Day trip down the cost and market day

July 1^st, 2026

Soldotna, Alaska

Woke about 8am this morning and sat around for a bit to finish waking up.

Showered and got geared up and then grabbed the few things I would need on the bike for the days sightseeing.

Uncovered and loaded the bike and then plotted my route.

Rode a few blocks to the fuel station to fill the tank as it was almost empty.

We then headed south out of town and skirted along the coast for much of the distance, though the trees between road and coast block the view most of the time. 

But a few spots where you could see the water and across the inlet at the mountains on the other side.

Stopped at a view point for a few photos and then made my way south.

Came into Homer Alaska and found the road out onto the spit.

This 4.5-mile narrow spit of land stretches out into the bay and has several restaurants, shops and places to stay as well as the ferry terminals and lots of fishing options along it.

I rode out to the end (other than last short section which is part of a resort), and stopped at a public area to take some photos and watch boats coming and going and lots of people on the beach fishing. 

Talked a bit to a guy from Michigan here with his family before using the nearby restroom and then heading back toward the shops and such.

I thought about stopping for a snack, so pulled into one of the parking lots and looked over what was around.  I then decided to plot my next ride up to a small town north of here with a deep Russian heritage to eat at a small Russian restaurant.

However, as I was looking up the place, I found out that this year they place is not always open, and then you need to call and see if the owner will be cooking that day, and place orders ahead of time.

Since I did not even know what I wanted, and was hoping to get some advice at the place, and the hassle of getting there and not being open even, decided to just skip it and will find another place to try some Russian cuisine.

I looked again at the places around me to find a spot for lunch.  I decided to try a taco stand at the small boardwalk of shops right across from me, so rode over and parked again (very loose sand in this lot, could be fun getting out).

I walked up onto the boardwalk and decided to look over all the menus before I made a final choice.

One place was just pastries; another was closed for lunch.  Of the 3 open, the taco shop sounded the best, but by time I walked back over to it, the line was huge.  So, I decided the little shack at the end with the corn and other oddities would be it.

I decided to get the panini sandwich and a thing or mac and cheese.  I ordered and the girl asked me if I wanted a bowl or on the cob?  I thought perhaps she was asking about the size of the mac and cheese and I misheard, so said bowl.  Then clarified I wanted the panini and mac and cheese.

I thought the price was a bit high, so while waiting I looked over the receipt and turns out she has sold me some kind of corn curry in a bowl, along with what I wanted.  Not sure where she got it from, but decided it was far enough along I would just eat it, sounded like it could be good (Thai Curry Corn).

Everything arrived and it was all very good.  It was all very overpriced as well.

Once done eating I got back on the bike and headed north.  I decided I would skip going to the Russian village since I was not going to eat there, no other reason really to visit.

I plotted two side trips to ride two loops that would bring me back to the main highway each time, just to get off the main road, and closer to the coast, but again, mostly blocked views by trees or homes.

Once done with those detours it was a short ride back into town (last detour dropped my just a mile outside of Soldotna).

Once back at the hotel I got unloaded, secured the bike and then changed out of the riding gear.

I then got to work converting the 360 footage for use in videos so I can hopefully put a few more out in the next day or so.

While waiting for some exports to finish I was scrolling on Facebook and saw a post by a music group called the Harp Twins (Twin girls who play the harp).  They were giving a free concert at the park just down the street later tonight as the final stop on their Alaska tour.

I decided I would go eat at the same Mexican place I visited the other day for dinner, and then walk across the road to check it out.  Figured there must be something going on there today as the area was packed with cars and signs saying Event parking or no Event parking.

Grabbed my laptop and walked over to the restaurant and had a great dinner while I continued to convert files.

Once ready, I walked over to the park and saw signs for the Wednesday Market.

Looked like a local art/food fair.  At least 2 dozen food truck and quite a few vendor booths in the open park space. 

A small pavilion across the park was where the band was playing with everyone seated in front.

The group was doing a lot of talking along with music, and later included the Volfgang Twins as well on drums.  From the FB posts, I think the twins might be married couples that are both musical and touring, not sure though, not really looked up the history of the groups.

I also walked around the vendors a bit and talking to one vendor she indicated they do this every Wednesday and that half the non-food vendors had already packed up and left for the day, so it was much busier earlier.

I wandered a bit and then headed back to the hotel.

I noticed my mother had called while I was at the concert, so called back and talked while I walked.

Back in the room I took care of a few things and then got the laptop out so I could write this day’s blog and then will continue to convert files.

I have to be up earlier tomorrow to take bike over to a local shop to get oil changed.  So will try to get to bed bit earlier tonight.

Catch ya down the road!

Todays Route:

More editing and other tasks

June 30^th, 2026

Soldotna, Alaska

Woke a bit earlier today, but still slept in some.  Was around 10:00am.

Showered and then did some extra grooming as I needed to shave the head and face, been long enough.

Once done, then I called a local motorcycle shop to see if I can get bike in, and the guy said he could get me in on Thursday, so will get the oil changed and bike checked out before I head north.

I then finished the video from the night before and have it scheduled to release in a few days.

I then walked a mile over to a small restaurant selling lots of fried types of foods and odd sodas.

Had a thing of waffle fries with lots of junk on the top.  Was good, but way overpriced for the size.

Walked next to the Safeway and bought some more tea to drink in room rest of my stay, probably bought too much, but will get it all down, I am sure.

Back at the hotel room I then reviewed all my receipts, and balanced my accounts and paid off the credit cards again and verified all was good financially.

I decided I was not really hungry, so will just skip dinner and finish off the bag of chips I have as a snack, and work on more video stuff.

But first I needed to get last nights blog and todays done.

Rest of the night I will convert 360 footage and hopefully get another video at least started.

Tomorrow I am going on a ride for much of the late morning/afternoon to see a few places south of here.  Then will work more in the evening, I hope.

Till later.

Off the bike task day!

June 29^th, 2026

Soldotna, Alaska

Slept in today, like really slept in.  Woke just before 11:00am.

Showered and then put on the bike pants and by long sleeve shirt I had not used yet so I could take the rest of the stuff over to laundry place a block down the street.

Once I had all the dirty stuff bagged up, walked over to the laundromat.  Figured out the cost and changed a $10 for quarters. (Load was 4.25, but .25 for 5 mins on dryers).

I also needed detergent, left mine in room, so was another 2.50 in quarters.

Ran the single load and then took 20 minutes to dry, so was there about an hour.

Walked back to room and hung up the shirts which had a few damp spots to let them air dry, then laid rest on table to let dry if need, though could not feel any moisture on them.

I then grabbed my laptop and walked a few blocks more to a local Mexican restaurant.

Place was in small strip mall, 3 doors.  First one I could not see in, so thought it might be blocked, second clearly had a table in front of it, so went inside the third which had the lighted open sign next to it.

This door was actually for the bar; first door was the dining room.  But decided I would eat in the bar, was actually empty at the moment and bartender immediately struck me as a cool dude.

Sat at the bar, really high bar with really high stools.

Ordered a Coke and read menu and the bartender brought me chips and salsa.

Decided to get a big combo plate with 3 different items to have some variety.

Then worked on my video while we talked about other things.

Few others came in while there, and discussion was mostly about the World Cup game which was on the TV.

I finished food and then decided I would return to room, too noisy to do video editing in a bar.

Walked back and worked on the video and managed to get it uploaded that evening.

I then did a few other small social media updates and put away the clothes from earlier.

Then I started another video and had it mostly done by the time I went to bed about 1:00am.

Will finish in in the morning.

Wind and rain, and a really cool tunnel.

June 28^th, 2026

Soldotna, Alaska

Woke at 8am this morning and just sat around for a bit to finish waking up.  Then showered and dressed before packing up all the gear.

The weather was looking a bit grim for today, but currently it was not raining, just overcast and a bit cool, but was good time to load up the bike.

Took a bit of effort to carry it all back up the steps to the bike from the cabin, but managed to get all the stuff there and secured.

Did a final walk of the room and then took myself up and prepared to hit the road.

Rode up to the highway and headed toward the south.

Temps were only in low 50s, so was a bit cool, and humidity was up, but things did not get really wet, just a few sprinkles now and then.

Pulled off for one view point of the Matanuska Glacier, much wider view than I had from the room.

I then set myself to put miles under me and get to my first stop for fuel somewhere around Anchorage.

A few extra stops along the way for a photo or two, and lots of road construction were about all I ran into.

Made it into Palmer where traffic picked up, but not horrible yet.

It started to get a bit colder around here, and then we rolled through what I thought was the outskirts of Anchorage, but was not a single stop on the highway.  Tuned out we were still north of town, but something was off to the right on other side of trees, not sure what.

Stopped finally for fuel before reaching Anchorage, mainly as I also needed to use the restroom and get something to drink.

Stopped in Eagle River to do all that and then back on the road, but then needed to fix the camera battery as I forgot to change it, so had to pull off again at next exit and sit in a parking wayside to change the battery.

Now we could get going and head through Anchorage.

This was a bit slow going, traffic picked up and the highway had several stop lights to go through.

Went through some really seedy parts of town, but soon were on our way south along the coastal regions.  It cooled off again, and the winds picked up.  Blowing quite hard on some corners along the coast.

Stopped for a few viewpoints, and then reached my turn off to head over to Whittier.

This road was a bit quieter, and I soon reached the toll gate for the Whittier Tunnel.

This tunnel is a 2.5-mile corridor under the mountain, first constructed in the early 1940s as a railroad tunnel.  It was upgraded in the late 1990s to be a dual use passage allowing both rail and road traffic to use it.

As the tunnel is single lane, it can only accept traffic or trains going in a single direction.

To mange this, each side has a checkpoint for cars and automated control systems for the rail portion.

Heading east toward Whittier, you stop and pay the toll ($13 for normal cars/motorbikes, goes up for larger vehicles) and then queue up and wait for the allotted time for your direction of travel.  Typically, they switch the direction every 30 minutes, but the arrival of a train can disrupt that schedule some, though the trains also have to wait at times when the cars are already using the tunnel.

So, I arrived at the toll station, paid my money and as this was my first time using the tunnel they had to go over a few things for me to know.  First of all, motorbikes always go last, after all cars and trucks have gone into the tunnel.  Not really sure why, but it works.  Secondly, they instruct us to ride in the middle of the rail tracks, and avoid getting close to the tracks.

Also warn you about speed limit and that they would signal the bikes when it was time for us to ride.

Today I would have to wait about 45 minutes for my time to ride and the traffic had just started coming from the other direction, so 30 minutes to allow that to pass, and then roughly 15 minutes to get all the cars going into the tunnel.

I used the restroom and checked all my bags to make sure secure, then took a few photos.  When it got closer, I geared up and got on the bike and prepared all my cameras that I wanted to use.

As the cars were finishing up, a train actually did arrive, and stop just outside the tunnel.

About that time, I was given the signal to proceed, so started the bike and road from the bike holding zone into the car lanes and down to the entrance.  This means I was probably 1 minute behind the last car now.

It is a bit tricky at the entrance as you do need to cross one side of the track to get into the middle and it is at an odd angle, so just took it slow and got inside the tracks and proceeded into the tunnel.

It’s a bit dark, and cool inside, and fairly wet, so the road surface has water on it for much of the route.

The track on one side it not too bad, but the other side has a large gap along it big enough for a motorbike wheel to fully enter, so drifting into that would be a bad thing.

The first thing I noticed was the train light behind me, while the train did not enter the tunnel, was a bit unnerving knowing it was back there.

It takes about 10 minutes to get from one side to the other, then you again have an odd angled track crossing.

I actually caught up with the car in front of me, think I might have been going a bit faster than I should have, but was focused on the road more than my speed.

We exited the tunnel, got out of the tracks and then rode the last mile or so to reach the town of Whittier.

I turned off to ride through town and reach a small road that went out along the coast, the plan being to reach a view point a few miles out.

However, only a mile up the road they had it signed that the road was closed a bit farther on.  So, I had to settle for turning around and going into the small park and beach that was right there.

Got off the bike and hiked over to the waters edge in a small bay and did a few photos, then rode back into town and stopped for lunch at a small café (Wild Catch Café).

I ordered some chicken strips and a cup of reindeer chili.

Chili came out right away, and was really good.  I then sat and played on phone drinking my Coke.  After a while I was beginning to wonder where my food was, when the people who came in after me got theirs.

The guy at counter noticed about then as I was looking around and asked about my food.  Somehow the order had been missed, so they needed to cook things yet. He gave me another Coke for the delay without charge.

Finally received my food, and ate.  Was starting to think I might miss the tunnel and have to wait around, so rushed best I could.

Got back outside and geared up, got on bike and of course it starts to rain lightly now.

Reached the tunnel checkpoint and was directed to the bike holding zone, but they were already letting cars enter.

Thankfully they were still allowing cars in, so I just had to wait till that was stopped, and then they cleared me to follow the last car in, which was quite a bit ahead of me.

Rode through this time without speeding and reached the other side, then stopped to use restroom.

Back on the highway I stopped for one view point and then picked up the pace as it was getting later than I had hoped and also starting to cool off again.

Not long after getting back to the main highway we went up in altitude again, and it managed to cool off more and winds also stayed up.  Then the rain came, and it came down steady for quite some time.

I finally had to stop and change to my heavier gloves as my hands were staring to go numb.  Also, for some unknown reason, I had water in my left boot now as well.

Finally came back down and the rains let up, but winds did not.

Then the skies cleared and sun came out and it warmed up by almost 20 degrees over the last 30 minutes of the ride.

I came into town and found the hotel, but entered on the wrong side of building, so cheated and rode the 20 feet down the sidewalk to the other side and while making a sharp turn to park in first spot I put my foot down and again loose gravel made is slip and the bike almost went over.

I stopped it, but was now stuck and it took a significant amount of effort to push myself back upright, and managed to aggravate my bruised leg again.  Think this must be how I bruised it, I am holding my leg against the side of the bike so hard it is causing damage to the leg.  The bruise is now much darker and larger than it was last night!  Might need to find a walk-in clinic and just have someone look at it, make sure I did not do something serious.

Once I had bike stable, I parked, and walked into the door, only to find out this was the restaurant under the rooms in the front half of building, and it was closed.

I looked around and noticed the office for hotel was at back of building, so moved the bike there, and went inside.

Checked in and then talked with the desk clerk for a bit, then unloaded my bike and took stuff up to the room.  On the second floor again, so bit of effort to get it all up here.

I am staying here for 5 nights.  So tonight was just getting here, and organized the room some, and working on the blog.

I did ride the unloaded bike over to the grocers a few blocks down to buy some snacks and drinks.  Nice to be in a larger city where competition keeps prices down.  The costs for stuff here is not much more than it was in Arizona, unlike the 2 and 3 times increases on same items as small shops up north where there is only 1 option usually.

I stopped at Taco Bell and bought dinner as I was not hungry enough to find anything else.

Back in room I ate, then took a shower and got into normal clothes.

Over the next 4 days I will make at least 1 day trip, maybe 2, and then try to work on videos so I can get a few more done.

Then I will head out and starting working my way north again.

Catch ya down the road.

Todays Route:

Back on the road and plans change again.

June 27^th, 2026

Glacier View, Alaska

Woke up early, but just laid there till the alarm went off.

Got up, and immediately started to tear down the camp:  air mattress, sleeping bag, misc. gear.  Changed into the riding gear and the packed up all the bags and put them on the picnic table.

I then started the bike and moved it up where the tent had been to turn around and then road a few feet up the road way to a level spot that I hoped it would stand good in.

Loaded bike up and then geared up the rest of the way.

Was a real challenge to ride out in the large rock covered field on a slight angle, had to just slowly walk it up to avoid hitting big rocks or tipping it over.

Once on top, then was down the small hill to the rock lot which was a bit of fun as well.

Once onto the main road I was able to make decent time, keeping the bike around 30-35 MPH most of the time except for 1 slow moving car which let me pass and a few corners that were way too tight and loose surfaced for those speeds.  Few hills I had to slow down and shift down for as well.

Made it to the same rest area I had dropped the bike at the other day and pulled over to use the toilet, then back on the road.

Temps were not bad, winds were low and while overcast, was an okay ride out.

Once back on the paved sections, made bit better time, though still have to keep eye out for large dips, bumps and occasional gravel sections.

Arrived back in Chitina and pulled over to use the toilet there.  I then decided to eat at the little food stand right next to the rest area.  The Grubstake Grill.  Mostly burgers and hot dogs.

I went up to order and guy said the tour group in front of me had about 8 orders, so would be about 20-30 minutes, but he could take my order when ready.

So ordered a fancy hot dog and a coke.

Waited about 25 minutes, and then food was ready.

By then everyone else had left, so had the tables to myself, but wind had picked up and was blowing in from the small lake across the road, so was a cold wind.

Finished my food and then back on the bike.

I was still watching my fuel.  I know I have enough to get back to the main highway, but not sure if I will have enough to make it to Valdez, my intended destination.  The only station I knew of was back in Glenallen.

I did pass a pump in Chitina on my ride in, but when I rode past again, the place looked abandoned and pump had a decent number of weeds around it, so not sure if it was active, decided not to waste time trying.

I rode onward and winds stayed up, temps were down a bit, but not too bad.  Eventually I looked at phone and noticed I was back in range of cell service and internet.  I slowed a bit while I brought up the Gas Buddy app to see if it had anything nearby in its database.

I took a bit of time as signal was weak, but listed 2 stations in the next 10 miles.

I recognized the name of the general store as I had passed it on the way in and guy running the pizza place had talked about it as well, being the main shop in the area to buy stuff.

While I had not seen gas pumps when I rode past the other day, and nothing showed on Google Maps for it then either, I figured I would check it out.

Came up quick, pulled off and yes, pumps were over on side of building.

Pay at pump, not sure the store staff can even do anything, looks like a self-contained setup.

Fueled up the bike and felt some relief as now I had enough fuel to reach Valdez.

Went into the store to buy a drink and use the restroom, then went outside to get things ready to ride and started talking with a guy loading his truck with stuff he just bought. (was in front of me at checkout).

He lived elsewhere, but had a cabin about halfway out toward the Kennecott region I had just left.  We both talked about various trips we have taken, though he does his in cars, not bikes.

He then left and I got back on the road so I could reach the main highway.

Once there I turned and headed toward Valdez, looking for a place to pull over so I could check on a few things.

While I wanted to visit, I needed to know the ferry schedule to see how long I might stay.

I found a pull out 2 miles down the road and checked maps.  Was only 90 minutes away, so not a bad ride.

Got on the ferry site and found that the ferry from Valdez to Whittier had left that morning, next ferry was on Thursday.  Today in Saturday!!  I did not want to hang out there for that long, so then had to decide if I wanted to ride the distance, then backtrack or just head north now.

If I was going to go back north and around the long way to Anchorage, then I would need a place to stay.  As I had just spent enough day’s camping, I wanted a room so I could shower, get things dry and clean some of the gear.

Looked around Palmer, which is an hour north of Anchorage and was a 3-hour ride from me.

Holy hell are hotels costly here.  $300-$500 a night, for a Super 8 level room or bit better, but definitely not anything fancy.

Found a few motels for $150 area, but all were booked up.

Rest of places were glamping or other tent related which I wanted to avoid, or B&B places which almost always need reservations.

I started working my way up the road to find someplace in the middle, but most were just RV parks, campground or big lodges and likely big prices.

I finally found a small cabin complex that while not cheap, was at least reasonable.

So, I decided to just skip Valdez; I did not need to spend the extra 4 hours going there and back to my current spot and still need to ride 2 hours to the cabin.

I turned around and headed up the road. 

Arrived back at the highway interchange outside Glenallen and stopped there again to use restrooms and buy something to snack on and drink for tonight.

The rest area out on edge of lot was a mess.  The toilet room was scattered with toilet paper, but nothing on the rolls (did not need it thankfully).  Trash bins outside were so full that they could not close (bear proof lids).

Some others came up and I warned them the TP was out, but turns out all 4 rooms were same.  Not sure how maintains this site, but not doing the job.

Moved the bike up in front of the chamber of commerce office near a few others and then walked next door to the c-store at the fuel station to buy some drinks and food.

Got side tracked and forgot the food, but had the drinks.

Loaded them up and then rode over to the other side of c-store as they had better parking there.

Pulled up next to another bike and then realized it was same bike I had seen in McCarthy, ridden by one of the guys on the mill tour I took.  Saw him sitting nearby and went over to talk more.

Spent probably 15 minutes chatting, then went inside to buy some chips to snack on, ended up with pringles as they pack in the back pack better.

Back outside the other guy was getting ready to leave as well, bid each farewell as we are heading in opposite directions from here on.

I moved onto highway 1 and towards Anchorage.  My stop for the night was just over an hour away.

Road was nothing special, just more forest and occasional mountain views, though missed seeing a large mountain vista with glacier, but that was also about the time the winds picked up, temps dropped and the rain started.

We had reached a bit higher altitude along this stretch of road (over 3300 feet).  Was getting bit miserable with the moderate rain, high winds and temps reach down to 50, which at 60 MPH feels more like 40!

I finally reached the place which thankfully was about 800 feet lower, so temps did come back up a bit.

Rode in and parked in front of the main house of the property, cabins were all off to the side, looks like 3 of them total.  Place is called Tundra Rose Guest Cottages.

Owner came outside and told me room was ready and where to park and what I needed to do to complete the check in and payment.

I drove over and parked and then realized that cabin was down the hill a bit and had a few steps going down!

Unloaded the bike in the light drizzle and got it all inside.

Amazing cabin with a great view.  While the cost was bit more than I would have preferred, it is fair price for what you get and would make great place to hang out for a few days.

Sadly, I only have the one night, mainly as that was all I planned for, but also room was only free tonight, so could not have stayed longer any way.

I unpacked a few things, got out of riding gear and checked in online as I had been offline for 2 days, so a few people I needed to reach out too and a quick Facebook update to let people know I was still here.

I then took a nice hot shower since I had not had one in nearly 60 hours.

Once done and dressed, I got as much gear as I could on the chargers, used up several of my battery packs and drained a few camera batteries as well the last few days.

Checked my left shin out as is still hurts from the bike fall 2 days ago, had better light here and it is definitely bruised.  I figure I either hit the foot peg as it fell and I pulled my leg over to step out of the way, or when I did that, I impacted the mirror (I found the mirror loose a bit farther down the road, so might be it?)

I then grabbed my stuff and walked the short distance over to the restaurant at the RV park next door.

Had a pizza and a coke (for $31!!) and typed up much of the blogs I was behind on and then came back to the room to finish that, swap out batteries and clean cameras and helmet from all the dust buildup.

Will work on getting the blogs up tonight, and all the footage copied over to laptop, then maybe put a few more photos up.  Probably not going to get another video going though, just beat, but hopefully tomorrow, going to try and do a shorter route tomorrow, though still need to research that too, might try that in the morning before I leave.

Catch ya down the road!

Todays Route:

Exploring the past, 19,000 steps later.

June 26^th, 2026

McCarthy, Alaska

It rained again last night.  Just a light rain, but still got the tent and bike cover wet.  Thankfully they will stay up another day, so unless it rains again, should be dry by time I pack them tomorrow.

Woke up a few times at night to piss, and also from general discomfort.  My arms especially were just numb and tingling for a while till I fell asleep.  Think the constant vibration on the bike today just got to them.

Woke up feeling better though.  Was up by around 7:30, but then just sat in the tent and zoned out for a while.

Since there are no showers here, I will just wear the same clothes except shirt today.

Got up and decided what I wanted to do and repacked my backpack to carry stuff I needed and leave stuff I did not in the tent. (Hoping no one messes with tent during the day).

I walked back farther into the camp area to check out the Glacial Lake which forms at the end of the Kennecott Glacier.  Not sure if the very dirty mounds of what looked like dirt was just that, or dirty ice at the head of the glacier, but elevation was such that I could not see farther to see it, and the valley farther up was misted over and snow covered.

Walked out of the camp after stopping to drop off my SLR, battery is dead, completely forgot to check it before I left, and no way to charge it right now.

Went to the foot bridge, which would be a nice ride across, and saw another local on a bike using it. (Found out later that I could have ridden across and came into town on the bike instead of walking.  Oh well).

Saw some old rail road trestle remains near the next river crossing and an old cable crossing system as well.  Suspect that the road we rode in on is actually the original rail road route to the mine. (confirmed this later).

Walked the road into town and stopped at the small historical museum.  Mainly lots of left over junk from the mining days, and some personal effects of various people left behind in the area or found in attics, I am sure.  Lots of photos of the area over the years of the mine operations.

McCarthy was the town built to support the Kennecott and Bonanza mines (among others) and was founded around the same time as the mines in 1907.  The Railroad was built and went into operation by 1911 and rain till 1938.  I am guessing that was when the mines were no longer functioning and line was given to the state who turned it into the road we use today.

The rail route runs almost 200 miles from the mines to the port city of Cordova which was where the ore was shipped out to Washington for processing.  These mines were copper mines by the way.

I then walked down the “main” street of the town to see some of the old buildings and check out the restaurants to get some food.

I stopped at the general store and bought a few cans of soda for tonight and found out only one of the food spots was open this early, so went over to that one (The Potato) and ordered a breakfast type food. (A bowl of curly fries covered with sausage, gravy, eggs, and jalapenos.

Soon as I finish lunch then will catch the shuttle ($5) up to the mine and see what the tours cost.  Also, might check and see what some of the flights over the glaciers cost, and perhaps hit the other spot for dinner as they have live music usually as well.

Or I might just go back to camp and sit out in the air and read or daydream!

Walked over to the shuttle stop and stood around for several minutes.  I noticed one of the other shuttles coming, but not the one I was expecting to use.  Guy stopped and told me that for $15 I got an all-day pass on the shuttle, so this would get me to and from the mine and back to camp which is same cost the other guy would have been anyway, and the other runs a much looser schedule, so got in the van and rode back into town to the general store and bought my pass for the day.

Another older guy was on the shuttle that he must have found walking up from the camp as he too when in to buy a pass.

Once we were both done, and no other passengers were waiting, we got in and made the 20-minute drive up to the Kennecott.

Kennecott is the town and ore processing center that serviced several copper mines working in the higher elevations around this area.  There are huge mines inside the mountains above the town and the ore was shipped down via cable trolleys to the processing center where it was then gone through a massive 14 story structure to break down the ore and sort it into various grades.

That was then bagged and loaded onto the trains for transport down to the coast for shipment back to Washington for use.

They also had two other processes that pulled out every last drop of copper from the ore that would process the tailings from the main building.

Once we arrived, I spent some time looking at the signs and the views from the shuttle stop, then went inside the NPS office to see a few maps and such.

I then walked over to the tour operator and booked the tour of the processing mill as that is not open to the pubic without a tour, mostly for safety reasons and much of the building is in a state of decay.

The main mill, 14 stories top to bottom.

I had 90 minutes to burn before the tour, so walked around to all the other buildings open to the public.

Much of the surface town was sold off when the mine was closed down, some of it going to other mining operations, who failed and later sold it off.  Some of it ended up with a private organization to preserve the place, but many building are privately owned and used for businesses or lived in at least part of the time.

The National Park Service took over management of the area in 1998 in partnership with the private organization and the original mining company that still owned the underground assets.

I visited the old mercantile store, post office, meat storage locker and general manager office before returning to the tour office.

We then walked among most of the buildings I had just visited getting history of the town and then walked up the hill for a few other sites to reach the very top level of the main mill.

Once we entered, we toured one floor at a time going down various stairs and even ladders to the levels below.  Some of the spaces were nice still, others were a bit decayed and only walkable on the modern walkways added.  Lots of structural restoration work was seen, new load bearing beams or reinforcements to existing members.

The guide had a good grasp of the history of the processes on each floor and what occurred and the conditions under which the men worked (pretty brutal).

We reached the bottom level and then went across the road (old railroad line) and visited the leaching plant where they leached copper out of the rock using ammonia.  A building next door used oils and flotation to leach out from even the fine dust, but we could only look inside that one other than front room used for other exhibits.

Looked inside the main power plant, but could not go beyond the simple viewing platform.

I then returned to the main park office which is next to the shuttle stop to wait for the shuttle which was still 25 minutes away.

I took lots of photos and video during this, so hopefully will get a nice video out all the footage.

When the shuttle arrived, it was a full load, all seats full and even a few people standing in the rear area.

We arrived back to McCarthy where I got off to go have and early dinner, and then perhaps walk over to the cemetery, heard they did some nice work on the old places there.

Will then try to catch shuttle back to the bridge and walk back to the campsite and hope no one disturbed it.  

Probably catch and early night again.  Want to get up about 8 so I can be on the road by 10, should miss the early rush out at least that way.

Going to be a slow ride out, need to be very careful on fuel, should be good, but hard to say, and not 100% sure where I am going since I have no internet here, hard to plan.  But if I have the range, or can find fuel (the part I cannot research) I will head for Valdez.  I think it is about same distance as going back to Glenallen, so hoping that works out.

I did have dinner at the Saloon.  Big plate of nachos, though they were not really that good.  Had a coke as well, but the refills were messed up and then machine died, so did not even get some extra soda.

I then walked over the ½ mile to the old McCarthy cemetery.  Place was off the road in the forest about 200 feet, and was not too large, only about 2 dozen identified graves.  Mostly over grown with only some paths that people walking through have beat down in the grass/weeds.  A few stone markers, mostly wooden posts or crosses.  Most had no names, or the original names were worn off completely.

The NPS signs at the beginning indicated that most of the people in here were interned prior to the mine shutdown in 1938, and as early as 1910s.

The signs listed the names, country of origin, birthdate and death date when known and cause of death as well.  Quite a few unknown causes, lots of diseases or botched surgeries.  Several accidents, mainly burns.  Also, two murders and one suicide.

Some of the graves had updated plastic signs on them where they park service must have been able to read them, but many are just unmarked or the position was listed on a sign, but nothing is on the actual grave (though the layout that I walked through did not match the layout on the sign, so not sure what that was all about).

Did not stay too long as the mosquitos were out in force in there.

Walked back to town and down toward the general store and got lucky to find the shuttle there and getting ready to go down to the bridge near the campgrounds.

Rode back with them and then walked over bridge and about half way to camp I noticed my head was hot, and then realized I was not wearing my hat, and did not have it in hand.  Recalled that I had taken it off inside van to cool down some and it must have fallen off my lap and I did not notice it.

I walked back over the bridge to see if it had fallen out on the ground, but no such luck.

I am planning to return to town to see the band tonight at 9:00pm, so will inquire at the shuttle office and see if they found it.

I pulled out my camp chair, found my other hat, started my mosquito repelling machine and then sat in the chair and listened to the water and just let my thoughts roll, kind of a mental unplug.

That lasted roughly 90 minutes, then put stuff away and walked over the bridge, but no shuttles, so walked into town.  I did find the ¼ mile shortcut through the forest, complete with 2 stream crossings on narrow boards.

Went down to the general store they operate out of, but it was closed!

So hung out waiting for the shuttle, would ask a driver.

Another group was waiting as well.

After about 20 some minutes, and no shuttles, we saw one of the drivers walking down and asked him, he said the other driver was going, but then she was just up the road, so turns out they were in a 2-hour gap where no shuttles run after all the shops closed but before the bars close down later.

He offered to take the group since it was a large group with a child and they still had to drive 3 hours back home once to their car.

As he was loading them into the van I asked about my hat, he said we could go check the van parked nearby that I was riding in, but girl was actually washing it.  He asked her she said yes, it was found and was on table behind building.  I looked over and saw it.  Grabbed it and then grabbed a ride back to the bridge as well.

We pull up to the saloon and one of the patrons asked if we were going up to mine, but several others heard we were going to the bridge and hopped on as well.

Quick ride down, then walked back to the camp site.

I brought everything into the tent area and zipped up for the night, was tired.

Laid there for a while listening to the water.  Alarm is set for 8am tomorrow, hopefully no rain tonight.

South, and back country camping.

June 25, 2026

McCarthy, Alaska

Woke early again, so just stayed up and showered and got dressed enough to start loading the bike.

Once loaded and geared up, I checked the room over one last time and then rode up to the office to turn in the key.

I then backtracked about ¼ mile to the Chevron station to fuel the bike.

Once done I went inside and bought a breakfast burrito as I know lunch would be later today.

Pulled into the back of store, same place I ate lunch yesterday, and had my burrito while I setup the GPS and Maps to navigate today’s route.

Once ready, we pulled onto the highway and headed south.

The road was nice for quite a while and as normal around here, the views were stunning.

I stopped at some of the view points to take photos and video and always good to get off the bike occasionally.

Got stopped at a 1-way road again, had to wait a bit on that one, but then road was open again.  It did get rougher, and like other highways had sections that were gravel for a few hundred feet, but over all made good time, though still keeping speed down to maximize fuel usage.

Eventually reach the town of Glenallen where I stopped to fuel up again as the next leg of my trip is long and no fuel along it that I know of.  I also filled up the spare bag as well.

I then pulled over to try and strap the bag down in a different way, but was not going to work, so had to unload half the bike to get my other bungee cord so I could attach it on top again like I did on the Cassiar highway.

I thought about eating at some Mexican food truck, but wasn’t even sure if it was open, so decided to just aim for a pizza place I had seen on map that was about half way to my next turn.

The road here also had some 1-way sections, but both were quite short.  But did have some very rough areas and hit the one bump on edge of bridge must faster than I wanted.

Finally came upon the restaurant, just a beat-up old building on side of road with lots of other stuff around it, signs of a much larger life in the past as many places around here seem to be.

Went inside, small bar and a few tables, plus a big room next to it where live music could be played (probably a weekend or evening thing for the locals, lots of ranches and homes back behind the trees lining the roads.)

Grizzly Pizza was the name.  Older gentleman running the place and 1 customer inside, though eventually figured out they were a regular and knew the family well.

While a pizza sounded good, I thought that a bit much for lunch, especially with the harder roads I had ahead today.  So just ordered a cheeseburger and a soda.

While he was preparing food, the 3 of us had conversations about life choices and things people do that they regret.

Food came and it was very good.  The other customer left to continue on to Valdez where she lives and the guy and I continued to talk while I ate.

When done, I paid the bill (Cash only here, and ATM runs out of money often if I understood the conversation when it did it on the lady that was there), then used restroom and left.

Back on the highway I reached the turn off that heads down to Chitina.  So far, I have not seen any more fuel stops, so will need to make it back out quite a distance when I leave, this could be interesting.

The road here was again filled with amazing views and had a large number of steeper hills to navigate.  Stopped a few times for photos and eventually reached Chitina where there was another restaurant, maybe will stop there on way out of area.  I saw a fuel stop, but sign made me think it might be diesel only, but will swing by on my way out to check, might make things less tight on the trip back out of here.

Shortly past town the road had a short section of gravel on a 1-way road cut through a large rock.

Then it was rough asphalt till the big river crossing, then some more gravel for a mile or so before going back to rough asphalt.  This continued for several miles.  Pulled off for some views, and even turned around when I pass a view point and noticed the large bridge in distance I would ride over shortly, but getting a view from this angle was cool.

Back on road and across this 1 lane bridge and the road then turned to gravel and stayed that way.  It was not thick at least, mostly won off in the wheel tracks, but lots of rocks in road in places, even what looked like tree stumps?  Also spots of bumps and holes and then the ever-present wash boarding.

I found if maintained about 31-32 MPH, then the vibration was minimal, seemed to be the idea speed to go over them.  But some hills, and a few corners needed to slow down and then had to deal with roughness till I could get up to speed again.

Was really needing to find a restroom at this point, even a pull out so I could find a tree! 

Came around a corner on a down hill section and there it was, my rest stop!

But was going around 30MPH and needed to rapidly slow down before I crossed the little bridge and into a tight corner.  Going that far would make turning around difficult as road was bit narrow here.  I managed to get the bike almost stopped just at end of the parking area, and went to put my foot down.

The incline of the lot meant my foot did not quite reach the ground, and the loose gravel slipped what part of my boot did touch, and bike leaned over.  I could not get traction with that foot, and had to let it fall.

Went down about 10 feet before that sign.

Not sure what my left leg impacted when I lifted it over the bike as I stepped away from it, but my shin hurt like hell, and felt like it might be bruised, will check it later tonight.

I went back to turn off engine, though it killed itself about then as well, and turned off the key.

Then stepped away a bit to walk out the shin, and take off gloves and helmet.

Laid them on ground and cursed a bit, then started to figure out best way to unload so I could lift it.

But at that moment a van came around the corner and they stopped.  I knew they were behind me, but not sure how far back and they kept stopping more often.

The guy got out and helped me lift the bike up where it would stand on the side stand.  Smelled fuel, and looked like a bit of wetness on the engine housing, so not sure where that came from?

Bike started back up okay, and I pulled it around next to the restrooms so I could use them and the guy then drove off after I thanked him again for the assist.

Once done, got back on the road, but this time I got stuck behind some slower moving cars and a camper that had passed me as I was getting ready to leave.

They were going too fast, and too close to each other for me to pass them on these roads, but not fast enough to maintain my speed for the wash board. Had to keep slowing down and letting them get ahead and then catch up and repeat.  Any speed between 15 and 30 would vibrate my teeth out of my mouth, so had to slow way down if I could not maintain 31 or higher.

Eventually I got far enough behind them and they also seemed to pick up speed finally.  I then caught up with the guy in the van and followed him for a bit, but they eventually pulled over so I passed them.

After 40+ miles of this dirt, dust and gravel, we arrived on the outskirts of McCarthy.  Basically, we arrived at the foot bridge that crosses the river and goes into town ½ mile away.  The car bridge farther down is private, and no for public use.

People that visit the town park in lots all around the river on this side, and then shuttles take them or they walk.

I think if you are staying at the places in town, you might get a pass for the bridge, but not sure about that.

Most people are here for the Kennecott mine.  I will do that tour tomorrow.

I found the primitive campground that I was looking for.  Not even a camp ground as much as the guy owns lots of empty land and lets people park and camp for a fee and provides a few outhouse toilets.

I went inside, paid my $35 a night for a spot and he told me where I could ride the bike back into the river shore where it was more sand than rock and there were some tables in the area to use.

I rode across the rocky parking lot, then up a small hill, which ended with a rocky grass area that I had to navigate to get down to the small sandy area.  Still about 15 feet above the river at this point, though I would guess it has flooded up here at times to deposit the sand.

Getting back into the spot was a challenge and almost lost the bike again, but this time my foot had enough grip to hold and I kept it from falling.  Getting out will be a fun time.

Once into the area, I was able to find just enough level space to park the bike and use the side stand, but did put my stand food down for better support in the soft soil.

Unloaded the bike, and then setup the tent and got stuff stored away.

Took some photos and video, then sat down and ate a pack of tuna and finished the chips I bought yesterday.  Just have my water to drink, forgot to stop and buy something else.

Put my food over by the table, and put the trash into a crevice of a tree branch, will take it out tomorrow and find a better spot.

Now in the tent typing this up and then will probably just go to bed.  Its about 9pm, but tired and nothing else to do.

Catch ya down the road.

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