4,218 miles thus far. We arrived in Valdez, AK today about 1:00 pm. This seems like a bit of a moment for us. Yes, we have the ferry across the Prince George Sound from Valdez to Whittier, and then the cool ride from Whittier to Anchorage through The Tunnel. And the ride to Denali. And the 13 hour bus trip through Denali. But somehow, all that seems like normal tourist stuff. Not like the great adventure of riding the Harley from Arizona to Alaska.
We are so remarkably excited to have ridden this trip. Mark says that it was particularly monumental for him that he made the ride at 65 years old. Margo is convinced that Mark is ageless; hell, watch for what he does for his 70th!
This has been a fabulous trip. Today we left Tok, AK at 7:30 with temperature of 58 degrees. We headed west for just a bit before turning left onto the Tok Cutoff. We rode for 45 minutes before we saw the first vehicle. Quite peaceful.
We are driving along with incredible scenery that is becoming the norm, when suddenly we see snow covered mountains. The river / creek running along the road, think forest, beautiful skies, and overall incredible scenery seems – well, normal. Goodness, what peace there is in nature.
Notice how close the road is to the glacier and the fog creeping in to the left.
Interestingly, the pipeline traverses alongside the road, although it is usually not quite visible. We tried to get some pictures, but it didn’t really capture the full effect. Margo was surprised at how small the pipe seemed, and how exposed and vulnerable it seemed. Sitting at the bar having dinner tonight, we talked with a person with the pipeline. It seems the pipe is the largest pipe in diameter in the world, and the security is among the top in the world. He said (true, or just to scare us?) that if a vehicle approached the pipe, they would be surrounded within 30 seconds. Removed any thoughts we had of up close pictures!
Driving over Thompson Pass, the change in weather is extremely noticeable and impressive. One moment we have incredible sunny, blue skies and all of a sudden we see very distinct, heavy fog banks. We drove through the thick fog with the flashers going. The damp cold went right through us and our bones were shaking from the cold.
When we arrive in Valdez we ask what the metal markers are along the road. We are told that due to the incredible blowing snow and fog in the winter, the markers are to let you know where the road is located. Even though the roads may be “cleared” from snow, it is still very difficult to know where the road is, thus the markers. We cannot quite imagine driving in such conditions (although Mark has moments where he thinks it might be fun).
Fish are the story in Valdez. It was neat to go to the Harbor Master and watch people weigh and clean their catch of the day. Red Salmon, Halibut, Black Sea Bass, and one that we don’t remember the name. Watching the guy clean the fish was both impressive and a bit scary. Man, could he handle a knife! He told us what kind of fish he was holding, but we forgot.
We had very fresh fish for dinner; it was remarkably good!
Tomorrow (Friday) we get up early to be at the ferry at 6:00 am to tie down the motorcycle for a 7:00 am departure. Looking forward to another day.