We left Burns Lake in the rain and it would stay with us for the better part of three days. Our destination is Stewart, BC/Hyder, AK
Riding in the rain isn't too bad as long as it's not a torrential downpour and the wind is not moving you side to side. The KLIM gear I purchased last year is specifically made for these adverse types of conditions. Three days worth of steady rain and not one drop of moisture inside my gear.
Here's a pic of one of the glaciers we saw on the final run into Stewart...
The scenery is beautiful, even in the rain...
This is Bear Glacier just outside Stewart
We made it. Stewart, BC. Just next door is Hyder, AK. This is also the start of the Alaskan Hwy into Yukon, BC.
As mentioned, Hyder, AK is next door and we made our first foray into Alaska.
This is the border crossing, where you are only checked coming back into Canada. There are no US border personnel at this border.
Once into Hyder, AK we set out to find The Salmon Glacier, this is some of the scenery along the way...
Amazing views!
This is Salmon Glacier. The view can be found about 23 miles up a dirt road and worth the trip!
For the ride up the dirt road I off-loaded the top box and side panniers. Bike is way lighter and so much more fun to ride, especially in the dirt!
Here's The Salmon Glacier posing with me ;-)
Once the sightseeing was done, we stopped at The Glacier Inn to be 'Hyderized'.
So the rules of Hyderization...you can not sniff it or sip it, you must shoot it. Break any of the rules and you must buy a round for the bar.
The shot is Everclear...when you are finished the bartender lights the glasses on fire. You can see a purplish hue on the glass on the left, that's the flame.
Card issued to those who are successfully Hyderized
Back to the motel and this is our view around midnight...it stays light up here a long time!
A couple riders we met gifting us their Diamond Tooth Gerties 2015 Annual Pass. These passes, to be used in Dawson City, had been gifted to them, and we will gift them to someone when we are done using them.
The 2015 Diamond Tooth Gerties Pass
We left Stewart, BC bound for The Yukon. Here are a couple pics of the sights on the way out. A raging river of water running parallel to the road...
A snowfield just down from Bear Glacier...
Then after a few hours of riding in the rain...The Yukon!
Just over the border into Yukon we headed into Watson Lake, the sight of the Sign Post Forest. This is pretty cool. A homesick serviceman, who was stationed there in 1942, posted a sign of his hometown. A single sign grew into a 'forest', as others began to post their signs, which morphed into license plates. Below is a pic of me holding the license plate we put our names on and posted. I was going to bring a old custom plate from Iowa off my 1969 Cougar (69Cougr), but I forgot it...duh.
Here's the plate we posted...
This is the serviceman who started it all...
His 'plate'...
50 years later the town of Watson Lake brought Carl and his wife back for a commemorative celebration. The plate above is a replica of the original he placed in 1942.
Amazing to see what The Sign Forest has grown into!
Acres of plates and signs...
Who says 'one man can't make a difference'?
From Watson Lake it was onto Whitehorse...in the rain...all day. So upon arriving, our room is not ready...no problem, we need a bier anyway...off to the bar. I'd like to mention that Canadians in general are some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet. Friendly waitress serving us our bier...
This is Marcello, from Salta, Argentina. He is riding from the southern most city in the world, Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay, AK on the Arctic Ocean! WOW!!! Had to buy him a bier!
After dropping our stuff off in the room it was now time to find some food. We happened by The Klondike Rib & Salmon restaurant and had...you guessed it...BBQ ribs and salmon. Delicious!
Here are Scott and I with Dona, the owner, and Kikki, our waitress. Like I said, Canadians are friendly!
Then next morning is was off to Dawson City...you guessed it, in the rain. On the way had to stop at The Braeburn Lodge, home of the Gigantic Cinnamon Roll...it did not disappoint!
While we were there, I took this pic of a car being towed behind a motorhome. We look as dirty.
Occasionally the rain would let up and you'd get views like this...
IKRAN doesn't look too bad. You'd ride thru the dirt and mud, get uber dirty, then the rains would wash it away...
We arrived in Dawson City, set up camp, cooked another gourmet meal, then set off for town...
We had our passes for Diamond Tooth Gerties, but thought first we'd check out the saloon at The Downtown Hotel...
Inside the saloon, pretty normal, until the little man at the piano started playing...
Here's me with The Piano Man...
Hands don't look like a pianists hands...
So here's the story on The Piano Man...he was adopted, his new mother was a piano instructor, she must have taught him well because he ends up studying at The Royal Conservatory in Calgary, goes on to be a concert pianist in the Toronto Symphony, but grew tired of wearing tuxedos, shunned it all, and moved to a houseboat 11 miles south of Dawson City. He became an eccentric recluse, but still loved to play the piano. His sight grew bad, sixty some year old hands developed arthritis, and he had no piano. The hotel offered him a spot playing 2 hours a night, 7 days a week. There aren't many pianos in Dawson City, but the hotel/bar had one and he was excited to play. Didn't care about the money. He's stored over 800 songs in his head, needs no sheet music, Scott and I never made it to Gertie's. We stayed for the two hours listening to songs like 'The Music of the Night' from The Phantom, being played by a 60 something year old eccentric recluse, playing on a 92 year old piano, in a 150 year old Gold Rush bar. His fingers are dirty, hands are aged, he is The Piano Man!
The pic below is The Piano Man after his performance, on his was to hitch hike back home. I forgot to mention, to get from his houseboat, he takes a canoe across the river, then hitch hikes to the hotel. Locals know him so pick him up to and from the hotel. What a story! This should be a movie!!!
I'm hoping this link will take you to my Facebook page, where I have a video of him playing.
