Mark's Rambling Road: So it end’s and now the rest of the adventure.

Those that have been following this trip since May 18th know the entire story about the why for this trip to Alaska. Today that reason and it’s completion of a dream is now over. I did it and I’m proud of it. So I sadly close a book on Alaska and move into British Columbia tracking toward Vancouver. I close that final chapter with my Dad, his dream of RV’ing to Alaska, that never happened but I finished as promised. The skies were covered with clouds and misting rain until I reached the Alaska and Canadian boundary and then they started to clear. It was almost as if someone from above was crying that this was over. Me? I’m good. I’m leaving filling the need to comeback and do it again because I would love flying up and renting a car or motorcycle and driving seeing some of the sights in a slow motion. What a beautiful and diverse state and one everyone needs to visit at least once in your lifetime.

If you learn anything from this trip, this blog, this adventure is that if you have a dream, you need to do it. Do not procrastinate and say, “I’ll get to it one day or I just can’t do it.” You will have regrets down the road. Live for your dreams and live life to the fullest. Remember as my dad always said, “You have no promise of tomorrow.” Those that know me very well, know that if I dream it, fear it, or want to do it, Mark is going to do it. I’ll find a way and if you have any doubts, you do not know me. My wish for my 2 boys is that follow in my footsteps and never let anyone tell them that their dream(s) is to far fetched or it’s a waste of time and effort.

As I was exiting Alaska, I once again stopped at the entry sign for the state. There, I run into two couples traveling in one RV that are from Martinsburg West Virginia area in Hedgesville. They didn’t know I livid 15 miles away and asked what I thought of the road in the Yukon. I started laughing and said, the funniest thing you ever want to see is riding behind an RV watching it ride the road like a boat on the ocean. Someone needs motion sickness pills. We must have talked 20 minutes or more about their route and where they were heading. Then of course we spoke about what I had done to date. Good folks and they were beaming that they finally made the border. Thanks for the conversation Greg and Linda and I hope you enjoy Alaska.

I spent the rest of the day riding toward Whitehorse. It went from 46 overcast and misty, to partly cloudy, windy, and temps fluxed between 50-61 degrees. I saw some pretty amazing sights like clouds just barely dancing on the ridges which gave the effect that the tops of the mountains were being frosted with icing, like a cake. I saw a really strange cloud formation that I will post below and I will be curious if you see what I see. Then Destruction lake, what a difference a week makes. Now there was more water showing than ice and the water was all different shades of blue.

I finally rolled into Whitehorse around 4:15 and it was a fairly short trip at 386 miles. After getting my key to my room, I turned to see a young lady standing there with a dog and a UNC jacket. I said, “UNC? Really? In Alaska?” To which she replied, “Do you own the motorcycle with Virginia plates? And are you a UVA fan? I said, “No, Virginia Tech.” To which she said, “That ok then and I lived in Winston Salem and I’m now moving to Anchorage for my first permanent job as a Physical Therapist. She was excited about her new job and wondered what the winters, day and nights would be like during there extremes. She was riding one way with her mother and the mother was flying home to leave her little duckling all alone. I didn’t catch their names but it was fun chatting and bantering about the schools. UNC! I guess everyone has some type of issue. Just teasing.

I’m a little concerned about my routes going through British Columbia because of all the talk by travelers and the British Columbia 511 website. I’m going to lean to the page being accurate and updated and I will proceed on my planned routes and just expect delays. It must be hard living in this world where extreme cold and snow just destroy the primary roads on a regular bases. This would get old, quick. Below you can see the link for the BC 511 page for tomorrow route if your are curious.

Whitehorse, Yukon to Stewart, British Columbia

Yesterday I got a little rain, not to bad at all. Today I also got a little rain, but mostly just mist and wet roads. Tomorrow, I expect 650 miles of rain on the longest planned leg of my route. Got a feeling the next 3 to 4 days are going to be wet. Welcome to the west coast.