to get to Jasper town, couldn’t help myself from stopping and taking pictures. Going to back track tomorrow to stop at the places I skipped over like the icefields.

Icefields parkway is on the top 3 places for me right now. It’s incredibly beautiful. The snow capped mountain peaks reach past the sky. Snow clouds over some of the peaks.

Stunning landscape. Camping at honeymoon lake campsite. Australian guy at Banff told me about this site a few days back. Nice site and only 15.70CAN (did exchange rate 12$) self serve site. With moose track thru my drive up site. Sketchy. Don’t step on me mr moose.

June 6, 2018

Camped at Honeymoon Lake Campgrounds last night. Today I started out by going to the skatepark. Stopped at Goats and Glaciers and got a morning photo long exposure of the mountains on the way into town. Very cool watching the sun move along the sides of the steep mountains and the clouds glide across the peaks. Took a few long exposures till more and more people started to show up. Time to roll. Went into town and skated the skatepark. No one else there so a filmed a few tricks. Frontside tail shov and half cab nose 270. After skating I booked it back some 150km or so to the Columbia Icefields. Hiked up to the glacier, it was cold up there but felt nice. Say down and tried to take some long exposures of the clouds over the glacier. Felt like I was the only one up there for some time. Few people passed by and fewer stopped to chat. One guy ask how my work was going. Some time went by as I enjoyed looking at the magnificent glacier in front of me. It’s just ice who cares, but it cool anyways. Hiked back down to my moto where a pickup truck was parked next to it. 3 people sitting behind it. The girl voiced “We are curious about your bike, we couldn’t figure it out, where are you from?” “Virginia” I said. The one guy seemed very interested in all the farkles and gizmos on my bike. Pannier racks, engine guards, KRLdash, seat, and topbox. He told me he just bought a KRL and is flying it out the Greece next summer to tour around there. Talked for a bit about travel and the KLR. He wish me a safe trip as a left. Not sure where I’m going at this point. Alaska would be such a achievement but don’t feel like drive today. Heading to Honeymoon Lake for the night.

June 7, 2018

Stayed at Honeymoon Lake again last night. No cell service. Trying to figure out the route up to Alaska and can’t get online. Drove into town and skated the park a bit. The kid I saw yesterday from Montreal was there again. Cool kid fun to skate with. He works on the train out here for 6 months out of the year.

After skating I went to get my usual, pizza sub from Petro-Canada. Tried to find a picnic spot to park and eat and try to figure out the Alaska route. No luck. Stopped on a pull out on the side of 93A. Had service, there was an RV sitting there too, hope I didn’t interrupt something. Ate half my sub sitting on a big rock. Then decide (2pm) to just get a campsite for the night and figure out where to go. Looking for a site with power and cellphone service. Found one, Wabasso Campground. Power and cell service. Told the lady at the front I was trying to figure out a route to Alaska. Told her my idea of going to Prince George and then up. She told me that if I go northwest to Highway 40 it’s the scenic route. Goes through Grande Prairie. Maybe I’ll take that. Time to charge up my laptop, camera battery, and everything else. In for the night... for now. Also the lady at the front said there has been high black bear activity at this site. This morning there was one in the campground.

It was a lazy (time to relax) day. Hung out at the campsite most of the afternoon. Charged my computer, camera battery, and phone; Edited some photos and researched the scenic route 40 which I will head for tomorrow. There is also the gold rush trail through British Columbia which I should take on the way back. Got bored sitting around after I set up my tent so I went back to town to grab coffee. Seems like no coffee shops were open this late (8pm) only Tim Horton’s in gas stations. Well went to an Esso and decided on a Starbucks frap, Reese’s, Hershey White chocolate, and 3 Tostitos. Saving the chocolate for another day, but those Tostitos tasted so damn good. 2 buffalo and a Montessori jack.

10:30 at night and it’s not dark yet, and someone’s damn door open beeper has been going off for the last hour.

Signing off for now.

CHAPTER 4

North

June 8, 2018

Rode out of Jasper today, as I was leaving the National Park I had to drive through the town. Wonder why I didn’t go into town and walk around, looked really nice. The other side of town Jasper started to look more like Arizona or something. The mountains and cliffs where shaped like the Midwest US. Should have stopped and taken more photos, but it’s time to move on North. The way out was full with construction sites, mines maybe?, and lots of dirt. Dirt in the air, smell of dirt in my nostrils and dirt on my clothes. Every time a truck turned onto the highway, clouds of dirt filled the air. Stopped at a trash pull out and a passing truck sprayed my face with dirt. The day went by fast as the pines fizzled out and the mountain peaks turns to mostly flat prairie lands. Camped a Saskatoon Island Provincial Park. Nothing special. It was in a Prairie. Lots on mosquitos right next to the water. I was the only one in the overflow camping section(cheapest, no fire pit) Finally got a shower. The shower was operated by 1$ Looney coins, but it didn’t take the money only spit it out on the button. 1$ 5 minute shower was an easy free 10 minute shower and the water was hot, thankfully. Nothing like a shower after a week of grime and sweat.

Slept well.

6-9-18

Headed from Saskatoon to Fort Nelson. It’s a long haul. There was a skatepark minutes away from the campsite in Saskatoon, so it was good to skate first thing before hitting the road. The skatepark was right next to a little league football game. Halfway into skating the scooter kids showed up. Lots a scooters out here for some reason. Anyways the flat ground was smooth and nice to skate minus the loose pebbles in places.

Hit the road for Fort Nelson after skating. Stopped in Fort St. John for a Walmart run to restock the left pannier. Tim Hortons coffee fraps, pop tarts, and tuna crackers.

The road from there was a long one, about 5 hours till the camp destination. Rode from Alberta into British Columbia, got a photo at the entry sign. Long roads with spotty rains. Stopped to put my rain jacket over my tank bag and move the electronics so they don’t get wet. Later on I stopped to hook up the heated jacket again, couldn’t take the cold and rain. Another moto pulled off when he saw me on the side of the road. He asked if i was alright. I ask where he’s going. He was on his way to Fort Nelson as well, but then he was going up to Inuvik Arctic Ocean. He

showed me a paper map of roads he was going to ride.

( Met a guy named Fred today. Then later, about 150km later, I ran out of gas... that’s when Fred showed up again and was carrying an extra jerrycan of gas. He poured about a gallon into my moto, and said he would follow me to the next town gas station. He was running on reserve as well by the time we got to Fort Nelson, BC. After finally arriving at a gas station I offered to fill up his extra can. He declined and told me that it’s all about helping other people and for me to help the next person in need. I bought my own jerrycan 1.25gal and strapped it to my pannier box. We parted ways and wished each other well on the journey. Thanks Fred! )

After Fred left a local man at the gas station came over to talk. He asked which way I was heading. “North, to Whitehorse then into Alaska” I said. “Where you coming from?” He said. “Virginia”, I replied. “Holy Fuck!!?, you’re a long way from home... and by yourself? You just impressed the shit out of me. I’m inspired” The conversation went on abouts the route I took to get here over the Great Lakes and across Canada. He was in complete aw. He told me about the moose and bear and wild buffalo I will most likely see farther north. Told me not to drive at night cuz “The buffalo think they own the road, and on a motorcycle the buffalo do own the road”

He was very kind and advised me to fill up my gas tank when I see a station even just to top it off bcuz some places have long stretches between towns. 

He told me of a campsite on the other side of town but said he couldn’t remember the name even tho he drives by it everyday. “It’s just past the museum on the left” and off I went. The campsite was swarming with giant RVs. I wonder what it’s like... the luxury. Am I missing out? Or are they? ....Goodnight

6-10-18

Met guy Jess at campsite with Asain lady this morning.

While packing my bike a guy came over from the other campsite and asked if I wanted some French toast. He was with a little Korean lady. I hesitantly said “uhh.....yeah sure”

It’s one thing meeting someone on the road but when they offer food the caution receptors start firing. Anyway, I continued to walk toward the picnic table where Sirilak and Jesse were putting together a full course breakfast. They made me French toast and fruit toppings to put on it. Chatted quite a bit about our travels and everything. Jesse was on his way to Alaska to fish for the season. And Sirilak his friend from Oregon was riding along for the trip. She then was flying back home from Alaska. Jesse asked me where my next stop was. Me, not really having any plan mapped out other than get to Alaska, didn’t really know. They told me I should check out these hot springs about 4 hours north, it’s where they were heading. They said they made reservations and it’s a hot spot to go so the camps may be full. They told me if I get there and it’s full I could put my tent on their site. Very nice of them.

The route from Fort Nelson to Liard River was very scenic with lots of wildlife. I saw a brown bear standing in the bush watching a black bear grazing. Saw goats and caribou. And even a two herds of buffalo. One buffalo was limping and looked like he was close to death.

Passed through Muncho Lake and it was incredible. The blue blue river with the bare sandstone colored mountains and pine covered mountains all clashes together to give and array of colors. Cliffs and snow capped mountain. Riding right all the water. The beauty had me stopping every 5 minutes to pull off and take pictures.

The sun was beaming hard and it felt as if my nose was getting burnt... the skin started to peal and flake.

Upon arrival at Liard River Hot Springs the attendant at the entry booth said the camping was full and the overflow spots were available. I told her I met a guy named Jesse and she instantly knew what I was talking about. Jesse and Sirilak has told the attendant I may be arriving and want to camp on their spot. She waved me through to spot 37.

Met up again at hot spring campsite with Jesse and Sirilak, they informed the campsite attendant of my coming and let me set my tent up at their spot

6-11-18

Woke up this morning with plans to make it to Whitehorse Yukon. But 10 minutes into driving I realize that something from last night in my chain was actually fucked. The chain was loose as hell. Made it to Coal River where there was. Campsite, gas station, and restaurant all in one. I asked the lady inside if I could use the parking lot to adjust my chain. This involves taking both the panniers and most of the luggage off the bike in order to get it on the center stand. She told me to ask the man in the outside garage. Walked to the garage and the man told me sure just to move my bike somewhere out of the way. So I did. By the time I got all my luggage off another man on a four wheeler pulls up and asks how’s it going. He helped me pull the bike up on the center stand and gave a big smile. He said if I need anything like tools to come over to the garage. I said “maybe some pliers to pull the cotter pin?” He zipped off on his four wheeler and before I knew it he was back with needle nose and regular pliers. He then started looking at what I was doing and asked if I wanted a wrench rather than adjustable wrenches. He went off to get some wrenches. By this time another guy (from the road) riding an Africa twin had shown up. He was asking about what I’m doing and we talked about the automatic trans on the Africa twin. Shortly after Davie shows back up on the four wheeler. He then says “I might as well help you, I ain’t doing fuck else” I took him up of the offer and away we went. It didn’t take long to adjust but that chain was way too loose. Davie talked bout how he built a trike back in the day with a Chevy v8 motor. He seemed very excited to help and talk to an out of towner.

The rest of the day was spent riding to Whitehorse. It took way longer than I expected. By the time I got to Teslin, almost 7 pm, I was inching to skate. Whitehorse was the only skatepark showing up on my gps. But sure enough riding through Teslin with Hawkeyes, I notice a little skatepark tucked away behind a museum. Stopping for a skate. Skatepark was a bit shitty and pebbles all over the perfectly smooth ground. Whatever, as long as I get to skate.

I was well spent after a day of riding and a skate session. Went to the gas station, I was already on reserve and asked a guy about how far in Whitehorse. He told me about two hour and informed me that I have till about midnight before it gets dark.... oh the Yukon summer. Eager to make it to Whitehorse I set off and by the time I got on the other side Of town (Teslin) I noticed a campsite. Pulled in to see how much. Self registration and only 12 dollars CAN. Sitting at the booth about to grab a self registration envelope, guess when comes around the loop from inside the park... Jesse and Sirilak. They had just got there before me and were checking out the sites. I asked if they wanted to camp together. We went around the loop looking for a spot. Spot10 it is. I offered to pay for the spot if they wanted to share since they helped me out last night at the campsite that was full (hot springs). They liked that offer. Sirilak made Thai food for dinner... lots of food.

Looked over my bike before I went to bed and noticed the rear sprocket had a broken toothed. Wtf. Guess I’m looking for a shop in Whitehorse.

6-12-18

Rode to Whitehorse with the chipped tooth sprocket, seems to run fine but my nerves weren’t. Could the chain skip off or brake while I’m riding? Don’t even want to think about it. It’s only about 2 hours to the moto shop in Whitehorse. Arrived in Whitehorse and checked out the skatepark before I went to the moto shop, could be there all day. After skating I made my way over to the motor shop and asked the workers if they had a mechanic. He said yes and would come look at it. He looked it over and told me I shouldn’t worry too much about it and if it were him he would run it. I asked to price out new sprockets and a chain. 140 for the chain and 50 for each sprocket. Yikes. He told me his shop is 4 weeks out for a mechanic. Not gonna happen. Ended up not buying the new shit, I’ll just wait. Went to McDonalds to get a bite to eat. The moto guys from the Liard Hot Springs campsite were there. “Hey! Steve? How’s it going” surprised they remembered my name. I guess we did chat for a bit at the campsite. (He gave me tons of info and places to ride at the hot spring. Told me about Dawson City Dawn to Dusk event, and about going up to Tuktoyaktuk instead of Prudhoe Bay)

They asked where I was heading and I still didn’t really know but a general direction... towards Alaska I suppose. He started telling me more things to see... BC, Yukon, Alaska.... roads and sites and whatnot. Eventually I asked him to make some notes in my phone so I could remember. He wrote down a bunch of things and gave me his number and email to contact if I have any questions. He asked if I had a map... uh no. “If you have a map I can highlight things for you, I have highlighters”... looked in my topbox and found a map of Banff but nothing up north.. He then said “oh I might have one in my tankbag” he went to his tankbag on his bike and came back with a Yukon/ Alaska and a bit of BC map. It already had some stuff highlighted on it. He started to mark it up, ‘go here, check this out, and this and that’ he highlighted roads all up and down the northwest. I offered to take a picture of the map so he could keep it but he gave it to me instead. We talked more and I told him about my sprocket and going to the moto shop. He said his buddy is a mechanic and should be here (at McDonalds) soon. We went out to the bikes and his friend (which I can’t remember names) looked at my sprocket. He said it’s prolly not going to be an issue but good catch. But that I do need to change the sprocket and chain in the near future. Around 3k miles left on it. Change it when i get new tires. “Business in the front, party in the back, do you know what that’s from” “a mullet?” I responded. “Yeah! The mullet haircut!” Business in front for front tire and part in the back for rear tire.

We talked for a bit more before parting ways. I then headed back to the less crowded area... okay back to the skatepark parking lot to find out what I’m going to go for the night. Haines junction is only an hour an half away.... but I can do that tomorrow. Remembered a campsite that Jesse and Sirilak talked about in Whitehorse so off I went to find it. Arrived at the site, semi early only to find it was full.. a local lady doing self registration told me there might still be a spot (spot 10) “it’s tucked away, rvs cant get into it” I asked about things to do in the area and she told me a bit of things. She said that campgrounds bear Whitehorse are packed with locals this time of year so some may be hard to get spots.

Off I went looking for the empty spot only to find a towable camper in it. Started to make my way around the loop guess lll go to a different campsite.. that’s when I almost drove right past Jesse and Sirilak! They invited me to stay again (3nights in a row) on their spot. I took them up on the offer. So thankful for that. Sirilak cooking dinner again it was super good Thai food. I showed them the map with highlights that the moto guy gave me. They too started getting ideas of different things to see. The night was short as the sun set at 11:30pm and rose at 4:30. It got bitter cold again tho as I slept.

6-13-18

Woke up around 5am eager to get to the skatepark then on the road. Jesse offered me food on my way out but told him I would get something in town before I head out. They are so nice people! Headed to the skatepark in Whitehorse where I ended up staying for a while about 3-4 hours. Filming a Ollie over my moto and tried to get a photo. It’s look forever to get the shot. Set the camera up on interval time shoot to take 60 shots every second, that’s a good 2 tried over my bike. Over and over the timing was off. Finally got a few that will work and my legs were dead.

Went off to McDonalds for the second day in a row and sat by myself eating. Walked outside and a lady was sitting at the picnic table near my moto. She engaged in conversation and it went off. She was a native Yukon tribe lady. Told me bout how her people are slowly disappearing. She called it genocide. Told me she was 60 something years old and the older she gets the more racist she becomes. I said an indirect “oh but you got to love everyone”

She wasn’t mad at me, she was actually very excited to talk to me. “You’re out here because you’re searching for something, you may not know what it is but you’ll find it” “She said that I don’t have an accent when I talk and made a redneck voice to try to imitate how some US people talk. I laughed and said not everyone talks like that in the US. She was very happy to meet me and even wanted my picture haha. We took at selfie and she wish me the best on my journey.

Off to Haines Junction.

Left for Haines junction and rode straight into the rain. Heated jacket stopped working for some reason, maybe it’s the fuse.. hope it’s just a fuse. Stopped at a gas station to take cover and look for a campsite near the town. Sat for a few before going inside “Do you have hot coffee?” “Yes we do” the lady st the register responded. Bought an expresso white chocolate mocha and sat inthe window seats they had set up. After a while I asked if I could plug in my laptop. They said yes. Put some pictures on my computer and backed up my drives. Edited the shot of the Ollie over my moto. Started talking to the kid who worked there. He didn’t know where Virginia was and thought Washington DC was in Washington state. Explained how I can across Canada and heading to Alaska. He was happy to talk and offered me a place to camp in his backyard. It was very nice but I already had a campsite in mind right up the street. Another guy came into the store and asked if that was my moto outside. He wanted to know if I was okay or if the bike was broken down, he had jogged by and came back and noticed it was still there ( was I in the store for that long? Bought a Yukon patch and sticker ) feeling like I overstayed I started to pack up my stuff. He told me there was a grizzly and cubs at the campsite I was going to and said I should get bear spray or camp near someone. ( hope I’ll be fine, bear spray was 54$ didn’t buy) On my way out the kid working asked if I eat regularly. “Yes I do?” He offered to give me a fresh made ham and cheese and cucumber wrap. “Fresh food is always good” he said. I couldn’t let him just give it to me so I paid for it.

Left for the cAmpsite in the rain and set up my tent in the rain while on the phone with mom. The wrap was delicious, should have gotten 2 of them.

6-14-18

Going from Haines Junction up through Destruction Bay today. Heard it’s a “scenic” area. Off to a late start leaving the campsite; it rained most of the morning and I waited around for my tent to dry but said ‘screw it’ eventually and packed it wet... hate doing that. Stopped at the skatepark in Haines Junction, the rec center website says concrete half pipe, but it turned out to be a drainage ditch type thing next to a basketball court. Whatever at least it’s something to skate. The mountains in Haines Junction are incredible, rode in last night when it was raining so the top half of the mountains weren’t visible. This morning I could see to snow covered mountain tops, lots of snow halfway up to the top. The clouds were puffy and wrapping around the mountains as they passed thru them. It seemed as if the mountain tops where slicing the clouds like butter as they went by.

After skating I went back to the Cafe/ gas station for some hot coffee and a wrap. Sat and ate lunch at the picnic table outside. Watched a guy just about hit his towable camper on the top of the gas station awning. I went over and warned him that if he pulls forward it might take the ac unit off the top of his camper. He laughed got out and looked and said he will back out instead of pull forward. And thanked me for the warning. That would have been a disaster. Didn’t feel like I was going to get too far today, late start, then on the route up to Destruction Bay I was stopping every 2 minutes to take pictures. Incredible views. Stopped at one spot and an older couple from Florida started chatting with me. Asking me where I’m from, where I’m going and whatnot. The old man was so excited to see a KLR. He looked at my helmet “Harley Davidson?” then mumbled ”traitor”. His wife nudged his arm and said “he has two Harley’s at home” “he’s just joking.” It is funny though I have a HD helmet... He said he used to have a KLR, and he rode it up to Prudhoe Bay. “Was it worth it?” I asked. “At the time it was!” he responded. He went on to say now looking back it’s just something you just do to do it and that’s about it. He told me a story of his friend on his deathbed and he told him right before he died “Do it while you’re young” talking about traveling and enjoying the world. The old man told me the story and said he wanted to leave that with me and my travels. He and his wife asked how old I am (they were in there 60s and 70s) I responded “28”. He said “I hate you” and laughed. Talking with those two made my day. As he was leaving he said to his wife “can I get another one?” (talking about the KLR) we all laughed. Back on the road I found myself at the gas station at Destruction Bay. A motel was attached to it so I ended up staying the night there. 113$ for the motel and a bargs root beer. (Ouch) Motels are too expensive... 12$ CAN for the campsites across Yukon (way more affordable).

The sun set at almost midnight, looked outside around 2am and it was still light outside. Guess I’m north enough to where it doesn’t really get dark.

6-15-18

Used just about every minute of the hotel. Woke up and it was super warm inside the room. Couldn’t figure out a way to cool it down other than to open the door, which I did. Milled about the morning as if I had nowhere to be. Edited pictures and ate breakfast, in no rush. Wanted to make it to Alaska today but maybe I’ll just do half. Fairbanks is the next destination, they have a skatepark. Handed in the motel key at 10:50am, checkout was at 11am. Stopped a few time to turn on heated gear and readjust my helmet and gear. Hoping to make it to Tok today. Stopped at Pickhandle Lake and took photos of a dock for a little bit. Set off to look for a place to skate, maybe a pull off if one is paved. Seems like only the highway is paved and everything else is gravel. Found a rest stop with what it seemed to be a 100 year old pave job. Seriously. Full of rock and barely intact. It will do for today. Started stretching and 4 RVs pull in and park on the somewhat paved spot. I’m not leaving, this could be my only chance to skate. Stood around a while till the last rv left. Skated the shit ground, fun to have a challenge tho! Haha. Off to the border. Arrived in Beaver Creek to fill up with gas. Bought a breakfast sandwich and a large pizza pretzel. Asked the lady if there is camping anywhere. She had camping behind the restaurant lodge. Waited around a bit and talked on phone with mom before deciding to just called it a day. It’s only 5 and 1/2 hours to Fairbanks. Hopefully I can wake up early and do it tomorrow. It’s only 10 for the campsite and they have power and bathroom/ showers. Good deal. Beats a motel that’s for sure.

Went inside late in the evening looking for water bottles and maybe a snack. Asked how much a bag of jerky was and the lady said 9 something.... nope not getting that. Asked if she had a case of water I could buy and she said it would cost 48$ if she did because of the outrageous shipping costs. She offered me fresh cooked homemade chili and a muffin which i gladly took.. oh and for free.

CHAPTER 5

Alaska

6-16-18

Border crossing day, into Alaska. Don’t know what to expect. Stayed at Beaver Creek the, Yukon, small campsite behind a gas station restaurant lodge. It was only 19 miles from the border. Pulled off to take a photo at the welcome to Alaska sign and met a guy, Pedro, from Ecuador who was also on a moto, yahama tenre. He ask where I’m heading and bout the KLR and chat chat chat, this and that. He told me about a campsite about 30 minutes into Alaska, it’s free and has free to use canoes. Showed me pictures of some babes he met camping there doing yoga on the dock. My goal is Fairbanks today so maybe I’ll go check it out. Would love to take a canoe out in Alaska.

Got to the campsite and realized I still didn’t have water, so I went to the next town about 12 miles from the camp. It was early in the day and I just went back another hour crossing from Yukon into Alaska. 4 hour difference from home. The general store wasn’t much and put a bad taste in my mouth. The people hanging out in the place seemed like really country dirt, Alaskan rednecks? Idk just knew it was going to be annoying. They didn’t have much and a single corn dog was 2.00...no 2.10 a different lady said. Felt like I was being played the whole time. Ask how much a water bottle was and I got a hesitant 1$. Bought a few bottles and 2 coffee fraps. Asked if they sold tools like a wrench. ( I needed a 12mm to adjust my chain) the lady at the register said no and asked the locals hanging out if the have one I can use. Told them I’m looking to buy one not use one. One of the guys speaks up “I got one I’ll sell you”.... oh great here we go. “5 dollars”.... that seems kinda steep for a half rusted wrench. Got a ratcheting one he would sell me for 10$.....no thanks. Told him 5 is too much. He said 3 bucks. In my head I’m like fuck this guy but I really don’t feel like riding another 60 miles to get a wrench because I want to stop at Deadman Lake campsite. Fine 3$ for a rusty is wrench. Hope the rest of Alaska isn’t like these twats.

Back to Deadman Lake. Starting adjusting the chain and cleaning it. Then decided I’ll just stay here for the day. Only rode about 60 miles today but whatever I’m not in the mood.

Finished up the moto and went for a ride in a canoe. Wahoo canoeing in Alaska! Cool to think about. Went around the edge of the lake hoping to see a grizzly or bear along the shore line. Well didn’t see a bear but saw an eagle! Was too slow getting out the camera and I think I spooked it. It flew off.

Came back across the lake to the dock and an elder couple asked me to take their photo of them sitting in the kayak with the mountain in the background so I did.

Went back to me site and started to fall asleep with my tent open, no fly. A voice came of the road “hello?”

It was the old guy from the canoe, he had brought me dinner.

I offered to come over to there site and hang out. Didn’t want to just take their food without really knowing them. He generously invited me over to their camper.

Arrived at the camper, one of those ones that sit inside the back of a dually pickup truck. It was nice. They showed me the inside of the camper and all the gadgets. Fridge, bed, table, kitchen and bathroom. The side popped out like a side out hard shell which made it seem more roomy. Mrs Bilbrey cooked up some rice with chicken and a salad. They talked about their kids and a grandson in his 20s. They lived in Florida and are out driving around seeing the country. Mr Bilbrey is a retired firefighter and his son is a police officer. They talked bout there son being with too many girls when he was young and about a cabin they built in Florida that they were going to haul up to a property in Georgia but it was flooded a month before they were going to move it. The stilts were 10-12 ft out of the ground and were fully submerged in water. They ended up putting the cabin at a closer property only 45 minutes from their house. They went on and on bout there family and i occasionally chimed in. Stayed talking with them till almost 11pm. Before I left they kept offering me snacks to take with me. I tried to decline saying they’ve given too much already but Jean wasn’t going to let me leave without taking a bag of snacks, tube of pringles, and some bug spray.

I had met my neighboring camper site people who were from Switzerland and drove a Toyota 4x4 with a sweet overland cab on it. She invited me over to sit at their fire pit earlier in the day but by the time I was done at the Bilbreys they had already went in for the night. I really wish I could have chatted with them, she told me they used to ride a motorbike around before they got the 4x4.

6-17-18

The night before the Bilbreys asked what time I wake up and I said around 6:30. They said they don’t wake up that early but if I’m still here when they wake up they want me to come for breakfast. Sure enough at 7am Dwight comes over with 2 cups of hot coffee . He said he almost tripped on the way over and spilled some. He stood and talked while we both drank coffee and said breakfast should be ready in 30 or so minutes. ‘Just stop by after you pack everything on your bike’ around 8am I stopped by on my way out and Jean Bilbrey made me scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and another cup of hot coffee. Dwight showed me a paper map of the roads they’ve done and then gave me an extra map they had of Alaska and the Yukon. Told me about denali and other sites to see and the wildlife they’ve seen. Showed me a bunch of pictures on his phone of their trip so far. As I was leaving Dwight came over and tried to give me a $20 bill. I said no I can’t take your money you’ve given me too much already. He went over to my bike and put it in my tankbag and said the next campsite is on us. I couldn’t get over how generous they were and so excited to see a “young” traveler. Happy to have met them and they gave me their number and address and said if I’m over in Florida to stop by and say hi.

On the road to Fairbanks.

Stopped at turnoff outside of campsite to skate flat ground.

At a rest stop I was standing there putting on my rain pants and heated jacket. It was a lot colder than I thought when I left the campsite. A pickup truck, Chevy Colorado pulled into the rest stop with Virginia tags. “Hey you from Virginia” I said. He responded “Yes” “Me too” I said. John had an interesting story to tell.

John from Virginia travels becuz his wife passed 3 years ago. Get of the doge for a month. John and his wife used to love to travel. He said she was they only one for him. He said he still loves her after she’s been gone for 3 years. He said rather than sit around an mope about her passing he likes to honor her life by going on a trip and this year he decided on Alaska. Just him and his dog in a pickup truck. He had a sleeping pad and sleeping bag in the bed of the truck with a normal cap over it. He would stop anywhere to sleep, Walmart parking lots and rest stops and campgrounds.

Random scenic view pull off, took a lady’s picture for her of Alaska mountain in background. She told me about Chena Lakes campground near Fairbanks. And that’s where I went. $15 for a campsite. Went around both locations, lake and river. Lots of people near the lake so I ended up staying near the river. Only one other camper across the park. Had a wise idea to move my bike near the tent area. Saw that the ground was a little soft so I went to look for some rocks to put under the kickstand. Turned around from the bike and BAM down like a ton of bricks. Fucking hell. The kickstand fell into the ground like it was hollow under that layer of grass. Fully loaded I could pick it up, so I stood there cursing out loud while getting eaten alive by mosquitos and taking my panniers and dry bags off the moto. Got all I could off and realized the pannier that the bike fell on was bent/crushed. Made me even more mad at myself for moving the bike on this shit ground. The kickstand was wedged fulling into the ground to the frame and I still couldn’t pick I up. I went over to the other side of camp and asked the guy for some help. With 2 people we were able to pick it up. It was low on fuel when I got to the campsite so when it fell over it made it super hard to start after we got it up. I asked the guy to hand me the extra fuel can I had on the picnic table with all my other gear. I put the nosil on and attempted to pour it into my tank. The damn rubber seal came off when he opened the can so the gas poured all over my pants. Fucking nightmare. Got the bike started without the extra fuel and moved it up to the somewhat rocky gravel parking spot. I thanked him for his time and he told me about how he just fought cancer and was 45 lbs skinnier a few months ago and how he was here camping with his daughter for Father’s Day. He said they planned on staying in Denali tonight but it was all rainy so they came here instead. “There’s a reason we were supposed to come here and I think it because I was supposed to help you” he talked about as he was the only other person in the campground and if he wasn’t here I’d still be cursing and herniating my guts trying to lift that damn kickstand out of the swamp ground. He left and wish me well and hoped my night got better.

Ended up setting my tent on the gravel pad cuz why would anyone want to camp on softer soggy wet ground. No thanks.

6-18-18

Goal today is to get an oil change. Dan from Adventure Cycleworks was where the guy I met in Liard Hot Springs told me to go. But first I had to check out the Fairbanks skatepark. When I got to The skatepark in Fairbanks John Weaver Memorial Skatepark, another guy showed up around the same time 10am. He found a pair of shoes in the woods, vans half cabs, and was putting them on. They were his size? Weird. He was wearing raggity old Nike’s and the heel was falling off. He was actually pretty good at transition (the one quarter pipe on the park) He did a back smith stall bs 270 in. Surprised me. He friend came hung over from the prior night, skated for a few minutes and said he was going to throw up. They both went off to the “ganja store” and offered me to come but I declined. Just trying to skate. Set up a new board for the session, much needed the one I was riding was so fucked from the rain, dirty, and that Ollie over my bike back in Whitehorse chipped up the nose pretty good.

After skating I went to Walmart and loaded the bike up with goodies. They had coffee fraps(finally no more Tim Hortons fraps even tho they are really good). Box of 48 poptarts for real cheap. And some Reese’s and Oreos and canned tuna. Set for a while. Seems like everyday I planned to make a grocery run it rains. It was only a short drizzle and stopped before I got to Adventure CycleWorks, aka Dan’s house. When I got there there was 4 guys already at the house. Dan was inside the garage changing on front tire on the KTM. Introduced myself to the guys outside and they thought my bike was really loaded down. Two of them had BMW 1200, one a KTM, and the other some BMW cruiser.

They were all pretty funny saying vulgar jokes and some inside jokes. They were from Oregon and not that old, think they say low 40s. After the front tire was done they were on their way.

Introduced myself to Dan, I had called earlier to give him a heads up on an oil change. He was real nice, asked him a few questions which turned into a long conversation, it was more than an hour after I got there before we even pulled my moto onto the lift in the garage. He told me all about Alaska, this way that way, gas here, camp there. Oh and watch for moose. He told me about a guy who got kicked in the helmet by a moose and his wife was trying to save him because his helmet was strangling him. Always go behind a moose and never infront, they kick with their front legs and can run really fast.

It went on and on. He changed my oil and we talked more. He told me about some people don’t give a heads up and some try to come to his garage and think it’s a self service and it’s not. Another group of bikers showed up, older guys all of which had decked out GS1200 BMWs. Seems to be a common theme. The guys were nice, one of them didn’t like how Dan was changing his buddies tire and was talking shit in Dans driveway. Dan was talking shit about parts one of the guys had on his BMW. Oh and dan kinda looks like the Klondike guy from Gold Rush.

After a lot of talking, it had to have been 6 or so in the evening at this point. I decide I’m going to head out. I asked Dan what I owe him for the oil change. He said “your good, don’t worry about it” he didn’t want me to pay him.

(I’m going back to him later for more work before heading out of Alaska. Will get sprockets, chain, and tires. )

Went to McDonald’s then back to Chena for the 2nd night.

6-19-18

Rode to Circle. 118 miles from Fox is Circle. I didn’t know much when I left for Circle other than that someone I met on the road told me to check it out. They said the ride was scenic. There is gas in Circle so I could fill up and head back all in the same day. The road ends at Circle which lies on the shoreline of the Yukon River. When I started on the road I planned to ride to Eagle Summit which is about half way to Circle and decide if I wanted to go the rest of the way. The rolling mountains around Eagle Summit are covered in lichen which give them a soft unreal look. It’s was windy and cold, but I have heated gear so it’s okay. The mountain have a greenish yellow tint to them with large specs of snow in spots. I didn’t see too many cars along this route, seriously like none. There was a van parked at Eagle Summit but I didn’t see anyone in it. One section of the road had snow cut perfectly along the side about 10 feet high and way up the side of the mountain. Seems like it could be an avalanche area. Stopped and took a photo of the moto next to it. From Eagle Summit I decided to keep rolling north to Circle. Why not? There is just about 24 hours of sunlight today. A place called Central is between Eagle Summit and Circle. All the road leading up to Central was dirt and gravel, not too bad. Central on the other hand had pavement all the was through the town... then back to dirt on the other end. A little strange but kinda makes sense. There were houses in central and a few little shops. There’s supposed to be a gas station but I didn’t seem one. Only saw one person through Central and he was walking along the road. He waved as I passed by. From Central the road started getting worse and worse. Some windy spots with loose gravel and abrupt turns with no signs. The closer I got to Circle (which seemed like forever) the worse the road got. I guess not too many people use this route. I arrive in central around 8pm. Went to the end and took a picture on the End of the Road, Circle sign. That’s when a boy on a dirt bike came over to me. He stopped and looked at me for a minute, didn’t say anything and sped off through the gravel. I wasn’t getting a warm and fuzzy from this place, something seemed off. I went over to the Yukon River and took a few photos and ate canned tuna with crackers. The mosquitos started swarming me so I retreated to the comfort of my moto helmet. The town seemed dead. There were houses and cars and even a couple small boats in the water but no people other than the kid on the dirt bike who vanished into the bush. Maybe my anxiety was getting the best of me but I felt it was time to head back to Fairbanks. I went to the gas station, it was about 8:30pm at this point and the pump was turned off. No one in site. There was a sign on the door of the general store next to the pump that said closed. It also said something along the lines of we open at 10 or sometime around then or when we feel like it and close sometime or maybe not even open at all. It made no sense and I’m starting to get frustrated. There was a surveillance camera facing the pump and I could hear the tv on inside and people talking over it. I politely knock on the door to see if I could buy gas for the ride back. Dont know if I’ll make it back if I don’t fill up. Anyways no one answered the door. I could hear people so I waited a few minutes. Went back to the pump hoping someone would notice me standing there waiting...no one came out. What does the whole town shut down at a certain time!? I waited a few more minute then walked over to the door and knocked again, this time a bit more firm... maybe they didn’t hear the first one. Still no one answered the door... they have to be able to hear me so they just not be interested in finding out why my moto is sitting next to the damn fuel pump. Kinda mad at this point I decide to say screw it and head to Central and hope I can find that gas station. Central at this time, probably almost 10pm seemed like it came to life. There were a few people out side their houses doing things and a truck driving through the town. I stop at what I thought was the gas station... closed... of course. The truck passes me and I try to get his attention to ask about getting fuel somewhere but he just kept going. Guess I’ll just wing it and hope to make it back to Fox... I know there is a gas station there. So off I went.. into the night, well kinda... into the midnight sun. I came up to a moose and remembered what Dan said... give them lots of space.. so I did. It looked at me and started to run in the opposite direction then off into the trees. I passed with caution. A little further up the road I came up on a big black bear. It was standing on all fours in the road. It looked right at me (I stopped about half a mile away) It took a few steppes and looked at me again before it went off into the brush. By the time I got back to Eagle Summit the sun was turning the sky orange and yellow. It was like it was setting but high in the sky. This lasted just about the entire way back to Fox. There was even a rainbow in my rearview mirror. I made it back to Fox on reserve and filled up with gas. Then headed to Chena River Campground the only campground I knew about. (40 minutes away). The sun seemed to be setting and rising at the same time on the way to Chena. The sky was a reddish orange. There was a faint light still but definitely not dark. No one was at the booth at Chena.. it was about 1:30am. So I went in and got the same spot I had the night before.

6-20-18

Slept in 9:30-10am, must have been tired! Didn’t leave the site till about noon and went straight to the skatepark. After that went to McDonalds in search of a place to plug in and charge my lab top and phone. The back half of McDonald was full with people who seemed to be having some sort of company meeting. Kids who worked for the company and some of which worked at mcdonalds too. Wasn’t trying to ease drop but they were loud and right next to where I was eating. No outlets near the open seats so I couldn’t charge my stuff. Starting looking for a Recreation spot in hopes they had some sort of outlets somewhere. Found this spot Birch Hill Recreation Center. They didn’t have any noticeable easy to get to outlets around so I sat next to my moto, back against the pannier trying to catch the shade from the moto. Sat for a while on the phone with mom before a guy in an old Toyota chinook RV came over. He asked how’s it going and started to talk to me. Don’t think he noticed at first that I was on the phone. Hung up the phone with mom to talk to this guy. He asked where I’m from and where I’m heading, “Virginia”

“Oh in form Pennsylvania” “Where you heading?”

I told him maybe up north. To my surprise he told me just just did it in his RV. All the 500 miles to the top and then back. He said it beat up his rv in some places but it wasn’t too bad and I should be able to make it easier on a bike. He warned me about the deep mud on the Dalton and the bears. He told me how he has a shotgun with him for bear protection and he took it hiking with him while he was up there. He said that I should get a shotgun before I leave. But I wast about to go out and buy a shotgun. “Do you have bear spray?” He asked. “No I don’t” I responded. He said hold on and went into his rv and pulled out a new bottle of bear spray. “Here I’ll give you this” I was amazed he was going to just give me bear spray. At first I said no it’s okay I don’t want to take your bear spray. He insisted saying that he has a shotgun and doesn’t need it. He pressed on for me to take it. So I accepted the kind gesture and took the bear spray. He showed me how it works and told me how to aim it when a bear is approaching. Down and forward, never into the wind unless you absolutely have to, and cover your eyes, it will burn like hell if you get it in your eyes. He went on bout how he didn’t see any bears up close. And told me how a wolf walked infront of his RV and his dogs started barking and the wolf stopped and looked at the dogs. He had a closed up video from his iPhone of the wolf. All black wolf and huge. Amazing! He gave me tips and told me to watch out for the huge potholes up north they will bend your front rim if you hit them. He was very informational. He told me how he’s from Pennsylvania and he works remotely as a software developer. He then offered to give me something else to take with me. He scramble through a bag of paper maps and brochures and pulled out a book. “Here take this it’s a good read” it was a book about the native Alaskans. He had 2 dogs, a pitbull and a wishbone dog. The wishbone dog got loose and ran up the hill towards a german Shepard. I went with him to get the dog. Afterwards we parted ways and I went over to the campsite he told me about (which is also where he was staying for the week) I didn’t see him at the camp, saw his rv but didn’t want to go over and knock it was already getting late.

Started cleaning my chain and a guy named DC came over and ask, “what? you washing your bike?” “No just cleaning the chain. He was from Homer and started telling me a bunch of things to see. I was really trying to get this chain done, it was really late past 11pm. But DC turned out to be really interesting and informational. We laugh about how the campsite we were at didn’t really have tent spots, and was poorly maintained. High grass and brush, oh ya just put your tent over there. Some of the RVs were parked in foot high grass. He said when he got here they came out with a weed wacker and cleared a spot. I told him how I was set up on a little path between trees. You could barely see me tent form where we were standing 20 feet away. After spraying the cleaner off with the hose and adjusting the chain. It was time to take the moto off the center stand. I slowly push the bike forward and plop right over on it side! “Damn it” and I started laughing. Whoops that means I’m getting tired. DC helped me pick my bike back up and then I realized I forgot to put the wax on the chain. Bike back up on center stand to put wax on. Then back over center stand, I didn’t drop it this time. We laughed and talked for a while. Eventually he went back to his camp spot and I to mine. Time for some sleep.

(Ryan at Recreation spot, he gave me bear spray and a book and lots of tips. He’s from Pennsylvania. Toyota rv 1993

Bike maintenance and Northern Moose RV & Campground. Met guy name “DC” who lives in Homer, AK. Talked while cleaning chain on bike, bike fell over when I took it off centerstand. He help pick it up. He had a BMW something)

CHAPTER 6

The Dalton Highway

6-21-18

Rode to Coldfoot on Dalton Highway. The ride to coldfoot was better than I expected. I had just rode to Circle the other day I which I suppose was a good introduction to riding the shit roads up north. 250 miles to Coldfoot from Fox. A good part of the road starts out as pavement. Then to dirt and gravel. Some random places are paved throughout. Stopped at the Arctic Circle on the way up. Views views views all the way to Coldfoot. When I arrived at Coldfoot I got gas and went to ask about camping. Had to leave my card with the register inside then pump gas and go back. Another guy on a moto showed up to camp too. The camping was free at Coldfoot. “Just go over in that field or next to the building with the bathrooms. The building was relatively big, like a bunch of trailers connected together. The other guy on the moto was driving pretty much a moped. Think he said 150cc or 125cc???? He was from South America. He started in Ushuaia and was coming back from Prudhoe Bay. He bike was painted with funky designs and parts saying “deadliest road” think it was in Peru? Props to him for riding that slow tiny moto so far. It didn’t seem like he had much fun from Deadhorse to Coldfoot. He kept saying slick and mud and rain. He had some worn street tires on his bike.

I decided to take Dan’s advice and camp away from people. So I went over beside the building and the other guy camped in the field.

6-22-18

Coldfoot Camp

4:30am woke up to “What is that?” “Why is someone walking there dog next to my tent” “Really!? It’s 4 in the morning” These were my immediate thoughts/reaction per the sound outside my tent. And then it came to my tent, the snout(nose) pushed against the fly were my head was. Laying down, looking up at a shadow of an animal sniffing my head. Oh fuck that’s not a dog... that’s a bear... inches from my head... Sniffing... my head! Is it a black bear? Or is it a grizzly? I want to know, but at the same time, I hope I don’t have to find out. Lay there quietly, as the last thing I want to do is surprise a bear. It can’t see inside my tent through the fly. And I can only see the shadow of the bear snout and the grunting between breaths. Seconds seemed like eternity. I could hear the bear walk to my moto which was only a few feet from my tent. Could hear it’s paws stepping on the brush around my tent and moto... sniffing, grunting. Is anyone else awake? Can anyone see this bear at my tent?

A few minutes later...

My thoughts, “I think it moved on”. Think quickly, should I move out of the tent or stay still. Listening...closely... bear spray in hand. There’s a building literally right next to my camp spot. It’s where I was told the bathrooms were, and open 24 hours. I’ll just go over there, and hopefully don’t run into the bear along the way. I unzip the door to my tent, slowly. Still trying not to scare any bear, he could be sitting right outside my tent. I don’t hear anything but being cautious. Take a quick look around, peaking under from beneath the fly. Nothing, don’t see any bear. Boots on, bear spray in hand, tank bag swung over my shoulder. Should I put my moto helmet on? Or would that be ridiculous. Left the helmet in arms reach as I unzipped the fly and took another look around. All clear. Still going to the building for now. If I didn’t have to go pee before, well now I do.

Road good. Road bad. Road good. Road bad.

Saw some muskox and decided to make a u-turn to go get a photo. Pulled off to the side of the gravel road and took my camera from my tank bag. Took a few shoots and a “gust of wind” came and woah-a-woah-bam! (Could have been a combination of wind and being tired) The moto fell on its side. “Awe...shit” Luckily those big aluminum panniers and the engine guards took all the impact. (3rd time the moto has laid on it side this trip, not counting the time it fell over while shortening the kickstand right before I left.) No one around and I can’t pick this sucker up fully loaded. I either need to start taking this luggage off so it’s easier to pick up or wait for the next car. The muskox didn’t seem to mind that all this was happening and it didn’t offer to help. I flagged the next car down; a truck with a camper on the back. A man and women get out and ask if I hit the muskox and if I was okay. I laugh and told them “No I was just trying to take a picture of that muskox over there, U-turned and dropped the bike.” Laughing about the situation, “Do you think you could give me a hand and help me pick it up?” They generously helped me then the questions started rolling in... “Where are you from?” “Where are you going?” “Why are you traveling alone” They had already been up to Prudhoe Bay and I was still 100 or so miles south. They told me a bit about themselves and how they came up here a few years back as a once in a lifetime trip and they liked it so much they kept coming back. They told me they saw a Grizzly up the road a ways and they had sat and watched it graze for about an hour. “It didn’t mind us”, they said. After they left I looked around and the muskox had gone so far into the tundra I couldn’t get a good photo of it with my 85mm. Hmm...I really should get a longer lens... maybe next time...

Met guy on bicycle 26 miles from Deadhorse.

He flew into Fairbanks and was on his 10th day of cycling up the Dalton. He was from France. He was determined to make it to Deadhorse and then go on the bus tour the next day. We talked for a bit.

To my surprise the next morning he was there and ready for the bus tour. He told me he rode into the night (midnight sun) and arrived at Deadhorse Camp at 4am. Now it’s 8am and he’s ready to go on the bus tour. People must call ahead 24 hours in advance for the tour to Prudhoe Bay because they have to do background checks??? Well he didn’t call ahead and they let him go. Maybe it was the circumstance. He rode 100 miles the day before just to make it up to Deadhorse on that day. He did it in 4 sessions, sleeping in between. ‘The French guy’ made it!

6-23-18

Shuttle to Arctic Ocean leaves at 8:30am have to be there at 8:15. Don’t really know what to expect. The room I stayed in was the same company who ran the shuttle so I didn’t have to go far to get on the bus. Arrived at 8:15 and the guy in the kitchen said if I want coffee to go then get it. Earlier I asked if breakfast was included in hotel fee and he said no it’s $15 and coffee in $3 or included with breakfast. Well I skipped out on that. But he was very nice and offered me free coffee on my way to the shuttle bus. I took up the offer. Prudhoe Bay, the access to the Arctic Ocean is not open to just anyone driving in. One must go to Deadhorse and shuttle to the ocean (only bout 10 minutes one way). This is a sensitive area because of all the oil wells and pipeline. Everyone must get there tickets 24 hours in advance so they can run a background check.

On the shuttle to the ocean the driver gave us lots of info about the oil wells and company’s up there. One interesting thing is that when all the oil and drilling is done, they are in agreement to put the land back to how it was. Another cool fact is that when a polar bear comes into the town there is a designated person who is assigned to watch the bear. The polar bear is to be left alone the entire time it is in the area.

Arrived at the ocean the for the most part it was frozen. We decided to dip our feet into a pool of thawed Arctic Ocean water. Totally worth it. The landscape is absolutely stunning.

The rest of the day was spent riding back to Coldfoot. An officer stopped me to tell me there was deep mud 70 miles up from new construction they were working on. “If you got that at speed you will fall!, be careful”. That deep mud was less than 70 miles ahead but I saw it beforehand and was able to slow down. And it was a son of a bitch riding through that crap. Slip and slide and hope I don’t drop the bike... but at the same time it was kind of fun and felt accomplished when I came out the other side onto the hard packed dirt road. What a relief. Stayed in Marion Creek campground. Should have stayed here on the way up! Much nicer than Coldfoot Camp.

6-24-18

Coldfoot to Fox. Stopped in Coldfoot for gas and a breakfast sandwich. Ham with Swiss cheese and egg on an English muffin. Delicious! Then off to Olnes campground about 200 miles away. It’s going to be a long day. Got stopped in a rainstorm around the Arctic Circle and had to stop because the zipper on my jacket broke up north and won’t close at all. I ended up putting my hoody overtop of my big jacket to kind of hold it together while I ride. It worked pretty good but that cold air came straight through to my chest and stomach which wasn’t very pleasant. Nothing a like a bit of cursing and bitching can’t fix in the shell of my helmet going down the road... My heated jacket liner also kept cutting out and completely off. Mother fucking piece of shit. It works fine and then you hit really cold areas or it starts raining and that stupid thing turns off. Gloves stay on, but the jacket... nope. Gotta figure out a fix to that.

Arrived pretty late at Chena Lake Campground. A ranger came over to my site (I didn’t pay because the booth was already closed) To my surprise he told me that if I leave by so and so in the morning that I won’t have to pay. Free camp is always a plus.

6-25-18

Went into downtown Fairbanks in search of a new jacket. I must stay warm. I hate shopping... I don’t shop. Shopped for a new jacket... 4 stores later found some on clearance, bought another Under Armour for 99$ with the gift cards Linda gave me.

Went over to Northern Moose Campground because they have a site with power. Got the same site in stayed in before. Charged up my stuff and backed up photos for the rest of the evening.

6-26-18

Went to Dans at 10:30am to get the new sprocket and chain put on. Didn’t leave his house till around 4pm. He can talk and talk, but it always awesome stories so I don’t even mind listening.

They chain was so stretched I didn’t have any adjustment left. They rear sprocket teeth were worn like shark fins. The front sprocket wasn’t too bad but replaced it all together. Dan did all the work but showed me along the way, which I greatly appreciate! He was so shocked that I put 20,000 on the stocker sprocket and chain. He was saying how eventually it would get to wear you pull the throttle and ‘Rrrrrrrnnnfgg’ he chain would turn but it would skip across the worn teeth. He didn’t make me pay for labor and just made me buy the parts. So awesome.

The moto feels so smooth now! So excited for the new chain.

Went back to Northern Moose Camp for the night

CHAPTER 7

Denali Highway to Valdez

6-27-18

Rode to Cantwell. Stopped at Denali National Park

Helped native lady start 4 wheeler

Stopped at Denali National Park early in the day to see if they have camping available. They were booked solid. Thought about doing a bus tour but will do it when I go back that way. Right now I’m on a loop from Fairbanks to Cantwell then across the Denali Highway to Paxson. From Paxson I’ll go down to Valdez then back to Fairbanks for some new tires from Dan at ADV CycleWorks. Then from Fairbanks I’ll go down to Anchorage and do Denali National Park on the way. It seems like this is the first time on my whole trip that I have a route planned out. And it seems like a lot of zig zag, but it makes sense on a paper map. You see so many people have told me of amazing places to see and roads to ride I have to hit them all... I hope.

Went from Denali NP to Cantwell to camp at Cantwell RV Park. Feel like I’m in a land of giants at this campsite. Giant RVs everywhere. There was a couple on bicycles checking in when I got there. The guy working the register asked where I live in Va (had to show ID for credit card). He used to live in Manassas and worked for the Pentagon. He then retired and sold his house to a family friend and him and his wife bought a fifth wheel RV and came up to Alaska. He then got a job at the camp.

The spots weren’t bad... kind of small but I have a small tent. No real place to park the moto close to the tent so had to park it right outside the fence area. Set up camp and was sitting on computer when 2 overweight guy show up on bicycles to camp. The one was loud and the seemed like idiots. The fell asleep fast after asking numerous questions to the foreign bicyclist next to them. Both weren asleep and snoring back and forth, it was quite comical. Like frogs rebbiting back and forth.

Tent was set up sleeping bag dry bag was inside the tent. Decided to go take pictures of the sunset(midnight sun), it looked magnificent beaming the sides of the mountains. Made the mountaintops glow with a warm brown and bright snow. Went up the Denali Highway a little ways and a lady flagged me down. He said was sitting in her van. Native lady. She couldn’t get her 4 wheeler started again after she shut it off and her husband had been waiting down in the valley for a few hours. She said he was in the tent sleeping by now. I took a look at the 4 wheeler put it in neutral flipped the on off switch and then the start button. It started right up. She goes “ARE YOU SERIOUS? What did you do?” She was asking how I got it to work. I guess it won’t start if it’s not in neutral? Idk. She was ecstatic. Said I was the most handsome man she’s seen in a long time. (Hahaha) She thanked me for helping and we took a selfie. Then I was on my way to shoot more photos. Although by that time the sun had gone behind the mountain and no longer illuminated the mountaintops. Back to camp.

6-28-18

Rode the Denali Highway from Cantwell to Paxson. Dropped moto doing u turn, there was a water runoff ditch between a pulloff/driveway and the road. I underestimated how big it was. The moto toppled over on the kickstand side (kickstand was up) and just about rolled upside down. The handlebar and hand guard smashed the ground, I guess from the moto being top heavy with all the gear. It bent my clutch lever too. Thought my handbags were crooked but they were okay. Cursing as my gasoline seeps out the top of my gas tank all over my bike. Trying to quickly take off the panniers and dry bags to pick it up. Of course no cars drive by during this. The one pannier was smashed between the bike and the ground so I couldn’t get it off. It also bent where the rack holds it. Ended up having to take the top box off to be able to pick it up. Made me very frustrated. Hell of a way to start a ride. After I get it up on the kickstand a women drives by in a truck, looked like she worked in the area. She asked if everything was okay (all my stuff was still laid out all over the ground) I told her what happened and she asked if it still turns on. I said yeah its fine. She asked if I was going to continue on the road and I said yeah. Apparently the road it “bad” but I just did the Dalton so the Denali shouldn’t be to hard. Amazing views, snow capped mountains, rivers, lakes. Rode through patches of rain 4 or 5 times. Made it 21 miles out of Paxson. Stopped at campsite 6$ for a site. Volunteer BLM guy named Denny told me about free spot at Swede Lake Trail head and 11 mike summit. Or I can camp on the side of road anywhere in Alaska. Told me to go to restaurant 13$ Burger and fries. “Tell the lady with grey hair that Denny sent you. She’s a great cook” I went to the campsite and there where bones scattered around the fire pit from hunters, he mentioned that hunters use that spot to camper during the season. And there is a bathroom right next to it. All I could think of was bears knowing where the scraps were. I backtracked 2 miles to the restaurant and got that expensive cheeseburger with fries. Then I went to Swede lake but camped on a pulloff across the street. There was an RV on the same pull off a little ways down.

Mosquitos mosquitos and more mosquitos, big ones small ones. Tons of mosquitos. Sprayed bug spray but they didn’t seem to care. Put my under Armour face thing on and pulled my hood tight to avoid getting bites on my face. Parked at one spot but then moved to another cause I didn’t like the big rocks everywhere. Set up my tent, ate my Twix and Reese’s and was off to bed. Had to kill a bunch of mosquitos first tho. Somehow they got into my tent.

6-29-18

Paxson to Valdez

They rest of the Denali Highway was paved to the Paxson junction. I pulled off to a paved turn out to skate. After skating for a bit a couple moose came out up the road a ways. They started walking towards where I was. Then they stopped and just watched me as I was skating. A truck eventually came and they ran off, but surely enough a few minutes later they came back.

When I got to Paxson I was expecting it to have a gas station. Well they did but it was run down and prolly not open in years. Kept going south, I could make it to Glen Allenn no problem on this tank of gas. Stopped at a gas station in town.

“Where you going?”

Me- “Are you talking to me?”

“Over here... where you going”

A girl on the other side of the pump was talking through a sliver between the pumps to me. She asked the direction I was going and said Valdez. She had an adv bike on a trailer behind her truck and decals on the truck Motoquest I think it said. She was a chase car for an all girls adv trip. The moto on the trailer was a back up Incase they needed it.

They were running an all girls adv ride and just came from Valdez (where I’m heading). She asked if I had any bling...”any what?” I said.. “Stickers, cards?” She responded. I told her I have a website and instagram. She gave me some ‘Motogirl’ stickers and her card. And she took down my insta and website. Her name was Nikki. She has been riding her sports bike (with knobbies and covered in stickers) around the world. Her bike was in Europe and she was back in Alaska to make money for the next part of her trip. Very interesting to talk to. She said when I get to Anchorage if I need anything to call her. She hooked me up with some snacks; carrots and hummus to dip in, granola bars, crackers, a water, a bag of pretzels, and a jar of peanut butter.

Met moto girl Nikki

The drive into Valdez was breathtaking. Drive through Thompson Pass on route. Absolutely incredible. Snow covered mountains and you drive up in elevation which give an outstanding view of it all. My camera had no memory left so I’ll have to come back on my way out to get photos. Huge mountains and it seems like you drive right into them. Driving between canyons covered in pines and cliffs. A few big water falls right on the side of the road (Bridal Veil Falls, Horsetail Falls) and some small ones all over the cliff sides. After the canyons it opens up to dramatic mountains all over. Surrounded by beautiful mountains everywhere.

When I got to Valdez I found a campsite run by 2 old lady’s. Bear Paw. They have nice bathrooms and a place to charge things. Tables in the laundry room I could sit and get warm and charge things or a picnic table outside with outside outlets. There is a skatepark not even a mile away. The campsite it right next to the water, can smell they sea salt. The mountains are right on the water, steep steep slopes curved up to sharp points at the top. The mountains are very green at the bottom with snow near the top. Clouds seem to hover about 3 quarters of the way up and sometimes the peaks are visible above the clouds. One of the coolest places I’ve been. It has a town and port but it not very big. Food and stuff is expensive here.

6-30-18

Glacier View Park // Valdez, Alaska 

Notes: Valdez seems like a good place to take some time, relax, edit photos, and of course search for beautiful places to photograph (which isn’t too hard, just about everywhere in Valdez is breathtaking). It’s good to take a day (or a few) to really take in an area. Travel slow cause why not? Fresh mountain air mixed with the smell of the ocean, campsite with hot showers included, fjords, snowy mountain tops, green trees (everywhere), low clouds, glaciers, and even a skatepark! :) Today is a bit overcast with some mist and rain here and there but I don’t mind. Looks like sunshine tomorrow and into the week. I wonder what the tops of those mountains look like...

Glacier View was very cool. The icebergs all throughout the water. Valdez glacier is in the canyon on the other side of the lake. Difficult to see. I guess the ice in the water are pieces of the glacier that have come off. Took some photos and when I started taking long exposure shots it started raining. It wasn’t too hard so I kept shooting. Got a photo I was happy with and decided to pack up and come back tomorrow. 

After I went to Glacier View it rained the rest of the day. Spent the time backing up pictures on the computer and editing. Charged my things at the campsite Bear Paw. Decided to order food. Chinese food. Called for delivery but they said they don’t deliver under $35. It was fairly close to the camp so I just walked (in the rain) to pick it up. Well worth it. Food was delicious. $18 for an entre tho. 

7-1-18

Rained overnight into the morning so I got a late start to the day. There was a bald eagle near the water tower this morning so I took some pictures but the 85mm didn’t have the reach I want. One of the maintenance workers stopped to talk to me. He reeked of alcohol. He said he was the only maintenance guy working today. He told me a bunch of things but all I could think of was why is this guy driving a maintenance truck around town smelling like a drunk. He was nice tho, showed me some photos he took of bald eagles in his front yard and bunnies around the park. Idk. Went to the skatepark in Valdez around 11. Looked like a bear or something had gotten into the dumpster by the park. Trash all over the place. Went to the gas station for lunch hoping they would have sandwiches of something. Ended up getting a hotdog and Mexican Coca-Cola. I swear when I say the Coca-Cola in the fridge it said 2$ but when I paid for it the register came up at $3.65. Went outside and called mom for a bit. Forgot to get water when I bought lunch so I went back inside to get some. Looked and sure enough the Coca-Cola was $2. Told the guy at the register and he refunded me for the $3.65 and then charged the $2. I wonder how many people have paid almost double cost not paying attention. From there I went back to Glacier View. Yesterday it rained when I went so I didn’t walk around it much and couldn’t see the tops of the mountains. Today was sunny with few clouds so the snow topped peaks where shining in the sun. I liked the overcast yesterday better for taking pictures. The icebergs were amazing tho. They are pieces of Valdez Glacier that have floated to shore. You can see them melting and dipping water and even pieces falling into the water and on the ground. Incredible. From the glacier I went down Dayville road which runs along the water and mountains. Saw a few bald eagles and filmed one with a fish being chased by another (filmed while riding moto) Went to Thompson Pass after that. Dramatic snow caps mountain peaks. Look like arrowheads how they make a sharp point at the top. These weren’t visible when I rode in because of the rain clouds. There were still partially clouded so some peaks were covered. Sun was shining tho. From Thompson Pass I went back into town to get the same campspot at Bear Paw. Ordered some Chinese food again Sesame chicken. It was so good last night I had to get it again. Set my tent up early so it could dry out from last night. Made a makeshift clothes line from my handlebars to my topbox to hang my wet towel. Time for sleep.

7-2-18

Valdez... don’t really want to leave... good skatepark with Miniramp, surrounded by beautiful mountains and sea water, camp spot in a good location with clean bathrooms, bunnies, Skatepark dumpster bear.... yes that’s right bear at the skatepark. This morning I was stretching before I skate (like usual) sitting on the ground stretching my legs and all of a sudden the crows start crawing wildly at something and out of the trees/bush comes a black bear. Not too small but not fully grown. Guess it’s the same bear that ripped through the dumpster yesterday. He was heading in that direction. I stood up and said “hey get outta here” and he saw me and took off running. The crows where crawing as he moved through the bushes, it’s like they were trying to scare it off. They must have wanted that dumpster food. I watched at the crows moved with the bear further and further away. Then went back to skating. After about an hour I was messing with phone trying to film a truck and the crows are going crazy again. That’s when I see the black bear run across the back parking lot. After I get the trick I see the black run back towards the skatepark and into the bush again, the crows where there to chase it again. The bear must have been waiting for me to leave so it could get to the dumpster. Got a quick video on my phone of it peeking out from the high grass.

Left the skatepark and went to the gas station for fuel and lunch. Got a hotdog and water and noticed the water price was different from what they rang it up at the register as. And also the changed the $2 Coca-Cola to $3.65. Something is fishy here. Prices at Captain Joe’s Gas Station don’t match with the cost they charge at the register.

Now back on the road.

Left Valdez looking in my rearview, what an amazing little town. 6 1/2 hours to Fairbanks. From Valdez to Paxson was the same route I took to get in (the only way other than ferry) then from Paxson north on 4 is all new road... and I’m happy I didn’t skip it! Views views views. Rode right into the Alaska Range. Spectacular mountain scapes look like your staring into a picture. The colors and tones don’t even look real. (Refer to photos). Then from around Delta Junction to Fairbanks was just flat and no real views of anything. Arrived at Chena Camp around 7:30pm. Called Dan, no answer, he called me back when I got to Chena. He said the tires aren’t in today but should be here tomorrow. Hoping they are so I can get down to Anchorage area this weekend. Signing off.... ✌️

CHAPTER 8

Waiting for tires…

7-3-18

I know it’s going to be a lazy day today. Dan said to call around 3pm because that’s when fedex ground usually comes. I’ll be waiting around till then. Started the morning by going to North Pole Skatepark. After skating I went to McDonald’s... again. It seemed chaotic there, no one seemed to know what was going on? Ordered a large and they tried to give me a small fry. Said expresso machine was down when I ordered a ice mocha. So I got the blending frappé instead. Expensive for a McDonald’s drink. Sat in McDonalds for a bit charging my phone, then went over to Birch Recreation Area. This is the same spot the guy from PA gave me the bear spray before I went on the Dalton, 2 weeks ago?? It’s basically just a parking lot. Sat there for a while talked on phone with mom. Called Dan at 3:30 and got no answer. Waited till about 5 and called again.. no answer. Wonder what’s going on. Don’t want to wait around all week for tires. Fairbanks kinda sucks. Should have just hung out in Valdez till the tires came. Tomorrow is the 4th of July so I doubt they will be delivered on a holiday, so that means waiting yet another day. Ugh.

Dan texted me later around 5:30 and said only 1/4 of the order came.. no Heidenau tires.

(

steve,

1/4 of order delivered by fedex today.

no heidenau k60 scout 130/80-17" rear tires received......yet.

)

Kinda frustrated they aren’t in yet, I’m just trying to go to Denali and down to Anchorage area. I guess this is Alaskan shipping for ya.

I’ll wait another day or two hopefully they will be in.

Went to Northern Moose RV and Camp for the evening. I know they have power so at least I can tool around on my computer.

When I got there there was a V-Strom outside the building, they must be inside checking in. Took my tank bag off and walked up to the building and a guy walks out. We got to talking and found out he’s from Leesburg, VA. He’s a tech ed teacher for Loudoun County schools and on his summer break he decided to go to Alaska. Told him I’m from Sterling and used to work for Ida Lee. Small world. Another guy on a KLR showed up as we were talking. He was only there for the showers. I watched him struggle with parking cause his kickstand was too long with all the luggage. Told him how I shortened mine before I left. He said he dropped it earlier at the gas station with the fuel cap open and all the fuel spilled out.

He was from Indiana.

Set up my tent then went to Walmart to stock up on poptarts, coffee, and canned tuna...(and this time I found canned salmon)

Finally got the adapter to put the footage for the GoPro onto my computer. Micro SD to SD card adapter. GoPro is back in business. Should have bought another battery though. $77 even for the groceries.

In for the night... or so I thought.

Set up my computer in my tent and started to put the GoPro videos on my computer when the kid from Indiana comes over and asks if he can talk about my bike. He wanted to know all the farkles I’ve put on it. Windshield, KLR dash, crash bars, panniers, topbox. He said he got his KLR used and it came with the panniers. He said he was happy to see another person on a moto under the age of 50. Said he was feeling that he was going to ride to Alaska and back without seeing anyone his age. He was 23. He said he was going to the brewery nearby and invited me. I declined.... don’t drink. He was on his way and don’t know if he came back to camp.

Nestled in my little corner of the park for the night. Backed up photos and now videos. Then went to sleep.

7-4-18

No plans today... what’s new. Just waiting around for those damn tires. Went to the Fairbanks skatepark. Then sat in the gazebo trying to figure out what to do. Went to McDonald’s AGAIN. This time it made me no feel so great. Had to stop at a gas station a ways down the road. Decided to go out towards eagle summit to find free camping. Ended up at Mount Prindle Campground early in the day. Set up tent. Hopefully no idiots show up for the holiday night.

7-5-18

Woke up early around 5:30am to rain this morning at Mount Prindle Campground. Packed my tent wet and headed out to Fairbanks. Went to the Starbucks at Fred Meyer to warm up after the cold wet ride. Got a Venti Mocha and a Smoked Bacon sandwich. Hung out there till about 10:30 then headed to the skatepark. Skated the usual routine then sat around watching Brian Wenning and Youness Amrani videos. They get me so hyped to skate. Later in the afternoon I decided to try a different place to eat other than McDonalds. So I went to Little Owl Café. Breakfast wrap and Frap were delicious but pricey for the size... small. Then went back to the skatepark. Still no text back from Dan about the tires. Texted him earlier today around 3:30pm but he hasn’t responded. A bit frustrating. Just want to get on the road. Might have to bail out. Skated some more then went over to Northern Moose Rv and Camp to get a campsite. One of these days I’m going to make it to Anchorage. Dan texted me after I got to Northern Moose.

(

steve,

delivered tues ????

but

not to this address???

apparently fedex needs to screen the illegal employees to see if they are able to read/write/comprehend english, instead of scanning labels.

)

As you can see he’s frustrated. I give him a call and it sounds like the tires were stolen.. so he thinks. Some of them showed up but not all of them. He said he was on the phone with Fedex but they couldn’t help him track it down. He talked....and talked..... and some more. Maybe I should just go somewhere else. He talked about Elk and Bear and hunting and other peoples motorcycles and fishing and tenting and so on and on and on. Was on the phone for over an hour till my phone lost service and dropped the call. I called him back and told him my phone was dying and I’d talk to him tomorrow. He said he would text me around 3pm to let me know if Fedex fixed the problem and delivered them. He said he has some over tires I can have if they don’t some up. “Freebies”

I’ll take them if that means I get on the road. Too much waiting around, they were supposed to be here last Friday and at the latest Monday...... it’s Thursday night now. And nothing. Tomorrow is it for waiting. The moto is on the road Saturday morning, news tires or not.

Side note: Have you ever met someone (just an acquaintance, not talking bout attraction) and they turn out to be the very thing you don’t like to be around. And you don’t want to be mean just because your views are different. Some people turn out to be that way and you decide to just bite your tongue... I think everyone should have their own opinions and definitely don’t want to push mine on other people. I try to exist without trying to change people’s views... but instead act as myself... the way I am... and maybe me being myself will indirectly influence someone... or it won’t... no big deal. It’s hard to accept others as who they are sometimes and hard to not want to change the world. I don’t know anymore. The world can be a crazy place when you’re all wrap up in everyone else’s thoughts. I like to sit and listen to other people... the way they view things, the way they think... and sometimes not even give my own opinion. Just listen. And listen. And listen. How can one find a clear head? Does it exist in the middle of nowhere or in the chaos of others? Some places you think are great till the locals ruin the vibes... and vice versa... some places are complete shit but filled with amazing people. The world is so big yet so small. Where is the peace? Does it exist? Or only in a distant dream? Perhaps just a state of mind, closed doors to the negatively? But without negativity how can one better themselves? It’s an endless cycle...

Reflecting on a night in Big Bend National Park... a December night, mild temperature... watching the stars illuminate the sky... darkness elsewhere on the land with me.... gazing up into the vast skies... is this what peace in solitude feels like? Is it temporary? Or can it be achieved over again? Can It be shared with others? What are we searching for? What are we running from? The moments the stick in our memory like glue... and we just hope it won’t fade.

7-6-18

Been waiting for a week for tires. Woke up this morning knowing that tires won’t come till at least 3-5pm, if they come at all. Per Dan.

Went to the skatepark then to the Little Owl Cafe again. Then back to the skatepark. Some locals were at the park and 2 people from Oregon who were in a band playing tonight. Hung out skating with locals till about 5, then went to Northern Moose to get a campsite. Then instead of calling Dan I decided to just go over to the shop. The Heidenau tires didn’t show up. Dan mentioned he had some other new tires. MotoZ tires. I decided

Got new tires from Dan. Moto z. Heidenau didn’t show up. The Moto Z doesn’t look as aggressive as what’s on there now, but I’d rather have the new ones then used ones he offered for free. Shinkos. Put the tires on and oil change. Asked him to look at my brakes too. They were fine. He gave me brake pads for free, “piece of mind he said. After all was done he said I’d probably need oil before VA and gave me 5 quarts then an extra quart bottle. Enough for about 2 more oil changes. I asked if I could buy a oil filter, he gave it to me for free. He rung up the bill as new tires and oil change... $384. Then gave me %50 off and told me to pay $192. Stood and talked to him quite a bit every time I went to the shop, maybe he appreciates that? Idk. He was super nice to me and hooked me up for barely any money all 3 times I went. The first time for an oil change he didn’t even make me pay. The second time for the chain and sprockets, he didn’t make me pay for labor. Then this time he gives me half off and a bunch of free stuff. He told me about fat man pie, and they sell it at Sourdough gas station in a little fridge in the back. It’s handmade pie. His favorite is Apple Alamode or Butterfinger. After I left his house I went to Sourdough and picked up the Fatman flavor pie and peanut butter. Well worth the money. Dan was right, it’s delicious. Dan texted me while I was a Northern Moose and told me to stop by in the morning before I leave.

steve,

stop by on way out.

Rr whl brng kit for you.

fox- -

RH turn Farmers Loop Rd.

2.5mi

RH turn Skyline Dr.

5/8mi 6th rode.

RH turn Snowy Owl Ln.

10th house LH side.

#362.

——————————-

you forgot your take off tires!!

set of ROK straps w/your name attached.

seriously STOP by!!

He still wants to give me stuff for the trip haha!!!

7-7-18

Woke up this morning, with plans to go to Denali NP after I skate. Went over to Dans on the way to the skatepark. He gave me Rok Straps and a rear wheel bearing. No charge. Told him I got some fatman pie, he was hyped.

Went to the skatepark after ADVCycle.

Then McDonalds,

Then off to Denali.

When I arrived at Denali I wanted to get a campsite first thing. Last time I went by, everything was sold out. Got a tent only spot and the guy told me that they have designated motorcycle spots where I’d be able to park next to my tent. I got 2 nights $30. When I rode over to the campsite, their was a motorcycle parked near one spot, but close to the road. Both spots were taken, one guy not on a motorcycle. The guy without one looked sketchy, smoking weed in the door of his monsterous sized dome tent with a blue tarp over the whole thing..... it looked like he was loving there. I parked my bike in the open area near the spots and the first thing the sketchy guy says to me is “that’s a lot of stuff on a motorcycle, I didn’t know you could fit that much stuff on a motorcycle”.... okay.....??? He was eyeing my bike.

This Lady with an Australian accent arrived around the same time. As I was walking around looking at potential spots... nowhere near my bike, I told her I don’t like it. She saw the sketchy guy too and told me to go with my gut if I don’t like it. Then she said if she were me she would move the motorbike up to the tent area and cover it with a tent, and if someone says anything to me then to just say it was a misunderstanding, then park ranger said I could park by my tent.

She was nice and I agree with her

Went back to the registration building and told the guy that there wasn’t spots to park my motorcycle near the tent. He tried to tell me there was then was like well it not like next to your tent. Dude was an idiot. Asked if there were any pull through spots. He said they were full. Then I said I want to cancel tomorrow night and just keep tonight. He started telling me that there aren’t available pull through spots. After back and forth.. no I want to cancel tomorrow. And more confusion. He finally understood after 4 tries. Oh you want to just keep tonight. YES. This mother fucker..... He then gave me a refund for tomorrow night and just told me to take the sign off my post in the morning. Went back to the site, still a bit frustrated. Parked the moto in a no parking area just so I could see it from the road. More motorcycles showed up later so I didn’t feel as sketched out.

CHAPTER 9

Mt. Denali & the Kenai

7-8-18

Bus tour day. Yesterday I bought the ticket for the bus tour which you have to do to go into Denali Park. You can’t drive your own vehicle more than 15 miles in. The bus goes to the end of the road 90 miles I think. It’s a 12 hour round trip bus ride... going to be a long ass day. Bus leave at 7:45am, which means I’m going to wake up early to skate. Woke up at 5, packed my shit, then went to find a place to skate. Skated at the Denali entrance sign... barge!!... no one around so fuck it. After skating I hurried over to the bus station so I could get a good seat. Waited in the wrong line at 7:15am then had time to go get coffee after I realized it wasn’t the right bus. Got hot coffee and donuts. Cafe white mocha and white powdered donuts. Sat on the bench and waited for the bus, talked to mom on the phone. When the bus arrived I went straight for the back seat... all the way in the back left window. Which turned out to be perfect because the mountain range was on my side the whole way to Kantishna. Straight from the start we saw a high moose. Then Caribou, then 15...no 18 bear. All of them females with cubs. The bus is dirty, dusty, and bumpy. Tired as hell the whole day and zoned off a few times on the way back. 6 hours up 6 hours back. Got a bunch of photos of the bear... but still no long lens.... so we’ll see how they turn out.

As for the scenery, Denali was hiding behind the clouds the whole day so only saw bits and pieces of the mountain. Doesn’t best riding the Dalton on a moto that’s for sure. Everyone in the bus seems tired and knodding off.

Might just barge that campsite tonight and see if anyone notices. I’ll see if my sign is still on the post when I get back.

(((Grizzly from the seat of Denali National Park shuttle bus. You can’t drive your own vehicle into the Park so a bus tour is mandatory. Or if you have a bicycle you can ride into the park. Not a fan of being in a bus for 12 hours. It’s a cloudy day so Denali is most likely not visible. The cooler weather does bring the wildlife out though. We saw 18 bear, all of which were sows with cubs. Also saw a few moose, caribou, sheep, and snowshoe hare. With that being said the wildlife in Denali, especially bear, is a good reason to go into the park. But without a long lens it’s hard to get a decent shot from the bus seat (my longest lens is 85mm). The driver will stop so people can see the wildlife along the route. This may be your best chance to get the shot. These school bus style buses bounce and rattle around the entire way up he gravel road till the end of the road 92.5 marker in Kantishna. Shoot fast or your mountain photos may have a bit of blur to them. All in all, to see the Park and maybe a glimpse of the Denali mountain, the bus ride is a must. The scenery throughout the Park is beautiful, but then again it doesn’t compare to riding a motorbike through Atigun Pass on the Dalton Highway...)))

7-9-18

Rode from Denali to Wasilla 

Rain all the way

Stopped at McDonald’s in Wasilla and texted Ron to let him know I’m in the area. Turns out he lived only 10 minutes from that McDonalds and he invited me over.arrived at his house and wow what a view he has. Met Ron and his wife Martha for the first time. Ron is Mike Birch brother, and Mike is Linda’s painter. Mike put me in contact with Ron when he found out I was riding my moto to Alaska.

Ron and Martha offered that I stay the night, I gladly accepted. Finally got a warm clean shower, and a bed to sleep in. We all stayed up past 1am talking about traveling and motorcycles and cameras. Ron showed me these awesome photos of bears he took on a trip to (McKinley?) creek. 20 some bear in a river cashing salmon. He won a raffle for a trip out to this remote location 27 years ago. Him and Martha went and got to watch grizzlies catch salmon for 4 days. He entered again this year and won again! Him and Martha were so excited about their trip. They had gone out buying all these things from a list that the trip says they need to bring with them. Ron also bought a new DSLR to replace the 35mm camera he took last time. The new one is a Canon 77d. He asked me to give him some tips on how to use and set up the camera. And he asked about shooting raw and editing programs. I gave me a pretty good and brief breakdown of how to use it. And told him I could help him in the morning understand a bit more about the digital dslr. 

And wow the view from the living room is incredible. Mountains peaked all around and a view of a glacier. On the other side of the mountains in Valdez.

They made food and offered me some even tho I just at McDonalds. No biggie ill eat! She made some sort of tuna salad. And said in the morning they would make breakfast and asked what time I usually wake up. Told them I wake up around 6:30, and they said they do too.

They let me stay in a bedroom with a very nice bed and a downstairs bathroom all to myself. Oh and black out shades to block the light.

*Met Ron Birch and wife Martha 

Staying at their house tonight 

7-10-18 

Woke up at 5am. Woke up again at 9:20! Oh crap I slept in! Must have been tired I guess. Told Ron and Martha I usually wake up at 6:30. Went upstairs and they were sitting watching tv. Told them I’m sorry i slept so late. They didn’t seem to mind. They made some coffee for me and said they would take me out for breakfast instead of making anything. They took me to a nearby restaurant to grab some breakfast. Cool little place with silly phrases all over the walls and shirts of the waiters/waitresses. I got a bagel with sausage, egg, and cheese. It was delicious. They even paid for my meal. After we ate they drove me up to Hatcher Pass. Beautiful area not far from where they live. High mountain peaks and mountain roads. They told me how they use to ride their snow machines through the mountain sides out there. We didn’t do the whole loop but they showed me where to get to it. We went back to the house and hung around for a bit. Then they wanted to go grocery shopping so I went to the skatepark. It was raining so I ended up skating on a wet skatepark. Didn’t use the ramps they were too slick. Went back to Ron’s after a bit and they cooked a fresh red salmon for dinner. Ron showed me how to blacken a salmon on a pan over the grill. Heat it up to 500, they throw them on. You have to watch closely they cook real fast. Cut it open a little and see if it’s not pink anymore. They meal was so good! 

Stayed at the Birch’s house for the day. 

7-11-18

Woke up on time today, whatever that means. Around 6:30am. Went to the garage to start getting the moto ready for the day. It’s still raining and rained all day yesterday. It’s supposed to rain till noon today. 

Left Birch’s house around noon heading south through Anchorage then down to Homer. It was raining when I left. I stopped in Anchorage to check out a skatepark, it was raining and smooth concrete so it was too slick to skate. I waited around a bit and called mom and Linda and frank. Park still wasn’t dry so I decide to check out another one. The directions tried to take me into a military base, guess there is a skatepark on base. Didn’t go in looked up another skatepark and when I pulled in I didn’t see a skatepark in eyes site from the parking lot. Decided to move on. Journeyed down to Alyeska and they had a skatepark. Skated in the rain, it was slick as hell too. Guess I should have just skated in Wasilla before I left. 

The road south was beautiful but way way too many people and RVs 

Stayed at Granite Creek campground. It was a self serve camping so I had to ask this lady at another spot for change for a $20. She gave me change for 2 $20s so that I had some for the next spot.

7-12-18

Went to Homer

Eagles volcano

Oh wow this volcano on the other side of the water was absolutely beautiful. I was looking for a spot to pull off to take pictures. Stopped at one and 2 people with RVs were standing talking. I asked the lady if I could climb the ladder in the back to get a better photo. She laughed and let me climb it. It made a difference but still wasn’t good enough. Went up to the next pull out and it was grass and houses in the way over the view. Stopped at the next place Deep Creek. It had a parking fee and RV area. It was late so I didn’t pay... just wanting to take a few photos and leave. When I walked down to the beach there were all the bald eagles... everywhere. They were eating the fish on shore, I guess from the fishermen. The seagulls and eagles were brawling over the carcasses. One of the Eagles I was able to walk up to about 15 feet. Got some shots before it flew off. I was trying to get a photo of and eagle flying with the volcano in the back ground. Didn’t get anything good. Need that long lens! Stay for over an hour watching this birds swoop in and out of the beach. Never seen so many bald eagles in one area before. It was pretty amazing. When I went back to my bike there was a moose in the distant field and and eagle sitting in the field too. I took a photo, but could zoom in close enough.

Took photos of my moto infront of the water and volcano before I left to find camping on the spit.

Drop bike

Pulled into a campsite on the Homer Spit. Despite the sign that said soft sand I went for it. Thought I was going to wreck for sure. The bike if all over the place. Decided to not stop at that campsite. It looked full anyways. It was getting late but the there was another site back in town. Went over to the campsite and all the spot were on a hill and soaking went... The first spot I pulled into was narrow and soft... knew I was going to drop the bike. Tried to turn around to go to another spot and sure enough dropped the bike. I was frustrated but I knew it was coming. Went through the trees and bush where I heard some kids talking. I asked the 2 guys if they could come help me. They came over and help me pick up the bike then guided me back on the path and out.!i looped around and chose a spot right next to the bathrooms. But I wasn’t about to pull into another sketchy spot so I parked at the end of the driveway right next to the loop and set me tent up there as well. Watched 2 drunk ass ladies stumble to the bathroom almost falling over the way there and back. People are idiots.

7-13-18

Seward

Exit glacier

Kenai fjords National Park

Left Homer this morning to go to Seward, only a few hours away. Went by the Homer skatepark on the way out of town. Its in need of a restoration, the ramps are sinking into the asphalt so there is a jolt went you go up the ramp. The flat ground wasn’t much either, very uneven and rundown. It’s a place to skate tho so I’m content. Glad I stopped last night to look at that volcano, the clouds are covering it this morning so it’s not even visible. Thought about stopping for some coffee but didn’t see any coffee shops that looked nice, a few tiny drive through ones, and I stopped at the Safeway and Fred Meyers Starbucks on the way through another town, but the traffic was so bad I just kept going. The fjords on the way to Seward were amazing, not too many places to pull off and take any pictures. Made it almost to Seward when I saw the sign for Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. It was raining when I got there but went on the glacier view hike anyways. Amazing! Can walk right up to the glacier if you wanted (not on it, that’s off limits). Crazy to see it so close. Took a bunch of pictures till everything was so wet I didn’t want to put my camera thru it anymore, constantly wiping it off with a napkin. On the way back from the hike I was holding the camera inside my zipper of my jacket; that’s when I passed a guy holding his baby in the same manor. Had to chuckle a little... priorities.

From there I went into Seward then down to Lowell Point. Made an abrupt stop when I saw a bald eagle sitting on a post in the ocean backdropped by cloud covered fjords. WOW! Snapped a photo on the 85mm.... again wishing a had a longer lens... maybe even that Hasselblad x1d. Gotta get that for my next trip. Then went over to check out the skatepark in Seward. It’s raining but want to see it for the morning. There was camping right next to it, but it was all full. A guy named Arthur came over and started talking to me about travels. He was on an Africa Twin. He offered me to set up my tent next to his if i couldn’t find a spot, and I might do that if it comes down to it. I remember seeing a camping area near Exit Glacier maybe I’ll check that out. Went by the pizza place in town on my way back to the glacier. Got an 11” pizza, not the best pizza but I was damn hungry so it tasted good. Some weirdo on a bmw came over to talk to me, seemed like he just wanted to tell me how many miles he’s done on this trip and prior ones. He kept insisting he show me this free spot close by to camp. But I wasn’t getting a good vibe from him so I declined the offer a few times.

Went over to Exit Glacier camp, which turned out to be free. It was walk in camping only so I had to leave the bike in the lot. It was right next to the Glacier park ranger place so I felt it was safe to do. The campsite was very clean. Nice spot to stop and Camp.

7-14-18

Went back over to Seward Skatepark in the morning. Saw the Miniramp last night and couldn’t wait to have a session on it. Did about 20 nollie big heel disasters to try to get a good clip with the fjords in the background. It was good to really sweat.

Rode to Hope

I’ll get coffee on the way to Hope... bad choice. Stopped at 2 Starbucks, one in a Fred Meyer and the other in another groceries store. Both were packed as hell so I kept going. All the next coffee shops I saw were tiny drive through ones. Didn’t stop. Maybe there will be coffee in Hope. Got to Hope and it was packed with people. Super small town, like really small. A block big, packed with people. Found parking between 2 pickup trucks and walked over to a cafe. It was closed. Got back on the bike and rode out of town a little to a small kayak and coffee shop. Got food and coffee and hung out for a little. They closed a 3pm only a short amount of time after I got there. I asked to owner about the route to Whittier. She told me how the tunnel is train tracks and it goes 30 minutes one way the flip flops. On the hour and half hour.

Tried to go to Whittier. $13 to drive through the tunnel. It was raining so the guy at the book advised me that it might not be worth it to ride through today. So I took his advice and will go tomorrow. Went over to black bear campground where it rained while I set up tent and all night.

7-15-18

The morning was wet, really wet. Set up tent in rain last night and rained through the morning. Packed up wet and went to Alyeska Skatepark. Sun’s out. Hung up my tent on the railing of a quarter pipe while I skated. Everything was dry by the time I left the skatepark.

Went over to Whittier, the sun was still out! The tunnel was probably the most exciting part. Riding between train tracks for about 2 miles through a mountain. Sketchy and cool. The other side of the tunnel is Whittier, short ride in to town... real short. And it was packed with people. Found a spot to park near a cafe that sold CBD hemp oils. Run by an old guy. The building was for sale too $135k. Got coffee and a muffin and relaxed on a picnic table overlooking the fjords. Watched fishing boats and giant ferries come into the port. After that I walk around the shops. Didn’t find anything too exciting. Went to check out a hiking spot in town. The road came to an end. It looked like it had collapse and was closed off. It was out of town enough for some good views of the fjords and glacier. Went back out of Whittier to find a spot to camp. Ended up going to a hostel.

Staying in a hostel for the first time. ($25 a night, kind of a lot but I want to use my laptop for a bit) Been rained on almost every night in the tent since I left the Birch’s house. The girl who was running the payments at the hostel looked a bit rough. She had a black eye and a bruised cheek and didn’t seem too happy. I almost left cause she was sketching me out. Maybe she was just having a bad day...don’t know. There was no one else in the hostel so I decided to stay. (Before I got to the hostel I called and she told me about free camping up a road in Alyeska. I checked it out but the road was slick and muddy so I turned around and left. An old mine road.)

The hostel turned out to be okay. Stayed up late editing photos and charging my gear.

7-16-18

The hostel was right next to the skatepark, always a plus. Right when I got to the park it started raining. I just waited it out though. Skated the headed up to Anchorage.

Camp with AlaskaMotoGirl

Rode from Alyeska to Anchorage. Partially raining on and off. Texted Nikki that I would be going through Anchorage but probably not staying there. She offered to go get coffee at 1:30/2pm. No rush. Went and met her at Kaladi Brothers Coffee in Anchorage. She bought me coffee with a Kaladi gift card and a dollar she had. She didn’t get anything. She told me about this car she was driving she bought for $600, hoping to flip it. There was something wrong with the sensor but wasn’t sure if it was that or the transmission. It was a Saturn SUV. She had a for sale written on the windshield for $1000. Needs work. Haha She told me about a hike not too far so we went over to Motoquest where I parked my moto and she drove to the hike spot. We hiked around and I showed her a little about setting up a DSLR in manual mode. She kept taking pictures of me, saying I’ll look back and like them... don’t like pictures of myself....

After the hike it was already 5pm. She offered me to stay in the basement of the house where she was renting. Only problem is that her truck got broken into and said it might not be safe to park the moto there. I said I’d take a look. She was in the process of moving out so everything was in boxes and all over the place. I didn’t want to have to have her move things just to sleep. I came up with this idea to go camp somewhere and said if she wanted to come camping let’s do that. To my surprise she was down to go camping. She went back to her house to grab her camping gear while I waited at motoquest and packed the groceries into my panniers. (After the hike she drove me to Walmart so I could get my groceries for the trip out of Alaska.)

We decided to go to Knik River to camp, only about 45 minutes north in Palmer. Drove right into the rain... I followed her till she made an abrupt turn off the highway and I missed the exit. I stopped at the next exit up and she pulled up and said there might be camping closer. I pulled Knik River location up on my phone maps and the campground we were going to was only another 15 minutes so we decided to keep going. We drove right into a bigger rain storm. When we got to the spot it was big rock gravel right next to the river. All free. I was nervous to drop the bike again on this shit ground. But luckily didn’t. We looked around at 2 spots then chose the 3rd in the middle of the lot. Small tree area. We set up a tarp over the whole spot. It took a lot of work.... and laughs. Used a big ass towing ratchet strap, some small ratchet straps, paracord, and bungees. After quite some time we got in Mcgievered up to a makeshift roof. Then we laid a tarp on the ground and set up both of our tents. Oh and we scrounged the campsites and area for wood to make a fire.. in the rain. She stumbled across a spot of where people take poops. Lol. We got it worked out to get the fire going. She burnt a 2x2 from the back of her truck and a shelf she was going to donate. She brought pasta to share and made hot chocolate and tea. Sat around the fire for a bit and talked about travels and life and pasts. She told me about her previous depression and suicidal tendency. Her life has completely flipped around now. In good spirits. She told me about a guy who ended up stalking her all the way down to Central America on her trip for Alaska to south. The full story will be in her book.

Alaska moto girl (she even has pens with the name)

She cleans houses right now for work, we joked about Alaska House Cleaning Lady or Alaska moto house cleaning lady.

It poured over night, she said she woke up in the middle of the night and use the cross country ski poles to push the pooled water out of the tarp hanging over head. It was full over water again in the morning when I woke up.

CHAPTER 10

Top of the World

7-17-18

On my way out of Alaska! Kinda sad to be leaving. Doesn’t even feel real, doesn’t feel like I’ve even been traveling in Alaska. When I left Virginia I wasn’t even sure if I would go the whole way and look now I’ve rode all the major roads in the state. Seen so much. It’s like it was all a dream.

Next place to stop is Matanuska Glacier. It’s not too far up the Glenn Highway from Palmer. Stopped at the Palmer skatepark and everything was still wet. Skated a flat area that was kind of dry. Started packing my moto after skating and some old guy on a bicycle came up to me. As he started talking he got really close... his bicycle handlebars were literally against the side of my moto. He kept talking and talking about so and so and people I have no clue who they were. He would talk about them by name like I knew them. He told me he was a disabled veteran. I started feeling like he wasn’t right in the head. He asked about where I’m from so he knew I was traveling and not local, but he kept talking about people he knew like I would know them. I started putting my helmet on and he made a comment of how I must be in a hurry to leave. Told him I wanted to get on the road before the rain. He kept talking. Eventually he left and nothing bad came from it.

I went to McDonald’s in Palmer and right when I get my food it starts pouring rain. Sat in there for a while waiting the rain out and catching up on journaling. The rain calmed down after an hour or so. I went across the street for some gas and the rain started getting hard again. Oh well. Started riding toward Matanuska Glacier. A few miles out of Palmer it stopped raining. When I arrived at Matanuska Glacier I felt really drained for some reason. Took a few shots of the glacier and mountains then went over to check out the campsite right there. There sign said free to safety park and rest nap or stretch. $5 for day parking and $20 for camping. I went over to a spot and at this point it was starting to rain again. Threw the tarp over my bike and made an over hang to sit under. It rained and rained and rained. Fell asleep for a bit sitting with my back against the moto hiding under the tarp. A couple hours went by before the rain stopped. I started packing up my tarp and Arthur the guy I met in Seward rolled up on his Africa Twin. He said he was going to camp at this campsites. I decided to stay as well. Arthur brought out a ADV book with maps and things to do for Alaska. And showed me a map that shows the best roads by color in Alaska. They make books for a lot of states.

I set up my tent then cleaned my chain. Afterwards I walked over to the mountains and glacier to take pictures of the sunset illuminating them.

Out for the night.

7-18-18

Woke up at Matanuska Glacier camp. Ate some breakfast then fell back asleep till 7am. Went over to the parking lot and skated before taking off. Arthur came over and talked for a bit before he left for Valdez.

Went over to where you can drive up to the glacier but found out it costs $30 to drive up the road. Kinda a rip off. Didn’t do it. But I bought an Alaska motorcycle license plate from the store for $12. Worth it.

Headed out the Glennallen where I stoppped that the Hubb Gas Station on the corner of the intersection to Valdez, Fairbanks, Anchorage. This is the same place I met AlaskaMotoGirl.

Got a sandwich and double shot coffee and a gallon of water. Was sitting out by my moto eating when a guy and wife show up on 2 Ural motorcycles. The have sidecars with a drive wheel on the sidecar that can be turned on an off. The lady was super hyped on the bikes and told me how they go off-roading and everything. Said the 2 wheel drive can go over anything. Awesome motorcycles. She told me about Nabesna road on the way to Tok. Said I have to do it!

She told me there is also free camping on the road. She also said they might go down the road today and might see me there.... off I went in search for this road. Came up on the road and turned in. It’s not that bad.. lots and lots of bugs tho. Stop for a second and get swarmed. Went down farther with intentions of going to the end of the road. Came across a water crossing, deep gravel was sketchy but the water crossing part wasn’t bad. Kept going till I came across an even bigger water crossing. The ground was shit, big rock gravel mixed with soft gravel. Didn’t have a good feeling about crossing the water but I’ll give it a shot. Got about half way then my rear tire sunk into the river bottom. Over and over trying to get out, slipping the clutch in first gear and diggin myself deeper till the rim was below the rock bottom of the river. Mother fucker. Don’t panic. Standing in running water half way up my shins, socks getting soaked and I can’t let the bike go or it will fall into the water. Romped the shit out of first gear and pulled out of the hole my rear tire dug. Then fishtailed the rest of the way across the river. Decided the last 16 miles weren’t worth it to me so turned around and went back through the water while I had the adrenaline. Made it. Surprised I didn’t drop the bike. Went all the way back up to a campsite I passed on the way in. It was a free camp. Stopped at a spot and the amount of bugs in the air was ridiculous. Kept going farther back up the road and found a turn off with a bathroom and fire ring. There was an rv at one end so I parked at the other end. A lady was stretching by the rv so I waved and she walked over. She was from Switzerland and her and her husband quit their jobs to travel for a few months in Alaska. She didn’t mind that I camped here too. Set up the tent with a view of the mountains and the moto next to it. The bugs are still bad up here but not as bad as the other spot.

7-19-18

Beautiful morning, woke up to sunshine beaming the fly of my tent. Unzipped the tent to see the sun casting shadows across the pine tree filled mountains. It’s was so quiet. I need to camp in more places like this. Free $. No sounds of cars passing by. No kids running and screaming through the campground. No RVs running generators. Just nature. It wasn’t the most beautiful scenery in Alaska, but definitely peaceful and quiet.

Ate some breakfast and fell back asleep till about 8am. And didn’t even care. Just embracing the weather and quietness.

Heading to Tok. It’s not far from camp so I’ll probably keep going north to Chicken after. Got gas, chicken fingers and fries, Starbucks double shot, and donuts at the gas station in Tok. Stood in the parking lot for a bit talking to my mom on the phone and then to Haley. Haley’s dog bit her dad when he was pissed off and going after the dog. Frank told me a little about it when it started last night. I tried to give my best advice to both of them.

After a while I took off towards Chicken Alaska, near the border of Yukon. The road to Chicken sucked. There were ‘dips’ and ‘bumps’ all over the paved section. Then it got worse... ‘loose gravel’ the first sign said. Then there was a second ‘loose gravel’ sign. And this wasn’t like the gravel on the Dalton. No no no. This was not packed down at all. My wheels were slipping and fish tailing even at low speeds. Then the signs stopped. Come over a hill and ‘oh shit’ ‘slow down’ more gravel. No warning. Eventually I made it to Chicken. Had a cup of free coffee and took pictures of the silly signs. Even bought a Chicken Alaska sweatshirt.... I was in need of a sweatshirt. Maybe I’ll try to keep this one clean. Asked the girl working if there was camping farther up the road near the border of Canada and if there was anything across the border. She told me about a spot 15 miles up the road. And said the next one after that is near Dawson City, Yukon. There was a sign at the beginning of the road (5) that said the border closed at 8pm. Didn’t want to push it so I just went to the campsite 15 miles away. The road was switchbacks and more gravel. Just go slow. Made it to the campsite $10 a night. Asked the host if he had change for a $20 and he said no BLM advises them to not carry change. Then asked where I was from and where I was heading. Told him I’ve been in Alaska a month and went all over, and that I’m from VA. He went to ask his wife if she had any change. He came out with $17 dollars then scrounged around in his truck for 3 more dollars. So he did have change. Paid for the site and set up my tent. Tomorrow.... back to the Yukon then down to Haines and Skagway Alaska. (Walker Fork Campsite)

7-20-18

Walker Fork Campsite wasn’t too far from the border. Woke up and headed straight there. The road was shitty loose gravel till a few miles away from the border crossing, where it turned to smooth asphalt on the Alaska side. Stopped on a pulloff on a hill to skate flat ground. Then set the camera up to bomb the hill and get a photo. It looked steeper in person. From there I went to the border entering into Yukon. I group of other motorcycles pulled up behind be at the border. The guard asked if I was with them. I responded no and gave him my passport. He asked a few questions then he went inside for a minute. When he came back he said I was good to go. That was quick, no hassle. The Yukon side of the border, part of Top of the World Highway, was smooth dirt roads. Could cruise along at 100kmh no problem. The road was super fun, curvy, huge tree covered dome shaped mountains. Sometimes it felt like I was climbing a hill for a few minutes.... then back down the mountain. Stopped a few times to take picture... but you had to be there. It wasn’t a long ride but a fun one for sure. Came up on Dawson city where I had to take a barge across the Yukon river to get into town. It was free. When I pulled up they let me right on, didn’t have to wait. Pulled in behind a RV at the rear of the barge. Got off my bike and took some pictures... but again... you had to be there. When I came into Dawson city I went to the visitor center where across the street they were playing live music. Today was the kickoff to Dawson City Music Festival. Listened to it for a bit then walked around looked for coffee. Ended up getting coffee and chicken fingers with fries. $18. Expensive. Then went back and hung out by the moto for a bit listening to the music. The internet on my phone was super slow in town. Took 30 minutes and a few tries up upload a picture to Instagram. Then got a notice that I’ve used me daily data limit for Canada. Cool.... Stopped at the gas station and asked a girl at the other pump if she new where I could find camping. She told me there was one not too far out of town then another a little ways up. The one right outside of town was an overflow camp for the festival. Looked like they were all camping in a open field next to a baseball field. Not about it. Went on to the next one only about 15km from town. Klondike River Campground. Before I got to the turn a guy in a white truck came flying up onto my ass, then got super close when I slowed to turn into the campground. I had my blinker on too. Assholes are everywhere huh?

The campground was a normal Yukon campground, grass and gravel, wooden outhouse, and free firewood. $12. Asked a couple who were camping next to the self serve pay station if the had change for a $5. She gave me 2 tooneys and a looney.

Got a spot in the back. First one was no good then moved up to a different one. Trying to avoid dropping the bike on uneven parking ground. Second spot was good. Right across from the bathroom which I don’t mind. Ground was fairly level. Lots of mosquitos so I started a fire. Mosquitos mellowed out but then all they flies and little flat beetle looking things showed up. They were all over everything and got inside my tent. Then would stay on my clothes and i sat around for a while just killing the damn things to get them out of my tent. Gave up eventually. It seemed like they could squeeze thru the mesh of my tent so it just seemed pointless. Gross, the trials of camping. Filled out the form to pay and put money in but ended up just not paying. I’ll pay if anyone says anything. The guy across from me didnt have a paper on his post either. Oh well.

7-21-18

Plan on checking out the festival today. No one came over to say anything about not paying so screw it. Went into town to check out the skatepark. Decided to find a place to plug in my things to charge. Right across from the cafe was a pavilion with a power outlet. Sat there for a while charging my things. An guy in a rv came over and talking to me for a bit. Then his friend came over and talked too. He was wearing an interesting kit and had a 3 legged dog. He rolled tobacco into rolling paper to make a cigarette then smoked it right there. Interesting human. And guy around my age cane over to talked. He asked if that was my moto. Yes. Then asked where I was from. Northern Virginia. He was from Annapolis Maryland and on his way to Alaska. He asked some questions about roads and the bike. Gave him the information I collected from my time in Alaska. Another guy around my age came over and talked to us. He was from Arizona and driving a 1970 VW bus. Also on his way to Alaska. We chatted for a bit then they went there separate ways. I then packed my stuff and headed over to the skatepark. The park was just like the one in Seward. Nice Miniramp and smooth concrete. For most of the time I was alone skating then a mom with kids showed up on bikes. The one little boy was so amazed when I did a trick. He would just sit and stare from the seat of his bike. Kinda funny. Skated the Miniramp for a bit then headed over to the cafe for some chicken nuggets, fries, and coffee. It was pretty busy today. But there was a table open so I sat inside to eat. A few other motos where park out front the cafe so i parked next to them. The one guy talked to me, he was from British Columbia and on his way back home.

After I ate I went to check out the Dempster Highway. At first it wasn’t that bad, it was way worse. Maybe because I didn’t have knobbies on the front anymore, but that gravel felt sketchy. Was aiming for Tombstone Mountains but turned around after 20 miles of sloshing around. I’ll come back (one day). Took some photos on the Dempster Highway sign at the entrance for memories. Then headed back to Dawson to find camping for the night and maybe listen to the music. Went on the barge across to the campsite across the Yukon River. Surprisingly it wasn’t full. Got a spot fairly level next to a playground.... there was a family or a few together? Across the road from me at another campground. The were loud and obnoxious till around 1 in the morning. I fell asleep around 10pm listening to my iPod, the first time I’ve turned it on since I left VA. Woke up around 11pm and went to the toilet. Walking to the outhouse one of the adults at the obnoxious and loud campsite said “hey do you want a puppy” when their dog started barking. I turned to him with a death glare as I held back my anger toward their inconsiderateness. When I got back to my tent from the outhouse the noise had calmed down, maybe my glare got the point across.

7-22-18

Woke up in no rush to do anything. Sat around in the tent for a bit dosing on and off. Decided to get up around 9 to pack up the camping gear and ride the barge across the Yukon River to the skatepark. Oh and used the public washroom in town to get a break from the smelly campground drop toilets. Hung out at the skatepark till a little after noon then went over to the Raven bistro for some coffee, chicken nuggets, and fries. Those times when you go to the same spot to eat 3 days in a row and the girl at the register says “thought you said you were just passing through, told you Dawson City does that to people”. Guess I did say I was just passing through the first day when she asked. From the bistro I stopped at the gas station for fuel then hit the road to Whitehorse. Don’t really care to go back to Whitehorse but it’s the way to Skagway and Haines Alaska. Boring ride from there and it’s hot... 80 something degrees. Too hot for anything but the Underarmour jacket and even then I had to open up the armpit vents. It’s too hot for a jacket... but don’t want to ride in a T-shirt. Not bad if I’m not stopped. Stopped a bunch of times along the way. Boredom, felt lonely today. Maybe it was seeing all the girls with their guy friends at the music festival all weekend. Idk. Sometimes I get like this. It’s easier to be along most the time. Stopped at a turnoff and some stray dogs came up to me. Close but not too close, they would run off if I acted interested in them. There was a bowl next to the trash can so I spared some of my water. They went over and drank some of it, watching me the whole time though. I feel for them. Trust must me earned. The went down the hill a ways and sat in the shade under a tree. Still watching me. They eventually made their way further down the hill till they disappeared in the high grass. I too went on my way. Not going to make it to Whitehorse, I’ve stopped and piddled around too much today. Looking for a campsite, the first one I came up to I turned down the road and a sign said 7km to the campsite. Went up the road a little and it was loose gravel so turned around. When I got back to the Main Street a bicyclist who I passed on the way down the road was at the intersection. I stopped and said hi. He laugh and asked if I changed my mind. I explained how I didn’t want to wake up and have to drive down a lose gravel road 7km to the main road first thing in the morning. He told me about another campsite at the bottom of the hill. Went to that site and not too many were left. #1 was open. Set up camp. Worked on moto a little, clean chain, adjust chain, lube chain. Ate some tuna and started a fire. Ate a poptart. Don’t really feel like paying that self serve at the campground though. (Tatchun Creek Campsite)

((

Top of the World Highway, Alaska-Yukon border .

Notes:

.

It’s funny to reflect on a journey that’s still going. Like reading a book with no chapters and the pages aren’t numbered. Ohhh those long days where there’s ‘nothing to see’ and you’re just hoping for something to ‘wow’ you around the corner. But nothing. Your thoughts start clouding your mind, good and bad, past and future... but more importantly, present. Just the sun in your face and dusty roads. ~11,000 miles in the saddle since home. “Are you searching for something or running from something?” “Or both?” Across Canada; Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia. Oh and don’t forget from Virginia north to Buffalo, New York across the Canadian border. The time where it starts feeling like a dream. Like you’re no longer on a ‘trip’ or ‘vacation’. Twisting the throttle, looking at scenery, and setting up your tent at night starts feeling like “the norm”. And the people... the people along the way; the ones who take you in their home, give you food and a place to sleep. And the people at campsites who invite you over for breakfast and/or dinner... and it’s always a good chat. Or the people who ask “how’s it going? where are you heading? where have you been? how long? where’s home?” And those who even share a campsite with you. And the people you talk to for a brief moment. And the ones who wave as you pass by. 

Alaska... north, south, and back again condensed down to a month time and could spend a lifetime exploring just Alaska alone. Those times when you go to the same spot to eat 3 days in a row and the girl at the register says “thought you said you were just passing through, told you Dawson City does that to people” AND the scenery, wow, just wow! Lake Superior, Banff, Jasper, Destruction Bay, Dalton Highway, Denali, Kenai Peninsula, Top of the World Highway, and on and on and on. Good roads, bad roads, and everything in between. Guess a little helmet time on those long boring days is a perfect time to reflect. And there’s so much more to see down that dusty old road.... and really... where is home?

))

CHAPTER 11

Taco Grilled Cheese

7-23-18

North of Whitehorse camp Tatchun Creek.

Stopped in Whitehorse to skate the park filmed a switch back heel on the hip then went to McDonalds and got gas. The Whitehorse McDonalds didn’t have number 9 two double cheeseburgers so I got an bigmac. It wasn’t that good.

Rode to Skagway. The drive was pretty, especially around Bove Island. Very different mountains. Light dirt and road with plants and trees growing on it. Crossing the border back into Alaska was a breeze. She didn’t ask any questions other than for my passport. Skagway is at the end of the road and not far from the border of Canada. Pulled off to take pictures and all my memory cards were full and couldn’t remember which ones I backed up already. Guess no pictures here. It’s been hot outside all day. When I got into town I stopped at a pizza place. I stood in the front where a hostess was talking to someone else and another worker was off to the side. Stood there for a minute. Uhh do I just sit down? The guy working turns to me and says “Can I help you?” Uh wtf? Yes... this is a restaurant and I want food????? I said “Yea can I see a menu” he turns and grabs a menu like it was a fucking chore. Then some other kids come in and he tells them they can seat themselves... uh wtf? Guess these mother fuckers don’t want to feed me. I walked out. Everything else in town seemed to be closed. It was after 7pm. Went to look for a campsite and both in town were full. Rode out to find another and couldn’t find it. Asked a couple on a bmw gs if they new where I could camp and they told me the same one I just check that said it was full. Went back to the other location and the booth was closed but luckily the girl was still there. She said the one campsite is 10$ and this one is 48$ for tent sites. Both are full. $48 for a damn tent spot. I wouldn’t have paid that anyways. I was hot, hungry, and needed to sit down. She told me about Duea campsite and it’s free. It’s only about 11 miles away but it will take 30 minutes to get there. Off I went to this mysterious campsite. The ride was awesome though. Switchbacks and gravel road then ride alongside the water and fjords. Then back into dense rainforest looking trees. It comes out to flats that go out to the water. Prime grizzly area. Didn’t know what to expect entering the camp areas. There were a few people already there at the spots close to the exit. So I rode out on the flats a little. It looked like some of the sites weren’t finished yet. Fresh concrete octagons for the benches. Some had no benches. Chose a spot to stop and eat some food. Much needed. There was a truck way out on the flats with a roof tent. A minivan drove by and stopped a couple got out and asked if I was going to camp all the way out here by myself. Told them Yeah I guess. The lady didn’t like the idea and she said she was sleeping in the car cause she was scared of bears. I guess there was a picture of a grizzly online on the reviews. They told me to come get a spot closer in. The spot I was at wasn’t finished so I move over a few spots closer but didn’t want to go in where everyone else was. It was a nice level spot closed enough to walk to the flats or the bathroom.

Nice place to camp.

7-24-18

Today I’m just going to chill and hang out in Skagway. Went to the skatepark in the morning and filmed a back lip on the marble ledge. The park had a really good Miniramp, like Seward but 20ft wide. So good. Had a fun session even tho my board is thrashed. Maybe tomorrow I’ll set up a new one. Went over to find a coffee shop for lunch. Saw one next to the pizzeria downtown yesterday. Stopped in and spend 15$ or more on a frappe and wrap. Sat inside to eat it. Looked for a spot with an outlet. Plug didn’t work, no juice. Really need to find a place to charge stuff. Maybe check out the library after this. The library looked full so I went over to the baseball fields which had a pavilion. It had tons of outlets, none of which worked. Wtf. Hung out there for a while regardless. Not feeling like moving anywhere else. Thought that if I wait a bit then go to Dyea again I could get some good photos of the sun setting on the mountains and water near the campground. They couple I met the previous night texted me saying the church in town offers showers for 25 cents for 2 minutes. Interesting place. Not going to a church to shower. Went back to Dyea and the spot I had last night was already taken. A few of the other spots on the flats looked like there were still being built and this morning I heard people working on them. So didn’t want to park on an unfinished spot. Found a perfect spot in a little ways then walked out to the flats to take photos. Didn’t see that couple back at camp tonight. Wonder if they bailed on the spot. Overall good night and place to sleep. Good weather as well.

Looked for power outlet, nothing seemed to work. Went to coffee shop and pavilion. Nothing.

Camped at Dyea again

7-25-18

Ferry day.

Planning on a ferry from Skagway to Haines at 2:15, that’s what the website said anyways. Woke up an went to the skatepark. Skagway has a pretty good skatepark with a nice Miniramp so I decided to set up a new board. The current one is trashed and waterlogged. Grip tape on the tail was peeling really bad too. Good day for a new board. When I started setting it up, gripping it and changing the trucks. Two ladies with a bunch of little kids came over to the skatepark to use it a playground (no boards or anything). It had to have been a daycare or something. When I started skating they tried to keep the kids off to one side, which was nice of them. One of the little boys was super hyped on the skateboard and kept trying to come over to watch. Wide eyed.

After skating I went back to the cafe for a wrap and coffee, expensive... From there around noon I went to the ferry terminal to try to get a ticket for the ferry to Haines. The building was closed till 1pm so I waited around till then. Their was a couple waiting too with a Toyota 4x4 camper. I asked them if they were ferrying to Haines and the guy said they don’t know yet they are waiting to get a ticket. He wasn’t very talkative and straight to the point. At 1pm the doors opened and I found out the next ferry was at 8:15pm... that’s fine I’ll be in Haines by 9:15pm with time to find a campsite before it gets dark. (Sunset at 9:40ish). I booked the ticket and the guy said I could park the moto next to the guardrail near the loading area. They load bikes separate so I don’t have to wait in the car line. Met a lady who was with her husband on a goldwing with trailer. She said she saw me at another skatepark before. And they always take pictures of skatepark cause their son skates. They were from Winnipeg. Decided to sit on the front of the building on the benches and charge my lab top and phones and also edit some photos. Sat there for a couple hour before getting restless and having to do something. This guy in an ambulance built into an “overland vehicle” pulled up to the ferry terminal. He got out of the truck and walked towards the doorway were I was sitting. He said aloud, I have the feeling this is going to cost me a lot. Instant Douschebag vibe. Packed up and went into town for a bit. Around 5:30pm i went to the taco stand for dinner before going to the ferry at 6pm, (the time the guy told me to be sat the terminal). The guy with the ambulance pulled up when I was looking at the menu. He came over and said a few words to me then turned to the lady in the taco stand and said “you have very pretty eyes” This lady was pregnant and working at a taco stand... okay guy. He then said that the tacos were too expensive so he would just go make some canned spaghettios in his truck. He went on the tell me about his rig had this and that. He rode a bmw motorcycle around he world for 13 months, and they sponsored him. Told me that I have too much stuff and he didn’t even have that much stuff to go around the world. And I really need to “send stuff home dude” and kept laughing about having too much. He said I’m going to break my swing arm with the weight. All this coming from a guy who has $60k in his truck with a dirt bike strapped to the back and traveling with his dog. He said how he was trying to get sponsors to help him build the fastest motor home all electric. He kept on bragging and bragging about this and that. And went on to call me a “rookie” traveler. Getting quite annoyed but held my tongue. He will leave eventually. Got a Mexican burrito bowl. Then dropped my phone in the melted cheese. It got all over the screen and in the speaker part...sick. The burrito bowl was pretty good tho and for only $10 in this town, not bad at all.

Went over to the ferry terminal at 5:45pm. The guy who sold me the ticket told me to be there at 6pm to leave by 8:15pm IF the ship is on time. When I got to the terminal there were quite a few motorcycles already there. The goldwing people and a group of bmws with one vstrom (older gentlemen). The lady on the goldwing came over to talk. She told me about their travels and how their trailer pops up into a tent. They have heated seats on the bike too. Her daughter has been traveling around, Whistler for snowboarding and Australia for surfing. Their son also travels.

Sat on the guardrail and then the guy in the ambulance came over again to walk his dog... right next to where I was sitting. He said he “had to get a picture” of me to see what all his “other travel friends” think of my luggage. “They will all say the same thing” referring to that I’m overpacked. He asked for my instagram to tag me in the photo. I was expecting this to be some guy who has some thousands of followers but when a checked he didn’t have anywhere near that many. And no one seemed to care about the post he put up about me. I had to laugh a little inside. He bragged a little more about other things. By this time I was done listening to him and zoned out while he talked. Eventually he went off to talk to other guys with trucks. Finally. Two of the old guys on bmws came over and started talking to me asking where I’m from and so on. He said they used to ride KLRs and thought it was a great bike. Don’t know if they were listening to that ambulance overland guy talk or not. They talked all good things. Said they all met up from all over to ride up to Alaska. And they do it every year I think he said. Or go on a trip every year. Can’t remember.

A kid in a Honda sports bike pulled in later around pm, he didn’t miss much the ferry hasn’t even arrived yet. A little after 7 the ferry showed up and started unloaded cars and motorcycles and RVs. It seemed endless. By 8pm and still unloading we all realized it was going to be a long night. Then they started to fuel the boat, which by word of mouth, was going to take an hour and half. Okay so that about 9:30pm and then we start loading the huge line of cars and RVs.... and I still need to find a campsite when I get to Haines. Time went one and sure enough didn’t start loading till around 9:30pm. Me and the guy on the sports bike were last in line. He was from the British isle living in Vancouver and on a vacation from work. He was heading up to top of the world Highway then back down to BC. He asked about the road up there so I told him my experience. It wasn’t bad on the Yukon side, Alaska side was a little dicey. They loaded us two last since we were only going to Haines (the first stop). Everyone else was going to places like Juneau or Prince Rupert. Waiting and waiting we finally got to get on the boat. It was dark by this time. Used one of my ratchet straps to anchor the bike to the floor in the ship. Me and the kid went up into the ship. He was looking for food and went to the cafeteria and I made my way to the outside deck of the ship to watch us take off and go down the water. It was quite dark so pictures weren’t turning out too well. Kind of a bummer. Was looking forward to seeing whales or something on the ferry. But nope. It was nearly midnight by the time we arrived in Haines. The other kid on the sports bike had booked a hostel so he was heading straight there when we unloaded. I rode around in the dark on my way to a state rec Park. Saw some turn offs on the side of the road. Pulled off on one and there was a camper already there so I kept going. Found a spot with a bathroom and a parking lot and ended up just setting my tent up in the parking lot of the night. It was 1pm at this point.

7-26-18

Last night I ended up sleeping in a side of the road pull off. It had a bathroom and 2 fire pits and picnic tables. Not sure if it was set up to camp or what. It was dark and after midnight when I got here.

Woke up around 5am to trucks downshifting down the hill next to where I camped. My tent and bike both in the corner of the parking lot. A maintenance guy showed up around 7 when I was packing up my tent. He didn’t say anything. Hung out a bit at the picnic table in the morning. Ate 2 poptarts don’t know why I’m so hungry lately. There were 2 eagles flying around the water in the morning. Took a few photos but they were far away. The people from Switzerland in a Toyota 4x4 camper showed up when I was eating breakfast and watching eagles. Then I saw something in the water. So I tracked it and guessed were it might come up again. It was a whale. Got a shitty photo of it. It was far away in the middle of the inlet. Still cool to see. Probably would have seen more on the ferry if it wasn’t dark out. Kinda in a bad mood, maybe it was the slack of sleep. Eventually decided to go check out the skatepark. Phone internet isn’t working so don’t have directions to it. Saw that it was at mile 1 of some road, but even my maps aren’t working. A bit frustrated so I called mom and asked her to google it. She couldn’t seem to find any pins or maps. So I just went out to look for it. By the time mom found a map screenshot I had already found it, tucked away off the road in a half cylinder shaped building. No doors and free to skate. 3 kids were there already. Brenna, Odin, and Tristian. Brennan and Odin were local from Haines. Tristian was from Oregon but going to school up here and dating a girl from Haines. They were fun to skate with. Tristian got some videos of some of my tricks to put on his company Instagram he started. Nollie backside flip the step up gap straight into a wall and Nollie bigheel bs disaster on the quarter pipe. Brennan told me how he just got back yesterday from a trip, sailing from Scotland up to Lofeten Norway. He brother got some cool pictures of puffins that Brennan showed me on his phone. From there I went to find some coffee. 19$ and some change for a ham and Swiss sandwich and a iced white mocha. Some of these towns in Alaska have such high prices. The food was delicious though, can’t complain. They also had WiFi so I was able to get on the internet while I enjoyed my sandwich and coffee. And a power outlet that worked! They had a town map I was looking at. Asked the girl at the register about a certain campsite I saw on the map and she said there’s a lot of grizzly bears over there. Mom and cubs...she talked about. But said camping should be fine. Rode the way over to that area but made a stop at this beach overlook along the way. It had rocks covered in bright green algae. Took some long exposures. Had to stand in about 4-6inches of water to take the photos. Guess my boots aren’t ‘waterproof’ anymore. My socks were started getting wet so I took the boots and socks off and stood barefoot in the water. That is, until I started get bit by the little critters in the water. Then I put the boots on without socks and continued taking photos. Afterwards I went over to the Chilkoot Lake Recreational Park. The campsite was full. I did see some grizzlies though, they were too far away for a good photo. On the other side of the river. There was a lady I talked to with a long canon lens. She said she had just got it. She told be how she would be cropping the photos in super close...

from there I went to look for camping. Stopped by the coffee shop, they were closed but used the WiFi to get online for a minute. Then went over to the skatepark to see if it was empty, possible spot to camp. Nope 2 kids were skating blasting music. Decided to go back to the same place i camped last night. There is a camper on a pickup truck bed, a lady in here suv, and the people from Switzerland with the Toyota at the spot. Talked to the guy from Switzerland, he told me this trip they’ve been on had been 8 years so far. But they have been traveling together for 44 years. He didn’t really like Alaska because of all the tourists and idiots. It’s beautiful but too much. He said he prefers the desert areas. And Mexico is his favorite country. He said the people are honest. And he’s never seen poor people anywhere else that are as proud as the poor people in Mexico are to be Mexicans.

We talked some more then I set up my tent for the night. Pulled the moto down on the grass this time. Didn’t want to leave it in the parking lot.

7-27-18

Woke up to a sunny morning in Haines. Right next to the water surrounded by giant mountains. The couple from Switzerland in the Toyota camped in the parking lot next to the grass where I set up my tent. There was also another person with a truck and camper on the bed, and a girl sleeping in the back of her SUV. Off to an early start, relatively. Haven’t been up and moving this early in a while. Didn’t see the bald eagles this morning. They were there yesterday morning. Ate breakfast and went straight to the skatepark up the street. Haines has a nice skatepark inside an airplane hanger. Wooden ramps remind me of Woodward. Good skate session. Brennan was there when I got there and Oden showed up later. Brennan was trying 360 flips up the pyramid ramp to the top deck. Guess who comes rolling up in his Overland Ambulance.... I’m not sure why this guy keeps coming to talk to me. Seems like all he want to do is out due people...whatever. He came over to me like we were buddy buddy. He was surprised I found a skatepark in Haines. Told him how I skate everyday and there are skateparks all over. Brennan tried a couple while that guy was talking to me, he turned and booed Brennan when he messed up. He was laughing and joke but still come on dude, you don’t even skate. Kinda of annoying me at this point. Don’t even understand how he found me at the skatepark. He said he camped up the street next to a cemetery where he friends are... okay!? Eventually he left and I continued to skate flat ground while Brennan was working hard at the 360flip. He almost had it a bunch of times but he had to leave around 10:45am. Oden came a little later while I was struggling to bs flip the step up that I skated yesterday. Got it eventually. When I was leaving Oden came over and was hyped to have met me. He said my name will be a name he will always remember.(he was hyped on my skating, and said Haines doesn’t get to see that good of skating) Very cool to inspire kids out here. Hope when I come back sometime they are shredding hard. Said my goodbyes and headed over to the cafe for another iced coffee and ham and Swiss sandwich. $19 and some change. The girl at the register asked where I camped and I told her the same place (parking lot pull off) as last night. She laughed. (“It’s free!”, I thought to myself) The sandwich was delicious so the 12$ charge wasn’t that bad. Still overpriced. Used the WiFi for a little. There was a bunch of little kids in there all eating ice cream. And very loud! But I didn’t really mind. The grandma of the kids asked me where I’m from and where I’m heading. Then a group of hikers came in and it got chaotic. They were putting their pin on the map right next to my table while I was eating. Little too close but I didn’t mind. They eventually left and one of the girls left her bag. She came back a few minutes later to get it. At this point I was finishing up my iced coffee. Time to head over to Chilkat State Recreation Site. It’s basically south of Haines till the road ends. Very nice drive. At the end of the road and parking spot there was a big mountain with a glacier snow on the top which was melting creating a huge waterfall till about halfway down the mountain. The mountain was on this super blue turquoise water. Beautiful place. On the other side of the road was the boat launch and it had big poles in the water with a mountain behind it. Took a long exposure of it. Hung out there till about 3pm then headed out of Haines towards Haines Junction, Yukon. That means out of Alaska... for this trip. :(

Up the Haines Highway to the Canadian border. The Canadian border guy was wearing sunglasses when he came out. It wasn’t even bright outside. Don’t understand why officers do that... shit they make me take my helmet off to cross the border, but I can’t even see their eyes through those sunglasses. Stare out their mouths while they ask questions.

Then it got really scenic. Giant light colored mountain peaks with grass and bush halfway up. Reminded me of Big Bend how the mountains looked like there were crumbling and getting sharper at the peaks. About an hour outside of Haines Junction I saw the people from Switzerland down in a pull off. I kept going to try to get to a campground. Then a few minutes later I crossed from British Columbia to Yukon and there was a campground right there called Million Dollar Falls. Sounds good, so I went to look for a spot. Found one that will work and set up camp. Messed around with moving my shoe bag to the top box area. Then went over to look at the falls. It was cool but not super impressive. The water was rushing through the rock cliffs so hard though. Intense power. Off to bed, then to Haines Junction in the morning.

7-28-18

Morning routine... brake down tent.

Off to Haines Junction skatepark. The park isn’t much other than smooth ground and a drainage ditch. There is a wooded diy rail ledge all broken up on the basketball court next to the “skatepark”. The Canadian Graffiti still cracks me up. Coming back down from Alaska now and stopped at this skatepark on the way up. Also had coffee at a gas station cafe in town, really good Mocha. Went to get the coffee after the skatepark. The kid that was there last time wasn’t working today. And they didn’t have any fresh wraps so I got a pizza sub sandwich and the Cafe mocha. Really good. Sat outside and ate. Then went back in for a candy bar or two... big cup Reese’s filled with Reese’s pieces and a cookies and cream Hershey bar. Goes perfect with the coffee. So good.

Went back to a gravel road/path on Kluane National Park. Went down it the first time through Haines Junction but stopped and turned around. Went to the Kluane Visiter center which was pretty rad. They had Indian artifacts like and old sled and tools and fur clothes. Then got a trail map of the National Park. Maybe do a hike. This time I planned on going further... that was until i did... I went just a tad bit further than before and bam... a river crossing. Okay? Not going through that. Turned around and heading out. Guess I’m going to Whitehorse now. Don’t feel like hiking any of the trails.

Headed to Whitehorse and straight to the Walmart to load my pannier up on food. This Walmart is kind of small and didn’t have much selection. They old had 5 coffee drinks... and Hummus and regular tuna snacks. Poptarts were in small boxes. Got some chocolate stripe cookies. And hand sanitizer and wipes... stay clean... as much as you can right? Ha!

Headed over to a campsite right next to Whitehorse (Wolf Creek).... campsite was full... just like last time only Jesse and Sirilak aren’t there to save a spot.. oh well on to the next one. Headed down to Carcross to ride this road that connects to Jakes Corner(Tagish Road)... am I just riding roads to ride them now? Carcross was cool though, I skipped over the Carcross Desert last time through because it was so packed with cars and people. This time there was only a few people there so I stopped to get some pictures. Then kept moving. My paper map says there is a campsite near Carcross. Heading there! Nope no camp. Started on the route across to Jakes corner. There’s a campsite over there.... nope. Okay guess I’m going to Atlin, one of the moto guys I met when I first came out here told me about it and said if I have time it’s worth the drive... and there are two Yukon campsites along the road... onward to Atlin!! It’s getting late and I’m hungry. I could just pull over and eat something from my pannier but I don’t want to waste the time until I find a damn place to camp. The first Yukon site I pull into (Snafu Lake is a little off the main road, mile or so in. When I get to it, it’s full of people... The track around the campsite is sand... and this loaded moto doesn’t do well in sand... sketchy experience on the Homer spit in the sand.. so nope. I’ll just go to the next campsite, it’s not far. Pulled off into the next Yukon campsite (Tarfu Lake). It’s a few kilometers back off the main road. Gravel, gravel, and more loose gravel. And potholes. It’s not bad though, but definitely not a good road. Loosing my patience. And can’t go fast down this road. Saw a fire ring at the entrance.. hmm.... kept going more into the site till I was almost at the camping area.. oh wait! A Park Ranger was driving on the gravel road towards me. I waved and stopped the truck. The ranger asked what’s up and I told her I’m looking for a place to camp and I stopped at all the campsites from Whitehorse to here and they were all full. She told me how the locals use the campsites and within a 2 hour radius of Whitehorse the campsites fill up fast... she said there was open spots at this site though. I asked if it was sand down at the sites.... “yeah it’s sand” she said. ...Oh great... I told her I can’t take the bike on sand with all the gear on the back. It just sinks. I told her I saw a fire ring up at the entrance near the main road and asked if I could camp there. She asked if it was “just for one night?” I said “yes just a place to put my tent tonight”. She said I could set up there, I should be fine, and that she’s the only ranger that will be here tonight and tomorrow. So I went on my way. Success! Found a campsite. As I pulled into the spot next to the fire ring and looped around a few times to find a good spot to park the moto (and a flat rock to put under the sidestand), she came pulling up in the park ranger truck. ...Oh crap here we go... I felt like she changed her mind and was going to say I couldn’t camp there. But then she pulled up next to me and got out of her truck and said she forgot to tell me they have bear problems here and to keep all my “smellies” somewhere. I told her how I keep all the food locked in the pannier box on my moto. She said that’s fine and to have a good night then she left. Whew that was a close one. Free to camp. And she didn’t even ask me to pay for the spot. Free camping is always good and I got the best spot in the park. Looking out at the mountains and the sunset. Everyone else is over there in the sand and trees. Okay they might have a good view of the lake... but l have my own personal overlook... finally, time to eat. Tuna and poptarts. Yum. Watched the sunset from inside my tent because the flies and mosquitos were so bad. And the KLR looks mighty fine sitting outside the tent in the sunset. (Got some photos)

7-29-18

Woke up still feeling like I got a sweet deal on the camp spot, considering I drove around so long from Haines to Whitehorse and halfway to Atlin yesterday, I’m pretty happy with the spot.

Went to Atlin first thing in the morning. There’s a skatepark in Teslin so I’ll skate that later today. Met these moto guys in Whitehorse on the way into Alaska and he told me about a place called Atlin. And if I have time it’s worth the drive. So that’s what I did. Went to Atlin.. and it didn’t disappoint. Beautiful scenery all the way to Atlin. Tall pine trees, mountains, and Lakes. Atlin has a bunch of secondary roads leading out Rec Sites and trails. Went down to The Grotto and turned around. Probably could have gone further or down other secondary roads but decided not to. On the way to The Grotto I stopped at a beach hike area. Went down to the water and walked around. Nice scenery small boat zipping around the water. small planes flying around the mountains. There were dog prints in the sand. Next stopped at Palmer Lake on the way out of Atlin. Amazing lake with mountains and tall pines. Took lots of photos there.

Then over to Teslin. Rode over to Teslin and reserved a campsite before stopping for some food. Didn’t pay for the site just put the slip on the post. Stopped at the restaurant at the gas station before the bridge out of Teslin. Got chicken fingers and fries with hot coffee. Food was delicious but it was hot as hell in the restaurant and couldn’t stop sweating the whole time. There was a big screen tv on the wall right next to me playing some dateline mystery murder show. The cooked seemed to be really into it as he would come out and stand in the doorway to watch it. Interesting show to be playing in a restaurant.!?!. Idk. Food was good. The waitress gave me a hand written slip to pay. I went up to the register to pay and the card didn’t work the first two times. I look at the top of the card reader and it says ‘refund’. Is this lady trying to run my card as a refund?? She looks at the card reader and says “I’ve never seen it say refund before” and before I could say anything the old guy standing behind me says “it’s probably because you ran his card two times already” she insisted I try one more time. Finally it accepted my card.. but wait. The receipt prints out and says refund across the top. The waitress was clueless as to what this meant and sent me on my way. I walked out with a full stomach and a receipt that says refund. Hmm maybe I got paid to eat? I’ll check my card in a few days.

(Chicken fingers refund?)

As I got to my moto the old man comes hurling out of the door. “Wait don’t leave I have a story to tell you” Who? Me? He came right over to me and said I used to have a KLR and told me how he rode it up to the top of Alaska then flew it down south to Argentina then the doohickey broke in Brazil and left the bike there. Could tell if this guy was full of shit or being honest but he was entertaining to listen to. His wife (I assumed) came out and stood with us while he rambled on bought this and that. To be honest it was hard to keep up with what he was saying, he just had so much energy. He eventually went on his way, wishing me well as he energetically left with his wife. Went back to the campsite close by and my site was still there! Glad no one pulled a fast one. Did some maintenance on the moto. Cleaned the chain and adjusted the doohickey. Checked around the bolts and chain tension. Shoe gooed my boots, hopefully that will help with the water coming in problem. They were waterproof when I started but lost there touch. Still the most comfortable boots I’ve had. Can wear them all day and not feel like I’ve had boots on all day. Forma Adventure Low boots. Bought them for my trip to Maine a little over a year ago and they are going strong still. The smell is strong too. Pissed about till around 1am, catching up on my daily notes (was behind a few days or more). Late night. Little sleep.

7-30-18

Morning sun is out! And then it rains for like 15 minutes, just enough to get everything wet. Waited around a bit for my tent to dry before packing it. Skatepark is right up the street so not in a big rush. Also don’t have big plans today except to start down the Cassiar Highway (Highway 37). Skatepark was nothing more than routine; feeling tired this morning; went to bed late and still woke up before 7am. Stopped and got gas in town then went across the sketchy bridge to get out of Teslin. The bridge is metal with small holes and lines that catch the wheels of the moto and cause it to swerve. It was sketchier on the way in a couple months ago then it was now. I was expecting it this time and went slow. I should have stopped for lunch on the way out of town but didn’t want to go back to the same place as last night. Need to get back to spending less money on food. Or so I think today. The route is full of trees and not much views. It’s also hot outside in the 80s Fahrenheit. Too warm for a jacket. Then drove right into rain... pulled over to put the rain pants on and sweatshirt (so it wasn’t sitting in the rain) and my jacket and gloves. At least the rain feels cool, but it didn’t last. Out of the rain and it hot but looks like it could rain anytime. So I kept riding with all the gear. Seemed to be getting hotter and I feel so tired. Pulled off at a rest stop and power napped leaning against my pannier. Still tired but it’s too muggy to sit around. It’s not too far from the start of the Cassiar at this point. Eventually made my way to the turn off onto highway 37. Got gas on the corner and pumped before I paid. Not pay outside features, old style pump. Went inside to pay and the guy was confused cause someone else was trying to use the pump I was just at and it wouldn’t work. Guess maybe I was supposed to pay before I pump or something. Idk. Down the Cassiar and there’s not much around. Well actually there is a lot around, but maybe I’m just too tired today. Lots of pine trees and a huge section was all burnt. Took a few pictures but every time I stop another car pulls into the same place. Frustrating. Can’t seem to get away from people today. Why is this road from Teslin to here so busy. Pushed on towards Good Hope Lake. No cell service since Teslin. Welcome to British Columbia. Came up on a Provincial Park Boya Lake. Decide to stop here for the day. Laid down on the picnic table bench for a bit dosing on and off till a ranger came by and asked if I was staying the night. Told her I haven’t decided and she said someone else will be around later. Guess this campground has rangers on watch to make sure you pay. It’s 20$ for a tent site.! Too tired to care though. Ate some unhealthy snacks from the pannier. Pringles I picked up from the gas station, canned tuna, and a poptart. Then set up my tent without the fly and passed out for a few hours. Woke up around 8-9pm to a park ranger stopping by. I had the money and envelope ready from earlier so I just gave it to her and she was on her way. One of the strangest campsites I’ve been in, ranger on patrol around the park on a 4 wheeler to make sure you pay. Guess when you get all those free spots to camp you gotta pay sometime. Time to sleep some more, worn out today.

7-31-18

Boya Lake. Feels like I slept for so long. Passed out around 5pm yesterday and woke up around 9pm for a bit then slept till 7am this morning. Guess I was tired. There a pull off area right off the main turn next to the turn for the campground, good spot to skate.

South on the Cassiar Highway. Went down a side road which ended at a mind. Huge light colored gravel pile looked like a dome. The mountains out here are beautiful. Steep peaks covered in green trees. Little ponds all over the place too. Stopped in Jade City looked for food. There was a sign that said “free coffee” so why not. Pulled in and the parking area was packed with RVs. The “city” was no more than a main building and some little things outside. Nevertheless I went in. Rocks for sale? Carved rocks? And it’s this packed? Started making my way through the crowds to the back where the coffee was. Passed by this smell... smelled like shit. Like actual shit. I don’t know if someone shit their pants or if the building had an overflow of people using the bathroom. But I bailed on the coffee and got out of there. I’ll keep going. Back on the moto.... the road seems to be getting more scenic as I go further south. Some spots are bland and tree covered though. Came up on some smoke. Smoke on the mountain. A forest fire! Stopped on the side of the road to take pictures and videos. It was right there, so close. On the other side of the river and up the mountain. Incredible. It was thundering and lightning last night. A lightning strike hit the mountains and started a fire. A local man on a four wheeler told me when he came up from his house right next to the road. Another guy from a power company had stopped behind my moto earlier when I was taking pictures. He was just as amazed and had never seen one this close. The local on the 4wheeler told us he called it in last night or early this morning. They had come earlier with aircraft to drop fire retardants on the flames. We saw a helicopter flying over the fire. No bucket just flying around it. Maybe spotting. Everyone went on their ways and I rode up the road and stopped a few more times to get better views of the fire. When I got to Dease Lake it was time for some gas and food. There was a groceries store at the gas station. Got some water, coffee, and a coke. They didn’t have much premade foods. There was a stand in the back for burgers and whatnot. Stood there for a few minutes looking at the menu but none was around to make the food so I left. Poor service at some of these places out here. There was a hot girl in line in front of me. Went over to a good trailer next to the grocery store. They had al sorts of food. I ordered a Taco Grilled Cheese. Never heard of that before. And it was exactly was you wouldn’t expect. Grilled cheese with beans, beef, lettuce, tomato, you get the point. It was a taco built on a grilled cheese. Interesting. Came with fries too. The lady at the stand recommended I take a fork, “it can be really messy” As it was. The 2 women working the stand came out by the tables where I was eating. It was so hot and even hotter inside the food truck, so they would come out to get air when no one was ordering. They told me about how they get busy this time of year, they were sisters. They told me about Telegraph Creek Rd and how it’s an amazing place to go if I have time. Another local man (native) said they same thing. He had a high pitch voice and a little weird. When I finished eating I started going down Telegraph rd. That was until about 16 miles in it started getting steep and windy. It started thunder storming too which made the dirt road turn to slick mud. I realized I wouldn’t be able to make it safely down this road in the wet weather and decided to turn around. Oh well. Went back out to the main road and over to the college where the food stand ladies said there was free wifi. Got there a little after 5pm and it appears like the WiFi is only on till 5pm. Missed out on that one. Kept going down the Cassiar to look for a place to sleep. There are pull offs with fire rings all along the road, some of them are hard to spot. The locals use them for fishing and camping. All free. Rode a ways till it looked like I was driving right into a thunderstorm. Luckily there was a turn off Upper Gnat Lake which had a place to camp and a fire ring. There were two RVs on the other side of the lot and trees barely visible from where I posted up. Big gusts of wind came on and off, but no rain. Watched more lightning over the mountain in the distance and dark blue storm clouds. Luckily it didn’t rain at all where I was at.

CHAPTER 12

Salmon Glacier

8-1-18

In the morning I watched the sun rise over the mountain ridge and lake. I saw on of the RV people go down to the water to fish. Packed up my gear and started the bike. That’s when the lady fishing and her husband came walking over. They live in Kitwanga about 6 hours south. They told me there was a free campsite down there with firewood and bathrooms. The guy said he is the one who looks after the site. The lady asked if I was from Australia... don’t think I sound like I have an Aussie accept. No told them I was from Virginia.

Made my way down the highway and saw a fox on the side of the road. Stopped and parked the bike to try to get a picture. The little thing seemed just bout as interested in me as I was in it. It was limping and would come up within a few feet from me and sit down. It didn’t seem to be vicious or harmful. Maybe people feed it and it has become used to humans? Idk. I wasn’t going to feed it. But wish I could help the poor little thing. It sat down a few times as I took pictures then when I would review them back on the camera it would move closer. Eventually it made it way down the hill by the road looking back at me over and over as it left. Felt like an animal whisperer for a bit there. It seemed to have no problem with me. So cute. Hope it makes it with that hurt leg. It would hold its paw up when it stopped and hop on it when it moved.

Found a bathroom at a recreation site up the road. Went down to the lake where two RVs were parked from the night before. Rode down a road that ended at the water.... a boat launch. Oops. A lady was standing st the water edge. Turned the bike around and parked. She asked me where I’m from where I’m heading. She was from Colorado and doing the whole Alaska trip in the RV with her husband. They had come up here The end of April.

Lunch... stopped at a gas station with a grocery store and a little area for sitting and eating. Asked the lady if I could use and outlet. She said yes. (Native lady) Bought a root beer and ketchup chips. Charged my laptop and backed up photos. They didn’t have much for ready made foods there so I made my way to the next little town. Stopped at a lodge with a restaurant. There wasn’t many people there, maybe cause it was late in the afternoon. I walked into the restaurant which had taxidermy animals everywhere. Bear, mountain goat, moose head, and even a big full moose. Kind of weird. There was a kid at the register who told me the cook just left and I couldn’t order food. He didn’t know when he would be back. Went back out to my moto and started putting the tank bag on the bike. A man with a Swiss accent came over and started talking to me. He said he was Canadian and I said it doesn’t like like he’s Canadian. He went on to tell me he’s from Switzerland and moved here 15 years ago. He was covered in tattoos and wearing a apron. Turns out he’s the cook. Another guy on a triumph came over to talk. He was from Fairbanks and on his way back home. He had bought the bike he was riding in Virginia and shipped it out here. After chatting a bit the Swiss guy asked if I was going to come get some coffee. Told him I want some food. Went in a ordered French Toast. There was an old guy in there now too. He must have been the owner or another worker. He kept insisting I get bratwurst to eat. And made comments about being from Trumpcountry when I said I was from Virginia. He said trump is making friends with everyone. And I said I think you got that backwards. The old guy was a little kooky. He told the Swiss guy to make my French toast with 4 eggs instead of 3 cause I need my protein. And to throw 2 pieces of bacon on the side. The Swiss guy made a gester with his hands ($$$). He offered me a free bowl of soup but it was so hot outside I had to decline hot soup. He gave me some fried mushrooms for free with my meal. I’ll admit I was a bit weary about eating here. And if I hadn’t talked to the Swiss guy outside I wouldn’t be eating the food. But he seemed good so I went with it because he was the one preparing the food. If the old guy made my food I might have had to walk away from it. Regardless the food was delicious. When I went up to pay, the Swiss guy told me to tell the kid at the register that I only got French toast and not to say I got any of the sides (bacon or egg or mushroom) and laughed and said the kid is a lazy bastard. Waiting for a few minutes before the kid showed up to take the money for the order. 12$ The kid seemed a little off to me ever since he told me the cook wasn’t there. Something just seemed weird about the way he was acting and looking. Paid and got out of there.

From there I made my way down to 37a toward Stewart, BC. And wow just wow. This is up there on the most scenic drives this trip. Huge mountain right next to the road so high I can’t see the tops without turning my head and looking straight up. Glaciers, glaciers, and more glaciers. Waterfalls and runoffs all over the pine filled mountains. Raging white water river rushing down right next to the highway. Incredible incredible incredible. It was getting late and I still wanted to keep going. Pulled off at a fire ring to camp just a guy and girl in an Astro van were already there. They said I could put my tent there too but I didn’t want to intrude on their camp. The guy was from Australia and the girl (Haley) from BC. They were on there way to Alaska. Looked around a bit in search of a little spot around there to let them have their space but nothing. Waved bye as I pulled off. The girl waved, the guy was in the van. Went a ways down the road and found another pull off but it seemed too secluded. Around the corner was a huge glacier right on the side of the road across the river. Right there, literally so close. It said no stopping but no one was around. The side where the road was had huge boulders and rocks from where the mountain had given way and had a landslide. Prolly not the safest place to stop. But whatever, look at that glacier! So amazing. Pictures can’t even do it justice. Nothing like standing that close to one. You can feel the cold in the air. After being amazed and in aw I decided I better find a place to tent before it gets too dark. Took a bunch more photos and some of the sunset over the mountains. Came up on a pull off where an RV was parked. Stopped then went up a little further then backtracked and set up my tent. Indecisive. It’s only a pull off on gravel. No fire ring. But screw it. I should stop for the night before I end up riding in the dark. Its so amazingly scenic down this road. I’m shocked.

Little mouse thing squeezing at me and shivering

Made it a little hut to block the wind and it curled up and wet to sleep

8-2-18

Woke up to light rain and logging trucks going by. Fell back asleep. And up again. Going to make my way to Stewart, only 12 miles from me. Maybe should have kept going last night because it’s cloudy now and can’t see the tops of mountains. Maybe it will clear off.

Stewart BC to Hyder Alaska then Salmon Glacier

Salmon glacier and road to it amazing, went to the mine past the glacier

It’s hard to put into words how amazing the ride is up to the salmon glacier. From 37 Junction 37a it’s incredible; huge mountains on either side. Glacier on the tops with tall pine cascading down the steep ridges. Waterfalls are all over the cliff faces along the mountains. The road is way down at the bottom of the mountains so you’re constantly looking up and stopping to see the pines on the mountain tops reaching into the clouds above. There’s a river flowing with white rapids alongside a section of the road. When I pulled off to look at it I could feel the power from the water; the sound and speed of the water was something else. No guard rails on the side of the road either. It’s paved through Stewart and Hyder before turning to dirt/gravel. Stewart is a small town, an old looking town. And Hyder, which is an Alaskan town right on the other side of the border, is also a small town. Looks very old but refreshing. Great vibes in these two towns. From Hyder the road goes up to Salmon Glacier. This is where it gets a bit dicey. It’s dirt and gravel and uphill for about 30 miles to the Salmon Glacier. Some uphill turns are rutted out and I had to be in first and second gear the majority of the climb. Turn offs are a little sketch being that there are no guard rails and straight cliffs and steep grades off the side. Also had to park in 1st gear so the moto didn’t roll. Careful parking each time. The views are phenomenal though. High up overlooking mountain faces and deep valleys. It’s a feeling no picture can represent. Standing there overlooking the mountains and glaciers, feeling the air, it’s the experience. It’s a the moments you wish you could bring back home to share with others, but it’s just not the same as being there, living that moment. You start to see the salmon glacier as you move up the ridge. It’s massive. From the bottom end it looks as if it goes forever then snakes between other mountains. Making the way to the top overlook the glacier makes a turn into the mountain directly across from the viewpoint and it goes even further up and between the mountains till the top of the glacier becomes the horizon where it meets the sky. The vastness of the landscape cannot be put into words or a mere photograph. At loss of words; standing there; silent; fresh air; it’s as if your eyes start melting into the landscape. I could stare at this forever.

Beyond the Slamon Glacier the road curves it’s way down to Grannuk Mine. There are more views of incredible mountains and blue glaciers high in the peaks of the mountains. The pine trees on the lower mountains and cliffs create a perfect foreground for the dramatic mountains filling the horizon.

On the way back to Hyder, I pretty much coast in 2nd down the 30 some miles of windy gravel road; seeing all the views again!

Back in Hyder I stopped at a gift shop that had a sign for fudge in the window. The lady running the shop was very nice. I picked the Mocha Chocolate fudge for $3.50. We started talking and she told me how crazy it gets when the big bus tours come through and wipe out her stash of fudge. Luckily her kitchen is in the back of the shop and she lives up stairs. It’s like a house with a shop on the main level. She should me her kitchen and the fudge maker. It’s a small kitchen but she makes it work. She makes an enormous amount of fudge each year for tourists. And travels back and forth from Hyder to Arizona to see her mom. When I paid for the fudge I gave her a $5 bill for the $3.50 fudge. She handed me a $10 bill and 50 cents. I was like uhh... I gave you a $5 and you gave me a $10 in change. She was happy that I didn’t just run off with the $10 and respected that I told her. She told me a story about a guy from Mexico on a bicycle who came by one time and they got to talking then he asked if she wanted dinner. He took a small burner out of his trailer behind his bicycle and cooked spaghetti. After they ate he asked to fill up his tiny pepper shaker.

As I was leaving I mention I gotta go find a camp and she offered that I could set up my tent next to her shop, just no fires. I didn’t take her up on it cause I wanted to get back over the border into British Columbia. She said she only offered cause I didn’t take her $10.

Border guy was nice and even wiped the dirt off my license plate. Hahaha. No problems got right back in Canada.

Went to the campsite I stopped at this morning on the way into Stewart. It was starting to rain a little. There weren’t many people at the site like there was this morning. One guy off in the corner down the path, a van near the entrance and a couple eating at the picnic tables.

I picked a place to set up camp and was looking for something to put under my kickstand so it didn’t sink into the grass if it rained harder. I was rocking it back in forth and making sure it was sturdy when an old guy came over. He had a thick accent and asked if my motor was okay because he saw me rocking the bike. I explained that I’m just making sure the kickstand it on something solid so it doesn’t sink. And that I might use that abandoned flip flop over there. He put hi index finger in the air and said one moment.. then he walked over to he van and came back with a cold beer. He said i drink the beer then put can under kickstand and he handed me the beer. I couldn’t help but laugh at this amazing gester and didn’t want to tell him I don’t drink so I took the beer and put it in my tent. He then brought me over to his van to meet his wife and check out their rig. He built all the inside himself and was planning on putting a shower in next. He told me how the shipped into Baltimore from Germany and are driving to Halifax Nova Scotia to ship back. He told me I need to come to Europe cause there is great riding for motorbikes. The roads are built from old footpaths that were made into horse tracks then horse and buggy then roads. So the roads a curvy all over the place. He said there are no boring straight roads. He showed me pictures of his motorbike back home. Yahama that looked like a Ducati. He takes it on little trips around Europe and even packs all his camping gear onto it. He wife wasn’t even good at English so he would translate our conversation back and forth. It was amazing. They were super cool.

German guy gave me beer to drink at campsite so I could use can under my sidestand on moto. Then showed me his RV van that he built himself and him and his wife are traveling in it. Showed me pictures of eueropen and the windy roads out their. And his motorbike yahama naked sports bike

8-3-18

Stewart to Kitwanga, British Columbia.

Went into town first thing this morning. Used the bathroom in town at the visitor center, the one at Clements lake campsite was nasty. Then went over and skated the basketball court again (skated here yesterday too). Then back to the same bakery I went to yesterday, chicken pot pie and a scone. Half tempted to go back to the glacier but should keep moving. The couple I met a few days ago at upper gnat lake camp told me about free camping in Kitwanga only about 2 hours and 45 minutes away. So back up highway 37a which is beautiful. Stopped some more times for photos on the way out. Then got on 37 south to Kitwanga. It was misting a bit enough to put rain gear on, but not bad. Didn’t stop much along the way to Kitwanga and got there early. Talked to a guy on a pedal bike who was from an island of the coast of BC. 7hour ferry ride to the town or fly in only. He gave me some pointers on places to go on the way south. Said the ride to Prince Rupert is nice, and to check out Bella Coola which is another out and back road from the main highway. (After Prince George) He also said the ride to Whistler would be cool when I asked. He’s never been to the east coast of Canada or the US. Told him the mountains are more like hills, but still pretty. Especially in the fall when the leaves change colors. He gave me a printed paper map for taking west Frasier road south. Said it’s what he took up. Went over to 37 Grill for some food, it’s right next to the campsite. Got some Kebabs and coffee.

Kebabs came with a pasta salad. Drank a few cups of coffee and got a huge piece of cake. Really spent to much tonight on food but fuxk it have to treat myself sometimes. And it’s good to eat good food. The food bill was alot but free camp just across the street so it works out.

8-4-18

Rode into Prince Rupert from Kitwanga

There was a skatepark in Terrace that looked pretty cool so went there first. The skatepark was all asphalt even the half pipes. There was a car show going on next to the skatepark so the area was busy. When I got to the park there were three bikers, not skateboarders. They left soon after I started skating so I had the park to myself. Some people started showing up later. Met a guy named Tim Stephens at the park, we tripped out on it for a bit. Got the hippy guy to film a trick for me and offered him the beer the German guy gave me at the campsite the other day. He took the beer and drank it right there. Glad I got rid of it. From there I made my way down to Prince Rupert. The drive was pretty cool, nothing spectacular though. Prince Rupert ended up having a sweet skatepark though which I stopped and skated. It was built like two levels with a snake run from the top to bottom section. The transitions were steep and not well built but super fun regardless. Got a nice stalefish on the concrete Miniramp before heading out.

Wanted to get back to Kitwanga for some reason to camp. Rode in the dark and got back in Kitwanga around midnight. I was sketched riding in the dark with only a high beam (my normal headlight is out). Luckily I didn’t have any wildlife run out in front of me. Don’t want to do that again. Set up camp in the dark and looked up at the stars which filled the sky. Something was sniffing outside my tent once I shut the fly. Think it was a Fox.

8-5-18

Changed oil first thing in morning. As I was finishing the guy who maintains the campground (who I met at the Upper Gnat camp) came over the talk on his fancy fourwheeler. He didn’t seem to have a problem with me changing me oil right there. Instead he was just coming over to say hi.

Went over to the general store next to the camp to see if they had anything good to eat for lunch. It was a late start to the day. Got some Egg pasta Salad and a pizza sub. Ate it outside at the picnic table. The camp guys wife who I also met before came out of nowhere and started talking to me. She was in the book bus parked next to the general store. She told me all about the book bus. Then asked where I’ve been since last time I saw them and where I’m going. She told me some places to check out as well. She made a comment about how it funny the can tell the out of towners by the way the park in front of the general store as a guy pulled into the lot. I parked like a local tho, sideways with the front of the store. She laughed and said I parked like a local.

She took off and the guy who parked all funky came over and slurred a bunch of words together in my direction. Pretty positive be was on some drugs. He asked a few questions and walked about back to the girl with him. He seemed so messed up, don’t know why he was driving.

Found a skatepark in (Smithers?)

It was afternoon by the time I got there, and hot. I like skating in the morning before the heat comes. Had to park the moto on the other side of the Recreation area and walk to the skatepark since there was no parking at the skatepark. Skatepark wasn’t bad but the heat was getting to me. After the session I went to sit in the shade and moved my moto

In the shade with me. An old guy came over and started talking to me and told me a few places to check out. Then a younger guy came over and started talking. He was with his wife and little kid, they were playing at the playground. He told me that Fraser Lake has a cool skatepark. Before he left he gave me a BC Strong sticker, for firefighters fighting the forest fires. I went to check out the main strip in town, it’s suppose to look like an alpine there village. It was Sunday afternoon so everything was closed. And it wasn’t very impressive. Don’t understand the hype. From there I went on to Burns Lake where I was told there was a free camp spot. Surprisingly when I got to the campsite it was right next to a skatepark. There were a bunch of RVs already there. The place had a lake with a slide off the end of the dock into the lake. The skatepark was covered in graffiti tags. Before I set up my tent a guy came over carrying a case of beer and asked if I’ve seen an old man with a limp walking around. No I have not. He then went over to the other side of the campground where him and his friends were sitting around drinking. Don’t even think they had tents over there. Maybe this is just the hang out spot. Shortly after an old guy with a limp comes stumbling over to me. His breath reeked of alcohol. He was a native man with an obvious limp. He told me how he’s behaving, and just having some beer for the night. He seemed pretty drunk. I kept short answering him so maybe he would go away but he kept insisting that he’s behaving and not causing problems. Eventually he left and stumbled over to the circle of younger people drinking.

A guy in the RV next to me came over and asked where I’m from. He was from Oregon and him and his father and family come up here every other year to take their boat out and catch a bunch of fish to take back home. He said they usually catch enough to freeze for the next year or so. They make a family trip out of it. He said they go way out to the islands too.

Finished setting up my tent and there was still some daylight so I went over to scope the skatepark. The transitions were wack. Super jerky like it was a side of an octagon not a halfpipe. Most of the transitions were banks and the quarter pipes were a mix between a bank and a quarter. Cruises around a little then went over to go to bed.

8-6-18

Walked to the bathroom in the morning, had to have been between 6:30-7am and the old guy with a limp and a younger native guy were sitting on the pillar next to the bathroom. Surprisingly the old guy remembered I was from Virginia. The younger guy yells out asking if I brought them some moonshine. Then told me about how he just having his morning beer. Monday morning and already drinking in public. What the hell is wrong with people. Anyways went into the bathroom, no toilet paper. Luckily I had a emergency roll in my pannier so I walked back to my moto. As I was walking back I noticed the old guy and kid walking away from where the were sitting drinking. They left there cans and trash sitting on the ledge in the park.

After I did my business I went and skated the skatepark. There were a bunch of rocks on the flat ground I kept hitting that would make me come to a sudden stop. After a flatground session I went around the Park reading the graffiti. Some of it was actually pretty fun like “Art is hard” and “I never finish anyth” Took some picture of the graffiti then filmed a switch tre on the big bank in the park. Took a while to get so I was burnt out afterwards. Then went over to the moto to get things ready to head out. A guy who was having breakfast or lunch over at a picnic table near the campground came over and asked where I was heading. He ended up telling me a few places to check out and even ripped a little map out of his brochure and circled the names of places and made a route of things to see. Thought that was cool.

Rode from Burns Lake to Fraser Lake where I stopped at Senor Duggies Tacos & Pizzeria. The lady working said they had enchiladas off the dinner menu even tho it was still lunch hours. And that’s what I got, the enchiladas. It was really good and well made. After I finished eating the older lady came out for a smoke. She had an iced coffee in her hand and I asked if they sell iced coffee here. She said they don’t sell it and it was their secret stash. She went on to say that if I talk to the other lady (who was her daughter) real nice she might make one for me. When the other lady came outside before I could say anything the older lady said to her that this man would really like an iced coffee if she could spares some for him. It was quite funny. The younger lady said no and said it was their private stash they can’t sell it. And they have to get it from Prince George. Then she went back inside. The old lady said I bet she’s making one for you. Sure enough the lady came out with an iced coffee for me. It was delicious, as was to food. Some guys on Harley’s pulled up and another moto shortly after then drove by. It was a bmw. The old lady made a comment about motocycle all stopping and said guess that guy didnt want to stop for food. The younger lady made a comment about how it’s not a real motorcycle and I said hey wait did you see what I was riding. She looked over and said oh thought you were on a Harley oops......(me “yaaaaaaa”)

From there I went to check out the Fraser skatepark. It was pretty small but fun. The sun was still beaming hard. Started trying crook 360 out. The wind started picking up. The ledge was sticky and I had no wax but kept trying. Again the heat starting gettin to me and frustration kicked in. Chucked my board into the grass and it hit my phone and GoPro which was sitting on the ledge. That means it’s time to stop trying that trick. My phone and GoPro were fine, but broke a link on the GoPro case. Oh well. Then I did a frontside boardslide 270 on the handrail instead. That worked out much better.

Went on my way toward Prince George where I stopped at a Walmart to pick up some groceries. From there I started my way to Bella Coola intersection. But stopped in Hixon cause got looked like I was driving right into a major storm. The sun was starting the set at this point and the clouds looked wild. The campsite I went to I asked how much for a site. The guy said $20. Told him that’s too much and asked if he new of any pull offs I could just set up for the night. He told me about one but said it’s sketchy. (which I already stopped at and there were signs that said no camping) He then offered me a site for $10 instead and said showers included. I paid the $10. He went on to tell me about all the beautiful places in the area and how he went somewhere in the 80s right after a huge forest fire and went back later and saw nature growing back through the destruction. Destruction/rebirth he said. He gave me a map to Bella Coola and told me it’s a cool ride, lots of cows. Haha.

Then I went over to set up my tent where he said I could pick any site near the RVs or just put my tent in the field next to the well hose. There was an outlet on a post next to the trees and well hose so I set up there close enough to plug in my laptop. The campsite was pretty close to the road so there was a bit of noise but I didn’t mind. Got a shower for the first time in a while. Feeling good.

Kreekside Campground and motel

8-7-18

(Kreekside Camp for $10 not $20)

In the morning I realized the storm i thought I was driving into was actually smoke from a nearby forest fire. The smoke had moved in more overnight and everything was hazy.

Rode from Hixon to Williams Lake where I went to the skatepark. This park looked kind of like a mix between a DIY spot and an actual skatepark. Fun tho. Got a weird clip of grabbing the nose and sliding the tail over the pyramid flat top. Then went over to find a McDonalds but ended up going to A&W instead. Got the Habanero chicken sandwich with fries and it was pretty good. From there I started my way over to Bella Coola where it’s dead end road at the ocean. So either drive 8 hours in and then around and come back or take a ferry to Vancouver Island. I’m hoping for the ferry if it’s not too expensive. The ride was mostly farm lands. The smoke was quite bad so I couldn’t see anything in the distance. It wasn’t bad enough to be unsafe to drive but if there were any mountains on the horizon I couldn’t see them. Ended up finding a rest stop with picnic tables next to a marsh. Set up camp there for the night. There were a much of ducks in the marsh.

Camped at rest stop halfway to Bella Coola

8-8-18

Woke up to a noisy family a little after 6am who decided to stop at the rest stop and talk at another picnic table. They were loud and didn’t seem to care that I was in a tent near them. Shortly after around 7am a logging truck pulls in and parks near my tent and leaves his engine running for the 20 minutes he was there. Guess I’m not sleeping, time to pack shit up. Got my stuff packed on the moto and changed the headlight bulb out which had gone out a few days ago. I got a bulb when I was at Walmart in Prince George. Went to use the bathroom and immediately 2 cars pull in. Rushed. Only one bathroom. Then I stretched to skate this small section of new pavement in the rest stop. Then a semi truck pulls in and blocks the area I was going to skate. He went over to the picnic table where I sat for 20 minutes smoking a cigarette. I gave up and left in frustration. Went to a general store along the way to Bella Coola and got a sandwich and some water. After that the road turned to gravel and dirt. Part of the road was on the edge of cliffs with steep switchbacks. Some of the hills and switchbacks I was in 1st gear engine breaking down the hills. Super cool road to ride tho. Eventually made it almost to Bella Coola where I stopped at a trailhead to skate some shitty pavement at the turn out. I kept see bees near my bike the whole way here the past couple days and I’m pretty certain the made a hive in my bike and where traveling with me. Super strange, every time i stopped there they were buzzing around my front fork. Went on to Bella Coola and down to the ferry terminal. They were closed by the time I got there. Saw that the next ferry isn’t till August 11. Really don’t feel like waiting around till then. Went over to a pullout and sat on the bench and ate some canned tuna for dinner. A lady walking by stopped and said I picked a nice spot to stop (talking about the view of the water and mountain) She told me she’s a scientist and comes here to work. And is staying in town. She told me about a campsite past the ferry terminal near a waterfalls. And said that the are grizzlies over here too so be careful. I went over there and didn’t see any grizzly but saw the seals in the water she told me about. There were no camping signs all over the place too. Walked out on the rocks where an old boat was sitting rusted on the shore. A couple were sitting at a picnic table on the shore playing music. The guy was strumming a guitar while the girl played a trumpet. It was cool to listen to them play while I took pictures of the sunset mountains and seals.

Went back into town and stopped at a campsite called Gnomes Home. It was a house in town with campsites. Pushed the doorbell at the office. No one answer and not sure if it made a sound, so I knocked. No one answered. There were gnomes all over the place which was really cool, I like gnomes. It was only 9pm and it says they are open till 10pm so I went back to the door and held the doorbell, and it made a sound. Maybe I was supposed to hold it the first time. An old man came to the door in a T-shirt and underwear. Wtf. Didn’t like his vibe and I could smell the booze on him from 6 feet away. He said it’s $15 for the night. At this point I didn’t want to camp there. The dude was kind creepy. And who the fuck answers the door to their business in their underwear. He bragged about owning 20 acres in downtown. And said $15 for camping. “Welcome to downtown” he kept saying. And he kept insisting I got set up camp and we can deal with paying in the morning. Went over to my bike and left. Felt like the dude was a creep or something. Went back up to Hagensburg where I asked the lady at construction area where there is to camp. She told me a few places where she’s seen people set up. I went to the nearest one. The road was close to the rec site due to a landslide washout. So I set up at the entrance or the road near the sign map and entrance sign. It was dark setting up. Hoping I’m not near any bears, there’s a river right next to me with a sign about salmon. Fingers crossed, hoping I don’t have any visitors.

CHAPTER 13

Sunshine Coast

8-9-18

No visitors last night from the bears. Now to head out of Bella Coola back to Williams Lake. Going to be a long day. First things first I had to find the Bella Coola skatepark which is listed on the Recreation website for the town. But no address or map other than that it’s next to the outdoor ice rink. Rode around looking for it, went to the Snootli recreation area and there was a playground, pavilion, and bathrooms. A bus pulled in with and dropped kids off at the park so I went and asked the bus driver if he knew where the skatepark was. He gave me vague directions, you go over there across a bridge then turn left, then go like this (made a gester or winding roads with his hands) and told me there’s no road name. He said I could follow him then when he turns right I should turn left... okay easy enough. First off he goes flying out of the park down some winding roads I’m not familiar with, difficult to keep up. Got to the stop sign which was the main road (highway) through the town. He pointed left as he turned right... okay cool back to square one. I turned left anyways... maybe I passed it and overlooked it. Went a ways and stopped at a fish hatchery but didn’t see anything. Halfway gave up after doing some back and forth through Hangensburg. Decided to just keep going and skate a pull off or something. Came up on road construction within minutes were a guy was stopping traffic to wait for a pilot car. He told me it would be ten minutes or so. I asked him if he knew of a skatepark in the area. He didn’t seem to know what I was taking about. Then I asked if he knew of an ice rink around. He told me there was one by the hatchery. It’s right across the street, but a hundred or so meters off the highway. And said I can’t see it from the highway. He told me to turn down the road across from the hatchery, it has no name just a gravel road.... okay. Flipped a u-turn and went back. Went up the gravel road across the hatchery and sure enough there was a shitty old skatepark tucked away in the trees. Success. Skated the park for a bit and filmed a fs flip on the bank. It felt like it was blazing hot outside. Left from the skatepark to head up the long road to Williams Lake. Back up the steep gravel mountain pass. Up steep gravel switchbacks. It was actually kind of fun. The KLR was running hot climbing those hills but there was no way I could pull off. Made it to the top where I noticed crazy puffy smoke clouds coming from the mountains in the distance. Must be the forest fire I road through on the way in. Got some photos then kept moving. Not to long up the road the sky turned red with smoke and soon enough I was riding through dense smoke. The sun was filtered to a faint disc hovering above the pines. It was a really cool experience. Couldn’t help but to keep stopping to take photos. It was like looking through a red filter. The trees, the ground, the mountains, the sky; everything had a reddish orange tint. The photos look like I tweet the warmth on the white balance. Ended up putting my face mask on to avoid breathing in all the smoke. This ride was totally worth not waiting for the ferry. Kept going past the rest stop (Pollywog Marshes) which I slept at on the way down. Knew there was a rec site not too far from Williams Lakes. Bull Canyon campground. Pulled into the campground. British Columbia Parks Campground $20 a night. What a rip off. But it’s a self serve site. Made the loop and pick a spot next to and family in a van. The dogs came running over to me and barking at my moto. The old guy came over to retrieve his dogs. I asked if the campsite people come around collecting money. He said they just left. And who knows they might be back. He told me how one place he stopped at they came a 7:30 in the morning and got everyone. When he asked where I’m from I told him Virginia which he replied with stuff about Trump. He told me how Canadians tune into CNN to watch the Trump drama. And joked about how no one thought Hilter was that bad and see where that ended up. I couldn’t help but laugh since this wasn’t the first Canadian to bring up their amusement with American politics, in particular “the Trump-show”. It’s quite comical. He offered me to join him and his family later at night by the fire and have wine. Told him I’d prolly be passing out soon it been a long day but thanked him for the offer.

Rode through forest fire smoke, red filter everything

8-10-18

Got out of the campsite in the morning without paying. Then rode towards Whistler.

Weather hit 100 degrees in Lillooet, BC as I was passing through. So hot and uncomfortable. Stopped at the A&W in Lillooet where the two employees working were not very friendly. Said how are you and the younger one gave me a dirty look. Ordered food then sat inside to eat it. Decided I wanted a cold milkshake and the older lady took my order. But couldn’t stay at the register long enough to take my payment. And it wasn’t even busy. She came back and said the price like I was an idiot and I told her Visa card then she pressed the button on the machine so I could swipe it, then walked away. Rude customer service.

Looking for a campsite went on a random pulloff the gravel road started getting worse as I went up a steep hill, then big rocks. Had my feet on the ground through the rocks featuring the clutch the whole way. Couldn’t go fast through this mess. Steep hill and a drop off the side on big rocks will get your blood flowing. Thought I was going to drop the bike... then had to go back down the hill even sketchier. Had to go slow to where 1st gear wouldn’t hold the moto back and when I pressed the breaks the bike would start sliding on the loose gravel. But I’d rather go down it now then camp and have to do it in the morning. Made it down safely. Kept going to the next turn off where there was a fire ring at the entrance to the road. Felt like it was too close to the highway tho, and didn’t know if it was private property or not. Went up to the next campsite (BC Parks). It seemed chill, and so far out there’s no way a ranger would be coming to collect fees. Set up my stuff as the kids across from me where having a party at their site. And more showed up later in the night. They toned it down as it got dark so it was no big deal. Off to sleep.

8-11-18

BC parks guy came in the morning to collect money from the campers. Wtf. Knocking on tents at 7:30am. I was already awake. Should have woke up earlier and would have avoided this fee. $12. Not bad but the toilets had no toilet paper and this guy is walking around collecting money. Some of these campsites have fees but are poorly maintained. Where does the money go? It’s funny how that works. Screw staying at BC park campsites. Or at least wake up early to avoid paying haha!

Skated Pendermont skatepark. A local man with his kids gave me directions to a free camp spot that the locals use. He said it gets busy there. Wedgemont camp.

Went over to McDonalds and parked next to a Kawasaki ninja300. Got my meal and came to sit on the curb next to my moto. The guy driving the Ninja had the same idea. Got to talking with him. His name was Trevor and he just got that bike not too long ago. It looked super fresh. He told me about how he has a KLX250 as well. Talked to him for a while then went off to Whistler skatepark. The parking lot was packed! Locals at the park said it was just how the weekends are when I asked if there was an event or something. Skate session was cut short when it started to rain. Headed over to find the camp spot the Pendermont guy told me about. Luckily it wasn’t raining there yet. Found a nice spot up on a hill and set up camp. Sat around for a bit before other people started showing up. A couple from Germany rolled in and I told them about the spot further up the hill close to mine. It was sand so I wasn’t going to go up there but their van could. Helped them get up there. Took a few tries, spinning the tire up the hill. They made it tho. Super nice people. Overnight they moved a little down the hill and in the morning they told me they could feel the van sliding from the sand.

Trevor at McDonald’s with Kawasaki ninja 300 has klx250 too

Skated pendermont skatepark and Whistler skatepark. Was packed at night

Wedgemont camp. Rain. Told germans about spot up beside me and they pulled van up there

8-12-18

Whistler skatepark in morning was chill. Not too many people other than the mountain bikers passing by. A guy from Washington state was there an told me about a bunch of parks in Washington and Orcas Island.

Squamish Skatepark in afternoon. Hung out at Squamish for a bit and filmed a few tricks.

Headed over to Porteau after skating. There were a ton of people at every scenic pulloff or hike along the way so I ended up not stopping at a lot of them. Went up to Porteau lookout (next to the free campsite I found online). Met two cyclists from New Zealand who were going up the hill to find camping. They said the campsite I was looking at had a bunch of trash everywhere. Went to check it out for myself. There was half a car sitting in the main lot and 2 dirt tracks going off into the woods. I didn’t feel like going up the dirt so I was going to leave and find a new spot. The New Zealand cyclists came in as I was leaving and asked if I was leaving. Told them it seemed sketchy. They said the spot they check out on the hill had more trash so they were going to stay at this one now. I decided to stay since they were too. They were really cool. The girl started in New Mexico and biked with a friend till here friend split off to Wyoming. She cycled by herself to Washington where she met with Adam. Indy and Adam rode up to British Columbia together. They camped in the high grass. I camped on the gravel lot.

8-13-18

Bill on motorbike on ferry

Today was an interesting one. Woke up around 6:30am. Tent was wet from the mist overnight. It was still overcast in the morning and the air was thick with moisture. Indy and Adam, the two cyclists I met last night from New Zealand, were awake too and trying to dry out their tents before heading out. Adam said he heard an animal overnight. I camped on the gravel part next to my moto and they went into the high grass to stake their tents to the ground. By 7 they were leaving to start their days ride. Indy was going to meet her friend in Vancouver and Adam was off to the Sunshine Coast. They would meet up later in the week. As for me, I was off to the Gleneagle Skatepark in West Vancouver. Main goal today was to find a place to charge my camera batteries and catch a ferry to the Sunshine Coast. I was in a shitty mood this morning, and felt super grimy after all this hot weather. Sticky, sweaty, smelly. It would be nice to find a shower. The skatepark was nothing more than a big bowl with a smaller bowl next to it. The top deck was big enough for some flat ground though. Skated a bit then started looking for places to eat/charge things. My phone at this point was almost dead as well. I was starting to get a bit stressed out, last night there was so many people around the food places in Horseshoe Bay it would be a disaster trying to find a table with an outlet. There’s a community center right next to the skatepark so decided to go check it out. Turns out there was a Cafe inside the community center as well. Asked if they have showers and looked around for an outlet near the cafe. They had floor plugs next to the cafe tables. Went back to the moto and grabbed my towel and bar soap and hit the showers first thing. It was just basic locker room showers like an open room but no one was around so it was all good. Then went back to the cafe where I plugged in my laptop and started backing up and editing photos. Ordered an iced coffee and a sandwich croissant. Service was slow as there was one little Asain lady working. She told me it would be a few before my croissant would be ready. I was fine with that and planned on hanging out for a while. Crossiant with ham and cheese and a side salad with pickle. Everything was delicious. Editing photos while my camera battery and phone batteries charged. Later on I ordered a smoothie bowl. She said still hungry, growing boy. Haha. The cafe closed at 3pm hut the community center stayed open. As the cafe lady was cleaning up she offered me a free cup of coffee and 2 muffins. Perfect. Stayed a little while longer the around 4 left to catch a ferry to Sunshine Coast. The ferry terminal to pay was confusing to find and ended up asking a police officer for directions. Made my way to the line of cars and got my ticket to Langdale. Went and sat in the line of cars to get on the ferry. The car next to me offered some cold sparkling fruit water. I asked how long the wait was and they told me and then asked if they were going to Langdale as well. They weren’t on the same ship, so they had to wait till 7 to board. They helped me figure out that my ticket was for lane 83 which was motorcycle only lane so I wasn’t actually supposed to be waiting in the long line. I maneuvered my way through the stopped line of traffic. The people who gave me the fruit water backed up so I could get through and the car next to them did the same. Made my way along the right hand side then realized line 83 was over the lane back in the middle. So I maneuvered through more stopped cars making my way all the way to the front. There was a yellow Ducati sitting there but no one at it. The guy showed up a few minutes later and commented on my packed bike and said I must either be a Mexican construction worker or on a long ride.... never heard that one before. We were directed onto the ship before all the cars. He offered me a place to set up my tent at his daughter and her boyfriends house on the coast. We talked some more on the way up then he went off to get a drink on the ship as we got moving. I started taking some photos of the fjords and hazed sun. The smoke was visible down here as well. Bill the Ducati guy came back and we talked about my trip and he told me a few places to visit. He went off to take a phone call and I walked about the front of the vessel taking photos. A kid came up and started talking. His name was Harrison and he lives in Saskatchewan. He was up here visiting with family friends. He told me bout how he and his family house sit a place in Arizona in the winter and live in Saskatchewan in the summer. He said he’s had a fortunate life and seemed very happy about what he’s been given. Nice kid and great to talk to. The ship made port and I rushed down to the vehicle deck to get on my moto. Bill was already there and said he thought I got lost. I followed him to his daughters house. She lived with her boyfriend and we all talked for a bit. They had about 8 plants growing in their backyard. Then he said I have to meet his friend Kash. We went over to Kash house and he offered us a steak dinner and me a place to stay for the night. His sons skates and was at the skatepark. He called him but was leaving to come home soon. He wanted me to skate with him so we went up to the local school and played a game of skate. It was fun. Grayden was hyped on my flat ground tricks. We went back for dinner. Steak, salad, potatoes with a sour cream sauce. Delicious. Played 4 rounds of pool with Kash till about midnight before going to sleep.

8-14-18

The morning was mellow. Kash made me breakfast and coffee in the morning before going to work. Grayden and Jo went to work as well. I went over to check out the Sechelt Skatepark right up the street. There were two young moms there with their kids. Just skated a bit of flat ground and rolled the ranks for a little but felt super tired. Decided to backtrack and check out the Gibsons Skatepark. This park was newer. And guess who was there eating lunch. Kash. Pretty funny. There were two little kids on bikes. Rolled the park for a little then filmed a bs feeble in the deep end of the bowl. Felt good to land. GoPro battery is shot and died so quick. Headed over to the gas station where they had nothing. It smart water. No paying for that shit. Then went to A&W. From there I went back to the house making a stop at the beach along the way. Beach was very rocky. Back at the house I got on my lab top for a little while I waited for Grayden to get off work to meet at the skatepark. Around 5pm went over to the skatepark and skated with Grayden’s friends. It was chill. And he wanted me to play Wayne in skate cause he thought it would be a good game. Filmed a trick at the park too. Chilled and talked with the locals till dusk. One guy had a Toyota BJ75. Sick ass white truck. I was super hyped on it. 4 cylinder 4 speed diesel. Bulletproof engine. He said they brought them up here for mining back in the day. He was a good dude to talk to.

After the park went back to Kash house for some pasta salad and chicken wings. Then played some pool till midnight.

8-15-18

Left handed tape measure. Small pool balls.

It was good staying at Kashs House. Random though. This morning I said my thank yous to Kash, Jo, and Grayden for inviting me into their home and giving me a place to sleep and feeding me two breakfasts and two dinners. Kash said he really enjoyed my company and said I can come back anytime. And Jo said the same. Grayden was super hyped to skate together, it was fun to skate with the Sechelt skate screw at the local park. Good times. These last two days really flipped my mood. I was so frustrated with BC drivers and then with the busy areas like Whistler and West Vancouver. Then randomly meet Bill on the ferry to the Sunshine Coast. He introduces me to Kash. What a great last two days it turned out to be. Left their house so grateful for their kindness and hospitality. It’s refreshing.

Went to the skatepark up the street then off to Earls Cove to catch the ferry to the northern part of the Sunshine Coast. Was an hour early to the ferry so got a philly cheese steak panini at the cafe at the port. It was delicious. Talked to a few local Harley guys who were also getting on the ferry. They were hyped on my trip and wished me well and hoped I enjoy their province(British Columbia). They ferry was short only about 45 minutes. When I got back on land I rode up to Lund. The town was small and there were a lot of cars parked all down the sides of the road. Saw a sign for a provincial park in the way to Lund so I went back to check it out. Turns out it’s a campsite and a free one at that. Went to take some pictures at the beach after parking in a campsite spot. Was hiking down the rocks and look over to see an old lady topless sitting on the rocks. Oops. Luckily she was quite far away. Went in the opposite direction of her to find a good spot to shoot long exposures of the rocks. Took some shot then started making my way back up to the moto. Looked up as I was climbing the rocks and the lady was sitting there on the rocks but this time had a top on. She said she was sorry if I saw anything and I played it off like I didn’t know what she was talking about. She asked were I’m from and said that this beach is one of the most beautiful places in BC in her opinion. And told me the sun sets over the water since we are on the west coast of the shore.

Decided to just stay out and camp here so that I could take photos of the sunset. The sunset was beautiful.

Off to bed.

8-16-18

Trying to find camping. Went to Telegraph Cove and the campsite looked like a parking lot. Don’t feel like paying for that. Went back up to the scenic lookout. It had a picnic table but it was kind of close to the road and I still had a little time before it got dark to find another spot. Bundled up and moved on towards Port Hardy.

Came up to a pull off where there was a totem pole and a red car sitting. It was next to a bridge so I walked over to see if a could get a shot of the sunset. Negative. Walked back and guy was standing in the lot and said hello. I asked him if he knew of any good free spots to camp. He was with a chick in high heels and short shorts or a skirt. She was wearing a sweatshirt too big for her. Prolly his. Wasn’t really sure what was going on. She said something about being his driver and just picked him up from the hospital. Idk. He told me about a mining road not too far with free camping. I went off to try and find it. Turned at the mining road after to Port McNeill sign. It wasn’t the right one. There was a truck parked near the entrance so I went to ask him if he knew of any. He was taking his dog for a run. He told me he didn’t know of any campsites that were free. He asked where I’m from and I said Virginia. “Know wonder your lost” he laughed. And went on to tell me how there are countless logging roads on the island. Told me to check out past port Hardy the mining road goes up along the coast. He told me about this spot less than a kilometer away. There’s a gate but it’s always open and it belongs to a logging company. He said he takes his dog back there all the time and was just there a few days ago. He went on to tell me how there a cougar and bear in the area and to keep an eye out. He said he worked in search in rescue for a long time and told me I should check in with someone before I go out on the mining roads. “Your phone won’t work out there” and said it makes it so much easier to find someone if they’ve given a place where they were going. After a while of chatting I went off to find the place to camp. Passed it, hard to see in the dark. Looped back and found the spot. Set up for the night.

8-17-18

Lunch. Went to A&W ordered meal got swiped card, declined. Swiped card declined. Lady says the machine has been acting up and to try again. Tried 2 more times then she went to talk to the older man in the back making food. Came back and said there is nothing they can do. Partially my fault that I don’t have CAD cash on me but fuck this is a fast food restaurant. Got a declined receipt and left. Went over to the cafe across the street and order chicken fingers to go. The lady went and asked the cook how long it would be and came back and told me it’s a 30 minute wait. I’m not waiting 30 minutes for overpriced chicken fingers. Left. Went over to pizza place down the road and a bunch of native bums and white people who look skinny as hell druggies are hanging around outside. Bailed before I even went inside. Went to the gas station and got a pizza sub, muffin, and Starbucks double shot. Success. Who knew lunch could be this difficult.

Heading back to Campbell River. Pulled off on a random road which ended up going to a campsite, and a big one at that. Parked near the entrance of the campsite to layer up cause it was getting chilly. When I rode to Port Hardy it got really cold on that pass through the mountains so I figured I’d pull over now before I’m freezing when I pass through again. At the campsite I didn’t want to seem like I was going to stay so I pulled offf out of the way to put on my rain pants, sweatshirt, jacket, and gloves. This couple came over to me. They asked where I’m going where I’m heading and if I’m staying at the camp. Told them I just stopped to put on some layers. The guy then starting looking at my moto, asking about this and that. He asked about my garmin Mount on the KLR dash. Told him how it stopped charging. He said he had some alcohol soliton that he come help clean it and invited me over to their campsite to do so. Brian and Lisa where camping in a big Mercedes van with a trailer behind it. In the trailer was Brian’s KtM and Lisa’s tt250. He went to look at the charging thing and noticed that the prong was gone at the charging port. No wonder it’s not working. Told them I’ve been looking for a air filter for the KLR and brian went looking in the van for a bunch of filters that might work. None were close enough. They offered me to set up my tent next to their van if I wanted to camp there. And offered to buy me dinner. I ended up hanging out with them for the day and went walking to the mouth of the river with them so they could fish. Watched eagles while Lisa and Brian fished for salmon. Seemed as if the eagles where watching them too. There were two seals in the water as well. They didn’t catch anything. Went back to the campsite and then to the bistro restaurant at the camp. It was a fancy restaurant. We got a table next to the window looking at at the sunset over the mountains and ocean. Everything on the menu was expensive. They ordered 3 appetizers and a bottle of wine. They told me to get anything on the menu so I went with a Buddha bowl. It’s was okay, not what I expected. They had a pasta which looked delicious. At the end Brian ordered deserts for us. It was delicious. The bill came out to $175 or something and with tip they paid over $200. Way out of my budget. They were traveling in Brian’s $80,000 Mercedes 4x4 van towing a trailer behind it. Brian offered to hook me up with some free gear like helmet and riding suit, if I come through Oregon. Not sure if that will happen, but what a cool offer. Wait and see....

8-18-18

In the morning Lisa and Brian and I all exchanged info on instagram to stay in touch. Last night Lisa gave me stickers for her Rainbow Unicorn Riders club RUR. Super funny. We said goodbye as I left for another part of the island. I hope I see these two again, they were great people.

Went over to Campbell River to skate the park. There were loads of kids on bikes and scooter throughout. Skated flatground for a bit then asked one of the kids to film a trick. Nollie big up stepup gap. Chill trick, my knee is still bothering me a bit. One of the little kids was super stoked tho and wanted me YouTube channel. Headed over to a taco place then to the coffee shop next door. Hung out at the coffee shop for a while editing pictures. Got a Frappe to start then got the mocha later. When the girl brought me the mocha she was like you know this is going to be like 8 shots of espresso you’ve had today. Haha. All good. I admit by the time I left I felt like maybe I did drink a little too much coffee. Oh well. Pit stop at a gas station before leaving for Tofino. Ran into the DR650 kid Skyler at the gas station. Him and his friemd were heading down to Tofino for the night on there bikes too. He asked if I wanted to roll with them but I politely declined. I travel slow. Told them I probably won’t ride the whole way over there tonight. Which I didn’t. Found a rest stop at Taylor River while looking for Snow Creek campsite. There were kids in an old rv posted up. Asked them about camping there and they said they were going to stay at the rest stop even tho it had a sign that said no camping. They weren’t very talkative. I feel like the older people are way more friendly when it comes to travel talk. Oh well. Rode over to the forestry road to check it out then back to the rest stop and posted up for the night.

Way too much coffee

Saw Skyler dr650 guy again in Campbell River at gas station, he was heading to Tofino too.

Camped at Taylor River rest stop

8-19-18

No one bothered me or anyway else camping at the rest stop even tho it said no camping. And even more people were there in the morning. Off to Ecluelit and Tofino today. The ride was cool through winding roads and mountains. Saw a spot on the water with posts sticking out of the water with foggy mountains in the background. Had to stop for some photos. Their was a family their when I first arrived enjoyingthe view as well. I took a group photo of them standing next to the water for them. I knew this was going to the a good place for long exposure shots. The dramatic mountains in the background with foggy and clouds rolling by. The lake was calm with posts sticking out of the water like an old dock or bridge. Took a bunch of photos then heading off to Ecluelit skatepark. It seemed to be getting more foggy the closer I got. To my surprise there was already people at the park. This is how I know it will be a nice area. Skated flatground while a guy cruised the bowl and kids on bicycles peddled through the park. Knew I had to film a trick in the bowl but didn’t know what. Started trying some thing and ended up sticking with a switch feeble to regs. Did it on 2 different walls and multiple angles till it looked the best. After I got one I liked I asked a kid who just showed up to film one handheld. He filmed it but I liked my angle more. Went into Ecluelit for some lunch. Stopped at a cafe and got a caffe mocha and a ham and Swiss sandwich. Super good food. A kid stopped to talk to me about my moto. He said he just got a bike and was super hyped. “I’m a biker now” he said with such delight. He had a surfer vibe to him and so did his friend. I liked the vibe this town had. It seemed like a youthful place with a layer back vibe. Headed over to Tofino after checking out Ecluelit for a little. Tofino had a really surfer vibe to it. Beautiful girls, surfboards everywhere, vans, Skatepark, beach style shops, sand beach, etc. I could get used to this place. Saw a lot of young people with loaded bags over their shoulders, even some carrying guitars as well. Pacific Rim National Park. Skated the skatepark in Tofino for a while until a bunch of kids came on mountain bikes and started riding circles in train like fashion around the park. Went over to find an Açaí bowl. The only smoothie place didn’t have Açaí but made me a sweet blueberry bowl instead. The guy running it was super cool and posted my photo on the company insta. And the bowl he told me bout how he just opened the shop and is co owner of the other bbQ place. He recommended the nachos. The guy over there hooked it up too. Made a huge nacho bowl with brisket and all sorts of toppings. I ate it all while talking to a local who got the Mac and cheese loaded with stuff. She owns hotel thing on the water. She told me bout how the close up got the winter and she travels those months.

The food was delicious. Felt like I could stay in these two towns for a wile but had to keep moving. Maybe I’ll come back one day. Enjoyed the vibes here. Headed up but stopped at the beach. Had to walk on the sand while I was here. The sun was filtered through the fog (Faugust) There were people surfing and walking the beach, all of which were young. This wasn’t like the beaches back home, completely different feel. Something about the air.

Decided to head back to Taylor Rest Stop to camp. Rode into the night through the mountains. Made it there safety and set up for the night.

Ecluelit

Tofino

Coffee shop in Ecluelit

Smoothie bowl

Nachos

Rainforest

Beach

Went back to Taylor River rest stop for the night

8-20-18

In the morning headed over to Port Alberni Skatepark in town. From there I went to McDonalds and Walmart. Then over to Cathedral Grove. I saw this place on the way over to Tofino but didn’t stop so I had to check it out on the way back. Their was a lot of people at the parking and parked on the side of the streets. Luckily for me the moto is easy to find a small spot. Parked right up next to the trail head. This place is phenomenal. Old forest with huge trees covered in moss. Everything looks a dull dark green and brown with hints of red in places. There is fog throughout. The lighting on the trees gives a fairytale like feeling. Incredible place. Stayed there for a few hours walking about slowly, watching the light.

Started making my way towards Victoria where I’ll catch the ferry to Washington state. Stopped at Parksville Skatepark on the way. Filmed bs heel on hip. The people from Ecluelit skatepark walked by and recognized me. It was the two friends of the guy who tried my board and feel down the ramp.

Found a place to camp on freecamp website. Spruston Staging Area. Made my way over to the campsite. Upon arrival I see a group of people having some sort of meet at the park. I asked them if camping is okay here. Yes it is and it’s free. Walked around looking at spots. Rode the moto to my little corner and set up for the night.

Cathedral trees park

Skated Parksville Skatepark

Spruston Staging Area Campground free

8-21-18

Spruston campground turned out to be alright. Not bad for free campsite. Backtracked to Nanaimo to go to the skatepark. Got to what I thought was the park but turned out to be a Recreation Center. The skatepark was 20-25 minutes back near where I camped. Oops. Got to the park and it was empty. Little warm up flatground like usual and kids started showing up half way through. Then more and more kids. Scooters and bikes. Later a guy in a right side drive 4Runner showed up with his girl. He was from Medicine Hat Alberta. He told me about the skate scene out there and how they build houses on trips to help people. The took a coach bus to Mexico last year and have gone to places like Africa years prior. He said last year they got to stop by the Berrics and Nyjahs Park when they went through California. They were on a personal trip right now though. They were going around the island for a week then heading back to Alberta. He had to work on Monday but she was a teacher at a school so had the summer off.

From the skatepark I went to the Coco Cafe up the street. (All the McDonald’s in the area had horrible reviews) The cafe turned out to be pretty good tho. Got a blended Mocha, Breakfast Bagel with ham, egg, and cheese, and egg potato salad with bacon bits and red and green peppers. Finished that and went back for an iced mocha coffee. Good food and drinks! Used the WiFi to download iOverlander and Map.me to use on the rest of my trip. Heard it on ARR. Both the apps are pretty cool. iOverlander has camping spots and shows free spots and fee spots. Map.me has offline maps for the area you’re in. Wish I had these sooner! Found a spot called Fairy Lake on google maps and made that my destination for the evening. It was only an hour and a half and a slight detour en route to Victoria. Why not!? Looks cool. The road out to the lake is a logging road but it’s paved. Some parts are bumpy and narrow with one lane bridges. It’s still smoky from the forest fire on the island but not horrible. Stopped by Lizard Lake Campsite only 15 minutes from the Fairy Lake destination. Sites look good so will come back to stay the night. Went to Fairy Lake where there is a Bonsai Tree growing on a rock in the lake. Interesting and mysterious. Took photos of different angles. There wasn’t any way to get up close to it unfortunately other than from the side of the road which had brush and plants in the way. A couple speaking Italian said hello to me. I said something back, but they didn’t understand. They pointed as a beaver swam along the water. I said that’s a beaver and the lady said “the animal (pointed to the beaver) ....... ” in Italian. I repeated it back in Italian and they smiled and said “Si!!” They took a few photos and left saying “bye, chow” as the walked off. Little interactions like that make my day. We couldn’t speak each other’s language but both enjoyed the same sight and left with smiles from one another. Great stuff!

Went back to Lizard Lake Campsite. No sign up front whether you have to pay or not so I rode the loop looking to ask someone. Saw a lady in a British Columbia Parks shirt so I asked her. She said it’s $18 to camp there. Cash only. I asked if she knew of any spots I could set up tent for free. And that I don’t have Canadian cash. She laugh and said do I have American. I said a little. She told me about a spot directly across the street people use and it’s free. I thanks her then rode across the street. The site wasn’t far from the road and I can see the campsite across the street. Bingo. Set up camp for the evening. Off towards Victoria in the morning. Need to get to Seattle soon to get the package that was shipped to moms friends house.

CHAPTER 14

Sooke Till Ya Puke

8-22-18

Sooke skatepark met a cool ass dad. He was a professional scuba diver by trade. He’s been all over the world.

Ferry to Port Angeles, Washington state

Got to the Ferry quite early in the afternoon but not early enough. The next boat I could get on was 7:45(?) had to be back at 6 for customs so I walked over to Starbucks and got some coffee and a sandwich thing. People watched for a bit then went back to the terminal. Customs was straightforward with little questions and no hassle. Quick and easy. Ferry left right when it started to get dark which means another night of trying to find a place to camp in the dark. Do have one place mapped out but it’s an hour from the ferry terminal when we port. The ferry ride was rough but I stay outside on the deck the whole time. Don’t really like the feeling of being trapped inside the vessel with all the germs and peoples air and whatnot. Call me crazy but it’s just gross. Glad I put a few stoppers under the bike frame so it wouldn’t tip over; the waves were rocking the boat like mad. Some of the spray from the waves was misting on me standing at the railing. There was this guy singing and playing a hand held drum. It was cool for the first 15 minutes. But then it lost its rhythm and he would stop and the play for a few seconds and stop. He seemed to be having fun and the girls with him were dancing and have a blast so good for them. The group of kids also were having fun trying to run around and not fall over as the ship leaned and rocked over the waves. It was quiet comical.

Arrived at the terminal and it was dark, as expected. Port Angeles was a shock coming from Vancouver Island. Seemed dirtier and sketchier all of a sudden. Welcome back to the US. Wahoo. :/

Went to a campsite that was a self registration. It was so late when I got there I set up and went to bed and didn’t pay.

8-23-18

In the morning I didn’t pay either and don’t think anyone cared. I left pretty early though, before 8am.

Long ride to Seattle area today to pick up the bag I ordered to the Jesters house. The traffic was horrible was I got to Olympia area to Seattle. Definitely not use to this type of city traffic anymore. And also the difference between Vancouver Island and Washington is drastic. I could have stayed on Vancouver Island or up north in Alaska. Screw all this congested areas with people driving like maniacs. Took me a while to get to the Jesters house. Stopped at a small skatepark in the way. At the park there was a young looking guy on the bench who looked like he was super messed up on some drugs. Only had one shoe on and looked half unconscious. The parents of the kids at the park seemed to be ignoring it. I knew there would be drugs out here but really out in the open and moons seemed to care. Idk. Set up the real board and shoes so I could send my old shoes home. This is my last new board I have with me so hoping that it lasts. When I was about to leave a lady came over and offered me some disposable sleeping pads. Not sure if she thought I was homeless or something. I told her I didn’t have room for it on the bike but thanked her for the kindness. She said she would donate them to the animal clinic....

Made it to the Jesters house. I don’t really know her or her family only that she used to be something with my uncle Mike and they still stay in contact. Which is how my mom knows them. She let me repack my bags and offered to ship the box of stuff home for me. Finally got rid of some of the access weight like extra clothes, old jacket, and maps I picked up along the way. Still could send some more stuff home but maybe later. She seemed quite busy and didn’t introduce me to her kids or husband. Which was kind of weird like here’s your box okay bye! Atleast that’s how it felt. It was nice of her to offer to ship my box home for me though. Went to McDonalds afterwards to figure out where to go from here. Decided to go over to Mount Rainier. Found a free campsite on the iOverlander App that looks nice. When I got to the spot it was littered with bullet shells. Guess with is how Washington is. Missing the north more and more.. ugh. The view was nice though. Could see Mt Rainier from where I set up my tent. It seemed as if no one was anywhere near me which was kind of weird but nice at the same time. Set up camp and relaxed for the rest of the evening. New bag looks good on the bike!

8-24-18

NF-7200 camp turned out to be good, minus the bullet casings all over the place and beer bottles/cans and miscellaneous trash. Literally hundreds of bullet shells. Littering!

It was a quiet morning, no other campers, no road noise, just mountains and trees. Could see Mount Rainier last night but this morning was a bit foggy and the clouds were covering the mountain tops. Should have taken some photos last night. Spent the morning rearranging things on my bike and trying to figure out the best way to use my new bag. Took my time this morning and didn’t leave the site till almost 10am. Headed into Mount Rainier National Park. Stopped at a visitor center with free coffee and picked up a free park map. The ranger was cool and asked bout my travels. He was hyped that I went to Alaska and he said he wants to go there one day. Went up to the lookout 6400ft. It was super touristy at the top. There was a lodge and visitor center with food. The ride up was cold so when I arrived at the top I went in and got a bite to eat. $9 black bean burger was good. The guy in front me ordered got a $30 meal (drink, chips, burger, snack). I admit a lot of the food they had looked pretty delicious. Like the pudding parfait sitting in the fridge. Ate my black bean burger then went on a little walk down the service road to get a better view of the mountain. The Rainier itself was amazing. It was pretty cold though and had to break out the heated jacket for the ride down the mountain. It cut out not even an hour into the 2 hour ride to the skatepark. The skatepark was alright. It was a Miniramp and a ledge/flatbar. Good to have for breaking in the new board. Watched the kid come in the park on a bike and eye my phone sitting on the ledge. He left then came back and would ride real slow by the ledge and look back to see if I was looking. He did this for a while then left again. I went and got my phone and put it on the Miniramp while I skate. He came back again but this time with friends. The rolled around the park then started telling racists jokes and calling their one friend Hispanic and blah. Kids can be so stupid. This does seem like a rednecky area though.

A guy and his girl cane and skated the park when I was about done. The guy was actually pretty good. And the girl was scared to ride down the bank. From the skatepark I went to McDonald’s then back to Leland Campground an hour and half away. Got there at dark and set up camp.

8-25-18

Left Leland Camp earlier than usual around 7:30am. Went straight to the skatepark 20 minutes away (Sequim Skatepark). This park is gnarly. Big bowl and massive jump ramps. There’s a down rail on the bank that is the size of dominion 13, welded double round rail. Sketchy. It started raining mid stretch session. A light mist. Stayed and skated anyways. Great way to skate a new board, in the rain. Ate shit a few times trying to film a stupid switch heel body varial for instagram. Dumb. And rain. Went to McDonalds after skating... this is starting to sound routine. It was only 10-10:30 when I got there so they were still only serving breakfast. The McGriddle was fantastic though. So good. Didn’t know what to do today with the rain. I want to see stuff and keep moving, but don’t want to go places in the rain. Eventually made up my mind and headed to Forks. There’s a skatepark there I can check out. Park name is Tillicum Park. Got to the park and it was a little sketchy. Well the skatepark was actually cool but there was a homeless guy in the pavilion with a oversized briefcase and a girl who was dressed like a hooker in here half leg high heels and short jeans shorts. She walked over to the bathroom area and laid in fetal position on the concrete. Strange. The park was wet anyways so I didn’t stay long. Started making my way to the beach till I saw a small drive through coffee shop in a parking lot. Pulled in and could smell the coffee in the air. Smelt so good, had to get some. Walked up to the window since I can’t really drive through. To my surprise there was a good looking girl working. Got a Mexican Mocha and a blueberry muffin. Asked the girl what there is to see around here and she told me to check out the beaches. I asked her which one is her favorite and she said First Beach. But said she doesn’t go out to those places much. Not sure what she meant, when she lives 15 minutes from it. Still hungry after my muffin so I walked back and got a bagel with cream cheese. Left a tip too. I’m awkward. From there I decided to go check out the beaches. Stopped at Rialto Beach. There were big mounds of land in the ocean with trees on the tops. Very cool. Tried taking some pictures but it wasn’t working out to well today. Couldn’t find that right shot. Went over to the beach parking lot to camp for the night.

8-26-18

Woke up to a light mist. Camping on the beach gravel parking lot turned out to be nice and it’s free. Supposed to rain around 10am so I hurried off from camp to get to the skatepark in town (Forks, WA) only 20 minutes away. No one was at the park when I got there except a guy with a bicycle sitting under the pavilion. He left when I went over to the skatepark. As I started skating I see the girl, who seems to be a prostitute or something of the manor. She was in the same heels and jean shorts as yesterday and obviously tripping on something. She walked around the park area going from a shameful hands over her face to skipping around. She filled up her water at the pavilion as her mood and body language switch from good to bad and back again. It’s like she would realize what was happening and cover her face and nod or curl up with her face on her knees, then spring back to life. I kept lookout as she moved closer to my back laying on the ledge, although I don’t think she was too interested in the bag, but more interested in picking up the trash and crush beer cans near the skatepark. She was watching me skate as she made her way over to the bathroom next to the skatepark where she sat and stared. Eventually she asked if I had a cigarette and I told her she shouldn’t smoke cigs. She agreed and went on to tell me the addiction is real. Then blabbed about more stuff I couldn’t understand and it didn’t seemed like she cared if I was listening or not. She then commented my hair. I said thanks then casually ignored what she was doing and went on skating the park. She asked if this was my food or if I knew who’s food that is, as she pointed to a box of scraps in a stirafoam container. I said I have no idea. She sat and watched me skate as she ate from the left over dipping sauce packets. I kept an eye out as I skated just Incase she got a wise idea and went for my bag. She asked if she was bothering me as she scruffed through the trash she collected eating whatever she could find. I told her she’s not bothering me and to do what you need to do. She would periodically get up and pick up more trash or go into a shameful fetus position as if she’s hiding from the world. I felt bad, she looked like a native probably in her 20s. But she was obviously fucked up on something so I didn’t feel like I could do anything to help. I wanted to help but really what can I do in this situation. She eventually left the park. I filmed frontside blunt on sketchy quarter pipe with no deck. Like this skatepark. Good flatground and ledges.

Went to coffee shop again, the cute girl wasn’t working, oh well. Got another Mexican Mocha but this time the big 24oz. Went with a breakfast bagel instead of the muffin today. Turns out the breakfast bagel is in a bag and they microwave it inside the bag. Weird but it was still good. Went over to check out First Beach which was near where I stayed last night. The coffee shop girl recommended going to see First Beach, Second Beach, and Third Beach. First Beach is the only one that you don’t have to hike down to. It started to rain as I got closer to the beach and was a misty rain when I arrived. Didn’t want to get my camera wet so I just kind of hung out for a while and watched the waves crash and stared off at the fog rolling through the sea stacks with pine trees on top. Saw a couple otters in the water along with something bigger, maybe a seal or walrus? Not sure. Took out the Pentax and shot some film while it was misting. Then gave in and just used my digital camera a bit. By this time the rain was very light and not getting my camera too wet, just had to wipe the lens every now and again. A few pelicans started diving for fish which caught my attention. Stood at the shoreline and took pictures of the flying infront of the sea stacks. Modern day pterodactyls. After that I went back to Rialto Beach. It started raining more so I set up camp in the parking lot again like last night. This time draped the tarp over my bike and across my tent creating a little fortress. Spent the rest of the day and night avoiding riding more into the rain. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny in the morning!

8-27-18

Woke up to the sun shining which was a pleasant surprise seeing that it was foggy and raining all yesterday and last night. The sunshine didn’t last though. The fog rolled in at about 9:30am. I had managed to dry my things out pretty much while the sun was shining. The sun beamed through the fog and trees creating a crazy effect of light rays. Took some shots but then people started moving in to get the same photo. Some lady even stood infront of me. I swiftly put my camera in the tank bag and left. Buzz kill...

Back at the skatepark and the sun is out! A family was there having a picnic on a section of the flatground and ledges. They weren’t covering the box I wanted to skate so it was all good. After skating a bit the little boy came over with his dad and his dad asked how long over been skating. He had a little fishtail board and his dad was saying he wants to get him a real board. I told him where to get some good deals. I let the kid ride my board around. He was hyped and had good balance for just starting out. Hope I inspired him to get into skating!

*

Met old man on KLr650 in Skatepark parking lot.His wife in wheelchair and he plans to head on trip once she passesTold me story of being in Tetons went to bar at 12:30-1am no pretty girls, he had just got back from Vietnam. He asked if they knew a place to set up a sleeping bag for the night. Guy told him a place a quarter mile from the bar. He went there in his truck and set up his sleeping bag. Had a 12 gauge with him he used for trapping. Never thought about that gun till that night. (Trip to Yellowstone) loaded it and put it next to his bag. Later that night guys pulled up in a car next to his truck and said let’s get him. He pulled that 12 gauge out and shot 2 shots in the air and the guys laid gravel from about here to that building over there. Bet they still talk about it to this day, and the one guy prolly can’t here too well. It was nothing for me, just being back from Vietnam. I was laughing about it. *
Went over to the coffee shop again today. This time got a blended Mexican Mocha. It was really good.Decided to check out the Hoh Rainforest on the way to Ruby Beach. Took a hike through the forest. On the way out of the National Park saw a gazebo with an outlet. Posted up and charged my laptop for a while. When I got to Ruby Beach there was heavy fog. It made for cool effects on the rocks and trees, but couldn’t see much of the ocean or sea stacks out in the water. Walked around a bit and before I knew it it was getting dark. Hurried over to a free camp spot up the street which had a sign for a missing person and I didn’t like that so I went back to ruby beach and set up at the picnic table nearby. There’s a sign a little further down the road that says no camping but there are a couple RVs and cars down there so screw it.
8-28-18Early morning and Ruby beach was shining at sunrise. Very little fog in the early hours. Amazing! Got a bunch of shots of the sun beaming the rock stacks on the beach. It didn’t take long for the fog to roll in and it eventually was back to extremely foggy. Which made for a sweet contrast in photos all in the same morning. Luckily I got some photos before the fog and loads of people rolled in. Ruby Beach was absolutely incredible. Ended up in Hoquiam by noon and skated the skatepark which was nothing more than a bowl and a half ass Miniramp. Skated flatground on the deck of the bowl. Two other guys showed up and skated the bowl and mini a bit before one of them dislocated his shoulder. They said they were heading to Lincoln City skatepark and would see me there if I was down. Told them I wouldn’t make it that far today (like 4 1/2 hours away). Went to the Kurt Kobain memorial in Aberdeen. There were a few junkies hanging around the memorial which was unsettling. But whatever. Stopped by McDonald to eat and hopefully charge my camera battery but it seemed like the plugs weren’t properly charging then. Then went back to the skatepark in Hoquaim. Hung out at the park for a while and charged up my camera battery by the softball fields. It was late by the time it finished charging so I backtracked into the National Forest like 45 minutes to camp. Seemed like a better idea then hanging out in this semi sketchy area. Found a few camp spots in the forest. The one really nice one was infested with flying ants and trash. Another one had an animal clearing into the woods. So I went back to where the entrance to the NF was and camped at a pull off on the road. A little on a hill but atleast it was clean.
8-29-18
Well today didn’t go as according to plan.just finished skating the skatepark in Hoquiam and stopped at McDonald’s for a bite to eat, where I sat enjoying my 2 cheeseburger meal and iced coffee trying to figure out what’s the next stop on the map. South on the 101... to Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. It was only minutes after leaving McDonalds I was laying on the pavement, moto laid out on the road... What the hell just happened?!?... While riding through Aberdeen, on a one way street, I was in the left lane of the two lanes through town when a car next to me in the right lane whipped over infront of me as the right lane backed up because a pedestrian was crossing the street, then slammed their brakes on in front of me. Locked up the back wheel and laid the bike down on its right side as I slid into the rear bumper of that car. The left front fork and left side crash bar took the impact into the car and the right side of the bike slid on the ground. Moto on its side.... I was laid out on the road for a minute; a bit overwhelmed with what had just happened. Put my hands over my face shield of my helmet. My mind raced as I did a mental check over my body to make sure nothing was injured injured. Head? Ok. Legs? Ok. Back? Ok. Arms? Ok. Breathing? Ok. Instant reaction is that I just want to close my eyes. Is this real? Did this really just happen? Are you serious? A few people came running over to see if I was okay. The lady who’s car I hit took off, fleeing the scene. She didn’t even get out of her car. Luckily a women got a photo of the ladies license plate and a bus driver said she did too. I stood up. Adrenaline. Nothing is hurting. 3,000 miles from home and I know no one in the area. A couple of people helped me pick up the bike. And I moved it off the main road to a side road. Then one guy went off to follow her car. The Aberdeen police came to the scene and took down my information and the witnesses told him what happened. He had an officer already on the way to her address. The officer cited her for an traffic infraction and put her at fault.... Two of the witnesses offered me a place to put the bike and a place to stay. The one lady lived out in the sticks so that wasn’t too much of an option considering I don’t want to drive the bike too far. So I went with the lady who lived up the street. She let me park the bike in the backyard and offered me a cot to sleep on. Think I’m going to pitch the tent out by the bike tho. Completely bummed and overwhelmed right now. Her partner in the house smokes pipes nonstop and have been sitting inside for quite sometime. Would rather sleep out in my tent. Have to wait till tomorrow to here back from insurance. The police report won’t be ready for a few days. What a mess.
Stayed at ladies house for the night. She cooked dinner. Slept in tent by moto I’m backyard.
8-30-18Last night Lynn and her husband offered me to stay in their house. He chain smokes a pipe and cigarettes inside the house which i don’t think I could deal with. Also just don’t feel comfortable inside. I opted to pitch the tent outside and they were okay with that.In the morning Lynn made eggs and toast with coffee. It was a long day of trying to get insurance squared away.My claim was assigned to an adjuster. I went ahead and called the police department and asked for the police report. The told me it might be a few days but the local man who’s house I’m at told me to ask them for it and they would portably get it to me. Which the police did, they got me the report very quickly. I sent the report over to Progressive. I let progressive know that I’m not a local to the area and I need the bike towed somewhere and a rental car. They weren’t willing to help me out. They claimed that since I don’t have rental car insurance on my policy they can’t do it for me until they get information from the lady who caused the accident. Which could be up to 30 days they told me. When I asked about a tow he gave me 3 options. One was to tow the bike myself on my own money and they might reimburse me for what they think is fair for a tow. Two I could leave the bike at this random persons house who offered me a place after the accident and the insurance adjuster would come out next Wednesday to look at it. Third option was they could tow the bike to an impound lot and salvage yard to have the adjuster come out and look at it sometime next week. All these ‘options’ are unacceptable. I called a local tow company anyways and for them to tow the bike to Paulsons Motorsports in Olympia it would cost almost $800. On the phone with the tow company he advised me not to go through with any type of deal where the insurance company would “reimburse me”. He warned that that gives them a free loan with no due date and they also might not pay the whole thing back. Back to square one. Oh and i forgot to mention, this guy Kyle Jenkins who’s been assigned to this claim, his phone keeps going straight to voicemail when I call him. Left messages with no reply and emailed him. Later in the day I called progressive again and asked to talk to a superviser. They transferred me to Joseph Buchanan who’s phone rang then went to voicemail. Left a message with him too. No respond.
8-31-18
A bit stress. Still stuck in Aberdeen in this backyard with the moto. Progressive is giving me the run around. The guy assigned to my claim won’t answer his phone or return my calls. My mom ended up calling Progressive and somehow got a hold of Joseph Buchanan. They conferenced me into the call. I told Joseph that I left him a message and he said he hasn’t checked his voicemail. The real problem is that I have full coverage on my insurance for the KLR which includes towing. It’s been like pulling teeth with these people. All they are telling me is that they are trying to verify the insurance of the lady who caused the accident. They should be using my insurance until then. Which they aren’t. And they don’t understand that I’m traveling and do not know the people who offered to let me park the bike in their yard only a view streets down from where the accident happened. Later that afternoon Kyle called and told me that they verified her insurance and would get me a tow and a rental car. They got a rental car reservation in Olympia. When I called Enterprise they said they can’t picked me up in Aberdeen cause it’s too far away. I tried to contact both Kyle Jenkins and Joseph Buchanan, neither of them answered their phones. Didn’t hear back from them after while of waiting so I sent an email. 30 minutes later at 4:30pm Kyle responded saying I could get a ride share or taxi. Only problem is now Enterprise closes at 5:30pm and I’m an hour away. Looks like I’m spending the night in the tent in this backyard another night. Called the tow company Nisqually Towing to be sure I had a tow tomorrow. Asked if I could ride with the tow truck and they said that was fine. They told me they would be there at 8am. Called Enrerprise and told them I wouldn’t be making it tonight for the rental car. They told me they are only open from 9am-noon -and asked what time I’ll be there. Told them I can’t answer that cause I am riding with the tow truck over to Paulsons. She didn’t like that and told me to call in the morning.

CHAPTER 14

Tow & Rental

9-1-18

Woke up early to get ready for the tow. Brought the bike around front of the house around 7:45am.

Tow truck was supposed to be here this morning at 8am. Called them at 8:50am and they said ‘oh didn’t know there was a scheduled time we will send one now’. Told him I have to be in Olympia to get rental car before noon cause they close. I’m supposed to ride with the tow truck driver to Paulsons.

It’s 10:15am and the tow truck still isn’t here.

Tow truck arrived around 11am

Tow truck driver name Tim

And oh wow this guy does not know how to strap a bike down.

I had to advise him on where to put the straps on the bike. The way he wanted to do it would have tipped the bike over.

He was strapping one side down tight without the other side almost pulling the bike over on its side. I stopped him once and told him that you can’t tighten the ratchet strap when you don’t have another one on the other side as he tightened one to the point my bike was leaning to the kickstand side. There were straps on the front forks and motorcycle dolly that he used to pull the bike up the ramp. Also he made me sit on the bike cause he wasn’t sure if the bike would stay upright on the pull.

Eventually I had to take over, don’t want these straps death tightened to the point it’s bending or breaking more shit. Got it strapped down, still sketched out about this tow truck guy but it is what it is.

The ride felt so long, constantly looking in the mirror to make sure the moto was still strapped down good.

Ranch House BBQ outside of Aberdeen recommended by tow truck driver Tim

Eventually made it to Paulsons. They were expecting me. Getting the bike off the flatbed was sketchy too. The guy couldn’t get the motorcycle dolly wench all the way down the ramp so we had to release it and I sat on the bike and rolled down the last bit of the ramp and a worked from Paulsons guided the back to make sure it didn’t tip over. After a stressful morning the KLR was finally at the shop. Now just have to wait till Tuesday for the insurance adjuster to come take a look at it.

Went to a little skatepark in the area. And it was tiny, really tiny. And there was two parties going on in the park so the little kids on bikes and scooters were all over the already small area. I opted to skate the basketball court next to the skatepark instead. Did feel like dealing with the chaos.

A kid came and started shooting hoops on the court while I was there. I asked him if I was in his way but he didn’t seem to mind.

After the skatepark I went back out to Mt Rainier. Didn’t feel like being in the city any longer. Bummed I’m leaving the KLR sitting behind that shop but what more can I do. Hope it’s alright there.

Slept next to Mt Rainier National Park in Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

9-2-18

Woke up really early and decided to go find a good viewpoint to take pictures of Mount Rainier at sunrise. Found a pull off on the side of a road through Mt Rainier National Park. Incredible view of Rainier with the sun rising. Very few cars passing by this early in the morning. Found a cool reflection lake with Rainier in the backdrop. There were quite a few people already there so I picked a spot where no one was. Got a cool shot of the mountain reflected on the lake with the sunrise. From there I made my way to Kiwanis Skatepark in Yakima. This park has an awesome set up. When I got there there was a homeless guy with a radio and some dogs jamming out on the ledge. He packed up when I brought out my skateboard. Another homeless man was laying next to the bench in the grass with his nasty ass out of his pants. It was fucking disgusting. There was a little kid there on his scooter and I’m surprised his dad didn’t say anything to this guy. He was obviously drunk or fucked up on something laying like he dead in the grass. I ignored it and skated flatground on the other side of the park. Some weirdo wannabe gangsta white boy showed up. He immediately asked if I was “420 friendly” (in my head I was like this dudes a fucking kook). “Nah man” I said. He blabbed about some other shit then skated around like a fucking poser. Pushing mongo and skating stuff as fuck. Damn what world am I on. Is this what skateboarding is? People who try to talk like there some rapper on lein. Give me a break. The wannabe rapper notice the homeless guy with his ass out and went over and kicked him in the back and told him to pick him pants up. The old guy stood up quick and immediately stumbled and fell over. The wannabe rapper came back over and told me how he doesn’t fuck around with women or children. I guess he was talking about the guys ass being out and the kid on the scooter. It’s hard to understand this guys thug mumble. He thought I was cool though. Guess because I was going actual tricks on my skateboard. Idk. The cops came to the house across the street and the wannabe rapper packed his shit and left all sketchy. Eventually another ‘normal’ skater showed up who was cool. Filmed a 50-50 up the hubba and the guy did a fastplant on the bump to ledge. I ate shit twice while trying to refilm the 50-50 longlens. Hit my shin real bad on the second fall and called it quits. The one I landed at first will have to do. The guy at the park told me how he was 23 and had a kid and the girl he had a kid with was having another kid with another guy. Interesting conversation.

Went into the national forest to camp for the night.

9-3-18

Woke up early and took pictures of sunrise and Mount Hood, Oregon

Hood River Skatepark was really cool, diy type set up but huge.

Burnside skatepark Portland

Mount Adams and Mount Saint Helens camp

Milky Way Mount Saint Helens

9-4-18

Early morning watched the sunrise at Mt St Helens. Amazing and quiet. Still have a 2 hour plus drive back into Lacey to meet Progressive insurance adjuster at Paulsons. The drive was nice down the forest roads. Wish I could have spent more time out here. Avoided getting on I-5 so I took back roads which turned out to be very nice and no traffic. Even stopped for some coffee at a little coffee truck. Got a caramel macchiato which was okay but should have just stuck with my regular mocha. Got to Paulsons around 9:30am. He looked over the bike and I explained the point of impact and showed the everything that was damaged. He took pictures of everything then went out to his car to write up an estimate. He brought it back and he people at Paulsons pointed a few things he left out. He said he had somewhere to go so he would send it to my email later today. After he left I stayed at Paulsons while they took the front end apart and checked to see if the front forks were bent. The seem straight which is a good thing. We noticed the radiator was bent a little, so will probably replace that. Also noticed the skid plate was cracked so Paulsons had to call and tell the adjuster to add that to the list.

From the shop I headed over to the skatepark which was full of kids on scooters. Just skated flat ground and the box. Wanted something different to eat so went to a taco food truck. Good food.

Adjuster came around 10:15am to Paulsons. Came up with a list of things for insurance then the adjust said he had to leave. These insurance people are not proactive about helping me. It was like pulling teeth getting answers from them or even for them to answer their phones or call me back. Anyways got a list of stuff with the adjuster but he left something out and said he would send me an updated one to my email. Stayed at Paulsons while they looked at the front forks. They seems to be straight but the lower tube still has a scuff on it. Found that the skid plate was cracked and also the helmet wasn’t on the list for insurance. Guy at Paulsons said he would call insurance and let them know those two things. We decided on just replacing the radiator which is bent, and replacing the crash bars which are really bent. Everything else cosmetic I can fix when I get home.

9-5-18

Been sitting around all morning waiting for the adjuster from progressive to get back to me. Need to get the money estimate and check in order so I can begin repairs on the bike.

Feels like I’m getting a cold.

Got a hotel room for the night, time to relax a bit.

9-6-18

Woke up feeling like shit this morning. Went down around 6:30am for the breakfast buffet at the hotel. Got a bagel and cream cheese, a blueberry muffin, bowl of scrambled eggs, a banana, blueberry yogurt, and coffee. Yes I ate it all. Then fell back asleep till about noon. Went over to the skatepark for a bit then back to the hotel. Relaxed the rest of the day. Time to recoup.

9-7-18

Felt a little better this morning.

Checked out of hotel.

Skatepark.

Skateshop Noping in Olympia

Went to Vance Creek Bridge but it was closed because of fires

Charlie firefighter told me to go over to this side cause there weren’t fires

Got a big breakfast again this morning from the hotel buffet. Starting to feel a little better. Packed up my things and checked out of the hotel early. Could have checked out at noon but didn’t really want to go to the skatepark and come back to check out. Skating was still exhausting from being sick. Don’t have much energy. Also it’s time for a new board and I don’t have any alpine boards left. After skating Rainier Vista Park in Lacey I drove over to Noping Skateshop in Olympia. Got two shop decks. There was a coffee shop in the same building as the skateshop so I got a mocha for the road. Not sure where to go from here while I wait for the KLR to get fixed. Decided to go check out Vance Creek Bridge which some of the guys at Paulsons recommended going to see. When I got to the area where the Bridge was there were signs all over saying the area is closed due to fires. There was a car parked at the gate, the must have hiked over to the bridge. Not sure what to do I started looking up other places on my phone map. A man in a red truck with forest fire stuff all over it pulls up and takes pictures of the car parked at the gate. He starts walking to my car and asked if I saw that the area was closed. I said yes and asked where to go to get away from the fire area. He told to go over towards Cushman Lake. Turns out he use to live in Virginia and worked to the Marines or something. Welding submarines. He said he took a forest job in Washington and liked it out here so much he stayed. He said the first time he saw Mt Rainier he was amazed and wanted to live here. He was super hyped that his job allows him to work in these nature spots. Talked for a while then went on our ways. By this point the people who had hiked to the bridge were back at their car and left. Made my way over to lake Cushman and then to Mount Ellinor to find camping. Right when I get to the campspot it starts raining. No big deal but wish I could have got some photos of the mountains. Campspot was quiet, free, and no one bothered me.

9-8-18

Slept on the car. It rained overnight but wasn’t raining in the morning so I went further up the mountain to the trailhead and upper trailhead. There were quiet a few spots to camp even further up too. A few cars passed by where I was camping and they were parked at the trailhead when I got there. I walked a little along the trail which my gps thought was a road. It looked like it may have been a road at one point and a landslide wiped it out. There was a nice view of the distant lake and mountains. The peaks of the mountain I was on were incredible. Dramatic peaks overhead, considered doing the 8 mike hike but I should really get an earlier start for that.

Went to the end of the road then turned around and headed back to Shelton to the skatepark. The skatepark was next to the Walmart parking lot so parking was a mess. The park was rotted out and in serious need of TLC. Set up the new Noping Board. It actually feels really good. Very similar to the Alpine Shop decks. Skated some flat and the box. Couldn’t think of anything to film. Went over to McDonalds and it wasn’t there. Nothing but a sign and a cleared area where the remains of a McDonalds building lay. There was a Burger King next to the skatepark so I went back there and got some food. Sat at the skatepark for a while and ate my meal contemplating filming a trick but still couldn’t think of anything. Decided to head up to North Cascades National Park about 3 and 1/2 hours away. Up I-5 was a mess glad I was in a car. Right when I got off of the interstate though I was wishing I had my KLR. The views of the mountains were incredible and I’m not even in north cascades yet. Stopped at Boulder River for a free campspot. It was still early so I just chilled out for a while in the car. Camping here tonight and will go to the North Cascades National park in the morning.

9-9-18

Went to Skatepark in Darrington Washington first thing this morning. Sprinklers were spraying water on half the park. Tried a few kickflip nose manuals then some nose manual nollie inward heels and didn’t land anything. Been slumpin on filming tricks lately. After skating I headed over to North Cascades National Park. Tried going up the road to Thornton Lakes but I felt like I would damage the car once I got a little ways up the road. It’s started getting really rutted and sleep gravel hills so I didn’t want to risk it. Turned around and stopped at a pull off on the hill before getting to the bottom of the road. Felt like I could take a nap so I hung out for a little there to regain some energy. Then made my way to the visitor center. Got a map of the park and headed towards Diablo Lake. This park is beautiful but the power lines seem to run through each lookout so it kills the pictures, or atleast what I’m envisioning at the moment. Guess I’m just comparing scenery to what I saw up north and this just isn’t up to par. Went by the next lookout and it was the same thing and a dam to add to it. I supposed if I did one of the many hikes I could get away from this development. Don’t feel like hiking today tho. Went up to Washington Pass and that was amazing. The steep cliffs with points on the top. Had a gothic look to it. Favorite spot in this park so far. From there I slowly made my way to the campspot I planned on going to. Stopped at a pizza place along the way. Ordered a 12” pizza and a cafe mocha. Ate the whole pizza... oops. Can’t waste money! Went over to where I was going to camp and along the road there was a small stream crossing. Didn’t want to take the rental car over it so I posted up on a pull off on the National Forest road. This will do for tonight. Still have a good view of the mountains and can even see where the forest fire is in the distance. Out for the night.

9-10-18

Morning morning morning. Woke up this morning around 4am to some coyotes howling. Made me happy. Back to sleep till around 7. Nothing planned today other than killing time waiting for the moto to get repaired. Stopped at a skatepark in Chelan, WA where they had paid parking. I only had a 5 dollar bill so I tried to use my card. It wouldn’t take my card. I had $2 in change which would pay for 2 hours but the machine didn’t take change either. The machine also said it doesn’t give change back for bigger bills. So there was no way I’m waisting a $5 when I don’t need 6 hours. Went over to Starbucks and got a drink so I could have chance for this stupid parking lot. Paid the 2 dollars then skated. The park was nice and was fun to skate a Miniramp. Then I ate shit trying a nollie inward to nosestall. Over it. Filmed a fs blunt on the box. Feel like I’m sucking at skating since the moto wreck. Need to get out of this slump. Went to another skatepark in Winatchee. The photos of the park looked sick but it was actually pretty bad when I got there. No coping on any of the quarter pipes which were more like roll ins. The entire “bowl” was roll ins. The was a little gap between the bowl I ollied and came out cool on camera. That will do, on to the next. Third skatepark of the day was in Leavenworth, WA. Leavenworth was a cool looking town, like something from Ireland or Germany. Old medieval town. Even the names of grocery stores were written in the style of font. The skatepark was small. When I got there there was a girl ripping the park. She was flowing on the board with style and looked effortless. Hype. Looked like she was having the best time ever skating. Skated there for a while then everyone left. Filmed a switch 5-0 180 on the box. Went over to Safeway and got a gallon of water and some Chinese food from the food bar. Well worth it. From there I went to find a place to sleep for the night. Went up into the national forest and found an actual campground that was free. Grasshopper Meadows. No one else came the entire night.

9-11-18

Looked around in the morning and no one showed up over night. Weird having a campground all to yourself, but whatever. Headed out to a skatepark about an hour and half away. It rained on the drive over but stopped by the time I got to the park. The park was small and most of it still wet but perfect place for some flatground. Went on to the next skatepark in Monroe, Washington. Looks like a storm is rolling in. Filmed a fs nose on the ledge to bank before the storm rolled in. Looks like rain the rest of the day. Went to another park on the way back to Lacey but it was raining. Cleaned out my car while I waited for traffic to die down. Headed back to Lacey for the night, bike should be done tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Got some Chipotle before going to Cabellas to sleep in the parking lot.

9-12-18

Slept well for being a parking lot. Been hanging my tent fly over the seats to block the light and so no one can see inside the car. Works pretty well. Went over to the skatepark in Lacey early in the morning. Got a session while it was dry out. Got lunch at the taco food truck again. Still waiting for a call from Paulsons, they don’t open till 10am though. Called them around noon and Brad said the radiator hasn’t come in yet but it might be in by the end of the day. Hung out at the skatepark the rest of the day. Got a call back from Paulsons around 3:35pm and they said the bike is done but they need to put it on a charger cause the battery is low. And said I can pick it up tomorrow. Making progress, still anxious to see if they try to screw me on labor rate prices. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow. Tonight will be more chipotle and back to Cabellas parking lot. Tomorrow it’s time to get back on the road. New radiator, old bent crash bars, and some scuffs and dings all the front end but fuck it. Time to ride. Fix it when I get back home. Not going to pay Paulsons ridiculous labor rate prices.

9-13-18

Went over to the skatepark in Lacey early in the morning from Cabellas overnight parking. Got to the skatepark at 6:33am. The skatepark isn’t technically open till 7am so I just waited around for a bit. Right at 7am I got out of the car and started skating. It was nice to be there early when no one else was there. The Miniramp was still wet with dew though. I have till 10am before I can go over to Paulsons to pick up my KLR. They said it would be ready yesterday then when I called they told me to come today so I will go there right when they open. Got coffee and breakfast then over to Paulsons. Got the a few minutes before 10am. At 10am I went inside and asked about the bike. It took them a while to get the receipt ready and I checked to see if it matched the insurance quote. I asked if I could pack the bike in the back of the shop since I have to go drop off the rental car. They were cool with it. Packed everything back on the bike then took the rental car over to enterprise. They then drove me back to Paulsons and I finished loading the bike and headed out. New radiator. Nothing more from them. Crash bars were still bent like mad. Paulsons mentioned trying to bend them back but I guess they didn’t get to it. Seemed like the owner was mad at me for not getting all the insurance work done, but I’m not going to wait around a month for repairs. Whatever. Got the KLR back and ready to hit the road. Took it over to the skatepark to look over it and make sure all the bolts and whatnot were tight. Everything looked okay. Went to the Taco truck one last time before leaving Lacey. Then shot down to Oregon! Tried to go to this campsite in the forest but it was pouring rain and the road was sketchy. Thought I was going to drop the bike so I turned around. Ended up camping out on a pulloff on the side of 101 overlooking a cliff and the Pacific Ocean. Great view but loud throughout the night as the trucks downshifted down the hill next to the pull off. Oh well, atleast I got my bike back.

CHAPTER 16

101

9-14-18

Went to Cannon Beach for the day, starting with the skatepark. There was only one RV in the parking area when I arrived in the morning, they must have spent the night. By the time I was done skating the lot was full and there was a bicycle cop watching the parking lot. I walked into the town and got fish and chips for lunch. Then walked to the beach and ate my lunch on the sand. Some seagulls came over begging for my food. The one stood a foot away from me lightly cawing as I ate my meal. I didn’t share with them. Walked back into town and got some coffee then hung out at the skatepark while I drank it. It was a slow day but that’s okay. From there I went off to find a campsite in the national forest. Went down the road 2.5 miles but didn’t see anything. On my way back out I passed a van who was heading back into the forest. I turned around and followed them, maybe they knew where the campsite was. A little ways down the road they had turned around and were coming back. I waived them down and asked if they knew where looking for the camp as well. It was a French couple Aaron and (Marian?) in Van they bought in Quebec. They were using iOverlander as well but couldn’t find the spot. They said they were just going to use the grad pull off a little ways up the road and offered me to set up next to them. We introduced ourselves back at the spot then I set up my tent. They made some pasta and offered me some. We talked a bunch and I helped them with English words and tried to learn some French. It was a good time. They were recently married and moved to Quebec on a 2 year visa. They’ve been traveling across Canada and the states since June and planned to be on the road till December. The would be back in Quebec by December then fly back to France for Christmas. The van they had bought in Quebec and converted it with a bed and small kitchen.

We talked into the night then went to sleep.

9-15-18

Camping with the French couple turned out to be alright, minus the spiders in my tent last night. The tent was soaked in the morning but I packed it away anyways. Said goodbye to Aaron and Marian and made my way to Kirtsis Skatepark. It was relatively early when I got to the park. A few kids showed up right after I did. This park was huge though. The kids didn’t come down to where I was at. Skated flatground for a bit then started some work on the moto. Changed the oil and lubed and adjusted the chain. When I was finishing up with the chain an older guy in a old maybe 1980s Suburban rolled into the park. He came over and ask if everything was okay with the bike and if I needed anything. Told him I was finishing up the chain and asked if he knew of a shop around the area where I could get a rear tire. He laughed and said there aren’t any shops. Then he said he had a back tire he would give me. He said he was going to skate a bit then I could follow him to his house and we could put it on. I was beyond stoked. Jeff was going to just give me a rear tire and help put it on. We went over to his house where he had a 10x10 shed which he had set up like a workstation for his KLR. All the tools you could need. He had two big ass dogs too. One was a lab/boxer mix and the younger one (2yr old) was a lab/mastif mix. The younger one was a giant. We changed out the tire as it rained on and off. After it was done Jeff showed me all the farkles he put on his bike then offered me a clutch cable, a sprocket, and foot pegs. Tried on the footpegs but decided to stick with my rubber ones. He put the sprocket and clutch cable in a bag and handed it to me. Jeff had two kids, 16 year old girl and 18 year old boy. His boy played drums in a metal band. He showed me some video on his iPhone of him playing.

Jeff was beyond nice and wouldn’t except money payment for the tire and things. He wished me well on the rest of my trip.

Stopped at McDonalds for my first meal of the day then went off to find camping. Ended up staying at a pull off rest stop. It rained heavily thoughout the night.

(Met Jeff at Skatepark, gave me free back tire)

9-16-18

Woke up throughout the morning to wind and rain. Haley called at 6:30am (9:30am her time) because she was upset about Frank. I was awake anyways. Called my mom around 7am and it started pouring rain. All of a sudden my tent was floating. Quickly told my mom I had to get off the phone. Didn’t know what to do, the tent was literally off the ground floating in water with my inside of it. My camera and bags all inside the tent. Panic. Put my camera bag inside the rain jacket and got my boots on. Moved the camera bag outside of the tent which was slowly filling with water. Sleeping bag, sleeping pad, jacket, duffel bag, everything inside my tent was soaked. I pulled the tent across the water which was about 4 inches deep. Flash flood... Got the tent out of the flooded area as it was still pouring rain. My pants and jacket were soaked. There were RVs and cars with people in them parked in the parking lot and no one came to help. Very frustrated. Now what do I do? Just sit here in we clothes inside a soaking wet tent till it stops raining. Ruined my morning that’s for sure. Stayed in the lot till almost noon when it finally cleared. Started packing up everything and ringing the water out. Wasn’t going to stay here to dry everything out. As a dumped water out of my tent a few people pulled up in a car and asked a few questions. Told them I got soaked this morning then they asked were I was from and where I’m coming from and I told them VA and a brief summary of my travels so far. They offered my some crab and I told them it was okay and I didn’t need it, but they insisted and gave me a ziplock or crab and told me to go find a nice place to start a fire and get dry and warm. Then they went off in search of mushrooms in the trees by the ocean. A few moments later as I was packing the bike another couple came over and started asking questions. Also gave them a brief summary. They came back over and gave me a granola bar and a banana before they went on their hike. She said I need to eat breakfast. They were nice and I thanked them.

I headed off to the skatepark only a few minutes away. Hung up all my stuff around the park and on the moto. The sun was out at this point so hopefully everything will dry out. Took me a little while to get all my gear in the sun to dry. Ended up skating flatground at the park while I waiting for the stuff to dry. Got a few weird looks from passer-byers, I guess because my tent and everything was on the skatepark. One kid even asked if I camped at the skatepark and said it would be cool to wake up and shred. When everything was dry I packed up and headed over to Thor’s Well. It wasn’t too far from the skatepark. I started out by taking photos of things around Thor’s Well because there were already a bunch of people over there around it. Eventually made my way over and this guy with a tripod was still there. Took some shots of the Well avoiding getting him or his monstrous tripod in my photo. Everyone else seemed to by trying to look around him since he was standing in a prime spot to look down into the Well. I hung around for a good 30 minutes and took a few photos thinking that maybe he would leave. Nope. He was there the whole time, and not only that, most of the time he wasn’t even taking pictures. Let other people have a look!!! Made my way back to the parking lot after a while. After I packed everything up I saw the guy coming back to the park lot. Ugh. Not going back.! Went on the get some McDonald’s for dinner. Then went over to Tahkenitch Creek Trailhead to set up camp for the night.

9-17-18

Quiet morning... no one else came to camp at this spot... and it even has a toilet! Got off to an early start other than the fact that something is wrong with the moto and it won’t start properly. Seems like the battery is weak or something, it took a few minutes for it to turn over this morning. Not good. Something from the wreck must have messed it up because it wasn’t doing it before. I was close to Reedsport, only about 15 minutes away. Went over to the Reedsport skatepark. This park is gnarly, giant sketchy bowl and a full pipe. I was skating flatground when an old man came out of the house across the street and started walking toward me with a cup of coffee in hand. Did I wake him up? It’s around 9:30am. He came over and said I was pretty good at flipping the board then went on to tell me how the local kids curse and yell all the time trying to flip their boards. He said he doesn’t understand why the young kids have to curse the way they do and there is a time and place for it “like if you jam your thumb”. He went on telling me how vans of guys come to this park and take over the park. He told me how amazing he thought it was how some of the guys get air and fly through the skatepark. He asked about the KLR and were I’ve been and where I’m heading. I gave him a brief summary. He then went on to tell me how he’s had all this different brand motorcycles from Kawasaki to Honda to Norton, you name it. He told me how he used to work for Kawasaki and one of he favorite bikes he had was a Kawasaki Ninja in the 80s. He know has an Africa Twin with automatic because he lost feeling in his feet and can’t properly shift. He had a vertebrae in his back fused last year. He told me how him and his wife went to 38 states including VA in an RV and they had a KLR on the back for when they parked the RV. He offered me coffee and a place to shower, but I was more focused on getting back to skating so I said no but thank you. He told me a bunch of places I must see while in Oregon. Crater lake, Smith Rock, and Multnomah Falls. He also said highway 20 was a nice road to take east. He told me he was from British Columbia and how he once moved to Texas but there were too many rednecks and trump people. He said he used to have long hair (“like yours” he said) and hippie tendencies. He was full of stories and information and I feel like he could go on forever. After a while of talking he went back over to his house and told me if I need anything to let him know. I went back to skating and then carved through the full pipe and slipped straight on my back. The few from the morning hadn’t dried inside the full pipe yet and it was super slick. Unexpected fall straight to the back and maybe my head... not sure. Dread protection. It killed the session though. From there I went over to a Mexican restaurant and got a nice meal. And it cost about the same as stupid fast food did. I should do this more often. Took the bike over to a yahama shop and asked the guy what he thought about the rough starting. He said it sounds like a bad connection or a solenoid. He said to take the connections off and clean them and see if that helps. Got some coffee then started thinking about why my moto wasn’t properly starting. Got to the point where I realized the crash bar was bent and pushing on a cover on the side of the bike. Did a bit of research and site enough the starter relay is under that cover. I bet that’s what is messed up.

Called insurance and left a message with Joseph B about how the bike wasn’t starting properly. A few hours later while driving I get a call from Kyle Jenkins with Progressive. Missed the call as I was trying to find a place to pull over and answer the phone. Called him back immediately and he didn’t answer so I left a message. Notice he left a message saying Sam would go to the shop tomorrow. Called again to tell them I’m not in Washington anymore but he didn’t answer. Tried again a little later on, still he didn’t answer. It’s literally insane how this guy won’t answer his phone. No way to talk to him unless he calls me. It’s frustrating.

Found a campspot along the 101 with a nice view of a grass hill with a rock cliffed into the ocean. Took photos of the sunset. It was incredible. Seems like this should be a quiet spot of the night. Set up my tent as the sky faded into the night.

(((Got the bike started, roughly, and made my way to Reedsport Skatepark.

After a bit of skating an old man came out of the house across the street with coffee in hand. He asked if I’d like some coffee. I declined since I was in the middle of skating. He went on talking about how he used to have a KLR and he and his wife would take it on the back of there RV and use it to get around when I parked at places. He went on to tell me how he’s owned many different brands of motorcycles from Norton to Kawasaki to Royal Enfield etc. He said he loved his Kawasaki’s tho.)))

9-18-18

Campspot worked out. There was an RV that came in late last night. Took some pictures of the sunrise. Started packing up my tent and some work trucks and an excavator came into the lot. Maybe this wasn’t a campspot? Oh well leaving now. They didn’t say anything or seem to mind. Quickly packed up so I wouldn’t be in their way if they came over to this side of the lot. On my way to ?Brookings? I stopped at a lookout. Some lady from Los Angeles was super hyped on my bike and even asked for a picture of me beside it. She was heading north then across Canada and down to Alexandria, VA to meet up with a friend. Told her about how I just came that way.

Went down the trail to look at the rock in the ocean. Very cool but not a good lookout. Went back to my moto and started fiddling around with the starter relay and wires to it. Need to figure out this problem. Don’t understand why the bike isn’t starting right. As I was sitting next to my bike a car pulled in. A couple got out and the lady told the guy she was with to lock the doors then said something about my moto and “that guy” (me) stealing stuff from their car. She didn’t see me sitting on the other side of the bike so I said “what? What did you say”... she was startled. She didn’t repeat what she said and started saying she was joking and said she didn’t see me there. The guy said she wasn’t joking. She said now that she’s seen me she knows I’m not going to steal from them. I was so confused, I didn’t even here exactly what she said in the first place, only something about my bike and me stealing. I don’t know. She asked where I’m from and was amazed I was from Virginia and rode my moto all this way. (If she only knew...)

*********

Went to McDonalds in the next town. When I pulled into the parking lot there was another dual sport moto parked one of the places. A man came out from McDonald’s as I was parking the bike. He stood next to his motorcycle as I shoved my jacket in my pannier and took the tank bag off to go get some food. As I walked towards the door the guy next to the motorcycle said something to me and then introduced himself. He was from the UK and on his own epic journey through the Americas. We talked for a while then went our deprecate ways. Got some food and used the WiFi to find a campspot for the night.

Later that day when I got to the campsite Adrian was already there! We laughed about it.

****************

McDonald’s *********Met Adrian from UK

9-19-18

The morning started out normal. Ate some food, packed up sleeping bag, dry out tent. The old couple across the parking lot at the beach in a Tacoma with a pop up rv offered me some coffee. I said i was okay for the moment; I just wanted to get on the road. Adrian (the guy from the UK) got up out of his tent as I was letting my camping gear dry out. He offered me a bagel and when I nearly declined he insisted I eat something. Then the people across the lot offered him coffee and he accepted for the both of us. Ate a bagel with peanut butter and some peach jam. It was good. Talked for a while with Adrian and Peter (old guy with Tacoma) and his wife. They were from Laguana beach and said we could stop by and have a shower and a place to stay if we were in the area.(they would be back home in 5 days) I took down the info but don’t think I’ll be going down south that far. Adrian on the other hand is going all the way to Ushuaia. Peter told us they have a house in Baja Mexico and we could camp there on the way as well. It’s starting to get real tempting to just continue to Mexico. After a while of talking I packed up the rest of my gear and was ready to hit the road. Tried to start the bike.... buzz buzz... nothing. Bike wouldn’t start. I thought that maybe the starter relay had been smash during the wreck. The bike has been doing this since I left Paulsons, but this time was the worst because it wouldn’t even turn over. Adrian insisted we have a look at it, so I took all my gear off then the plastics and seat and gas tank. Had to be able to get to the bolt on the bent crash bar. Loosened it up and got the case off over the starter relay. It looked fine. I changed the fuse in the relay. Still nothing. Fiddled around with it for a while then put everything back together so we could try to jump start it with Peters Tacoma. Still nothing. Called the shop in Eureka (Dazeys) and asked for advice. Daryl the tech suggested I try to bypass the starter relay with a wrench or screwdriver. We did this and the engine started to turn over. But not all the way. It was afternoon at this point and I felt like I was wasting everyone’s day. They were all very nice though and didn’t want to leave me stranded. Came up with an idea for Adrian to tow me behind his motorbike then I would put it in gear and it should start. But first need to find some rope. That when it hit me, Dan from ADVCycle Works in Alaska gave me some rope. Thanks Dan!!! Never thought I’d use this. So that’s what we did.... and it worked. Untied the bikes after mine started then I stalled it. Had to tie it back up and tow again. Back running again Adrian made a serious offer to follow me the 2 hours to the shop in Eureka. I told him he should enjoy his day and I should be okay. I just won’t stop. We went our ways and I made the trek to the shop. A little down the road I realized I didn’t tighten the subframe bolt holding the crash bar so it was making an awful rattle. Rode with my foot on the crash bar almost the entire 2 hour ride to keep it from rattling. Upon arrival the shop was no longer in that location. Good thing I left the bike running. A lady told me where to find the shops new location about 4 miles up the road by the 76 gas station. Went over to that shop and left the bike running and went inside to see if it was the place I’d called earlier. It was! The lady had me rode the bike back to the shop behind the building where Daryl (the tech I talked to on the phone) was there working. He came out and looked at the bike and suggested I put a new battery in it to start. He test d my battery and it failed. I took the bike apart and did the work myself. They ended up getting a battery out of a new KLR since they didn’t have any in stock. Spent the day disassembling and assembling the bike. Daryl said there was no acid in the old battery and he’s never seen a battery that dry before. He suggested that maybe when it was laying on its side the acid leaked out the drainage tube. The new battery had to charge which took till almost 7 pm. Then I put the bike back together. It worked! Started right up. Quickly made my way to get a meal for the day. Then decided to make the trek back to the beach spot 2 hours north. Stopped at Walmart in Crescent City at 10:30pm. It was quite nice; it wasn’t busy at all. Got my groceries and then went to the beach spot to set up camp for the night. All in all I was back camping by midnight. Didn’t get to skate today so I’m super bummed about that. Hope this is the last problem I have with the KLR.

Side note: Adrian told me bout how he flipped over handlebars on his bike on Denali Highway. Broke front fender and front fairing and handlebars flipped back to take. His odometer was sitting all crooked. He made a new front headlight fairing which looks better than the old one. And a new front fender. Odo was still crooked.

9-20-18

Skatepark

Mexican food

Starbucks

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (not impressed)

Fuse blew on klrdash

Back to beach spot to camp

9-21-18

Back to Oregon....

Stopped at campsite near crater lake

9-22-18

Crater Lake in morning.

Freezing

Family in Prius said they saw me on coast. The guy has a Dakar 650

La Pine

Motorcycle girls

Bend Oregon Skatepark

Camp by Bend

Woke up to RVs trying to turn around at campsite at midnight

CHAPTER 17

Mexican Hat & an Amish Breakfast

9-23-18

Bend to Nevada , the journey back east begins...

Cold morning and an early start. Some other people came to the spot last night; a VW bus and a white van, the RVs didn’t stay. Got things packed up relatively early. The campsite wasn’t far from the skatepark only about 15 minutes. It was chilly this morning. Got in a good session at the park while there weren’t many people there. By 10am I was ready for lunch. The Mexican food place I was going to go to didn’t open till 11am so I went to Starbucks in the meantime. Charged up my labtop and edited some photos. Stayed till around noon then went over to the taco shop for lunch. Got two tamales which was kind of a disappointment. They were about half size each, rip off. $10 plate. The food truck in Lacey, Wa was better. Knew today was going to be a long day. It’s a little over 5 hours to the campsite in Nevada from Bend. Im excited for the desert though. The eastern part of Oregon was beautiful. Big pine tree on a desert gold landscape. But it’s time to get a move on. Stopped a few times along the way for quick photos of Oregon’s Outback. Eventually made it to California then across to Nevada. Passed through a mountain pass in the National forest elevation 6000ft. Should have stopped here to camp for the night. Might have been really cold though. Came across a few more turnouts but kept going. The desert is beautiful especially when the sun starts setting. All the colors and openness is surreal. Stopped to take photos of the sun setting behind the mountain when I noticed on the other side the moon was rising behind the mountain range. So amazing. It was starting to get dark though and I needed to find the campsite. The darkness came over fast. I saw a BLM office for the

Black Rock Desert and decided to set up camp in the parking lot. Don’t feel like trying to find a campsite in the dark. Hopefully this is okay. Out for the night.

9-24-18

Woke up to a beautiful sunrise in the Black Rock Desert. It was quiet. Few cars passing by and no one was at the visitor center. Adjusted my chain before I left and noticed the rear sprocket is well worn, could be time for a new one. Made my way through the desert. Its refreshing to ride through the openness of the desert surrounded by desert mountains. Forgot how much I liked the desert. The next town was about 2 hours away and there was a skatepark there. When I arrived in Fernley, Nevada I went straight to the skatepark. After stretching a man came up in an SUV and asked about my KLR. Jeff was his name. He told me about how he is looking to get one and wanted some information about it. He said his “navigator”(talking about his wife) recently passed and he wants a new way to travel. They used to take their Jeep all over. He said he used to race dirt bikes when he was younger but never had a street bike because he was worried about getting hit my a car. And said he has a different outlook on life now. He didn’t want to buy a new one in case he wasn’t into it he could turn around and sell it or not feel like he wasted money. He was looking at a vstrom but was more interested in a DR650 or a KLR650. He was super stoked on my trip and like that I was traveling slowly. He had respect for people who rode motorcycles long distance and wanted to give it a try himself. He talked about going up to Montana on all dirt roads. He talk for a while about this and that and got sidetracked and rambled for nearly an hour. It was all good tho. He realized the time and said he had to go but was glad he stopped to talk to me. I wished him well on his new adventures as he left.

I skated for a while at the park but I think the elevation was getting to me. Felt weak and not on point. Saw a lady with a walker, she must have had polio or something. I said hello as she walked through the skatepark. She seemed surprised and said hello. After I was done skating she was sitting in the grass and yelled asking me if I had a pen she could borrow. I had a pen on the bike so I went and gave it to her. She offered me half a bottle of liquor but I declined. She then offered me a dollar and I told her it was no big deal. She was grateful. I mean it was only a pen?

I left the skatepark and went over to a Las Palmas Mexican restaurant. Ordered 2 taco and tamal meal that came with beans and rice. For just $10 it was a lot of food.

Went to Walmart afterwards to stock up on supplies then headed east on route 50. The campsite was halfway to Ely, Nevada. A two hour ride from were I was, four hours to Ely. The ride was beautiful through the desert, at times it felt like I was the only one out there. My chain and sprockets felt like shit; it was definitely time for a new set. Kept riding till I got to where the campsite was supposed to be but the road on a fence on one side and. NF Campsite on the other. Went into the campsite, it was $10 for the night. I saw a picnic area about a mile back so I decided to go back there for the night. Set up camp, it was kind of close to the road so I hope traffic will die down throughout the night.

(Riding across Nevada desert.

Met Jeff at Skatepark, he was looking at getting a 650 since his wife passed. Used to travel in Jeep)

9-25-18

Camping at 7,000 feet was weird, not use to elevation. Slept well considering. The road was kind of busy throughout the evening and morning. Not to bad though.

Stopped in Eureka, Nevada for coffee to warm up; the ride in was freezing. The lady told me how one year they had nearly 9 months of snow. She said she came to work in June in snow boots cause there was 6inches of snow on the ground. This was a small town in the middle of nowhere really. Coffee was good and so were the 2 donuts. On the way to Ely just outside of Eureka I noticed a paved pulloff. Stopped and skated at 7,205 feet elevation. It’s hard to get use to skating at that elevation but started felling good towards the end. Filmed a switchflip, possibly the best one I’ve done in flat. Rode the rest of the way to Ely through elevations and descents. Didn’t know Nevada was so elevated. The views were incredible with the long hills up then long hills back down. Route 50 turned out to be an awesome road, I really enjoyed it. I could see the mountains in the distance infront of me and it would take 30 minutes to get to it, then up and over only to see the next mountains in the distance. Surreal feeling. It’s like there is nothing out here then you turn a corner and there’s a whole town. Very interesting.

(Rode to Ely. Kind of a hick town. McDonald’s was subpar.)

Took rt50 into Utah. Amazing ride! Absolutely beautiful landscape. Cliffs, desert, mountains, and to top it off I’m camping on salt flats. The sunset was incredible. Moments like this are what makes it all worth it.

9-26-18

Waking up on the salt flats was incredible. The sunrise was just as good as last nights sunset. Still amazed that I was the only one out there. Didn’t go down the the big open flats, maybe I should have but I was worried about getting stuck. Went into town (Delta City) to skate the park. When I got there there was a few cars parked along the street. I parked on the side where the skatepark was. No lines on the road so I wasn’t sure if I was i allowed to park there or not. A cop rolled up in a pickup truck and stopped on the road near my bike. I thought he was going to say something to me but he didn’t. Went to the bathroom and when I came out he was walking a guy to his car. The guy was carrying a sleeping bag, guess he was sleeping under the pavilion. I overheard a little of the conversation. Something about taking him to jail now or they would come get him later. He also said don’t let me see you here again, as the guy got into his little beat up car. His car barely started as the cop pulled away. The cop then circled back and sat by the library till the guy actually left. I’m not sure exactly what was going on but that was weird. Skated the park for a bit. Went over to a BLM spot to camp. There was a lady there with her tent set up. She had a minivan and a kid so I wasn’t sure if she was a resident or what. I went over and asked her about camping in the area. Turns out she from Nebraska and on her way to see her so in the marines. She said I local man told her that his area was BLM and free to camp. She said if I need cooking supplies just to holler and she would let me borrow hers. I didn’t really need anything but I thanked her and went across the area to find my own campsite. The first one was covered in ant hills. The second one had a little hole into the ground and it got me thinking about rattlesnakes. I shoved a bunch of sticks and rock into the hole to block whatever mind be in there. Then set up camp for the night.

Considering going back to salt flats

Camped at Spring Creek Canyon BLM

Lady with kid and minivan at campsite

9-27-18

Well luckily I didn’t see any rattlesnakes last night or this morning. It’s definitely time for new sprockets and a chain. The rear sprocket teeth look like blades of grass blowing in the wind... not good. Starting to skip and jump when I accelerate. Rocky Mountain ATV is near the skatepark in St George, Utah. The skatepark is only about 30 or so minutes from the campsite so I’ll dedicate today to working on the KLR. Went directly to the skatepark from camp. Weird entrance to the skatepark, had to park at the parking lot by the Recreation stuff and go down a bike trail to the entrance. The skatepark itself looked super sick but the transitions were all out of whack. Flatground was good though. It got hot quick. Froze my ass off riding over here then hot as hell by noon. Guess that’s the desert for ya. Went to Chick-fil-A after skating. The line was out the door so I bailed and went to a bagel cafe next door. Got a breakfast sandwich and iced coffee. It was entertaining to watch the lady at the register give the worst fake smile to people as they ordered food. Lots of young people in the area, think there must be a university near by. Food was okay, nothing special.

Went over to Rocky Mountain ATV to get a new chain and sprockets. They let me work on it in the shade next to the shop. I was going to buy a chain tool but the guy offered to cut the old chain off for me. Had to borrow a 27mm socket for the front sprocket. Both the techs were nice. The older guy had trouble hearing which I didn’t know at first. I though he was just being lame then they told me he has a hearing problem and I gotta talk loud. I told him my name and shook his hand, after that he seemed to be more open to help me. After I got everything apart, he cut the new chain to fit my bike then I put it on. The guy from inside the shop showed me how to use an old nut and vice grips to clamp the masterlink together on the new chain, then the clip slid right on. All of the guys there were very helpful and let me borrow a few tools for the job. It didn’t take as long as I thought so I went over to Starbucks to charge up my laptop and get a cold drink; I was burnin up working out in that heat.

Decided to go into Dixie National Forest to find a campsite for the night and save Zion National Park for tomorrow. Got a spot with a view for the evening and started worrying about cougars.... hopefully I won’t see any.

9-28-18

Well didn’t sleep too well last night. Kept waking up over and over. Partly paranoia and gusts of wind against the sides of my tent. Fooled myself into thinking every noise I heard was a puma. Now it’s morning, the suns up and it time to get a move on the today. Packed up and went to the skatepark in St George . Got off to and early start but the heat was already starting. By the time I was done skating around 11am the heat was pretty bad. Supposed to get up to 96 today. Went over to Chick-fil-A and it wasn’t as busy as it was yesterday so I got food there. Haven’t eating there in a while so it was good change. After eating I made my way to Zion National Park. Sat in the entrance line for a while roasting in the heat. The park was beautiful and I made a few stops throughout but almost every pulloff and parking lot was full. Luckily for me it was easier to park my motorcycle then it would have been to park a car. Found a few shaded spots along the park road and pulled off to cool off. Took some photos but didn’t do any hikes. By the end of the park road I was worn out and overheated. Went to the first wild camp spot on the road eastbound. It turned out to be a pretty neat spot. There were already a few trailers and a VW bus at the spot but plenty of room for a lot more campers. Went up to the lookout at the top of the road and there were a few spots with fire rings. It was early in the day, only about 3:30pm, but I was ready to call it. Set up the KLR at a spot and hung out in the shade for a while. Later on I went to set up my tent and a gust of wind came and nearly blew my tent off the side of the hill. This happened while I was looking for heavy rocks to put on the corners. Mellow evening. It’s starting to cool off which is great. Once the sun set I tried shooting some photos of the stars and my tent. Not a good spot for it but plan on getting a better one another night. Now the search for a prime spot starts. Wish I tried this before. Need to get out and shoot stars more often.

9-29-18

Kanab, Utah Skatepark 5-0 fakie

Grand Canyon North Rim

9-30-18

Hurricane?

Monument Valley

Mexican Hat camp

Apparently there is a hurricane coming up from the south into Arizona. I don’t want to be here in the rain so I’m driving east. Stopped at Horseshoe Bend on the way to the skatepark. The place was so crowded with people. Hiked to the lookout and took some photos then got out of there. Don’t like crowds. Thought about check out Powell Lake but screw heavily crowded tourist areas, it kills the vibe. Went to the skatepark in Page, AZ. There were a few locals there. It was a hot day outside. Skated flatground and the Miniramp at the park. Then headed over toward Monument Valley. Last time I went to Monument Valley was in winter of 2016. There was no one there. Today there were rows of people with cameras set up waiting for the sun to set. I didn’t stay long. There was a campsite at Mexican Hat Rock not too far away. I rode there during sunset. It was beautiful to watched the light illuminating the rock formations at monument valley as I rode around them. Stopped for some photos on the way. By the time I got to Mexican Hat it was near dark. Set up camp quickly then hung out in my tent. There were two other small RVs there already. One from Germany and the other was one of those rental tour trucks.

Time for some shuteye.

10-1-18

Mexican Hat. Woke to spotty rain in the morning. It was only partly cloudy. When the rain stopped I got out of my tent to change the fuse for the KLRDash. It stopped working last night when I left Monument Valley. As I was taking the panniers and seat off a guy got out of the RV that had foreign tags. He asked if I wanted coffee. I said “sure!” and he seemed confused by my answer. Maybe “sure!” wasn’t the best choice of word ( “yes absolutely” is what I meant.) He went back to the rv and I heard him discussing with his wife the word “sure”. He came back out and asked if I wanted sugar and milk. I said yes this time. He told me about how they shipped the RV from Germany to Halifax, Nova Scotia then drove out to the west coast and are making their way back to Baltimore in December to ship back to Germany. Shortly after he brought out coffee (which was in American Flag styles cups), his wife came out to say hello and wish me well on my trip. She was amazed I was by myself. They left shortly after. I continued packing up my tent as the rain sprinkled on and off.

Putting in some miles today trying to get to Colorado Springs. Rode all day from New Mexico to Colorado then back to New Mexico. Stopped at a skatepark in New Mexico were I noticed I was missing some bolts on my pannier rack. Skated with the locals for a bit then put some zip ties on the rack. Hopefully that will hold. Rode some more till I got to a national forest and started looking for camping. My gps was taking me to the other side of the mountain through the park. I saw signs for a campsite early in the park but kept going. Those spots were at elevation and quite chilly. Then saw a place that would be perfect with roofed canopy areas with picnic tables. Debated stay there the night but kept going since they were high up in elevation. Then saw a giant elk run across the road. By the time I got to were my gps was taking me, it was just about dark. The road was fenced off with barbed wire. Service was shitty so couldn’t look up another spot either. I saw a sign for a ranger station so I went there about 2 miles away. Looked at a map they had posted on a bulletin board and went back to find the camp. Still no luck and it was super dark. After much frustration I decided to just set up my tent in the ranger station parking lot. Hope I don’t get in trouble for this.

10-2-18

Omish breakfast food

To Colorado Springs

Pictures of Colorado Springs from mountains overlooking city

Rudy’s BBQ with Adrian and Nikki for dinner

Woke up at 5:45am to try to avoid getting busted for camping in the ranger station parking lot. Had my tent all packed by 6:15am. It was still dark and cold so I hung out at the picnic tables and ate breakfast. By 6:45am I saw some rangers going into the National Forest in their trucks. They didn’t stop to say anything to me.

Stopped at Monte Vista skatepark in the morning then went to a local place for some breakfast. It turned out to be a Amish restaurant. I was the only one there when I arrived. Ordered a breakfast burrito. By the time I got my food the place was packed. It was almost noon. The food was delicious and only $9 for a giant burrito and cup of coffee. Rode to Colorado Springs but had to stop halfway there to change the fuse that keeps blowing. The fuse is for the KLRdash for charging my electronics. Got the fuse switch out then rode the rest of the way to Adrian’s house. When I got there we went over to the local motorcycle shop before they closed and I got some oil for my bike. There was a badass KLR with a sidecar for sale outside the shop. Later that night when the sun went down we went up to Palmer Park to take photos of the city from the mountains. AlaskaMotoGirl met us up there. Then we all went to Rudy’s for some BBQ.

We all hung out there till late in the night. Nikki went home and me and Adrian back to his house for some sleep.

10-3-18

Staying the day in Colorado Springs

Hiked in morning with AlaskaMotoGirl

Skated two skateparks in Colorado Springs with Adrian then we went up to Denver and skated another park.

Got up earlier this morning to go

Hiking with Nikki. We went to Manitou Incline which is basically a ton of stairs going up the side of a mountain. Took all the panniers and luggage off the moto and left it at Adriana house. Forgot how nimble this KLR was without all the gear on it. When we got there we only had to pay for one spot to park since we were both on motorcycles. We hiking up and up and up. Nikki stopped to take a lot of photos and even brought her helmet up to take photos in. We hiked halfway up the mountain but she was running out of time and had to go to work soon. We took a side trail back down at the halfway point. At the bottom of the trail we went to a coffee shop. There were some T-shirt’s on sale for $3 and Nikki really wanted to get “matching shirts”. She got the shirt while I enjoyed my coffee and then asked one of the workers to take a picture of us in them. Haha. Whatever. We left the trail and stopped at a train to get photos of the bikes together, then went our separate ways. I went back to Adrians house then we headed out to skate the local park. After skating a while at the park we got food with Adrian’s friend. Five Guys. From there we went up to Denver to another skatepark. After that we went to another skatepark in Denver till it got dark. We headed back Colorado Springs and met back up with Nikki at 10pm to get dinner at some place that had late night hour food for $2. After dinner me and Adrian went back to his house. Adrian wanted to watch American horror story but he passed out on the first episode. I went to sleep as well.

10-4-18

Woke up this morning around 7am. Adrian was still asleep in his room and he had the garage door opener in his room so I couldn’t get to my KLR till he woke up. Folded my clean laundry and packed up some things while I waited for him to wake up. When he woke up I got my coffee and poptart from my pannier in the garage. My legs were beat from yesterday’s morning hike followed by skating the rest of the afternoon. We went to a skatepark near his house with a bunch of flatground. Did my morning routine flip tricks and then we went to Rudy’s Restaurant for breakfast burritos. I forgotten my wallet at his house but he offered to pay for the breakfast anyways. The burritos were delicious, we both had three. He had to be back at his house by 10:30am to go to work. It was super fun to come out and skate with a friend from back home and I thanked him for letting my crash at his place for 2 nights. He went to work then I got things ready to get on the road. I wasn’t sure which route I was going to take yet. There is a campsite about 2 1/2 hours away towards route 50. Stopped by Walmart to stock up on food. Then headed towards the campsite. Right when I got out of Colorado Springs the landscape completely changed. No mountains quickly faded away on the horizon in my rear view and the crosswind on the open flatlands began. The heavy winds did not make the next 100 miles very enjoyable. I stopped at the lake where the pin for the camp area was. It seemed a bit sketchy, private property signs along to road and I wasn’t sure if it meant the road to the lake of the other side of the fence. Either way I didn’t feel comfortable camping next to someone’s house which was littering in old cars and miscellaneous parts (like a junkyard). There was a State Wildlife area another 40 minutes down the road on route 50 so decide to go there. It was still early but I was about to cross into another time zone so I don’t want to push it and have to ride in the dark. This spot seemed nice though, minus all the dead birds and gun shells laying around. It’s obviously heavily used by hunters. No one was here though. Set up camp by sunset. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. Heading home!

10-5-18

Tooth ache

Shitty hotel

10-6-18

It stormed pretty hard over night. Glad this motel had an overhang infront of the doors I could part the KLR. In the morning I went back to the skatepark in town that I skated yesterday. It wasn’t much but the box was good. Didn’t skate long, just flatground. A big storm looked like it was rolling in. I was in Mountain Grove, Missouri. Headed east after skating and stopped in Mountain View for some McDonald’s and to find something to ease the tooth ache. Got some nuggets from McDonald’s then went across the parking lot to Walmart and picked up some Advil. Asked the lady about what to put on tooth ache and She suggested the same type numbing stuff I had bought last night. I said I could crush up the Advil and put it on my gums. Idk about that. Got the Advil and went back outside to the bike. Looked like it was going to storm again so I put the numbing stuff on my teeth and took an Advil and hit the road. Not long after leaving I rode through an absolute downpour. It felt good though since it was so hot and humid. The rest of the afternoon I was hoping to ride through more rain to cool off. Got caught in a few more rain showers. Got to Kentucky and stopped at a welcome center rest stop. A church bus filled with old people were staring at me. One of the guys came over and was completely amazed my the KLR and super hyped. Surprisingly during the whole conversation he didn’t mention anything about religion. He was super stoked on the bike. And then it happened. He closed out the conversation with, “I hope you no the lord and savior as your blah blah blah blah blah.” Quick response.... “yeah I do” (get me the hell out of here!) They were nice though. Really don’t understand the harsh country accents over here though. Ended up finding another hotel when I got to Lexington Kentucky. There doesn’t seem to be much in the area for camping. Got to the hotel and it looked like the parking lot was full. I walked in to see if they had rooms available. The lady behind the desk was super nice and even gave me a discount on a room. I asked about parking the bike somewhere safe and she told me to park in under the overhang at the front entrance. “Ain’t no one gonna steak your baby”, she said. She laughed as I tarted an locked up the bike, but you can never be too safe. The room was nice, not the best, but better than last night.

Rode and rode and rode

Kentucky

Better hotel

10-7-18

Lexington Kentucky to Barton Maryland

KLR was still under the pavilion infront of the hotel when I woke up so that’s a good start. It’s not like it’s a bad area, but feel the need to take precautions in a city. Went down to the lobby for breakfast; the real treat of paying for a hotel room. A raisin swirl bagel and a plain bagel, sausage patty in English muffin and two hard boiled eggs, oh an a cup of shitty hotel coffee. It’s always a bonus to have a more than a poptart for breakfast. Trying to make the money for the hotel worth it I suppose. Woke up late, but only because the time had changed from central to eastern. Which means waking up at 7am it was actually 8am. Heading to Barton, Maryland to see grandma today. 6 hours or so from her house. Went to the local skatepark which was nothing but old concrete and some prefab metal ramps, it will work for a morning flatground session though. It’s still super humid and muggy today, like yesterday and the day before. Is this what the eastern part of the US is always like and I just forgot over the summer? Take me back to the PNW please. Skating was exhausting, perhaps I’m just tired for the intense riding the last couple days. Since I left Adrian’s in Colorado it’s been nothing but flat out go go go. Let’s me honest, east of the Rockies kind of sucks for scenery, unless you’re into overcrowded areas with look-a-like houses and interstate highways filled with traffic and bad drivers. Ughh. Miles and miles and miles, flat out! The day wasn’t too interesting. Kentucky to West Virginia to Maryland. Arrived at my Grandmas house around 8pm. She was happy to see me. She doesn’t know how far I went on the KLR or how long or how I quit my job. (She did ask me if I quit and I changed the subject) I’ll wait till the morning to tell her about the trip I just did. Ha!

Reflection

Every mile, every bad day, all the dirt and grime, shitty food, good food, all the rain, all the sweat, all the sunshine, every ounce of effort was worth it. I’d turn back tomorrow and do it again. Looking at a map really put the entire trip into perspective. I can look at it, a town, a place and know what’s over there. And I’ve been there and would go back in a heartbeat. It’s a surreal feeling to be back home in Virginia. Need to get back on the road ASAP. This trip was what it’s like to really live life. Meet people, see amazing scenery, be completely engulfed in the moment. It’s hard to even be back home after all that. Can’t stay here long. Must keep travel/life going. That to me is what it’s truly like to be ALIVE.