2009 Summer Motorcycle Trip: Day 16 – July 5th - Gakona to Valdez and then to near Palmer AK

Later start ... 10:30. Look for fuel to start.... found some with fumes only left. Headed down Richardson Hwy towards Valdez 115 miles away. Nice scenic road past the halfway point. Lots of mountains, streams, and waterfalls. Finally made Valdez – smaller town than I expected. Full of fishermen.. there is a fishing derby starting. Rolled around the town, taking photos and checking out the size. Had lunch at a small seafood diner and then visited the visitor centre. Time was passing, so I headed out the same way I started, back up the Richardson Hwy. Made a turnoff where the pipeline terminates, but it was too far down the road and closed to the public anyway since 911. But I stopped at the waterside and rested, chatted with a couple vacationing from Hamburg Germany in a RV. You meet the nicest people camping. The shore was loaded with rod casting fishermen. Water did not taste salty... too many mountain streams flowing into this area... surrounded by the mountains. Back on the hwy, made few stops for pictures and good time back to the cut-off where I fuelled up again – can’t have too much (unless you are on fire). Got instructions from a fellow with a copy of Milepost book on where to look for camping, road conditions and good place to start from in the morning. The road, AK 2 to Anchorage is rough in spots, 1 construction section of gravel that was washboard and slow going. Then came the twisty section, fun but caught behind a stubborn pick-up truck going under the limit. Finally got clear and had lots of fun chewing up the twisty sections. Palmer the town came up and I stopped again for fuel and chatted with some bikers from Anchorage 50 miles down the road. They told me where to find dinner and from there I found a nearby campsite... closed so I will register in the morning. Nice fellow Randy is camped next to me. He is a carpenter here looking for work from Iowa. Single guy, sold his house, packed his pickup with his stuff and a ATV and a trailer with tools and headed here. He was also in Valdez this morning too. Set up camp after a long chat and began typing this. Time is 11:30. Over 500 kms today. The roads are full of dips and frost heaves... they catch you unawares at times... testing the suspension of the bike to the fullest. I see other vehicles having a bad time with them too. Tomorrow I will shop in Anchorage for a IPod and then ride south into the Kenai peninsula full of mountains and scenic roads. Not sure if I will stay here again tomorrow or not. Need to catch up to the itinerary, but wanted to see this area too. Campsite is too far from office for the Wi-Fi to work. May take a walk closer to check email. Battery for computer needs a charge too. Later.