Day 6
Today was the big day for our final push north to the Arctic Circle. This is what we came all this way to do, and it was finally here - and it was raining. So we pulled the bikes under the hotel porte-cochere to load up.
We gassed up and made our way out of Fairbanks on the Elliot Highway. It was raining steadily and looked like we were in for a long slog. When we got to the start of the Dalton Highway we stopped to take a few pics.
By this point, we had traveled about 80 miles or so, and our next scheduled gas stop was the Yukon River Crossing 56 miles further up the road.
We got back on the bikes and headed north. This was the view we had for much of the first 20 miles...
It was slippery but not unmanageable and we made good time. The further north we went the better the weather got and eventually we were out of the rain.
After a while the dirt/gravel ended and we were back on pavement for a time. We stopped at a pull-out to examine the bikes and have a bio-break. Only 20 or 25 miles on dirt and the bikes were already filthy.
We were back on pavement for a while, and what fine pavement it was. It was really weird, because I had heard so many stories about how tough this road was and here we were riding on the smoothest stretch of asphalt I have ever seen. It was like a race track!
But as expected, that didn't last too long, and ahead we could see the end of the pavement. We also caught a glimpse of the Alaska Pipeline in the distance.
We made our way to the Yukon River crossing and our first gas stop just on the other side. The bridge across the Yukon was interesting. It had a sloping grade of 7% with a wood surface.
We pulled into the Yukon River Camp for gas at the single pump and to take a break.
Here at the crossing the pipeline is just across the road.
Bill met a fellow Texan of the four-legged kind and made a new friend. Shhh, don't tell Max.
It seems like this day the Dalton Highway was a place for yellow beemers to congregate.
All gassed up, it was time to head for the Circle.
The road was dirt from the Yukon river until about 20 miles south of the circle, then it was back to pavement.
At last we made it to the Arctic Circle. The weather was beautiful and it was a warm day with the temp in the 60s. When we first got there, we had the place all to ourselves, but shortly after we got there, a bus load of tourist arrived. We waited a while for them to do their crossing the circle "ceremony" - red carpet with a yellow line on it. Very hokey, but Bill decided it was worth a photo op...
The tourists eventually cleared out for lunch, and we lined our bikes up for pics...
It was about this time that the law showed up.
Turns out that officer Benson, who flies both choppers and fixed-wing aircraft for Alaska, is a native Texan.
He had come to the Arctic Circle for a picture as well, though somehow I don't think he spent $4,000.
He had a trophy in his truck, and he came to get a picture of it at the Circle. The Alaska State Troopers have an annual shooting competition with the Canadian Mounties in the Yukon, and this year Alaska won. So the trophy is on a photo tour.
Then Al and Graeme tried to steal it...
And that's when we got arrested...
No that's not what happened. I really don't know whose idea this was, all I know is that one minute we were laughing it up with officer Benson, and the next we were all handcuffed. We were let go with a warning to be safe on our ride home, and we headed back south.
We ran into some more rain, but it was brief.
We stopped for gas again at the Yukon River Crossing, and this time parked the bikes under the pipeline for quick pic...
We continued south but had to pull off and wait for a very wide load to come through...
This barge was being hauled up to Prudhoe from Valdez, and we had gotten stuck behind it two days earlier between Tok and Fairbanks.
Continuing south we got back into the nasty weather, but were out of it again for the last two hours back into Fairbanks.
This was one of the best days I ever had riding. There was nothing particularly challenging or exciting about the road, but it was the place that made it special. We were in Alaska, riding our bikes along the Alaska Pipeline, and we crossed the Arctic Circle. That's something that a relatively few people get to do, let alone on two wheels. And it was a very long journey to get here. This continent is a very big place, and there is so much in it to see. We had seen a lot in the last nine days, and it was awe-inspiring. I personally feel blessed to have been able to take this journey.
But, the trip was far from over. There is much more to this adventure yet to come...
Mileage for Day 6: 391
Total Mileage to date: 2,521