AK done, Yukon all but done

We had a down day in Kodiak. After showering, laundry and delaying our check-out till 1pm, we headed out to the salvage yard. Mike was looking for an aid to help getting his skiff up the rocky slope during inclement weather. Sadly, we didn't find anything at an appropriate price to help Mike out. We hopped on the ferry at night. Tom met some friends, but I must admit I wasn't paying attention.

We awoke in Homer to a beautiful sunny day. Warren picked us up before heading off to work. We packed and got on the road. The weather steadily worsened as we approached anchorage. The rain began as I bought a tire at Barb's (alaskan leather). Tom found some in-helmet speakers. Those lasted roughly 24 hours before being ripped out (and 48 hrs till being trashed). We left town and camped in Palmer under partly cloudy skies.

I don't think it rained that night, but we awoke to wet tents and wet bikes (heavy dew). We had a miserable day driving to Northway AK (just west of the USA/CA border on the alaskan hwy). Well, Tom had a miserable day. We arrived cold and wet in Boundary and found the ground to be pure mud. We continued on thru customs to Beaver Creek. As we set up camp we saw two fellows (met in Tok) continuing on down the highway on a KTM400 (romanian military model, allegedly).

We awoke to wet tents due to the night's rain. We pushed on south and saw a fresh rollover by the side of the road. Around haines Junction, I became Ewan (for those who haven't seen the long way round Ewan is quite a complainer while CHarlie seems to be quite happy. On this trip, we seem to alternate bad days). What a shame I was in a foul mood as we descended through glaciers, mountains and otherwise beautiful landscapes. We arrived early enough to change our oil and go shopping. WE bought our ferry tickets and promply set up a vagabond camp a few miles down the sea shore from the ferry terminal. We listened to Neil Young and other artists via tom's new iPod speakers (I laughed, but now admit these were a good pickup).

We arrived in Skagway around midnight and rode to the nearest campground. We didn't care for the campground conditions but loved the fact we awoke to sun. We rode up from skagway to the canadian border enjoying views of alpine meadows, snow capped peaks and copious amounts of creeks and waterfalls. We arrived tonight at junction 37 (just west of Watson lake). Tomorrow we head nearly due south thru the casiar (Dirt highway). Today we said goodbye to alaska. Tomorrow we'll say goodbye to the Yukon. Only a few days until our arrival in the Contiguous US.

Hopefully the sun holds out. It seems we rider farther, faster when the weather is good. Rain drives us to coffee and long rest stops.