Catch up work day

June 24^th, 2026

Tok, Alaska

Slept in today.  I was so tired, so stayed in bed till around 10am.

Woke up, sat around a bit, then showered and dressed.

I then pulled out the brush from my bag to clean off the bottom of my shoes as I had been walking around the campsite the night before and they were bit dirty.

I then cleaned the road grime off my riding boots as well.  Boots are starting to look a bit worn, so probably be the last year they get used, will get something new over the winter most likely.

I then pulled out the tent and took it outside and draped it over the motorcycle to dry in the warm air and winds.

The outer shell was the worst.  The actual tent only had a few damp spots, so just left it on the floor of the room.

The ground cover wasn’t too bad either, but dirty, so used some napkins to clean off the heavier dirt and some sap spots left over from 2 years ago when it was used in Arizona.

I then worked on writing a few blog entries that were pending, and going through some photos.

I also had to deal with some personal financial business that needed my attention back in Arizona, nothing serious, just some missing documentation for something I am trying to setup.

Once the tent was dry, I packed it back up and also sorted and organized a few other items.

I then took the brush out and cleaned off the rest of the bike.  The mud, dust and calcium chloride residue was caked on much of the lower parts of the bike and my panniers.  While some of that is not a problem, the calcium crap they add to the water to keep down the dust on road works in the north here can cause rust issues if left on too long.

I was of course not able to get everything, but pulled of the thicker build up and will eventually wash the bike, probably more than once on the trip.

Once done, I continued to work on blogs and setting up a VPN on the laptop and phone, need to be able to work on sensitive things and my phone connection is not always good enough, so having to use Wi-Fi many places.  My phone as also giving me odd issues today saying all the websites I tried were unable to support HTTPS.  Wondering if my phone got infected from some website or something, will need to keep looking.  For now, I did put the VPN on it and the laptop, but still only working on laptop for most stuff that has any sensitive data.

I also worked on updating my financial tracking and balancing accounts and paying credit cards and such.

Since it was now past 3pm, I decided to walk over to the nearby c-store and get some food and drink for lunch.  I also was going to check and see if the motel laundry service could take my clothes and still have them ready in the morning (service stated next day delivery).

Otherwise, I will walk over to the laundromat near the c-store.

Thankfully they were able to take the stuff today, and for such a small load could even have it done today as well, told me to come by in about 3 hours.

I then walked over to the store which was about 1/3 of a mile away.

On the walk over I noticed a small VW Bus with lots of decals and such on it and setup for camping.  It had signs and license plates from Brazil!  There was a lady doing something inside the back section of the van, but could not tell what.

I visited the c-store and bought some drinks for later; some water to refill my hydration pack and some food.  $10 for a bag of chips, $7 for a burger from deli, $5 for a gallon of water….sheesh!

I went outside to the back of the store and sat on a small wall to eat the burger, and other hot foods I bought and drank an ice tea.

I then went to walk back to motel.

The VW bus had moved up to the water station and the lady was washing dishes, so I stopped to talk with them a bit.

Her and her husband had driven the bus all the way from Brazil over last 7 months and were finishing up their time in Alaska and heading back to Canada.  At least that was best I could get.  While she spoke English, it was a bit hard to follow sometimes, and I do not know any Portuguese.

They have a YouTube channel as well – Kombi Haus.

It is of course in Portuguese, but looks like they have gone to some interesting places.  I will have to watch more sometime.

I also gave them my channel card, perhaps they will watch some of my stuff.

I returned to the motel and worked more on the computer,

I then picked up my laundry, cost me about $6 to have 9 pieces of clothing washed, but still better than washing in sink and trying to dry in the room.  It can work, but annoying.

I then spent more time on social media stuff and decided to skip driving over to restaurant and again and just ate my bag of chips and drank my last tea.  Not a great dinner, but cost far less and saved me the hassle of uncovering bike and such.  While I could have walked, it is 1.5 miles to restaurant, and not sure my feet would enjoy that much.

I then watched some YouTube stuff to catch up on a few channels and finished this day’s blog.  Will get it posted yet tonight and then probably go to bed.

I have my route figured out for tomorrow and a shorter one, so I can leave a bit later than normal, but still be on the road by 10 at latest.

Catch ya down the road.