We did it – we made it to Alaska!!! I’d love to show pictures of the “Welcome to Alaska” sign but the Internet service at our historic hotel is iffy at best. Every time I try to upload a photo, it freezes up and then I have to re-boot so photos will have to wait until another day.
Our route took us from Smithers on the Yellowhead Highway to the intersection with Highway 37 which is also known as the Cassiar Highway. The paved roads in this part of the world are few and far between and that’s how the traffic was too – we met very few cars, trucks and RVs today and felt at times like we were isolated from everyone. The scenery continued to be incredible with views of glaciers and snow-capped mountains along with the lush pines – and the ever-present road construction crews. The window of time to do this work is small so it coincides with tourist season.
We had lunch near the NassRiver at a roadside park and cleaned out our cooler which resulted in a menu of fresh fruit, cheese and crackers and granola bars – washed down with the last can of Diet Coke. We still have a few beers but they don’t go well with motorcycle riding.
About 2:00 p.m. we rolled through the sleepy town of Stewart, BC, population of 700 along with one filling station, a couple of hotels, several eating establishments, a gift shop and a Toaster Museum! Yes, you heard correctly – apparently they have over 500 old toasters on display but since it’s only open during the breakfast hours, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see it. The suspense is killing me!
As we drove through Stewart we caught our first sighting of the Pacific Ocean which comes in through the Portland Canal, billed as the 4th largest fjord in the world. This part of the Pacific is over 150 miles from the main part of the ocean. Around the corner we entered Hyder, AK – population 100 with one hotel, a couple of restaurants and not much else – which includes paved roads since all the streets are packed dirt in the summer and full of snow in the winter. Snowfall around here is in the neighborhood of 30′ annually and we’re told the houses are all 2-story homes because the lower levels are covered for a large part of the winter.
We checked into the historic Bayview Hotel and after we got settled we took a walking tour of the town including the estuary and boardwalk which features gorgeous wildflowers and lots of birds. Even though we’re at sea level here we can still see the mountains and snow.
Dinner tonight was at the Bitter Creek Inn which has won all kinds of awards for the chef and we were not disappointed. I ordered the fresh Alaskan king crab legsand Burl got wild Pacific salmon and we shared. Mine came withdrawn butter and Burl’s salmon had a lemon caper sauce. The meal was beyond fabulous and we would have had wine with it but the after dinner plans called for us to drive 6 miles into Alaska to see the bears as we’re told they are easily sighted in a park at early morning and mid-evening. Sunset will be about 10:45 tonight which meant we had to wait until around 8:00.
Unfortunately the Goldwing picked tonight to not start. We’ve had some erratic problems with it starting and have had to get jump starts a couple of times despite the fact that Burl installed a new battery right before we left. Usually when we drive for several hours like we did today, it charges and will start the next morning. Looks like our luck is running out.
We found some friendly natives who gave us a charge but it took a few minutes to “take” which was disconcerting. Only reason we had to start it tonight is that they are washing the street in the morning and there can be no vehicles on it between 5 and 8 a.m. So Burl moved the bike into a parking lot around the corner and we ditched our bear-watching plans.
Coming to Stewart we had planned to take a guided tour of the Salmon Glacier in Alaska since the 25-mile ride is on unpaved roads. Turns out the guide service has gone belly-up but we didn’t know that before we reserved (and paid for) 2 nights. With a fickle battery and Stewart/Hyder tour options at a minimum we’re thinking we may get the bike going in the morning and head for a more-populated area where we can either get a new battery or figure out what is draining this one so quickly.
Poor Burl seems to be dealing with daily hassles with the bike which can’t be fun for him – plus his foot is keeping him from doing all the stuff we had planned to do like hiking. He’s such a sweetie to make sure I get to walk every day and my time on the bike is spent either sightseeing, taking pictures or reading.
But my gut is telling me it’s time to head for home – and my gut instinct is usually right.
