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!

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