Yeah! I got to sleep in! After our racuous night of revelry in Dease Lake (not Dat Lake! See, still funny!) I negotiated a slight reprieve from Bill, a 0930 departure instead of 0900! I had actually asked for 1000 initially, but he counter offered. I'll know for next time and ask for noon!

Bill had another surprise for me, that morning he had purchased a small jerry can that fit in his trunk, a 10L gas can that would effectively double his range! Now I was the range liability although I could go prolly 450 km between fill-ups if I kept it to the double nickel.!



We headed north and initially the riding was great under a cloudless blue sky canopy. There were many signs warning of construction ahead, of single lane traffic etc, but it never really materialized, a common theme for the whole trip. In the back of my mind I was thinking about that remaining 10% of unpaved Cassier we had yet to find.

The road started to deteriorate, the ****** sections started to outnumber the good sections, then it was nothing but ****, it was a gravel road. It supports my theory about seal coat, and that this section of road was in the first stage of the process. Speed was reduced to maybe 70 kph. The bike squirms and weaves and at first it is a little bit, maybe not frightening, but the thought of going down is always there. The Rocket has extremely wide tires and while those lend the bike excellent stability on pavement it causes the front end to sometimes plow through softer sections.

That being said if you are going to go down on a bike the best time to do it is when there is lowered rolling resistance on the road, such as in the rain or, say, on a gravel road! The worst time to do it is on a hot sunny day when the pavement is gooey and sticky.

So we are finally, officially, in da *****, it is actually sort of a relief, at least the anticipation is over. As time goes on and the odo rolls on we gradually speed up. I think that it is part an increase in skill and part a reduction of fear. They go hand in hand until suddenly you realize you are doing normal highway speeds, on a gravel road. Leaning into a corner is a bit of a leap of faith though! Here is a minute of Bill following me on this gravel section. We suction cupped the GoPro to his windshield, which ended up being more jiggly than we anticipated.



About 2 hours north of Dease Lake (No not Dat Lak...............still funny, but starting to wear off!) we came across, quite unexpectedly, Jade City. Featured in its own reality TV show called, uhm, Jade City? No maybe Jade Fever, or Jade Wars? Any way it was the place that was As Seen on TV! Upon further research, it is Jade Fever.



Apparently jade is tougher than steel and due to molecular alignment (I am not making that up) cannot be split like most minerals, it has to be cut with huge water cooled saws. In the front yard they had maybe a dozen huge rock saws of various sizes cutting jade.









Then we went into the gift shop to buy some trinkets from the natives. I pick up a pair of Hematite stones, known as Alaska Black Diamonds, they are also naturally magnetic. I have learned over the years that coming home to your wife empty handed after leaving her to run the whole house for weeks on end......is not a good idea! Jewellery is a safe bet, although bon bons and liquor are also good!



Don't worry, I got BuBu more than a pair of fridge magnets, but I won't be a spoiler here!



After poking around for half an hour, we depart. Slowly, but surely, the road starts to improve, I would say the entire length that was what I consider to be an actual gravel road was maybe 30 kms, the rest gradually improved right until we got to the Boya Lake Provincial Park where the road turned to a perfectly smooth recently paved tarmac, lifted directly from the pages of a Motorcycle magazine, so new the lines weren't even painted, only the reference markers were in place.

When we got out of the park the road turned back to the seal coat we were used to, but in pretty good condition so our speeds were good. Dease Lake to the Alaska Highway turn off was about 260 km. When you reach the T intersection you can go right (east) to Watson Lake, or left (west) to Nugget City! Who doesn't want to go to a place called Nugget City!

We pulled in for some incredibly over priced regular gas (both our bikes usually take hi test) and a short rest. Since we paid at the pumps there was no reason to go into the store, we did a map check and pushed on. We were on the Alaska Highway!

There is a very interesting Wikipedia article here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Hi ghway

Also the MilePost site has some information: https://www.themilepost.com/highway-inf o/highways/alaska-highway

The short versions of the stories are that the road was built during the Second World War to connect the lower 48 to Alaska, and, that as (unoffically) part of the Pan-Am-Cam it is the world's longest highway system. Starting in Prudhoe Bay, AK you can drive it all the way to Argentina, Terra Del Fuego. There is a 100 km break in South America called the Darien Gap however, that can only by navigated by boat.

Although Dease Lake was right on the Continental Divide we cross it again 50 km after the turn. Here is a write up from the road side marker. The short of it is if you pee right there, half will flow to the Pacific and half to the Atlantic. I am sure there is more to it than that!



Stopping for gas once again we encounter an odd sign attached to the pumps saying NOT to pay for the gas first, but to pump it and then y'all come inside to pay (it said that exactly that way!). Apparently, this stop has not yet upgraded to fancy schmancy pay at the pump pumps, but it is also refreshing to be exposed to the good ole fashioned way of doing business. It wouldn't be the last time today we saw this old way of conducting business. We stay for lunch in this charming little wayside.

We continued westbound with a goal of getting to the White Horse area, to the area mind you, not to the city itself. That is because my sister/Bill's wife Agnes wants to go to White Horse and wants both herself and Bill to see it together for the first time. Therefore we deviate at the last minute and take a road that skirts to the south. We end up in the small town of Carcross, formerly called Caribou Crossing.



When I say little, I mean little! There is an old part of town, perhaps under renovation, and then a waterfront area with modern little shops and a burger joint. The buildings are covered with the artwork of the indigenous native peoples. Bill took some stunning pictures of the area, mostly as despite my sleep in, was still up at the Crack of Bill. See, that is the level of sacrifice he makes for me! Sadly he won't share the pictures though, I asked him to appear here as a guest columnist, but, apparently, instead he is starting his own blog!

Eventually Bill did share his pictures, and I talked him into appearing as a guest columnist in my blog, rather than starting his own.









Featured prominently in the centre of town is the Tutshi stern paddle wheeler, built in the early 1900's it served as a freighter in the Alaskan littorals until taken out of service in 1955. Here she is in active service, and then in dry dock.





In the early 70's a consortium of local companies started a massive renovation project that, while was stalled at times for lack of funds, was close to completion when it 1990 the ship sadly, and mysteriously, caught fire and was completely destroyed between the bow and the paddle wheel. Those 2 items still remain today, with the centre superstructure represented with beams, and the original smoke stack and a few boiler parts scattered within.







When we first got to town we didn't immediately see any accommodations, so Bill suggested we ask the tourism information ladies, who suggested these not readily apparent Cabins across the way. Not yet officially open as true accomms, we met the owner in his yard, preparing to leave with his wife to go camping for the weekend. As he is a little rushed he kinda just tosses us the keys, doesn't ask names, or takes ID or even notes plate numbers, just; here you go. He says; "we'll take care of business in the morning, take your keys to the bakery across the street in the morning and pay then. Bye". Then he gets in his camper and departs!



Once again a very refreshingly simple and honest way to do business! The cabins are clean and spacious, but don't have wifi, however I tether my laptop to my phone and am able to submit a blog so as not to fall further behind.



Bill and I walk down to the water and find a beer and burger joint, the frequent solution to dinner requirements. It is quite hard to eat well on the road. Much easier to find a cheeseburger than it is to find a Cobb salad! We have craft beers in proper sized mugs and speciality burgers de la fromage!



We walk around for a bit and explore an old steam train, restored to its former glory, and dominating a small park.



Saturday night revelry and hooliganism in Carcross ends about 2100 when we turn in for the evening.

Dease Lake to Carcross
625 kms
8.5 hours in the saddle