>>North to Alaska – 21
>
>July 11, 2007
>
>We said goodbye to Tok and northern Alaska. On our way down we are 
>taking the Alaska Highway to Whitehorse. We found that the road had 
>more pavement than Top of the World but it also had frost heaves. They 
>were severe and unpredictable. There was also a fair amount of loose 
>gravel on repaired sections and several areas of active construction. 
>We probably had to wait upwards of an hour at the various construction 
>sites but besides that and the reduced speeds because of the frost 
>heaves and gravel we had a good day. The areas under construction are 
>especially bad because of the extreme clouds of dust created by 
>anything that moves. It was better when we had to wait for pilot cars 
>to guide us through the construction areas because they would let the 
>motorcycles go to the front of the line to stay out of the dust from 
>the other vehicles. We did 400 miles in good weather. It was another 
good day.
>

>>North to Alaska – 22
>
>July 11, 2007
>
>No rain, no pain…well almost. It was cold! Actually we did have some 
>rain, just a light shower but since we had all our rain gear on for 
>warmth it was not a problem.

>We left Whitehorse this morning headed for Skagway. The road starts in 
>the Yukon, goes into BC and ends in the US with a 1 hour time change.
>Naturally, the road back reverses the sequence. Jim made a hit with the 
>US customs agent since he is moving to Skaneateles and she was married there.
>It always helps to make friends with customs agents.

The ride through the White Pass is spectacular. The pass isn’t very high but 
it is just above the tree line and the rock formations, the shrubbery mixed 
in with the small ponds and snow make this area something that is unlike 
anything you will see anywhere else. The temperature actually dropped almost 
20 degrees to 46. It felt colder than that. The ride to Skagway was a 200 mile 
diversion. Even with a tour of Skagway we still did 450 miles today. 
The tour was shared with about 12,000 tourists from the 6 LARGE cruise ships 
in and around the harbor. Tourism is big business for the 300 year round and 
600 seasonal residents. We didn’t stay long. Along the way we saw a couple of 
coyotes and bald eagles. We made it to Watson Lake.
>
>It took us a little while to get started this morning because Jim had 
>to wash his bike. I like to think the caked on mud protects my bike 
>from the stones and more dirt from the inevitable gravel. After a 
>couple of hours you can’t tell the difference anyway