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To Alaska and Back...
- Thread starter Yazz
- Start date
Yazz
MOgang Member
We are enjoying the heat for sure! It has been in the mid 70's today. Tell you what though... In the winter time it usually gets down to between -30 to -50 degrees F. There's some mighty tough people up here.
I'm trying to get bits and pieces of this great land that Alaska is.
Yup! We're going north.
SpyderLovers has been a great comfort to me in troubled times. Just hoping to pay it forward. nojoke
Perhaps you will get lucky and see another wild animal somewhere on the journey. At least with the Spyder you have the ability to try to get away quickly if something goes wrong.
Have dodged two moose and spooked some bear. The hard part is getting them in the picture with Spydee. Could have had an easy pic in Denali, but the trip isn't over yet. :doorag:
Even when its cold, with electric underwear turned up, we're toasty warm enjoying incredible scenery.
As for the smile... I love a good road trip. The longer the better. Space is at a premium so Hubby will have to do as the tripod. :shemademe_smilie:
He went in for an oil change and new tires. A check engine light flicked on during maintenance and it turned out that we got bad gas along the way. A sensor was set off and changing the fuel out solved the problem.
Spydee used the same gas and no sensor has gone off yet. Sigh of relief.
:agree: But the mosquitos up here are slower!
Picked up my nice collection of mosquitos going through the trundra. In the cities, they aren't that bad. Just slow.
hyea:Bump.
You Da Man!!!:2thumbs:
Yazz
MOgang Member
Chena Hot Springs, Alaska
Hubby got his bike out of the shop early in the day so we needed something to do. Chena Hot Springs was the place to go.
Sixty miles down the road is all.
We found some interesting signs along the way.
Made it to our destination.
http://www.chenahotsprings.com/
This is what we came for. The Ice Museum!
What is inside needs a new page to discover!
Hubby got his bike out of the shop early in the day so we needed something to do. Chena Hot Springs was the place to go.
Sixty miles down the road is all.
We found some interesting signs along the way.
Made it to our destination.
http://www.chenahotsprings.com/
This is what we came for. The Ice Museum!
What is inside needs a new page to discover!
Yazz
MOgang Member
http://www.chenahotsprings.com/ice-museum-renewables/
In an antichamber before we went in, we were given one size fits all coats to wear.
They tried to make it an ice hotel, but the Fire Marshall said they needed a sprinkler system.
The Christmas bedroom.
A wedding chapel. To the right is an igloo with an ice xylophone inside. Awesome acoustics!
A jousting knights ice sculpture. The picture doesn't do it justice. Magic!!
Had a little something at the bar out of ice martini glasses. Everything was made out of ice. Even the bar stools. With reindeer hide insulation of course...
There's more pictures in my album.
We're heading up north all right. Put the trailer in storage and running on the skinny. Don't know if there will be Wifi for four to five days. Taking lots of pictures and will post when we can.
In an antichamber before we went in, we were given one size fits all coats to wear.
They tried to make it an ice hotel, but the Fire Marshall said they needed a sprinkler system.
The Christmas bedroom.
A wedding chapel. To the right is an igloo with an ice xylophone inside. Awesome acoustics!
A jousting knights ice sculpture. The picture doesn't do it justice. Magic!!
Had a little something at the bar out of ice martini glasses. Everything was made out of ice. Even the bar stools. With reindeer hide insulation of course...
There's more pictures in my album.
We're heading up north all right. Put the trailer in storage and running on the skinny. Don't know if there will be Wifi for four to five days. Taking lots of pictures and will post when we can.
SethO
New member
that is outstanding trip, will have to take a pic of my spyder to compare dirtyness levels, I am sure you are hitting different bugs and I have heard that AK is worse than even MN when it comes to bugs but I don't think you can ride as long in the year there.
This is the best picture adventure to date on spyderlovers by a ton.
if you get down mn way I would put you two up for a few days.
This is the best picture adventure to date on spyderlovers by a ton.
if you get down mn way I would put you two up for a few days.
SpyderWolf
New member
That ice musueum is awesome. That is definitely an experience of a lifetime as well. :2thumbs:
Phil
Mod Monster
Joy / Jeff- It's a slow, pre Memorial Day Friday morning here in Tyler, Texas. I just took the time over coffee to read the entire set of posts about your journey thus far.
I've had the privilege of traveling the world with my business several times, and have always wanted that to include Alaska, but it hasn't happened so far. For the last 30 minutes I was transported to a land that I have dreamed of seeing first hand. It will happen one day, but for now... I need to find a tissue. The beauty is astounding.
I've had the privilege of traveling the world with my business several times, and have always wanted that to include Alaska, but it hasn't happened so far. For the last 30 minutes I was transported to a land that I have dreamed of seeing first hand. It will happen one day, but for now... I need to find a tissue. The beauty is astounding.
ARtraveler
R.I.P. Dwayne
Once again--I have to say that you and Jeff are really capturing Alaska for the readers.
I had the chance to visit Chena Hot Springs in 2009. The ice hotel was melted by the time we were there--so never got to see that. Your pictures are fantastic. That place has been shown on the travel channel.
I can see that you are enjoying our beautiful state. Keep the posts coming.
I had the chance to visit Chena Hot Springs in 2009. The ice hotel was melted by the time we were there--so never got to see that. Your pictures are fantastic. That place has been shown on the travel channel.
I can see that you are enjoying our beautiful state. Keep the posts coming.
ARtraveler
R.I.P. Dwayne
hyea: bump back in the queue hyea:
Clicker1944
New member
WOW just WOW!
Thanks for doing this!
Thanks for doing this!
Yazz
MOgang Member
The mosquitoes up here are big and plenty of them. Don't worry, you will always win the overall always dirtyness award! :firstplace:
If we're in your neighborhood, we'll give you a call!
Some guys down the road told us it was the go to place. It was a bit of a ride but well worth the time.
They also told us to look down Hurricane Gulch. :yikes:
We have gotten good advice from good people.
That ice hotel is awesome!
For obvious reasons, I ll bet there is no Honeymoon Suite!
I beg to differ... There is a Chappel AND a Honeymoon Suite! There is an ice bedroom that comes with fur sheets and blankets.
They don't have plumbing in there so you have to go outside for the powder room. The tour guide says most couples don't last the night.
Thanks for being on the ride with us!
hyea:We've been transfered many times and been many places. Never have we chosen to go somewhere we thought might be cold. This has been an eye-opening experience for us too.
Hey, we're not getting any younger! Decided to do this trip while we still can. Start checking off that bucket list early. You never know whats down the road... :thumbup:
The tour guide told about different ways of trying to keep the ice motel all year long. The one they have now has been around for a couple of years. They use energy from the hot springs to cool the ice hotel. Know that sounds kinda backwards but it works!
This state is so large (Did I tell you we've been told on more than one occasion that Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas?) and Alaska has so many faces to its character. Its fun discovering as much as possible. :doorag:
Thanks for the Bump! :2thumbs:
Happy your enjoying the ride!
Yazz
MOgang Member
Fairbanks to Coldfoot, Alaska
We were headed up North. Nobody stopping us!
The road heading out of Fairbanks. Beautiful weather!!!
Finger Mountain. Can you see the finger?
Did I tell you we passed the Arctic Circle?
Comfy accomodations en suite at Coldfoot Camp.
It hasn't been easy, but who says life is.
Oh yeah! Its all the way north or nothing!!
We were headed up North. Nobody stopping us!
The road heading out of Fairbanks. Beautiful weather!!!
Finger Mountain. Can you see the finger?
Did I tell you we passed the Arctic Circle?
Comfy accomodations en suite at Coldfoot Camp.
It hasn't been easy, but who says life is.
Oh yeah! Its all the way north or nothing!!
SpyderAnn01
Active member
Looks like you are enjoying gorgeous weather. Keep the stories and pictures coming I know I am. always looking forward to your updates
Yazz
MOgang Member
Thanks for the bump!:2thumbs:
The more people on the ride, the merrier! There's alot of folks we've met along the way who are on our road trip too.
The weather has been unbelievable! Clear sky's mid 70's. Excellent riding weather.
Right now in Deadhorse, its foggy and 35. Funny thing though, you go 20 miles inland and the fog is gone. Keep heading south about a 100 miles and its warm again. Go figure...:dontknow:
Yazz
MOgang Member
Coldfoot to Deadhorse, Alaska - The Dalton Highway
Just want to give you an idea of what the Dalton Highway is like. Its mostly a dirt road. The fastest speed we reached was 45 mph.
Sometimes the road's so rough going 15 was still too fast. Spydee chattering all over the place.
Sometimes there were construction crews who watered down the road turning it to a chocolate pudding like consistency. Slick as snot!
For whatever reason, they like to put a six inch layer of gravel on the steep hills. Felt like Spydee and I were going up WidowMaker hill!
Yup, some of those hills are steep. One felt like we were going vertical riding up it.
Spydee did well through it all until 70 miles outside of Deadhorse. We were back on paved road but full of frost heaves. Think we hit one too fast and Whammo! Nanny decides to make her presence known. Out in the middle of nowhere in limp mode. (Not going to say what I thought or said.) The good news was we couldn't go much over 40mph due to the road conditions, the bad news is how bad of a hissy fit is Nanny throwing?
We find a turn-out, take the key out, calm down, massage Nanny's ego, give Spydee nutrious gas, put the key back in, turn it and hope for the best. Nanny had been appeased and we were back on the road again. No drama here!
The Dalton Highway follows the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline.
Atigun's Pass
Coming into Deadhorse is a desert marsh. Its a desert because it only gets about three inches of water a year. A marsh because the permafrost is so close to the surface, it doesn't let the water soak into the ground. Its a very boggy area.
More pictures to come!
Just want to give you an idea of what the Dalton Highway is like. Its mostly a dirt road. The fastest speed we reached was 45 mph.
Sometimes the road's so rough going 15 was still too fast. Spydee chattering all over the place.
Sometimes there were construction crews who watered down the road turning it to a chocolate pudding like consistency. Slick as snot!
For whatever reason, they like to put a six inch layer of gravel on the steep hills. Felt like Spydee and I were going up WidowMaker hill!
Yup, some of those hills are steep. One felt like we were going vertical riding up it.
Spydee did well through it all until 70 miles outside of Deadhorse. We were back on paved road but full of frost heaves. Think we hit one too fast and Whammo! Nanny decides to make her presence known. Out in the middle of nowhere in limp mode. (Not going to say what I thought or said.) The good news was we couldn't go much over 40mph due to the road conditions, the bad news is how bad of a hissy fit is Nanny throwing?
We find a turn-out, take the key out, calm down, massage Nanny's ego, give Spydee nutrious gas, put the key back in, turn it and hope for the best. Nanny had been appeased and we were back on the road again. No drama here!
The Dalton Highway follows the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline.
Atigun's Pass
Coming into Deadhorse is a desert marsh. Its a desert because it only gets about three inches of water a year. A marsh because the permafrost is so close to the surface, it doesn't let the water soak into the ground. Its a very boggy area.
More pictures to come!
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