So here's the "best of" -

L-O-N-G trip. Sore everything....... Can't use cruise control in the mountains especially in the rain. Hanging on tight to a big bike for days in the mountain passes gets interesting.

Construction was more severe than I expected. They don't think of construction in quite the same way we do.
There is no (none, zero, not even a thought) consideration for motorcycle travel in construction zones. If a FWD SUV can get through it, fine.

Prices in Canada were higher than I ever expected. $6.50+ for regular gas, $9.30 for a McDonalds meal, $4.89 for a can of chunky noodle soup.
I paid $10 for one quart of oil in the Yukon.

So a few photos -

You can see why I was delayed 3 hours leaving on the first day.



Pulling out of the driveway in the rain gear. Only got wet for an hour or so near Lansing. Last picture of the bike without bugs.



Got to Mackinaw in no time.



Setup camp in Newberry. Figured out 40% Deet can be your best friend.



U. P. Chuck's Bar and Grill in the western UP. Great sign.



Crossed into Minnesota. There are so many lakes. This was a REST stop.



North Dakota takes farming seriously. Monster farm equipment everywhere. Some towns, the John Deere or Case dealers were the ONLY businesses in town.



But then you meet the tar sands oil boom. Disgusting. Ruined ND for oil they can ONLY export.



Typical gas station congestion. A sampling of the traffic in western ND.



Support equipment is everywhere.



And crude oil tankers by the thousands. Enormous parking lots full of tankers. Signs everywhere looking for drivers. Hey! At $3,000 a month for housing?



BUT there are some nice clean areas of ND.



As you get into Montana...... things pick up. Cattle everywhere. The Blackfeet have a huge Reservation near Kalispell where they raise Buffalo.



That black dot in the middle actually is a buffalo. You just need to believe me.



Rivers and streams everywhere coming into Glacier National Park



See the snow in the background?



And they let me cross into Canada when they found out I had cash money to spend. Seriously, they ask about cash and you will be turned back for not having enough.
It's so remote, you need cash when they can't take credit cards.



The last straight roads I would see for days.



Getting into the mountains. Big fast running rivers up there.



And so many lakes I actually stopped taking photos.

 

Wow nice pics. Keep 'em coming! Sounds like quite the trip.

 

Pretty remote and desolate as you head north. Sometimes no cars for 40 minutes.



There was flooding in BC also.



A lot of old cabins along the way. 1898 was a big year for BC.



Near Kamloops, BC.



I thought the gravel roads were going to be fun. Oh how little I knew at this point. Near Kamloops.



Good picture of a remote farm harvesting hay.



Still pretty clean....... Only about 2500 miles of bugs on the bike at this point.



A river gorge west of Vanderhoof.



More rivers......



From this sign on up, it's getting more remote. The turn onto 37 north.



Some gravel, but still quite friendly.



The road into Hyder.



And Hyder has glaciers....... and avalanche zones.......






Beautiful downtown Hyder. The blacktop only lasted a block or so.



The Bus! 3200 miles for Fish & Chips. And it was the best I've ever had. $20 for the dinner, but OMG was it good.

 

I know it "just" looks like Fish & Chips on a paper plate with a plastic fork...... very stealthy and sneaky......



So headed north toward the Alaska Highway.



And I see the aftermath of a pretty decent truck accident. Loggers drive crazy........



Gas station - one fuel hose for diesel and one for regular gas, $6.50 a gallon



Bridge with a wooden deck. Right after this I hit my first 20 mile stretch of freshly graded gravel through the mountain passes. 8% grade and tight switchbacks.....
Slippery..... like riding on marbles......



Big power line construction project in northern BC. Not far from the Yukon at this point.



This is where I saw the 3 black bears. Actually they were kind of "cute"



Five minutes from the Alaska Highway. Forest fire several years ago. The purple roadside plants are Fire Weed. They grow back first.



Yup..... The Yukon Territory. This is seriously remote. No gas for 200 km if you pass it up.



Teslin, a very slippery metal decked bridge.



Another 20 mile stretch of very slippery gravel through the mountain pass. More 8% grades and 35* F at the top..... and you get into Skagway.



Skagway is 5 blocks wide by 23 blocks long.





Sarah Palin grew up in Skagway



An attempt at a decent picture - there was a great reflection of the mountains.... almost got it



The cruise ships bring in 10k tourists a day........ Carnival "Miracle" - am I the only one to get the humor in the name?



The White Pass & Yukon will take you to the summit in a narrow guage steamer for $180 each.



I myself opted for the Yellow Tour Bus for $42 - and you can tell it was a tough choice -





The original gold rush cemetery. Most markers are "unknown" and from the big Meningitis outbreak of 1898

 

Looks like you hit the Hyder rush hour lol




I enjoy the pics! Thanks for sharing

 

The inlet is like a fiord being steep and nearly 2000 feet deep



So given the nasty road out of town and the deteriorating weather, road conditions reported awful in the construction zones, and the MUDSLIDE in Tok,
I opted for the ferry to Juneau instead. My ride to Juneau coming into port. There's only so much fun you can have in loose muddy gravel.



On the way to Juneau. Check out the blue sky. I didn't get far enough north to see 24 hours of sunlight, but I did see 22 hours and 2 of twilight.



Coming into Juneau, and yes that is a glacier.





This is right before the rain started. Setup camp on very soft wood chips for a change. Very quiet and clean in Juneau. Anyway, pouring rain for 48 hours. Didn't see
much. Zero degree sleeping bags are WARM.



Waiting for my ferry to Prince Rupert. Got a cabin for the 2 nights. Let's get serious - not sleeping on deck on a lounge chair. You can see how low the
clouds were in all the rain.





Petersburg, Alaska - nice fishing village we stopped at. Can't really get off the boat, only there 45 minutes.



Sea plane base in Petersburg.



Huge tidal activity. You can see the small boat tied up but sitting in the mud on the right side of the house








Scenery along the way. It all starts to look the same.





Killer Whales are tough to photograph. Pod of 3 swimming north. Looked like there was a calf with 2 adults.



So I didn't take many more photos - this is an historic town, 108 Mile Ranch, with some very old cabins. This was from around 1930. Check out the sod roof.



AND it comes furnished!





I was very happy to finally see a straight road. Montana!



So that was about it. After I got off the ferry in Prince Rupert, I had 1200 miles of mountain roads, 600 of it in the rain. Camped for 3 nights and stayed
in motels for 4 on the way home.

It was a long trip that really tests your endurance. 3200 miles in 7 days coming home. That's a lot of saddle time on the bike. 500 miles would take 12 to 13
hours. Camping is ok. Found it hard to sleep in a real bed when I got home. 7500 total, and I cut it short by staying in southern Alaska.

 

Great report. Thanks

 

Thanks for sharing it with us

 

Beautiful shots! Looks phenomenal...thank you!

 

Very Nice! Thx for posting! Been planning a trip there myself. Was supposed to do it this year, but no go.