Date: 26 October 2000
Habari Ako (Swahili),
Time can really fly and we've travelled pretty fast too, covered over
15.000 kms since we arrived in the USA in early August. Our Bike arrived
on Aug. 13 (what a day). Customs clearance went as smooth as ever and
without any problems. We were on the road again the next day.
First thing we discovered is that the USA is Expensive with a capital
E.
Following the California coast is nice (saw a big group of sea-elephants)
but after the Great Ocean Road in Oz the scenery was a bit tame. Lots
of No trespassing signs or No whatever here, specially in California.
In Vancouver (Canada) we had a narrow escape as a car bumped into us
from behind and we were pushed in front of a big truck that was crossing.
The truck just missed us by an inch and the truck driver, who was very
upset, stopped to give us some backup, as in Canada these things weigh
very heavy on your insurance.
Good thing about it was that, while we were arranging for the damage
to be covered immediately, we made friends with Steve Zathuretsky, a Yamaha
V-Max rider who stopped to see what was going on.
In British Colombia (Canada) we decided to take some back roads. The
scenery is just magic. We also found a lot of good and free camping spots
a made campfires almost every night. Our road took us through Prince George
on the 16 and we took a left turn just after Smithers onto the 37. The
37 is half paved and half dirt and in combination with a lot of rain we
looked like if we were competing in a motocross event.
At the end of the 37 we reached the Alaskan Highway which we followed
to Whitehorse (24.000 people), the last major town before you enter Alaska.
We decided to follow the Dempster Highway up north to Inuvik, way past
the arctic circle at the end of the Dempster Highway, a 750 km long dirt
road. The scenery is outstanding as you drive through the tundra's and
taiga's. Snow capped mountains in the distance and everything is coloured
by fall weather. It is one of our favorites. In Inuvik we met Frank who
drives a Honda CB 900 with a Velorex sidecar. He could easily be the most
northern sidecar-rider in the world. We had a couple of wonderful days
with Frank and Karen and made some beautiful new 'business' cards with
our logo in red. Great! Thanks again Frank and Karen.
Still on our way to Alaska, we came down the Dempster again to Dawson
City, an old gold diggers town full of history, were we met Walter Hinnek
with his Guzzi sidecar (all world travellers are welcome to stay in the
cabin on his property) and travelled the Top of the World Highway into
Alaska. The snow and the wind made it a cold ride so the campfire that
night was a big one.
Via Fairbanks and Denali National Park we took the Denali Highway, a
dirt road of some 300 km. Another beautiful road and a must do for any
serious biker.
On the way back we visited Skagway, the place where the golddiggers
to be started their long journey over the White Pass towards Dawson City
and the place where a railroad was built in no time, even though anyone
had thought that to be impossible because of the steep climb up the White
Pass.
We drove all of the Alaska Highway and made a little detour to Edmonton
to see Don and Gladys, whom we had met earlier in Whitehorse. After a
sightseeing tour through the "Biggest shopping mall in the world"
we celebrated my birthday in style with a real Dutch apple pie that Dafne
made.
From Edmonton we drove the Icefields Parkway through the Rocky Mountains,
but missed much of the scenery because of snowfall. We had a lucky escape
when Rob hit a RV while he was moving backwards and not looking were he
was going. "You scared my dogs," the lady said, pointing her
finger at two small poodles. The owner of the RV was a nice guy and said
that it was not the first scratch on his RV and wouldn't be the last one
either. When we passed them again later on they were hooting their horns
and waving like we'd known each other a long time allready. How lucky
we were.
Because of the amount of Dutch immigrants in Canada there are plenty
of opportunities to buy some typical Dutch food and so we did. But the
biggest surprise was the little town of Lynden in Washington State. The
people in this town are for at least 80% of Dutch origin and even the
main street with it's windmill and small Dutch houses looks like it is
in Holland.
In Seattle we stopped to say hello to Helge Pedersen, another world
traveler, who was as busy as ever. We had a good time talking about the
places we both had been. It's a small world and everyboby knows everybody.
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Johnsons Trip
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