Alaska and back via plane, bike, and a half million mile Dodge

[DreamingOfExpeditions]

Don't worry about the time change too much. I routinely go to Europe and back. Going there +6 hours is always harder than coming home. So going to AK translates easier than going east. At least for me it's always that way.

Oh and as far as airplane food, it's always better to buy in the terminal than on the plane.

[Route55]

On the 14th I spent my last day with the family for a month relaxing with them. I took the kids for a canoe ride down the river in front of our house. The weather was perfect.



The next day Lucas and I started out at Detroit Metro airport. Right away the fun began when boarding was delayed several times due to broken things on the plane that needed fixing. Finally we boarded about 30 minutes late for Phoenix.

Landing in Arizona we had about five minutes to run across the entire airport to our connecting flight to Anchorage. Lucas was sporting his new big clunky motorcycle boots, so his "running" provided some great entertainment. We made the flight just on time.



Arriving in Anchorage after midnight Brian picked us up. We were exhausted and crashed right away. The next day we slept in and when we finally woke, we spent the day prepping our stuff and the bikes for our adventure, and the following day we took off first thing in the morning. Brian's KLR650 is the red one on the left, Lucas' KLR650 is the green one on the right, and my DRZ400 is in the middle:



After less than an hour into our ride Brian decided to wash his bike in the Knik river:



Lucas followed and promptly fell over, dousing himself and the right side of his bike. He got it out quickly, but it wouldn't restart, so Brian helped him push it back across where we let it dry out for a few hours.



The continued cranking killed the battery, so we swapped Brian's into Lucas bike and finally got it restarted.



Heading out to Hatcher Pass we ran into a convoy of historical WWII and Korean war Jeeps, trucks, and assorted vehicles traversing the tight gravel switchbacks. There was over 100 of them and it was quite the sight.



And



And



Topping the cool factor were two T6 WWII trainer planes that kept buzzing the convoy:



We finally made it to Talkeetna where we met up with some old friends from Michigan that moved up several years ago, Ryan and Heidi. Ryan is an airplane mechanic and pilot, and showed us around his shop, including this 1955 DeHaviland Otter.



And



We then headed out to the lake where Ryan keeps his Maule floatplane and we helped him with a quick repair on his exhaust.



After that we met up with Heidi for dinner at her restaurant/brewery in Talkeetna, Twister Creek. We sampled a few barleypops and had a great dinner. Afterwards we ended up at Ryan and Heidi's, where they put us up for the night. Thanks again guys!

Today we followed Brian for about 250 miles of very scenic back road, with plenty of stops along the way.



And we tried again to see Mt. McKinley, but only saw clouds:



And we finally made camp for the night at Fielding Lake. It is overcast and very chilly, but the sights are awesome! I found an old tent in my attic and brought it along without checking it out first. Opening it up I found a zipperless door teal and purple Barbie looking thing, which Brian and Lucas are having great fun with!

[Route55]

Sorry for the big gaps between posts. We were on an awesome trip and took lots of pics but had no service.

Starting where I left off, Brian checked out a copy of the Thumbprint News from Michigan while at the Alaska pipeline:



Following our guide Brian we stopped many places to check out the scenery:



And we climbed Taylor Mountain, which was very steep and rocky. Towards the top we ran into two herds of Caribou that we were able to get very close to:



And



We walked around this big thing:



And



The views were breathtaking!



We continued on the Top of the World Highway where we stopped in Chicken, Alaska. Supposedly the town founders wanted to name the town Ptarmigan after the state bird but couldn't agree how to spell it, so they just went with Chicken! Here is downtown:



They boasted about the great amenitys they had to offer:



And we stopped for the night just outside of Chicken, where I figured out a good way to dry my wet sleeping bag. Sure, it might have a few holes now, but I was dry!



Since I have so much more to share, I'll continue on with another post in a day or two.

[MrBeast]

Man awesome thread. I loved the pictures.

Hopefully this coming summer I will finally be able to escape Texas and make my way up there.