Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

[DK Custom Products]

Today, 6-29-13, we are about 7,000 miles into our Trip up to the Arctic Circle and back. I have been posting daily ride reports with pictures elsewhere.

Going to copy them all here, and then be updating this thread pretty much everyday.

Estimated total mileage is 15,000 by the time we get home.

We are having a blast. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Kevin & Mary

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Mary and I are headed up to Alaska.

I am going to try and keep this up to date every day or so. We'll see how that goes!

We are in Pigeon Forge right now for a wedding of some good friends.

Here's a pic of a dog riding on the back of a scooter at 70 mph headed toward the Smokies

Marys view-

View from the cabin deck above Pigeon Forge

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

The reason we went east to Pigeon Forge before heading northwest...some friends, Al & Lisa, got hitched.

After the wedding we headed downtown...visited the Ole Smoky Moonshine shop

Had to taste all 12 flavors! :icon_lol:

Woke up this morning to the reason they're called the Smokys-

A few minutes later...

Packed up and headed out thru 3 hours of rain til we finally hit some sunshine.

Went thru a good part of Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois. Meant to get further, but 3 hours of 45-55 mph instead of 70-80 mph had us stopping about 100 miles short of expected.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Left out of Frankfort, IL yesterday morning.

Serious road construction happening in St. Louis.

The Gateway Arch-

The closest we got to downtown St. Louis.

The weather was great...not cold, not hot. Last time we were in St. Louis it was sweltering...hot and humid.

A lot of steel in this bridge...did not see much rust. :icon_beerchug:

A totally different bridge!

We are just pounding out the miles to get to Beartooth Pass, and then to our son & grand daughter in Missoula, MT.

After that we will begin taking some time and seeing new sights.

Some long shadows in Nebraska

We were getting pretty bored and tired at the end of a 540 mile ride through mostly flat land.

Stayed in Council Bluffs, NE last night.

Did not even turn the computer on last night. Got something in my eyes along the road, so we had dinner, put some drops in my eyes, put some ice on to get the swelling down and hoped that I would not need to go to the doctor today.

I think it was something they were spraying in the fields.

Wore goggles today instead of sunglasses. Eyes are almost back to normal.

Back about 15 years ago I looped a bike doing some hill-climbing. Landed in some poison ivy face first. Ever since then my eyes have been a bit sensitive to irritants.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Left out of Council Bluffs NE this morning. It was a bit wet, dreary and cold.

We hit a few drizzles here and there, but missed the thunderstorms all along the way. :icon_beerchug:

Early afternoon it cleared up somewhere in SD. But it got colder and when we turned west we were running against a 20+ mph headwind.

Gotta mention after running thru Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota these last 3 days...The folks that live in the areas we rode thru grow a lot of food! Thank you!!!

We stopped in Mitchell, SD at Klock Werks. Makel showed us around their shop.

Triumph Trike that Brian is building to attempt a Trike Land Speed Record. Got to hear it run, sounds wicked.

Poster they had up on a wall that Mary really liked.

Mary at the Dyno room.

Mint Green Road King-

Back on the road toward Spearfish

It might not look it, but it was cold!

We're in Kadoka, SD for the night. Will hit old Spearfish Canyon road tomorrow on our way to BearTooth.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

It's been a busy 3 days.

Leaving out of Kodoka, took a pic of some of the stuff sacks that fit in the trunk. It's amazing how much it holds.

Long road from Kodaka to Rapid City. We bypassed the Badlands, we were there last year and we wanted to take our time on 212 (Bear Tooth Pass).

We hit the dealership in Rapid City. We had a vibration that had developed and gotten a bit worse over the last 3500 miles.

I could not identify what it was, neither could my dealership back home. All told, better than 10 hours had been spent checking every fastener, steering head bearings and fall away, engine mounts, wheel bearings, tires, balance, etc.

I thought with all the bikes that pass thru the Rapid City dealership that someone there might have had experience with this on the Tri-Glide.

Fortunately there was a tech, Alan, that had spent a few weeks at Lehman and he is now the go-to Tri-Glide guy at Rapid City.

He checked all the things that we already had gone thru, then called me back and said the only thing he could find is that the front stabilizer had a little play in it, but he did not think that could be causing what we were feeling. We had already identified that in Mississippi and came to the same conclusion.

Plus, Alan said he had never even seen one of the new solid ones go bad.

But, by process of elimination we went ahead and replaced it.

That did the trick.

We continued on our way, 4 hours later. Since we were a bit behind schedule we blew right past Sturgis and Spearfish.

Making our way to Sheridan on the 90, those are the Grand Tetons in the distance. Our camera was not good enough to capture the snow covered peaks that we could see, but we had a nice view of them for a couple of hours.

We hit Sheridan as the sun was setting and stopped for the night.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

We just spent the last 2.5 days with our son Craig, and granddaughter Lydia. Had a great time!

Gonna try and get caught up on the pics tonight before heading for Canada tomorrow morning.

We left out of Sheridan for Red Lodge and then Beartooth Pass!

Those are the Grand Tetons in the distance...camera does not do them justice.

We've ridden close to 2500 mile to finally get to "the beginning" of our trip. Some elevation and some twistys!

Some local art somewhere near Red Lodge.

Red Lodge is on one side of the Beartooth Pass. We stayed here last year after riding BTP, they have a nice outdoor hot tub that was a great way to finish out a spectacular day of riding!

Here are a few pics starting to head up the pass. They don't really do justice to how awesome this ride is.

More pics in the next post!

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Mary took over 250 pics just of BTP! I've gone thru and picked a few that follow in the next couple of posts.

We arrived at this first "scenic turn-out" and immediately distracted as the chipmunks came out looking for food. lol

I should have mentioned before, Mary is a great riding partner. She doesn't even complain with a few wheelies and slides every now and then, and she'll ride as long as I can each day. :icon_lol:

Back on the bike, taking pics as we make our way thru the pass. It is about 60 miles from Red Lodge to Cooke City. Much of it at the 8000-10000 ft. elevation.

Starting to get into the snow.

I stopped on the side for minute while Mary took a panoramic pic.

More to come in the next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Another couple panoramic shots that show the vastness of the Pass and the great roads!

Yes, we are wearing mesh jackets. But under them are our Gerbing heated jackets.

Since the first leg of our trip was mostly warm, and our space limited, we wore the mesh and shipped our leather to Craig in Missoula. For Canada and Alaska we will have our leather and Gerbing jackets and gloves.

Coming back thru Missoula we will switch back the the mesh and ship the leather home.

Back on the bike and headed down below snow level.

Beartooth Lake

Stopped again at a little turn-out.

Mary is taking pics with a little FujiFilm point and shoot camera. There is a Drift video camera that is mounted on the handlebars & sometimes the engine guard.

The Drift has an option to take pics every few seconds. Here is one we took at this stop.

A deer along the side that Mary caught a pic of at 50+ mph

Getting close to Cooke City. It is located at the bottom of BTP and right outside the North entrance to Yellowstone.

Great roads, great views, a fun time!

 

[OldBay]

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Kevin, great pictures and report. Thx so much for sharing with us. Looks like you guys are having a really great time. I hope the rest of your journey goes as well. Keep us posted when ya can.

 

[Nana]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

What a wonderful, wonderful trip! I will be eagerly watching for more pictures. Thank you so much for sharing them!!!

 

[2002Trike]

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Wow, this is AWESOME. Please keep up the updates. Looks like you guys are building some GREAT memories together!!!!!

 

[Blondie Gal]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Loving these pix! Sort of like a guide to a proposed trip to Yellowstone next summer!!

 

[Rod69]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Great pictures. Probably the only time i'll see the place.

 

[87Trike1200]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Thank you for the commentary and great pictures. Have a great trip with lot's of wonderful memories. ThumbUp

 

[Lakemaker]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Wow...what a trip!! Thanks much for posting.

 

[RdKnB]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

WOW that was great, enjoy your adventure and thanks for sharing with us.

 

[Bikerbozo]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

That really looks like a fun trip. Enjoy.

 

[skuuter]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

WOW...what a GREAT Trip.....ThumbUp

 

[StorminNormin]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Incredible Journey! Thank you for sharing, it is almost like being there with you.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Thank you to everyone for the well wishes...we are making some great memories for sure!

Kevin, great pictures and report. Thx so much for sharing with us. Looks like you guys are having a really great time. I hope the rest of your journey goes as well. Keep us posted when ya can.

Will keep this threaded updated as time and internet access are available.

What a wonderful, wonderful trip! I will be eagerly watching for more pictures. Thank you so much for sharing them!!!

Posting a bunch more tonite.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Headed to Missoula on the 90. TG ran great at 75-80 the whole way.

Fun road coming thru the range that surrounds the Missoula valley.

Yep, all that stuff, and more, was on/in the TG. :icon_lol:

First things first! Grandma Mary and Lydia!

Then she wanted to get on the bike. lol

Yep, I can reach the handlebars dad.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Then she got on the passenger seat and wanted to hear it.

It's Loud! When you move "that thing" it gets louder. lol

Then a pic or 10 with grandma.

Off to dinner, when we got back she wanted a ride...we putted around the parking lot.

Many hours were spent in the pool this weekend.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

This morning we started out in Missoula, MT. Cut thru Idaho, then Washington State, then crossed into Canada. We're at Grand Forks, BC right now.

Packing up in Missoula. The right side of the trunk has tools, oil, pledge, octane booster (just in case).

All the rest of this stuff, plus a little, gets put into the rest of the trunk!

Trunk and Tour-Pak pretty full. When it is colder we wear more, and it's a little easier to pack.

Headed out of Missoula on the 90. We ran behind an Adventure Tourer guy for awhile.

Headed toward Idaho.

Montana has some great roads!

Idaho is nice too! But definitely not the glass smooth like Montana.

Couer d' Alene lake

In Washington now. Was unpleasantly surprised by the part of Spokane we saw.

North of Spokane, on the 395, great roads and country.

More in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

North Washington, about 100 miles from Canada.

Stopped for some gas, saw this. Sounded great too!

Old time Drive-in ... wasn't near any city, but there must be folks up in the hills.

The Columbia river.

Fresh batteries for the video camera and Mary's point & shoot.

So we could get some pics like this-

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Coming up to the Canadian border. We did not get any pics, but they must have asked us a half dozen times if we had any firearms or ammo with us...all while pulling stuff out of the trunk and tour-pak.

They were quite nice about it, but left it to me to re-pack. lol

After rolling thru Wyoming, SD, Montana, Idaho and Washington at 75-80 mph, it's gonna be different here. lol

It will be easier for Mary to get pics at 50-60 mph!

Here's where we are tonight-

Most nights we hit a grocery store and pick up some food for the night and the next morning. That was a bit of an experience at the store across from where we're staying.

Tomorrow going to be changing some USD to Canadian dollars.

While there, saw "The First Canadian Custom Bike Magazine".

Tomorrow we go a short hop to Salmon Arm to see Katie!

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Gonna have to do a full report on today sometime in the next day or so.

But here it is briefly...One day in Canada and it is amazing!

We rode up to Salmon Arm. Met up with Katie, she showed us around a bit. What a fantastic area she lives in.

Tried several times to upload a short video...failed each time.

Went and had a great meal and time visiting at a friend of Katie's Italian restaurant.

In the morning we're going to meet up and Katie is going to ride with us as far as Revelstoke.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Ok. Wow. We have been in Canada 3 days and are blown away. Sitting in a log cabin in Jasper (which is nicer and less expensive than the motels in the area)starting to catch up.

Back 3 days ago we left out of the border town, Grand Forks, to go meet up with Katie in Salmon Arm.

This was the view from the motel door.

On the road to SA.

The roads, scenery and vastness of Canada are amazing! We are having the time of our lives.

Stopped in Rock Creek for some gas. Area map on side of the building.

Katie confirmed that the main industry in the area is logging. We saw plenty of these!

Cruise control has many uses....Cleaning the lens of the video camera before some twistys!

The creek changed directions/overflowed...that used to be the front yard, and the water is 2-3 foot deep at the garage and house. Bummer.

I think part of what takes so long to do a report each day is that Mary takes a couple hundred pics a day...and they are all good. Can only post up a few. Great riding!

At Salmon Arm! Gonna see Katie in a bit.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

Katie took on a nice tour around part of the area. We hit rain a few times, not too bad or cold though.

That's steam coming up off the road. (Where Katie lives is MUCH warmer than the glaciers we've been riding thru the last couple of days)

Riders paradise!

Coming back into town after seeing a small part of the lake.

Katies good looking & sounding Deluxe and the Traveling TG parked at the curved pier.

Pier and a small part of the lake.

It was great meeting Kate after knowing her for years on the internet. We had a nice dinner, and great time. Thank you Kate!!!

The next morning we rode out to Revelstoke on our own while Katie was stuck in court. More pics coming tomorrow.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Re: Ride Report- Mississippi to Alaska & Back - Pic Heavy

After a great afternoon & evening with Katie in Salmon Arm, we headed out to Revelstoke.

We did not know what to expect. Except, when I saw the first set of mountains covered in snow, I thought, this must be the beginning of the Icefield Highway. :lmao:

Wrong!!!

There are hundreds and hundreds of miles of mountain after mountain covered with snow. Literally mind boggling.

Off from SA toward Revelstoke (we missed you Katie!)

Starting to climb and get a bit chilly.

Lakes everywhere. No shortage of water here, and what comes out of the faucet everywhere we've been smells and tastes good.

Coming into Revelstoke, got some gas, and headed on.

btw, gas is in liters and costs anywhere from 1.59 to 1.69 per for 91 octane, ethanol Free.

Mary does a great job of capturing pics!

Somewhere along here it was getting cold. We turned on the heated jacket liners.

A little over a year ago Mary said she wanted to get a heated jacket, and thought I should too. I resisted for all the normal reasons. Never had any problem with layering up. Don't want wires hanging everywhere, etc. etc.

Well, we both got them last year and I gotta tell you, they are Very Nice! All last winter it was much easier & warmer than the normal layer upon layer that I used to put on and still not really be warm.

This is Rogers Pass coming out of Revelstoke toward Lake Louise.

We have so many pics of mountain after mountain from just this day, here are just a couple...

This road has some nice twistys, then it opened up into a 4 lane with great sweepers.

What I found very interesting (no complaints at all), the Canadian drivers will follow the speed limits in town and close to the towns (which are quite slow compared to the States). Then when on a road like this they open it up!

The speed limit on this 4 lane was 100 km (62 mph), but I was doing 75-85 mph and getting passed by almost everyone!

more pics coming.