Homer to Wasilla

7/21/07
We woke early and went to Duncan's for breakfast. This was one of our
favorite eating places in Alaska with a very friendly atmosphere and
great coffee. We then returned to the hostel and finished packing and
loading the bikes. We said our goodbyes (Casey, Robin, Billy, Layton)
and then turned toward Anchorage. The sky was clear and we could
actually see across the inlet and see the mountains that we knew were
there. We stopped at a scenic view for the mandatory photo.

We had a bald eagle fly past us and land in a pine tree. Ruth said
that it then dove off the tree but I was past it by that time.
It was surprising to us the amount of traffic we saw going in the
opposite direction. We were hoping for a leisurely ride to Anchorage
and we had to pay close attnetion to the volume of traffic.
We took a break at a café near the Hope Junction and saw about 100
motorcycles there. We'd seen lots of small groups of bikes but not a
large group. This looked like some type of run.

We turned north on the Seward Hwy and saw police with a bashed
motorcycle and Ruth saw a truck with a flat tire. We found out later
that the bikes swerved to avoid a black bear and it had wiped out
three bikes. The bikers were taken to the hospital but he said they
weren't hurt badly.
Ruth and I tried to go to the Double Musky restaurant in Girdwood but
it wasn't open. We pressed north to Anchorage.
We did see some traffic stopped and saw two Mountain Goats on the
rocks above it. They were our only Mountain Goats of the trip.
When we arrived in Anchorage, we went to the library so I could post
photos of the Brooks Falls trip.
We then headed toward Wasilla. Ruth saw another bald eagle on the
road from Anchorage to Wasilla. I stopped at a Lowe's to get more dry
lube for the bike chain.
In Wasilla, we stopped at Evangelo's restaurant for dinner. Ruth
NEEDED another salmon dinner before heading home so she had a smoked
salmon fettucini which she loved. I can tell that she is ready to
return to work as she stared at the window treatments in the
restaurant. It turns out they are all from JCPenney and she said the
entire restaurant would have been a $15000 order. No wonder that the
guy in the Anchorage JCPenney is #3 in the company.
We got to the Bliss' house about 7:30 PM. Mary Ellen was there with
Rocky but Roger was out working. They'd planned on going to a biker
gathering but it started to rain just as Roger got home and they
changed their mind about going. We sat on the porch and chatted for
quite awhile and finally said our good nights and goodbyes about 11
PM.
Mary Ellen and Roger were EXTREMELY gracious hosts allowing us to
shower, do some laundry and bike maintenance. Roger's Suggested Tour
of Alaska webpage was a great list and we didn't regret doing any of
the things on it.

--
============
Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach