Back to Normal

Or whatever that means. I got in very late on Sunday night and spent the day Monday unpacking and catching up. I am waiting to get photos from Deanna...then I will post them all with descriptions. Your eyes can feast on them. There are some pretty good ones in the bunch. Adventure Cycling does this contest every year for photos from touring that they make a calendar out of. Every time we took a good photo we decided if it was worry to send to Adventure Cycling and if it will make the calendar. You can be the judge when I post the photos. And my actual camera took much better pictures than those I posted from my iPod.

Thanks for following the tour...and like I said..more photos to come soon.

The Beginning of the End

Tomorrow we head to Anchorage for the last leg of our trip. Honesty it feels like I have been here for months and months at this point. 

The last week has been completely not bike related but great. We went on a two night two day sea kayaking trip with Deanna's friend Jim who is a great host. We stayed overnight on Fox Island near Seward and kayaked during the day. Apparently we were there during some amazing weather. I am beginning to think Alaska is always sunny and hot. 

On our kayaking trips we saw all sorts on animals. I told Jim it was the best zoo I had ever been to. Sea lions, seals, whales from about 100 yards, puffins and many other birds, porpoises and much more. 

Today we made a day hike at Russian River and jumped into a lake at the end of the trail. It was so hot out but the lake water was beyond cold. I apparently screamed pretty loud when I jumped out of the water. 

Jim's friend also manages a Salmon Weir on the lake. We got a tour and saw how it works. This guy counts every salmon that comes through to that lake to spawn every year. It's stunning to realize what the salmon do to basically lay their eggs and die. 

Tomorrow we head to Anchorage for the last leg of our trip. We have a little over a hundred miles left and then we are done. It's been amazing so far and I am ready to get back on my bike tomorrow. 

Sunset while camping on Fox Island. 

Salmon for dinner. 

Beautiful lake we swam in. 

I have been getting complaints there aren't enough photos of me. So here you go. Me after we finished swimming. 

So much to say

So little time. I am in Soldotna, AK now which is a long way from when I last blogged. Again some short notes to catch you up before I hit the road. 

1.  We biked the whole if the Glenn Highway to Glenn Allen. It was beautiful and difficult. Very up and down. The people we met and the scenery were some of the best so far. 

2. We were planning in taking 3-4 days to get to Valdez on the Richardson Highway from Glenn Allen. Our first day was beautiful as we had views of the Wrangell St. Elias mountains and National Park. 

3.  Our second day we planned to go 30 to 50 miles at most. We climbed a huge difficult pass and the campground at the top was closed. So there was no where to wild camp so we pushed to Valdez for a total of 83 miles for the day. It was very hard but satisfying. And the last 25 miles into Valdez is absolutely stunning. 

5. We saw two separate black bears on the road. The first one really freaked me out. But we were fine. And I saw my first bald eagle in real life which was totally cool. 

6. We stayed in Valdez for a few nights because Deanna has a friend there and the ferry doesn't run everyday. It wax nice to relax but I was ready to hit the road. 

7.  We took the ferry to Whittier and Deanna's friend Jim picked us up. We stayed at his house last night in Soldotna and planned out next few days. We ate going on. Three day two night sea kayaking trip with Jim as the guide and sleeping on an island somewhere. I know this is a bike trip but really it is just an adventure. We will finish out the trip by biking to Anchorage. 

That's about it for now. Much more i don't have time or patience to write.

On the road

Again this will be short but I will do my best to capture some snapshots. Right now we are staying in a campground in Glennallen. I have been sitting in the bathroom for the last hour charging my devices and checking email and reading the news. No I am not having a long bowel movement. The Mosquitos here are do bad it is the only place I can get a break. They were literally swarming every part of my body. 

Onto updates. 

1. The Glenn Highway might just be the prettiest stretch if road in Alaska. The views of the mountains for here are incredible. 

2.  People have been so generous. We were going to camp last night but met a great family who own a rv/cabin/campground. They let us stay in one of their cabins and served us an amazing dinner and breakfast. And we got to play Catan with them. It was a beautiful night if hospitality and fun. 

3.  We also met an older couple who we ended up camping with for two nights in a row. They had an RV but just camped alongside us. They made us a Few delicious meals. And we had great conversation. We camped one night next to a river when we met them but realized we had first met them in Denali. That's a long great story for when I get back. 

I am sure there is more but I am tired. I heard the road to Valdez is stunning. I am very much looking forward to it. Here are some photos and videos from the road. We have had long days with tons of climbing. And all sorts of weather. I have used every bit of clothing I brought with me. Most at the same time to stay warm. Until next time.

Having breakfast with a beautiful family in the road. 

My first taste of caribou. It's delicious. 

Our campsite by a beautiful river. 

Rain rain rain. And cold. Lots of it. And all of my jackets are yellow and black so this sign was very funny to us. 

Power green smoothie made for us by friends we met on the road. This was so good after days if oatmeal. 

This is what midnight looks like. It's actually lighter out than this photo is showing. 

A Run Down

I don't have much time to write so here is a quick rundown of some events. 

1. Spent three days and two nights camping and biking along the Denali Park road. 

2. Saw a bunch of wildlife close up. 

3.  Hitchhiked from Denali to Palmer. Pete, our ride, was very interesting and we had an amazing trip. Well worth the hitchhike. 

4. Met another traveling cyclist. This time a lone female from England. She inspired us to hitchhike and wild camp. Get over our fears. 

5. Decided we were running out of time to see everything we wanted to see partially because the Denali highway is closed and we can't ride it. So we had to change route. We flipped a coin and took best two out of three to decide which direction to go. 

6. Headed on the Glenn Highway now on our way to Valdez which I am told is a beautiful way to ride. 

We are headed to go shopping at a full stocked grocery store. Quite the luxury after the shit grocery stores along the road in the small towns. 

Lunch in Palmer. Finally a vegetable. 

A moose right in our campground. 

Letter Home

i thought I would write a blog post in the form of a letter home to my mom. She worries quite a bit but who wouldn't when you have a kid biking in Alaska. 

Hi Mom

We are safe. No problems so far. We have been staying in the same campground in Denali taking in the hikes close by and the ranger programs. We mostly wanted to give our legs a rest for a couple days. We succeeded at that until we did a huge hike today up Mt Healy. I was exhausted at the top but the view was worth it. 

I haven't showered in at least three maybe four days. Honestly I can't remember at this point. Showers are expensive here and after awhile you don't notice the dirt. I only kid. About the dirt. Not the showering. You will be proud to know I have changed my underwear everyday. Deanna and I have actually contemplated seeing how long we could go without a shower. 

My clothes are getting pretty gross but we are headed out into the park tomorrow for two days. We have campsites but they are very primitive. We decided to take showers and wash all out clothes when we get back out. 

Tomorrow we take a bus with our bikes on board to the Eilson Visitor Center. It is about 66 miles into the park. The road extends out 90 miles but isn't open just yet to buses. We would bike the whole way but that would require a massive uphill climb from mile 90 to about 70. We would rather avoid it. 

From the visitor center we will bike back to the park entrance sleeping two days at campsites much farther in the park. No wireless there. 

With any luck the Denali Highway will be open and we will start heading that way. It is still closed because of a few washouts on the road. It's probably passable by bike but we are waiting for final word. 

We are really having a wonderful time. It was freezing last night but otherwise the weather has been beautiful if not a little too hot. Below I included some photos. 

Much love

Mari