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We had to rise at 5am to catch the ferry from Valdez to Whittier a 6hr very scenic trip via a mountain lined inland passage. Despite the unusual freezing conditions it was stunning and one the best ferry rides ever. Whittier was wet wet wet! And the 2.5 mile tunnel out of the place was closed due to one way traffic until the following hour. Yuk yuk and nowhere to hide. We headed down to Seward a picturesque coastal port where the 'demon' cruise ships docked to give their clients access to tourist buses in Alaska and Anchorage. Hence the town was humming with tourists. Dell was ecstatic that a tour was available to make a trip to see the famous Aiaylic Glacier that was actively carving huge ice chunks into the bay. Very spectactular!
The trip allowed us to see sea lions, dolphins, humpback whales, pacific gulls and the famous and very cute puffins a little penguin like bird that can fly and dive to more than 240' below. We subsequently visited the Alaskan Marine Centre to see these animals that were raised in a protected environment for the public to view in town. This was a very educational experience and we were fortunate to see puffins hooning about in one of the giant aquatic tanks along with hundreds of native Alaskan animal and fish spp.
Halibut and fries was fast becoming our favourite meal as this exquisite fish was expensive but considered the best. Of course it was easy to find Pink and King Salmon in cafe's served steamed, baked or smoked. This is the time of a-plenty in Alaska.There are copious numbers of little cafe/bars open in these tourist destinations. Both the locals and imports support them well as I suspect few people actually cook at home. Safeways is the dominant supermarket chain and we were constantly surprised to find their shelves stocked with all the normal fresh fruit and veges that one would find closer to more productive climes. All fresh food is air freighted into Alaska mostly from Seattle. Surprisingly prices were pretty much the same as Aus. So we managed to maintain a good diet of fresh fruit and salads, cold meats and fresh milk most days. The one outstanding difference was the amount of jerky (dried spiced beef, deer, elk and even fish).
The weather had not improved as we headed for Anchorage the next day. I didn't expect the ride to be soo cold and it caught both of us out with cold feet and hands. My time in Anchorage was destined for maintenance activities not site-seeing. We quickly found the BMW bike shop and then headed for a camp site just on the northern side of town about 15kms from the shop. I knew that changing the clutch slave cylinder was going to be a tough job without a workshop but I was still not prepared for how complex it would be. The old adage of leave it alone if it works is the message I offer to BMW design engineers. My 1992 BMW R100R clutch at home has a lighter and better feel than any of the modern BMW's we own. It has a cable with no hydralics to cause problems. After many hours of trying to avoid having to remove the back half of the bike from the engine, I managed to get the little sucker out. It was a finger wrenching job with a minute amount of access not helped by constant drizzle and freezing cold conditions. For the uninitiated, the clutch slave cylinder doubles as the throwout bearing with tiny little roller bearing about the size of ones little finger built in. Of course it spins fast when the clutch is engaged leading to failure due to its size and poor lubrication. How it works at all is a mystery to me!!. When it fails, the bearing seizes and causes the slave cylinder piston and bucket to rotate instead. Needlesstosay, this sucks air and contaminates the hydraylic system rather rapidly. Fortunately the long daylight hours and a six-pack of Alaskan Amber allowed me to finish the job by midnight. The next morning the bike would not start. We towed it eventually getting it to run on one cylinder. After hours of checking spark plugs, injectors, fuel lines and air box. I decided to take it back to the BMW workshop as I wanted them to change my rear tyre anyhow. I rode all the way down on one cylinder only to find out that the cause was a misaligned throttle cable at the carburettor inlet adjustment. It was a simple 10 sec job for the techo who said that this was a common problem made by all.
I had been running a Metzler Tourance on the rear that managed 10,000 mls. Surprisingly even the sides were worn down as the chip-seal used on North American and Canadian roads is hellishly hard on tread wear. Whilst waiting for the Michelin Anakee to be fitted I met an Aussie who was touring with a new (but retro style) Triumph with a trailer. He was a brave man I thought but he had negotiated a four year visa to tour in the North America. Sadly we didn't get Dells bike fixed but did manage to change oils in both at a Jiffy Lube. The guys were very obliging allowing us to use their oil containers etc to change the diff and engine oils and filters. Her bike had develped a leaking front suspension shaft seal and was running a bit rough. The Workshop intonated that they could not touch our bikes for 9 days as they were pretty busy being the only BMW workshop in Alaska.
We departed at 4pm after visiting the Alaskan Leather Shop to find Dell another helmet as her Bell helmet was too big and headed for Denali NP about 300 mls north of Anchorage The weather was still cold and drizzly and we ended stopping short and camping by the beautiful clear Montana River.
Denali NP was a very slick managed operation with so many tourists lobbing in every day. The place was crawling with RV's and buses emanting from the cruise ship tours at Seward. However the bus service tour through the park was efficient and fun providing a vista of stunning scenery and information about the park The animals are used to the passing buses and do not get phased by them. The all-day tour got us to Eilson Camp allowing us to (almost) see Mt McKiInley that was shrouded in cloud. It is the biggest and tallest mountain at over 20,000' in North America and simply towers twice as high as the surrounding mountain ranges that we got used to seeing all day. In all we saw 14 grizzly bears, moose, caribou and Dalls sheep which is 4 out of the big 5 the last beng a grey wolf. But the highlight was a pair of grizzly's who we suspect might have just 'done it' and were romping around about 100m from the bus. Momma bear was rolling on her back eventually sitting up on her behind and just staring out over the valley. It was a comical moment with Pappa bear just wandering around feeding and ignoring her.
- comments
leigh wootton Dear dennis, how long r u up tjete for, i am still barging into oblivion but. Am in vancouver from 13 aug for ten days if u r going back down that way, Cheers Leigh
william archer Hey Dennis and Dell , this is William Archer from Missouri . I am really enjoying your photos and blog . It was nice to meet you two . Had a great time at Dell's birthday party . Hope you are doing well . Don't know where you are , because I haven't read all of the blog yet . I went to Seward and camped at the Exit Glacier a couple of nights . Had a great hike there , up the glacier . Went to Denali with rain , rain , and more rain . Gave up and went back to Canada to Muncho lake . Loved it there ! Had some awesome hikes . Then went to Yellowstone a few days and really enjoyed that . If you find yourselves in the Springfield area , I have a spare bedroom , and a garage with lots of tools you are welcome to use . Ride safe ! my email is [email protected]