My Motorcycle Adventures: 2017 Motorcycle Adventure to Alaska (Day sixteen)

Waking up in Girdwood reminded me of the years I lived in Seattle, Washington. The clouds were very low obscuring the surrounding mountains but usually by late morning this marine layer would burn off revealing a bright blue sky.

I was really looking forward to my ride out to Seward on the Kenai Peninsula and was hoping the weather might improve along the way. As it turned out the day brightened but as I rode over the high mountain pass the marine layer had really socked in this pretty little sea port. This is where a lot of the cruise ships put in at that run up the British Columbia coast from places like Vancouver and Bellingham, Washington. Being the weekend there were tourists everywhere. I parked my bike and walked up and down the main street but being a Sunday a lot of places were closed. I loved the ride but was a little let down by the town. I had a nice long chat with a couple of other bikers and upon their recommendation decided to pass on my plan to see the town of Hope.

Instead, I gassed up, bought some groceries and rode back up to Anchorage. Along the way I made up my mind to head back toward the Yukon and home. I’m starting to question whether to keep doing these trips every summer on my own. Traveling alone all the time I realize limits my experience. When I strike up a conversation with strangers along the way I find I get a lot of pleasure from sharing stories about the day, the ride, the weather, whatever. Traveling with another person actually enhances the experience so I want to try and work on a plan to do that in the future.

A few miles north of Anchorage I took the Glenn Highway which eventually gets me back to Tok, Alaska and well on my way to Beaver Creek and Whitehorse. This highway blew my mind. It was up and down with wonderful curves and the scenery was magnificent. I’m going to rank this right up there with the Ice Fields Parkway for sheer drama.

It was getting late in the day and I came upon a state park right opposite the amazing Matanuska Glacier. Here are a few photos of this incredible remnant from the Ice Age.