Highway to Anchorage Dispatch 1

This morning Freddy from Mexico City had a near mishap. No, not with a roadside Alaskan wild animal like the kind we have already encountered; a bear, moose, wild horses, squirrel or fox but, with a roadside Chevron pump. He initially mistook the diesel pump for the unleaded fuel; and then it was nearly all downhill from there as Freddy struggled to break free from the grasps of that mean old pump.

Welcome to Anchorage where just having made it here is an accomplishment and if you have friends like Todd and Tom around to help you navigate the uniqueness of this place then so much the better. You can live an entire lifetime and travel the world but, finding friends of this caliber is hard to imagine.

The previous day: Breakfast with the Mexico City boys can be a relaxing experience right after my first cup of coffee. When we speak Spanish the likes of a Mexican novela start to evolve. I could go on and on and on but, since this is supposed to be a G rated blog I won’t so, I’ll just leave you with a novela cliff hanger.

If in your family you have a family member who is/has/hasn’t/does, such and such then they are the black sheep, aka misfit of the family. But, if you claim that there’s no such person in your family; the real thought provoking way of looking at it is, (no tengo oveja negra en mi familia) then you’re probably it.

Our final few hundred miles of riding our Kawasaki Versys 300 into Anchorage the weather proved a might chilly for all except gpskevin. He followed a ways back on most of the roads in a white Mercedes van. He and his Yamaha WR250 were probably content at warm 72 degrees. The rest of us breathed in that glacier fed air and battled headwinds at a near 40 degrees with a windchill factor of maybe 20 degrees.

A baby calf and mama moose was now spotted near the road. A mama moose was spotted close by. A hit my sound bomb horn several times causing the mama to stampede and freezing the baby in her tracks. Freddy pulls up to photograph the baby while Roberto 2 scolded him about the effects of getting between mama and her calf.

As we entered Anchorage we saw a highway sign stating that something like 359 moose’s were hit by vehicles so far this year.

Once in Anchorage the boys were treated as arriving heroes. Todd rolled out the magic carpet and Tracy made things extra special in the food, drinks and welcoming atmosphere. Tonight we dine at her restaurant. Alaskan things that our eyes are not yet accustomed to; the brightness of daylight for nearly 24 hours; a hockey ring in the backyard; wild animals roaming about freely like a grizzly bear tearing at atoms Apple trees; moose roaming freely; free range dogs that are well fed. Camaraderie at every turn, especially the most well equipped motorcycle shop in the world where riders show up to gear back up and proceed to places like say, the boundaries of the last frontier. And let the preparations continue.