A Big Fat Zero

Jeff has been a trouper on the trip so far. Although we do stop every 100 miles or so, he is willing to get back on the bike and get to where we need to, no matter what time it is when we get there. Only then does the whining and crying begin. I've learned to block it out.

Gilbert was in the campsite next to us last night in Fort Nelson. This old dude rides a newer Honda Goldwing and pulls this trailer that pops up into a tent. He manufactures trailer hitches and he hails from somewhere in Canada just north of the Washington border. I know about his name and the trailer hitches because he gave me his business card. I saw the bike and the trailer. The rest is all the information I gleaned from our 1/2 hour or so conversation. I simply did not understand a frigging thing he said with his accent... People are geniunely interested in what your are doing with your bike on the road, especially other bikers. Not one person has looked at us in a bad light. We also have been running into Pat and Butch (can you believe that) from Oregon who are traveling pretty much the same route as we are. The first time we saw them was on August 2nd in Whitehorse, where they were needing parts from the Harley Dealer in that town (the dealer was closed). They told us then that we may want to add a festival in Missoula, Montana to our route. The theme of the festival is, well, intriquing so we may have to make a stop.  And today, we met BWM rider Merrill from Blue Ash of all places, while we were waiting for yet another pilot car in another construction zone.

But, I digress. We did ride today. We left the campsite at Fort Nelson and headed towards Dawson Creek, which is the beginning of the Alaska Highway, where we got our pictures taken at the Alaska Highway Zero Mile Marker. The ride was so different today that it has been the previous days on the road. Gone were the jagged outline of the Rocky Mountains. Also (nearly) missing were the chip and seal roadways. With few exceptions, the road was flat and very straight. Rivers and lakes were replaced by pastures and fields. It was a day that the weather treated us well again as the crisp morning air gradually warmed to about 80 degrees...

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The only remaining wooden bridge on the original Alaska Highway

The main purpose of this trip is now complete. We have traversed the entire length of the Alaska Highway (1422 miles) in a little over three and one-half days. To think that this road was originally completed in just eight months is just mind-boggling to me. I have a greater appreciation for the efforts taken to complete the road as quicky as possible (to thwart a possible Russian attack during WWII) now that I have seen the obsticles - rivers, mountains, canyons, permafrost, etc. - that had to be conquered. There were a few people who told me this would be a boring ride. I kept on waiting for it to lose it's splendor and it never did. Others told me of those who traveled it once but would never go again. I am already planning my next trip here. Most told me it would be the trip of a lifetime. Those folks were right.