We're Almost Off! Home Base, Alaska - So we leave in 12 days to Saigon and the rest of Southeast Asia and we've got everything we think we need at this point. The backpacks came in last week, as did my uber-dorky secure fanny pack (to carry both of our passports, cards, handguns, etc.) The fact that we're embarking on this rather extended vacation to the far east is becoming more real everyday. Char and I have both been taking turns worrying and stressing out about every possible element to the trip, thanks in no small part to her penchant for [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday we spent the day in Fairbanks. Kay & I headed for the Riverboat Discovery & the guys rented a car & drove to the hot springs. I enjoyed the riverboat trip much more than I thought I would. It began with a seaplane demonstrating a take off & landing for us. Although we had been around seaplanes several times on this trip, this was the first time it was done just for us & done so close you could really see what happens. The next show was at the Susan Butcher's Trail Breaker Kennel. We learned more about mushing & [View Full Entry]

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We did not have high expectations before our visit. Heavy smoke from area wildfires caused poor visibility and our eyes, noses, and throats felt it. Later that day, the road was closed. We considered cutting our visit short and getting the heck out of there. However, we stuck it out for a few days and were glad we did. Rain came a day later and helped the firefighters. The air cleared somewhat and we were able to do a little sightseeing. Our first stop was the Museum of the North, which came highly recommended and did not disappoint. We spent an [View Full Entry]

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Today was great! Linda and I drove down toward Paxson to visit a place called the glory hole. It is one place where the salmon spawn, and they are pretty fun to watch. On the way down we saw Duane in his truck going our same direction, and stopped to have lunch with him in Delta Junction. We saw plenty of red salmon swimming upstream, and as the days keep going by they will become even more densely packed in the river. Piffert (Emmert's dog) came along too and kept us company. I'm not usually a dog guy, but this is [View Full Entry]

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Somehow I forgot to publish this one, sorry folks... Yesterday I rode along with Duane in his big rig. He had a day trip down to Tok to deliver some fuel. Let me tell you, I had such a great time going! It actually worked out better to do a day trip instead of an overnight trip to Prudhoe Bay. The bed in the truck only sleeps one, so I would have brought my tent and slept outside. So this worked out even better. We had a lot of time to chat just man to man. Duane has lots of good [View Full Entry]

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I've arranged a way to buy a plane ticket home whenever I want to. Linda was nice enough to sell some frequent flyer miles, and it makes no difference if I book a flight today or 6 months from now. So I plan on riding with Duane tomorrow, we are going to Tok and back here to Fairbanks. So it looks like I'll probably fly out Saturday or shortly after that. They aren't the best times to be flying, but at this point I don't mind. I'm looking at red eye flights. The nice thing is that I may be able [View Full Entry]

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Real quick update... I sold the bike today for $1000. It was a little less than I had hoped for, but I'll take whatever I can get. Now I'm working on a plane ticket home. It looks like I may stay here for a week before I fly home. That will give me time to ride with Duane and get stuff ready to go home. I'm glad things are finally happening. [View Full Entry]

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Last night I talked to a fellow KLR650.net forum member, and he lives down in Wasilla. He told me a shop just opened in Fairbanks about 3 days ago, and that I should give them a call. I checked out their web site, and it said they are open sunrise until sunset every day, and in Alaska that means 24/7. I was looking at their web site, and their shop is only about 5 miles from the Emmert's. I called Shawn at Adventure Cycleworks, the nearby shop, and he said he would throw on some boots and be right over. He [View Full Entry]

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Thanks for being patient. Enjoy! [View Full Entry]

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What a nice change from being stuck in Dawson! The Emmert's have taken such wonderful care of us, they are some of the best hosts you'll ever meet. They feed us well, we have good times of talking and fellowship, and we have the privacy of one of the sections in their house. It is really a neat setup. There is one main common area in the house, and there are 3 other separate sections. We've got one, their son and his family have another, and Duane and Linda have their own. The separate sections are all built around the common [View Full Entry]

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