... followed by an UP day (as in moving north)

Today didn't go exactly as planned. I had hoped to head north bright and early under clearing skies, with an early departure for a point within easy riding distance of the Denali National Park Wilderness Access Center (WAC). It was supposed to be progressively better weather as the week went on and, with yesterday being so nice (where we were, which was approximately where I was headed today) I figured to be riding under sunny skies.

So much for my planning capabilities!

I awoke about 7:30 to the pitter-patter of rain falling on stained second story deck. By the time I was packed it was being reported that the rain would let up about 10:00, which was approximately when Marty was to leave for the airport with Scott and Bev (who are headed to Idaho for the summer play season).

As they were leaving, having said goodbye to Kathleen (who will be staying behind with Marty for awhile) and me, I was thinking the ceasing of rain was not to be relied on, so I prepared to load the bike and exit. Only minutes later the phone rang. Scott was calling with a simple observation from the bottom of the hill, "bear in the neighborhood"! I knew Kat had several things down in their trailer that she had wanted to bring up to the house (breakfast among them) so I suggested we walk down the hill together to allow her to retrieve those items. As we grabbed two canisters of bear spray and a few rocks in a small can (to shake repeatedly so as to make noise because that looks to the neighbor's to be less rediculous than repeatedly calling out "hey bear") she thought I was being chivalrous. In actuality I figured that if we saw this big bear I would scream like a grade school girl and, while she was trying to figure out what I was doing, I could get a head start on her, running back to the house! They say you don't have to be faster than a bear, just faster than one person in your party, and she was that one person. Sorry Kat!

Shortly after our safe return to the house I loaded my gear and departed Eagle River. Thank you Scott and Bev for good lodging, great company and for being superior friends for all these years!

The rain was still coming down but I had only to ride the 40 miles to Wasilla before picking up my rain covers for my shoes. How wet can you get in only 40 miles?

As I dripped my way to the Wasilla H-D dealers parts department the guy with the mop followed me. After picking up my rain covers and a poker chip for my growing collection, I put the boot covers on and rode another mile down the road before it stopped raining. Timing is everything!

The night before I had tried to find a hotel/motel in Healy, a short distance north of the WAC. The idea was to make a reservation for two nights - tonight so I could return to WAC early tomorrow for a bus tour of the park while leaving all my gear in the room, then after the tour I could return and relax, checking out the next morning for Fairbanks and points beyond. But when he got there the cupboard was bare, motel room speaking! So I widened the search area for a room and found one (and only one, if you don't count the $580/night honeymoon suite at the Grand Lodge) so I grabbed it before it too disappeared. Unfortunately I neglected to verify how "open" the search had become. The "room" is a bungalow at Poyo's Thai Kitchen and Spare Beds Emporium (and those of you who know me best can attest to my love of Thai food - NOT!) in Sunshine, Ak. The name of the town should have tipped me off to the level of deception being deployed! It was listed on the Internet as "located on the Talkeetna by-pass". I remembered Scott telling that his son, Andy, had worked in Talkeetna one summer for a company that catered to climbers. Talkeetna serves as a staging area for visitors from around the world who fly in to make an assault on Denali, the tallest point on the North American continent at 20,320 feet, give or take a volcano eruption or shift of tectonic plates. Note: Don't confuse tectonic plates with the more common techtonic plates, which is the saucer used underneath the shots of Whiskey Tonics that the people in Tech Support drink to make it through another day of silly questions from people who call in ID10T errors on their computers.

What I should have done was consult a map to see just how far away from the park I would be. Talkeetna is a short hop from Denali because they are hopping by plane from an airport to a glacier landing field at 7200 feet up the mountain. By motorcycle, the road mileage measures 137 miles, and that ain't round trip people!

My bus tour leaves at 8 a.m. tomorrow, meaning I am leaving my bungalow at 5 a.m. and riding through moose infested miles of highway. And the manager cautioned me to look before closing the door of my cottage tomorrow morning because "that bear" wanders through the trees adjacent to the bungalow each morning, no doubt chasing moose so they run across the road without looking both ways first.

Then after the tour I return the same 137 miles, having to refuel before I get back here because my cruising range is less than 2x137! Next time I'll remember to check the map, maybe. I'd forget my head if it wasn't ribbited on!

So I'm riding north, having stopped twice in the first ten miles (first time to add rain pants to the uniform of the day, to keep me dry; second time to add my rain jacket for warmth), then again to pick up my rain covers, then again for lunch (because I got such a late start). By this time my calculations had led me to a couple of conclusions:

1) I would need to refuel again before I got to the Park entrance to make a reservation for my tour bus ride

2) I would be arriving about 6:30, probably too late to make a reservation anyway!

So the decision was made for me: check in at Poyo's Thai Kitchen and Spare Beds Emporium and see if they could tell me how to make a reservation in absentia. The only directions I had were that they were located on the 14 mile long Talkeetna by-pass road in Sunshine, Ak. I was certain that when I found Sunshine I'd find Thai food!

Little did I realize that I needed to find Thai Food in order to find Sunshine. I turned off the main highway onto the by-pass, then quickly became aware that I somehow had missed Sunshine. Not in the sense that I was pining for less rain, but in the sense that sometimes a town without a sign is like a day without rain, but with wet shoes. I kept going, all the way into Talkeetna (who's name is actually quite pretty once you get your tongue untwisted from your tonsils) figuring I needed gas before venturing up to Denali and, further figuring that you wouldn't build a town on a 14 mile dead end road without a gas station. Wrong again! No fuel, no Sunshine!

The sign says "Lattitude 62, booze, beds and burgers". Gotta love Lattitude with attitude!

I did find the ranger station that serves as the central command station for climbers.

Watched an interesting 17 minute film about what to expect when climbing the mountain, then quickly checked out the lounge room where significant others of climbers waited for weeks on end for the return of the rest of their party (you can only shop for so many souvenirs).

Note the banners around the top of the room from climbing parties from around the world

The orange and black banner in the middle of the doorway is Idaho State University

I also found out that Sunshine is the Native American word for "Not Talkeetna". Everything on the Talkeetna by-pass that is not in Talkeetna is in Sunshine! No signs needed!

After back-tracking I located Poyo's Thai Kitchen and Spare Bed Emporium, within a mile of the highway. And, backtracking to the highway where I had turned onto the by-pass, behind a small grove of trees, was a gas station!

I checked in with Poyo's husband Ken, a retired Air Force veteran of the Vietnam era. He walked me back to my bungalow, showed me where everything was, cautioned me about the bear, then welcomed me to come enjoy some Thai food. I walked back and moved my bike back to the parking spot adjacent to my room. When I walked up on the porch I turned around to see Ken's nephew walking toward me, holding something in his hands - my helmet that I had left laying up front when I checked in. Proof positive - I would forget my head if it wasn't ribbited on!

It's getting late (6:30 or so) so I'm going to close this out. I hope to have some good photos tomorrow, if my luck improves and the clouds clear out!