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Gulkana - Wasilla

July 11, 2009
It rained during the night and there were still a few showers in the morning!
We prepared some pancakes for breakfast and set off at around 12:00.
The temperatures were good after the rain. The route to Glennallen was very hilly again. Shortly before Glennallen we ate something and quickly checked the mail via W-LAN.
Unfortunately, we could hardly see anything of the magnificent mountain scenery, as most of the mountains were shrouded in smoke from the fires. Even after Glennallen it wasn't much flatter and there were always climbs.
After about 50 km we wanted to spend the night at a campground, but they wanted 25$ for a tent, so 50 for our two, simply outrageous. Of course, we drove on!
On a climb, a service car from the Fireweed Bike Race suddenly stopped and a man asked me if I needed water, I said yes, and he gave me a few liters. Ortwin was also able to refill his bottles. They were a bit amazed at the five bottle cages on Ortwin's bike. Thank you very much !!!
After a while, Ortwin turned onto the road and I saw something lying on the side of the road. It was a small rabbit, it was still alive. I picked him up by the neck and sat him down in the grass, he suddenly started screaming terribly, I could see why.
He had broken his front paw twice, an open fracture. He had probably been hit by a car. I rescued him from his agony. I didn't like it, but the little guy shouldn't be tortured any further, who knows how long he had been lying on the road like that…
A little depressed, we drove on. At around 10 p.m. we wanted to set up camp next to the road, but when I opened my trailer bag, I cut my index finger to the bone. I had hit the bin bag when opening the trailer and cut my finger on the tin of salmon from yesterday. It was bleeding like crazy. I let it bleed a little more so that nothing remained in the wound, and then bandaged the finger with plaster. It really hurt like hell, I hope the wound closes up quickly and that it doesn't get infected.

Was that the little rabbit's revenge, should I have just let him continue to suffer?

How you do it, you do it wrong…

I'd had enough for the day, I put up the tent and lay down….

We cycled 64.7 km today.

We drove towards Anchorage near Glennallen.

Mt. Drum was barely visible, sadly…

Our camp. My finger was throbbing as I was taking it apart, and the cut went all the way down to the bone. To make matters worse, there were insects on it as well …

July 12, 2009
We set off at around 11am from a pleasant camp with few mosquitoes.
After 15 km, we had the best breakfast we've ever had. 5 km further on, another roadhouse. There we had another ice cream. Here you have to take it as it comes. We needed the ice cream too, because we had to tackle a climb of a few meters in altitude and 2 km in length.
My finger was throbbing like crazy. We arrived in Eureka at around 8pm.
At dinner, the nice waitress asked us where we were staying. She said we could pitch our tents behind the restaurant right by the lake. No sooner said than done. Breakfast in the morning was already taken care of.
The landscape was rather boring today. The smoke still covered the mountains. The Matanuska glacier was just visible.
The sun was blazing, just like the days before. The people here are also talking about an extremely warm summer in Alaska.
It was probably too warm for the mosquitoes, too, and they had other things to do today. Thanks, very much.
We drove 55 km.

Plenty of signs but no animals...

Everyone stopped in front of the lodge and marveled at the trike, not many people had ever been on the road in Alaska with one...

Super cozy from the inside!

This would have been a great picture, but the sun was at its zenith…
That's what I hate about cycling, you can't just wait a few hours for the right light…

Food Cache

An angler's dream...

Again and again lots of Fireweed next to the road, I love the sweet smell of these plants !

The Grizzly Country Store

The Mean Hunting Machine

The smoke from the fires is still in the air, the glacier can only be guessed at...

The Eureka Lodge. Super nice people there!

Our camp on the lake behind the lodge, it could hardly be better!

I'd like to have the 6x6 ATV in Germany ...

July 13, 2009
Start at 11 am at the Eureka Roadhouse after a hearty farewell. The charming waitress gave us some apples and mandarins. Thank you!
The day continued as beautifully as it began. Great photo light today and a great view of the Matanuska Glacier, which showed us a panorama on the left side all day.
While eating hamburgers, with delicious but undefinable contents, we had a unique view of the entire glacier. In the restaurant, all of Alaska's animals are stuffed and built up to life-size.
Then an 8 km long construction site on the highway. Our bikes were loaded onto two pickups, and we were able to really enjoy the ride through the construction site in the pilot car.
At first, we had problems finding a camp. After a long downhill along Long Lake, we found the most beautiful camp of the tour so far at the foot of Long Lake.
Our tents were 5 meters from the lake, without mosquitoes, and we could watch fish jumping in the lake.
A wonderful day came to an end. We cycled 68.8 km today.

If only the smoke would disappear...

Vintage car on the go...

Cars like that must cost a fortune...

The traffic is now getting heavier and heavier...

Sheep Mountain

That would be a nice spot to camp!

Always little beauties beside the road !

Too bad that the smoke came up again!

It was hard work with the trike...

We went through the mountains in serpentine with the risk of falling rocks...

Ortwin is really happy that he saw the glacier after all!

I can tell you this glacier has melted enormously since I first saw it in 1989 !!!!

This lodge has the best view of the glacier.

The best view of the glacier was from the balcony of the lodge...

Super lodge with lots of animals, but I would have preferred to see them alive...

The grizzly of his nightmares

Small Grizzly

The chef seems to be a black bear.... LOL

Moose

Unfortunately, everything is still fogged in...

We set up camp at the bottom right of Long Lake.

This is how one imagines a camp in Alaska...

This was the most beautiful camp on our route together...

July 14, 2009
Ortwin got up at 8 a.m. and tightened his kickstand and adjusted his brakes a little. The downhills with all the luggage take their toll.
As the sky closed in, Ortwin woke me up. Quickly pack the tents before they get wet. We set off without breakfast.
A dead moose was lying in the ditch less than 50 meters from camp. It hadn't been dead long. I'm sure it won't be long before the bears come. We'd better get out of here.
The surroundings became more and more civilized. You could tell with every kilometer that we were getting closer to the cities.
We met another American from Anchorage who had only been on the road for a day, his destination was South America!
We reached our destination for the day, Wasilla, where a good friend of mine lives, at around 6pm. But Sue was not at home. We had been trying to contact her for several days. Without success.
We set up our tents in the garden. As soon as we started, Terry, Sue's son, arrived. He said he had no idea where his mother was. We sat together for a long time and Terry listened to Sue's answering machine. She must have left the house at the end of June. So more than 2 weeks ago.

We set up our tents again shortly before one o'clock at night. Shortly afterward, it got dark. It was already dark for about 3 hours at night…

Our day's stage today was 75 km.
It was Ortwin's last stage. After more than 900 km and almost, 8000 meters of altitude, his Alaska tour is over. Time has passed too quickly…
Ortwin was one of the best travel partners I've ever had on one of my trips!

The moose hadn't been dead for long, some idiot shot it and just left it lying there. I hope bad karma catches up with the shooter as quickly as possible!

He has only been on the road for one day, and his destination is the tip of South America…

We were finally able to enjoy the magnificent views.

I am always happy when I find such little beauties on the roadside!

At last, the temperatures were bearable…

Ortwin packs his things in Terry's truck.

I now have 2000 km behind me and there is still more to come on the way back to Whitehorse…

Anchorage is a typical American city as you know it from television...

Farewell to Ortwin at the airport in Anchorage, Terry could be his big brother...

July 19, 2009
Ortwin is flying back to Germany today. His time in Alaska has passed too quickly...
I will stay in Wasilla until we have found Sue, I owe it to her!

Sue Tyrrell is missing since July 4, 2009

Continue with: Search for Sue

Only those who risk going too far, will discover how far they can go!

Expedition in the USA, Alaska & Canada, Scandinavia with folding boat, motorboat, catamaran, motorcycle, off-road vehicle, bicycle …