Today was the most scenic day by far and the fewest miles we've done on the trip so far...
The morning was occupied by me getting more money at the bank and some oil for my scooter - I have had to add some oil every few days and predicted that today it would need it (it did)
Once we got rolling we immediately started seeing wildlife - first a bear at the side of the road eating berries, then a Caribou (tha
t I had to ride around - he was in the middle of the road) and Stone Sheep, Bison, and a Beaver.
The previous day people had told us that the road was horrible going forward... well, it wasn't a smooth paved road, but I wouldn't call it too bad. About 15 - 20 miles was oiled dirt - I loved that part because it was smoother than the asphalt. Then came the gravel patches - strips of gravel 50' long poured over the asphalt. That was pretty challenging because the road was very twisty through the mountains at that point and some of the time you'd sweep through the corners at what seemed like a good speed and hit that gravel and the bike would start to slide toward the edge or the cliff - not a good feeling... The final stretches were flagged with pilot cars - so you had to wait in line, then follow a line of trucks and RVs through 5-10 miles of VERY dusty, dry gravel roads.
For one flagging operation we got waved ahead to the front, which was really nice, but when dad got up there the ground was soft and his bike fell over - all half-ton+ of it... The little flag girl came over to help him and I wanted to take a picture of that but instead helped dad pick his beast back up onto it's wheels... I should have know that was an omen when dad was teasing another motorcyclist for dropping his bike at the campground earlier in the day! At least that time there were 4 of us there to help the guy lift his bike up. Kick stands don't work well in grass and dirt... especially when the bikes are so top heavy with all of the "stuff" everyone packs for weeks away from home!
The last flagged area was a big one - the dusty nightmare... I thought I had time before the other direction's traffic would get there so I started transferring fuel... Nope, we were asked to go immediately so I had to stop the pump and jump on the scooter and go or we'd have to wait 45 minutes for the next westbound departure! I had fuel spraying all over my luggage and bike because the pump was still full of fuel, which then gave the dust something to stick to! What a mess!
The highlight of the day was a stop at Liard River Hot Springs. I got to take a nice 30 minute soak in the hottest water I've ever gone in... which helped the afternoon go very well since I felt better than I did when we started in the morning.
Today we're not sure how far we are going to go, but have decided on taking the northern route through Dawson City, BC. The only issue with that route is that 50 miles of it is unpaved road through the mountains, but after today that won't be anything new for us! Beside, Marlene and I rode on a 30 mile stretch of the roughest rocky road you can imagine in New Mexico when we took a shortcut around Albuquerque so I know the scooter can handle whatever this one is like.
Well, off to the signpost forest. I wonder if I'll find one from Austin?
Thanks for sharing the adventure!! Stay safe and warm.
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