Arctic Circle 2010

[Norbert]

i like the blue color here

we worked our way through some narrow passages

best iceberg ever!
it looks like a face in agony.
like someone put a big stone on jabba the hutt.
do you see it?

we got out of the kayaks and hiked up this hill.

i had a cup of tea with a nice view. doesn't get much better than this!!
the actual glacier is in the middle of the photo.

canadian geese.

we got back in the kayaks and went to another beach.
the bottom of this beach is silt or something.
the tide goes out and the silt takes in air and the air gets trapped. when the tide comes in the air leaks out.
so you seen these air bubbles.
kinda neat.

 

[Norbert]

the german tourists were hardcore!

sea otter. he was big.

my macro setting works, apparently

wrangell glacier

ok, now i'm skipping a lot. we rode around for a bit and eventually worked our way back through the yukon to haines for the ferry again.
lots of rain and cold weather riding.
scenery was unforgettable.
here's the same ferry to take us back to prince rupert, bc.

 

[Norbert]

on the ferry i saw the mv fairweather, another ferry on the alaska marine highway. this is a dual hulled catamaran that can go almost 40 mph!

in ketchikan.
last night in alaska, before we are dropped off in prince rupert, bc.

goodbye alaska!
one word to sum you up:
WILD!!!

 

[Norbert]

so now i'm at the southern point on the yellow line, in prince rupert.
i'm working my way down south along the west coast and into california.
then i'm heading back east through nevada, arizona, colorado.......

i'm working my way to washington state
from british columbia. there are a lot of forest fires here. the smoke some times is as thick as a fog. most times it's like early morning mist. this photo was taken during the middle of the day. ash falls like snow. my campsite was 60km from the fire.

it rained in every valley on the way to vancouver.
i have my REI overgloves on

the last border crossing! hooray.
we showed up at 5:15pm.
the signs all said the place closed at 5:00pm.
we had 4 border crossings going to interior alaska and 4 coming back down. this was my last (8th) border crossing. big milestone.

it felt good to be in the lower 48. no offense to those from the other 2. hehehehahaha :BLAA:

so at almost every campsite, we talked to people. they are just curious about our east coast license plates. maybe they have a brother-in-law that rides a harley. most times they are drunk. i mean some people could barely stand up. really. we'd talk about bikes and road trips and tell them stories of alaska, but not once did someone offer me alcohol. kinda sucked

northern exposure

 

[Norbert]

valley of the rouge, oregon
a lot of this is smoke from a forest fire.
some one said that 12 homes were destroyed.
i asked him how it started and he said that it was probably cigarette butts from homeless people near a gas station.

redwoods in cali
yes, they are big!
it's like i'm in Endor. i didn't see any Ewoks though.

this part of cali is called the lost coast. it's awesome. i got to come back here.

beach near campsite

 

[Norbert]

sunset at the beach

avenue of the giants

carvin' up the canyons

damn i'm reflective
this is in nevada

so friggin hot. 115F

i'm just like "i got my national parks passport stamp, i got my photos, let's get the f*ck outta here!!!" the thermometer read 115F.

 

[Norbert]

more death valley

death valley...........

went to vegas.
i wish i could have met up with our Vegas, but we were in a hurry and he was busy. next time!!!!
we just did a seafood buffet at the Rio.

this was nasty:

dessert was good.

sushi was good, not the greatest though

crabs were so bad. come to maryland for crabs. these were waterlogged, not crisp and there was NO OLD BAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :spank:

i also had some fish and stuff, it was ok. kinda bland and overcooked
overall the food was not so bad for a mass market buffet in the middle of the desert.

 

[Norbert]

hoover dam

i like the art deco styling, or is it semi-classical cubist?

we gotta keep on movin'

grand canyon
aptly named

who invited the cool kid in the space suit?

clouds were neat to look at too

is it nap time yet?

 

[Norbert]

campsite near the grand canyon

his license plate said "no wants"

four corners. geographical oddity turned tourist trap.

million dollar highway in colorado

casa bonita. finally. a dream realized.
it was in a south park episode

there were so many places to line up.
we were confused.
we order in line.
get into another.
get our food.
the waiter is the cashier.
weird.

the milkshake wasnt very good

does this place ever fill up? i cant imagine.
the cliff diving i saw was pretty cool though!

 

[Norbert]

more sopapillas, please!

kansas city, mo.
good bbq!

skipping a bit.........
on the last day we rode from saint charles, mo to back home in maryland
it was more than 800 miles in one day.


the end.
the bike did fine.
did an oil change mid-way in the trip.
i had to replace my tires too.
i just cleaned the bike up and it's running great.
:thumbup:

 

[Wavex]

sickness man!!! thanks for sharing...

 

[LERecords]

just wow.. thank you soo much for the chare.. it looks like you had a blast.. someday i hope to make that kinda trip..

 

[VEGASRIDER]

"what seems to be the officer, problem?"
i think he was telling me to be careful about forest fires. sure, whatev.

He's telling you that you have a headlight out, and you better get it fixed.

You said rich folks house? It's Admin's. Nice house Dennis.

Great trip report Anoop, I would like to know more about the ferry. How much? How many hours? It's something that I may look into for next year.

You are the 2nd rider this summer to make it to the Arctic Circle. Congrats! Thanks for posting!

 

[Norbert]

Great trip report Anoop, I would like to know more about the ferry. How much? How many hours? It's something that I may look into for next year.

You are the 2nd rider this summer to make it to the Arctic Circle. Congrats! Thanks for posting!

The ferry was $212.00 one way from Prince Rupert to Haines.
For a private cabin it was another $100 or so. I never got a cabin.
We departed Prince Rupert on Tue, Aug 10, 2010 @ 06:30 PM.
Arrived in Haines on Thu, Aug 12, 2010 @ 05:45 AM.
Duration: 1 day, 11hr, 15min.

Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) :: Official Site :: Alaska DOT&PF

Good info here:
The Alaska State Ferry Info Thread - ADVrider

Definitely worth doing.

 

[krid80]

Dude, I did some of that on my trip. Have cousins who are trying to move to Juneau and planned that very trip for when they finally move. My wife works in st Charles county, you should have hollered at me. Would have loved to meet you guys.

 

[Red Wazp]

Wow wow wow, awesome trip! Thanks for sharing with us. Hell of a run on a FZ6!

 

[Motogiro]

What a trip! Thank you for the pics! Phenomenal! :rockon:

 

[LERecords]

The ferry was $212.00 one way from Prince Rupert to Haines.
For a private cabin it was another $100 or so. I never got a cabin.
We departed Prince Rupert on Tue, Aug 10, 2010 @ 06:30 PM.
Arrived in Haines on Thu, Aug 12, 2010 @ 05:45 AM.
Duration: 1 day, 11hr, 15min.

wait.. so thats why you had tents on the ferry.. cuz it takes a day and a half to get there??? damn.. talk about commitment :thumbup:

 

[Def]

Most interesting. I've only been as far north as Prince Rupert, both by ferry and road on the FZ6. Looks like you went thru the Canadian/U.S border in the town where I live. Lots of familiar pics. Thanks for posting your trip!!

 

[krushnuts]

Far out man, what an awesome trip! I'm totally blown away!

One of these days, hopefully I'll get to tick that box too, thanks for sharing mate!