7/3/07
It is great to be back in the US. The little things like road signs and not paying with "loonies" has a comfort factor associated with it. I originally thought I would ride to Chicken and Eagle, AK this morning but after looking at the map and seeing they were about 150 miles in the wrong direction, I changed my mind. I headed toward Wasilla and decided that I'd stop at Wrangell-St.Elias to get a couple stamps. But first was a Federal Lands Office Visitor Center in Tok so I stopped and chatted about not attracting bears to campsites, etc. I felt much better about camping when I left there. The first stop was Slana and their ranger station. It was more of a visitor center than some of the others I'd been to. They had a number of rangers there and a sign board advertising a "Botany Blast". I asked about it and was introduced to Kim Woods, who moved from CO to AK a few years ago and now helps at the ranger station. She did an excellent job telling me about fireweed with its sunny requirements and rich soil to its flowering and herbal properties. This was pretty good for what appeared to be a high school student!! Wrangell-StElias has a "real" visitor center near Copper Center so I went there also. It is new and is being expanded but was very nice. I saw an AWESOME video about the park that I'd highly recommend and got another stamp. I also met a woman and her husband that both ride Goldwings and they travel lots. She was nice to talk to. From there I headed back to Glenallen and to Roger and Mary Ellen's in Wasilla. It rained on me a couple of times and I stopped for a few pics of cloud draped mountains but it was mostly uneventful. By now, my GPS is really doing poorly. Yesterday, the screen delaminated in the rain and today, it locks up and can't get a signal. I called and Mary Ellen gave me excellent directions and I got there about 6 PM. I got my first beer in AK from Roger (a Mac's honeybeer) and had a nice dinner chatting about trucking, cruise ships and motorcycles. The hospitality that both Roger and Mary Ellen showed was much more than I expected. It was great to have someone to talk with and just to relax with. I'm looking forward to the couple of days I'm here but of course, more to the fact that Ruth is flying in on Thursday. I then unpacked the bike and posted quickly on the forum that all was going well with the trip.
It is great to be back in the US. The little things like road signs and not paying with "loonies" has a comfort factor associated with it. I originally thought I would ride to Chicken and Eagle, AK this morning but after looking at the map and seeing they were about 150 miles in the wrong direction, I changed my mind. I headed toward Wasilla and decided that I'd stop at Wrangell-St.Elias to get a couple stamps. But first was a Federal Lands Office Visitor Center in Tok so I stopped and chatted about not attracting bears to campsites, etc. I felt much better about camping when I left there. The first stop was Slana and their ranger station. It was more of a visitor center than some of the others I'd been to. They had a number of rangers there and a sign board advertising a "Botany Blast". I asked about it and was introduced to Kim Woods, who moved from CO to AK a few years ago and now helps at the ranger station. She did an excellent job telling me about fireweed with its sunny requirements and rich soil to its flowering and herbal properties. This was pretty good for what appeared to be a high school student!! Wrangell-StElias has a "real" visitor center near Copper Center so I went there also. It is new and is being expanded but was very nice. I saw an AWESOME video about the park that I'd highly recommend and got another stamp. I also met a woman and her husband that both ride Goldwings and they travel lots. She was nice to talk to. From there I headed back to Glenallen and to Roger and Mary Ellen's in Wasilla. It rained on me a couple of times and I stopped for a few pics of cloud draped mountains but it was mostly uneventful. By now, my GPS is really doing poorly. Yesterday, the screen delaminated in the rain and today, it locks up and can't get a signal. I called and Mary Ellen gave me excellent directions and I got there about 6 PM. I got my first beer in AK from Roger (a Mac's honeybeer) and had a nice dinner chatting about trucking, cruise ships and motorcycles. The hospitality that both Roger and Mary Ellen showed was much more than I expected. It was great to have someone to talk with and just to relax with. I'm looking forward to the couple of days I'm here but of course, more to the fact that Ruth is flying in on Thursday. I then unpacked the bike and posted quickly on the forum that all was going well with the trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment