JX2 ADVENTURES

So, we left out of Whitehorse pretty early and hit the road.  We had a pretty long day of traveling and were starting to look for a place to stop when I noticed a rest area at “Whirlpool Cavern”.  How could I not go here?  We did and it was cool, with a whirlpool and all.  However, as we started to leave, my bike tilted down an incline, and laid down on me.  I learned that once these tall heavy bikes start leaning, you don’t have time to catch them before it’s just too heavy.  Anyway, no big deal other than a cracked blinker facing, which I subsequently broke by stepping on it as I looked for my super glue.  Still, it is “fixed” and back on the bike with the help of a rubber band.  When we got to the campsite, we notice oil on my bike, which came from the right front fork.  Yep, you guessed it: busted front fork seal.  So, we decided to head to Edmonton for service.   We camped at a run down RV park, where some guy in his 50’s… I can’t remember his name… and his 80 year old mother were in their giant RV and there was a young newlywed couple camping there as well.  They were all nice but it was pretty funny.  The guy wouldn’t let his mother go back to the RV because he wanted her to hang out with him by the fire.  She had a dog named “naughty boy”, who she called a million times.  Joe and I were trying to go to sleep and she kept yelling, “Naughty boy, come!  Come, Naughty boy!”.   In the next lot, a bunch of drunks were playing horseshoes and popping fireworks.  I slept well that night.

I do love the Canadian Accent.  It cracks me up.  It’s got that Midwestern whine to it and I like how they say certain words like:  “Hey, you guys wanna go out (sounds like boot without the b), A?   What’s that all aboot?  Right?”  you probably just have to be here.

 Well, we camped the next night at a campground at Buckinghorse River.  It should be called Buckingmosquito River.   We were just able to get there and scurry into our tents before the rain came.  Of course, Joe slept great.  I maybe got 2 hours between the rain and the cold.  Not to mention, I kept thinking I heard bears, especially after reading the sign that warned of bear sightings, both black and grizzly bears.

 We got up the next morning and ate breakfast at the restaurant across the street and met a guy named Herman.  I think he is in his late 60s and was riding a BMW 650 GS.  We talked to him for a while and took off.  A little later, after we stopped for a break, we pulled up on him, and he flagged us down.  He asked us to go ride a scenic route with him to some dam.  We agreed and he showed us the area.  He had lived there 20 years ago or so.  We had lunch and learned he was retired from being a social worker.  My bike did ok.  Although, I can feel it is a little softer in the front end, since it is losing fork oil.  Also, I’m sure the right brake is not working so well, since the pad has oil on it. 

 We ran into a huge rainstorm and I discovered my rain pants leak in the crouch.  Nice!!   We said our goodbyes to Herman and took off.  We rode until I was falling asleep and found a nice campground by a lake.  Of course, we were just able to put up our tents and stuff down a sandwich before…. Yep,  you guessed it…. Another fricken storm hit.  I lay there listening to lighting, trying to find the one mosquito  who stowed away in my tent.  I think Joe slept fine….just like he is doing now.  I swear he could sleep during an earthquake, in a house on fire.

 So, this morning, we got up and I discovered I left my flip flops at the last campsite.  I had to wear plastic bags on my feet in the shower.  I assure you I was the envy of all the other campers.  Also, the shower had no knobs and cost a dollar for 5 minutes of water.

 BTW, we have seen several moose (meese), 2 bears, wild goats, elk, and some deer.  Pretty scenery and lots of wildlife in western Canada.

 Now, we’re off on the way to Toronto.  We think we are changing our route a little to make it shorter which will involve cutting through North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.   It’s off to the motorcycle dealership.

 Jim

We headed out of Fairbanks late, as usual.  It seems we are always struggling to get things re-packed and on the bikes.  It is a lot of stuff.  Imagine packing everything you need for camping and weather that varies from freezing to the 90s, not to mention tools and a guitar.  It's a lot of stuff that has to fit on a motorcycle.  
We went to the North Pole and visited with Santa for a while.  Joe sat in his lap and Santa sat in Joe's lap.  The whole thing seemed suspicious to me, but who am I to judge?   We camped the first night in a campground, which had showers, which were pretty nice.  On the way to the campground, we saw a big moose in the road. 
We then headed into Canada on the Alaska Hwy, which is surely one of the worst highways I have traveled on, even in Louisiana.  I will say this: the Canadians are very polite.  They put a sign near almost every hole or dip in the road to warn you.  As Joe pointed out, it must be cheaper to put up a sign to warn of the hole, than to fix the hole.   The whole area is very remote and desolate.  We stayed the next night at a campsite which warned of camping there between July and September in a tent because of bears.  It's June, so we risked it.  
It was damn cold that night, and I discovered my sleeping bag has a hood on it.   
The next morning we got up to leave and a little bird landed on my guitar as I was putting it on the bike.  So, I got some granola and was going to throw it to him, but he flew up and grabbed it out of my hand.  After that, we shared my granola bar and made friends.  I think Joe has some video of it.
We headed out and ended up in Whitehorse, which is the capital of the Yukon and is about 25,000 people.  It is very bohemian in nature, with a lot of....um... free spirits.   All the hotels were full, again, and we ended up in a place called the Family Hotel, which is attached to an Indian restaurant and a laundromat.  Yep, that's right!
We spent the entire day, today, trying to get everything together and update the website and upload pictures but the internet here is a little shaky.  big surprise!!  We also tried to overnight our passports to Seattle to get our Russian visas, but they don't have overnight mail here.  The soonest is next Wednesday delivery for $30.   We need our passports back to fly to England on July 6.  So, I hope they make it back in time.
We need to get to Toronto by July 1st so we can have our bikes serviced and report to customs on the 4th.   So, we have to motor for the next 12 days.   Things here are expensive, so we are eating Ramen noodles.  We will try to upload more at the next big town.  Please send us emails and pictures if you have any interesting ones.  
Until next time,
Jim

4 days ago we left for Deadhorse, AK, which is about 500 miles north of Fairbanks,  It is the most northern city you can drive to, and is about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle.  Most of the road is dirt and there are only a couple of gas stations on the way.  We had to carry 3 extra gallons of gas in a can just to make it.  The terrain starts out with mountains and little trees, which is all basically in a swamp.  The mosquitoes make ours in Louisiana look like orphaned, midget mosquitoes.  They are vicious.  We camped at a Rock Quarry and were almost eaten alive.   Anyway, afterward the terrain changes to very mountainous and there is a big mountain pass we had to drive over.  The temperature immediately drops about 15 degrees.  After the mountains, it turns to flat tundra which is wet on top and frozen underneath.  All of the structures are on stilts so their heat doesn’t melt the tundra and cause them to sink.  Tundra is bizarre.  It is like walking on sponges.  We saw a lot of caribou, ground squirrels, and a few geese.  Otherwise, it is just cold and barren.  There was still a decent amount of ice on the water and in some of the rivers.   When we left Deadhorse, yesterday, it was 33 degrees.  In case ya’ll didn’t know, that is cold on a motorcycle.  We have heated gear, except my left glove isn’t working.  So, everything was very warm but my frozen left hand. No biggie, the gas and brake are on the right side.  We camped at the same place last night because it is pretty high up without vegetation, which means fewer mosquitoes.  Did I mention they are bad?  The wind was really strong which also keeps them away.  We have met a lot of motorcyclists and even a few bicyclists. 

 

We made it back to Fairbanks today and checked into our hotel which has very crappy internet, so we are only able to update a little.  We haven’t been able to plan out our next few days very well; so we will have to wing it.  We are headed to Canada….somewhere.   We still haven’t heard anything on our Russian Visas and are getting concerned.

 

I still can’t get used to this never getting dark business.  It’s 1:30 am here and still light.  Joe is crashed out and I’m trying to get a little posting finished.  Anyway, we will try to have everything updated within the next few days.  Until then,…

Jim

Well, I left Shreveport on Saturday, and headed to Dallas, with a truck full of stuff.   As I looked into the back seat full of boxes and suitcases, it dawned on me that this was supposed to be a motorcycle trip, and that all of these stuff would have to go on the bike.  My last night at home was spent watching continuing legal education hours, paying bills, and running around the house in a frenzy trying to make sure I had everything.   Oh... and petting Samantha, who was very unhappy.
On Wednesday, we had a going away party, at Superior Grill, which was excelente.  On Thursday, I had dinner with family to celebrate the trip and my birthday, since I will be gone in August.  
As I drove over to Dallas on Saturday, I had time to reflect on how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family and great friends.  
Saturday, Joe and I spent the day running around Dallas looking for last minute things.  Geez, am I ever tired of buying stuff.  Enough already!
Today, I was at Wal-mart by 8 am buying a few final things and then to Joe's for a 3 hour packing session.  Joe packed his boxes in a big cardboard box using duct tape and I stuff all of mine in a couple of duffle bags and a backpack.  I also brought a travel guitar.   
Joe's wife Janet drove us to the airport and we were off.  A 6.5 hour direct flight later and we landed in Anchorage.  You can see snow on all the mountains and the temp is in the 60s.  We checked into the hotel and walked down to some bar called "Humpy's" for some fish tacos and clams.  
It's now 11:30 pm and the sun is still out.  I guess I may not need that new headlight I bought.
Tomorrow we get the bikes and pack everything.  We will spend one more night here and head out on Tuesday for the Arctic Circle.

     Well, we are now 1 month away from leaving.  I'm getting a little nervous about it all.  There is still so much to do.  Most of the major planning is complete, but I have still been unable to obtain shipping from Russia back to the US.  There are so many little details to plan... I have "To do" lists stacked on top of one another.   
     The motorcycle situation has changed somewhat dramatically.  Joe was dilligently working on our old bikes and because of some faulty valves, encountered some significant problems.  So, he called me and we decided it was too close to the trip date to repair them and feel confident about their reliability.  Now, with a little help from KTM, we are riding new bikes:  KTM 990 Adventure R.  Yeah, they are sweet!
     Now, to just get the last things together: insurance, shipping, phones, extra parts, Visa, route planning details...blah, blah, blah.   I guess the biggest difficulty is to keep from just getting scatterbrained and not getting anything completed.  I just have to remind myself to do one thing at a time.  You can't look at everything as a whole...it's just too overwhelming.   Being gone for 4 months is like moving away.
The good news is that I have finished with all other projects and business, except for trip planning, until I get back.  So, all of May will pretty much be devoted to the world tour.  
     Speaking of getting things done... I better get after it.  So, until the next post, I'm out.

Jim