Day 16

Doubling as storm bate

Woke up from a great sleep in Nenana. Which I have to add is such a cool little quirky town, and opened my bedroom door to see 2 giant Moose horns laying on the ground. Thinking to myself...oh god, what did those 2 dudes do now?? Here Bobby & Suede went out to the bar last night and bought a pair of moose horns from a local. pretty cool. I thought maybe they swiped them, since they hang over just about every doorway here in Alaska.

I left the speedweenies today to head off solo to Anchorage in cloudy/cold weather. Of course it rained most of the day, but just a drizzle so not TOO bad. Though its pretty sad when drizzle actually seems OK. heh

i got into Denali park, and MAN, it was pretty amazing, even with the low cloud cover. You could not see mount Mckinley..which was a bummer, but from all the convos I've been having lately with people, it seems no one has seen it for quite some time since the weather has been so crappy.

Its DEFINITELY a tourist town. I saw tour busses packed with people by the dozens all around this place, along with overpriced hotels. WHICH would have been awesome to stay at, if the weather was nicer, and perhaps Ashley was with me.

So, I snapped a few pics, and took a few vids, and went off on my way South to Anchorage.

I met this old man at a gas station on my route, who had lived in Alaska his whole life and worked on two different mines here. pretty awesome. these are the kinds of people I meet usually while filling up the bike with fuel. Gas stations are like the water coolers of the world here. You can't get gas and expect NOT to get into a convo with someone.

The sky started to open up , and I finally saw the SUN!!!!! woohoo! it also made my mood turn 100% into awesomeness. Its amazing how that can happen. I also started finally piecing together some ideas and thoughts for new songs. No melodies yet, just ideas. But hey...its a start!

Before riding into Anchorage...You pass through Wasilla. That's Sarah Palin land, and pretty lame at that to be honest. Just thought I'd mention that.

Anchorage as well was nothing exciting either. I was about 30 mins outside the city, and thought I should just ride past it east since Anchorage was a good 30 miles south still and I want to stay clear of big cities for the most part.

well... I figured....maybe Anchorage is cool, and heck, its Coastal, its GOTTA be awesome. well.... its not. The city is much like every other city, but worse..the waterfront is lined with really crappy houses and apartments along the water. very odd.It IS surrounded by some AMAZING looking mountains, so it DOES have that going for it, but thats about it. No wonder they have no professional sports team here.

So, i rode out a few miles to a town called Eagle River. I saw no Eagles nor any rivers, but hey, it had a decent motel on a street called Ashley place.That HAS to be good.

I also should mention how I am NOT looking fwd to now backtracking back through the Yukon into BC again. There is only one road, and doing the 2 day stretch back on the exact same road doesnt thrill me. So I looked into the ferry from Alaska to Washington state. BUT....thats over $1,000 easy, and doesnt include lodging. (which cost even more) so Thats out. So tomorrow I ride back into Tok, then cross the border back onto Canada where I'll spend about a week getting back to the states. Warmer weather would be SO awesome right now. Alaska is around 45-60 degrees, but it really feels much colder then that.Especially when you are riding at 60-70 mph then its even colder.

Still 8 days ahead of schedule, and hope to finally find a place worthy of hanging out for more then a day

rode 330 miles today

4,956 total miles

I have a few major disappointments about this trip so far.

1) I really want to sleep under a canopy of stars. I hope that will happen as I ride more south and also get out of this lame weather.

2) I was hoping to se the Northern lights, but hear that this is the wrong time of the year to see them. has to be winter...sigh

3) I havent seen any bears yet...wtf?!?!

PS. my opening qoute is from a fav song of mine called "the sun, the moon, and the stars" sung by Nancy Griffith and written by Vince Bell. very fitting and a huge reason why that is inked around my right arm.

The sun, the moon and the stars
They make the wind blow
It took me twenty years to understand
Lost to me are how the lives of friends go
Like autumn leaves in Oklahoma wind
But it made me strong to be on my own
It never did me no harm to live all alone
Oh, but now and then
In the color of the evening
Drunken in a barroom
With a fan turning
I've come to miss a few

This afternoon was cloudy and the rains came
Third day of my first day San Miguel
Seems lately that I'm doubling as Storm bait
I've been followed like a shadow through the dell
But it made me strong to be on my own
It never did me no harm to live all alone
Oh, but now and then
In the color of the evening
Drunken in a barroom
With a fan turning
I've come to miss a few

Dear friends and relations
See what I have done
I've gathered all my fingers in one place
They breathe a breath that's deadly stale
Since they tooled a song for me
I guess mechanics never really set the pace
Cause I'm back and I'm strong
I'm here on my own
It never did me no harm
To live all alone
Oh, but now and then
In the color of the evening
Drunken in a barroom
With a fan turning
I've come to miss a few

The sun, the moon and the stars
They make the wind blow
It took me twenty years to understand
But lost to me are how the lives of friends go
Like autumn leaves in Oklahoma wind
...oh, but now and then
It's in the color of the evening
Drunken in a barroom
With a fan turning
I'll come to miss a few