Fairbanks to Anchorage Summer Road Trip 2016

When I planned the Alaska portion of this trip, I didn't really 'plan' beyond the first week. We opted to fly back to Anchorage after spending a few days in Fairbanks, then rent a car and explore the Kenai Peninsula. We rode out to Seward on the bikes and loved it, then planned to return and explore more in depth.

There were a few more things to see in Anchorage, so we headed back to the Hampton Inn after picking up the rental. On Good Friday, 1964, a 9.0-something earthquake hit Alaska, destroying downtown Anchorage, sweeping a huge portion of the neighborhoods near Turnagain Arm, into the sea, and created a tidal wave ( tsunami) into coastal Seward. Many lives were lost, property destroyed. There is a beautiful park - Earthquake Park - built within the woods of that neighborhood that slid into the sea. We spent a few hours walking the trails, reading the informational kiosks, and snapping photos. This area of the Alaskan Range is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, active volcanoes.

Next, we drove out the Seward Highway to Beluga Point; 180 degree views of Turnagain Arm where Beluga whales ride the waves of the bore tide each day. We climbed the two outcropping little islands looking for whales...didn't spot any, but we did see goats on the steep rock across the highway!

The 20+ hours of daylight each day is tiring at best; your body is saying 'I'm tired,' your adventuresome spirit is saying ' let's go, there's more to see/do!' On this day, the body won out. We were up early for the short flight to Anchorage then ran all around Anchorage .....tomorrow we will drive to Homer and spend the night.

Comments

Plan? What Plan?

"Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have titles until much later." In the last few months I've been asked from several readers and followers, 'How do you plan your trips?' I also see the question asked numerous times (like over and over and over and over...) on the various biker-related groups on social media. Penny Tours I confess: I'm not much of a planner! I ride in the spirit of the intrepid Bessie Stringfield, a pioneer of the sport of motorcycling who in 1930 became the first black woman to ride solo across the U.S.. Bessie was notorious for her 'Penny Tours.' She would toss a penny in the air and wherever it landed on her map of the U.S.....that is the direction she would travel. And yes; I've done the Penny Tour many times. Just a few weeks ago in Indiana; I had a 'free' day between events and tossed the penny on the map of Indiana. It landed in the northern part of the state near the

Summer Road Trip 2014_Final Thoughts

I awoke Friday morning exhausted; as if someone had put on boxing gloves and gently but consistently pummeled me from head to toe. I dreaded the long journey ahead of us. Since arriving in Indiana early Wednesday morning, it had been a whirlwind of responsibilities. Mine were minimal compared to what my brother and sister had already had to do to arrange the funeral, tie up loose ends, and cover all the bases that need covering when a parent dies. After the service and dinner at the church, I think we all felt a foreboding. Our Grandparents were gone, our Mom was gone, our Dad was gone…..who does the family gather around from this point forward? We were all at loose ends. The trip back to Florida would be another ‘get on the super slab and ride’ kinda trip….the worst. I-75 South is congested with traffic, and the Weather Gods were not going to be in our favor today. We gulped a cup of coffee, my brother gave me a hug and we TRIED to slip out quietly…

#Scattered: The Hike

Setting the scene: Della, Tish, and Ann have left Chicago on their bikes on a journey west to scatter their friend Bree’s ashes in Sedona. A trip along Route 66 from its origin in Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier in L.A. on their motorcycles was the foursomes’ dream. When Bree was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer her dying wish was for her three friends to make the trip in her memory with a stop in Sedona to scatter her ashes among the mystical red rocks. This scene picks up on the three women – Della - who carries Brees’ ashes in her tour pack, Tish and Ann – approximately 300 miles west of Chicago on their first day out. ~ Della thought a little commune with nature would do everyone good. At the previous rest stop (Jesus… how many times would Ann signal she needed to pee?) Della suggested a little side trip to St. Genevieve outside of St. Louis to enjoy a short hike and a stretch. Ann: Oh! how fun! Tish: (after a major eye roll in Ann’s direction) Sounds Great! Della tapped the co

Bessie and Me: Shifting Gears

Search This Blog