I woke up and looked out the window. The sun was shining. It was going to be a good day. I got up and went out to my bike. I poured the two gallons of spare gas into the tank. I filled it up so wouldn’t need to purchase any gas. I went inside and filled up a garbage can with water so I could wash off some of the heavy sand and mud off my top box and re-attached my two gas containers. I then washed off the seat and the tops of the saddle bags. I loaded my bike, got into my riding gear, took some pictures and departed. I crossed the Yukon River and took a few more pictures. I had 120 miles/193 kilometers to drive to get to Fairbanks. It will be an easy day’s drive. First thing I notice are mountaintops covered in clouds or fog. This was the case until I came to the end of the Dalton Highway. I was in and out of fog the entire time. The road was muddy from the rain yesterday and with the fog it was slow going. Down in the valleys it was clear and as soon as you went over a mountain you were in the fog. Again I had to drive with my visor up and no glasses. Anytime I met a semi-truck or a car I would stop and turn my face away from them so as not to get hit in the face with a rock or get my face covered in mud and sand. I eventually got to the end of the Dalton Hwy and drove my bike into the ditch in front of the sign. A guy was sitting in his vehicle alongside the road. I asked him if he would take my picture. He said yes. He took five or six pictures and after thanking him, he left. I took a few more pictures of the sign and some close-ups of the different stickers on the sign from different people from around the world. I noticed some graffiti on the sign so I added some myself. I wrote DaveR 2009. The sign was damp so it didn’t stick so well. From here on it was a straight shot into Fairbanks. As I drove by the gas station where they gave me the wrong gas information I thought about stopping in and telling the woman where gas was available on the Dalton Highway, but I didn’t want to spend the time so I drove on by. When I arrived in Fairbanks I immediately headed to the Kawasaki Dealer and purchased a lock for my drive sprocket on my motorcycle. I then asked the parts guys where a car wash was. They told me and I went there and washed my bike. It cost me eight dollars. It was the first car wash I was ever in that used only dollar coins to operate. My bike was reasonably clean, and I left for the Harley-Davidson dealer to buy a t-shirt. Mission accomplished. I adjusted and oiled the chain on my bike. A gentleman walked up and started asking questions about my motorcycle. He asked if the Harley dealer fixed my motorcycle ok. I said my motorcycle was ok and didn’t need any repairs. We talked about his travels on motorcycles through the years and I told him of my travels around the world. He seemed genuinely interested so I gave him my blog address to read about my travels. I left the Harley shop looking for some food. I found a Kentucky Fried Chicken and then went to the AT&T store and had them check my cell phone out. It didn’t work in Alaska. It worked in Canada but not Alaska. The lady took the battery out and put it back in. Then she powered it up and shut it down twice. The bloody thing worked. I called Mary just to say hi and tell her where I am. It worked and I was happy. I then had them check my air card and had them change it from the world plan to the Continental U.S.A. plan, a significant cost reduction. I then found a hotel for the night and made some phone calls up here in Alaska.
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