I woke up this morning to a rain falling on my Sierra Designs Vapor Light 1 tent.  Mosquitoes were buzzing already, trapped in between the rain fly and my glorious bug net.  The sun had been up for hours but I stayed warm and dry under the cover of my sleeping bag.  I dosed in bed until 9AM then pulled out the wonderful book Beyond the Horizon  and read 20 or 30 pages before the rain finally quit falling.  I donned my headnet, packed my gear and set out into the thick swampy wood to retrieve my bear bag tied high in a tree.  The Chenai Hot Springs Rec Area lies along a beautiful but swampy and buggy river.  I scarfed down my yogurt and cereal before hopping on the Ruckus and heading back for Fairbanks.  Today's plan was to spoon on a new rear tire from Northern Power Sports and see about fixing my front rack's broken welds.  I cruised in to town, stopped for water and some nuts at Lowes before heading over to get my tire.  Three KTM 690's I had seen in my trip north were parked out front and I introduced myself to Sam and Clare of http://www.chasinghorizons.co.uk/   .  Check out their amazing trip and stories. 

They were truly wonderful folks and I enjoyed the short time spent with them. Clare even assisted me as I spooned on my tire for the second time. Her fabulous stories and sense of humor may have distracted me while putting it on backward the first time. Who knows. 

The shop suggested I visit Interior Welding a block down the road for my broken front rack. The 10lb in fuel strapped to the inadequate rack finally applied their weight somewhere in the Yukon cracking both welds.  The guys at Interior Welding really know their stuff and were able to help weld it much stronger than new in 20 or 30 minutes then spray it with a coat of black to keep from rusting.  I had been debating getting this fixed for a while since removing the rack involves taking off the battery box and disconnecting all the lights.  Now I am very happy I did. NO MORE SQUEAK.

I stopped in at the library for some wifi, water and to cook lunch on the picnic table.  My damp sleeping bag got the sun it needed and I was happy as a clam.  A text from Phil informed me he would be getting in to town tonight (He forgot about the day's difference in HI) so now I have somewhere to sleep other than the buggy and free swamps of the Chenai Rec Area.  I'm looking forward to catching up with him tonight and tomorrow as we repaint part of his house.  He lives in North Pole so I'm going to be sure to stop at the Santa Claus House and take a pic with the 50ft Santa.


On Thursday I aim for Deadhorse and will camp somewhere near Coldfoot the first night.  The ride to Prudhoe Bay is one for the record books as far as I'm concerned.  On the return, the Manley Hot Springs will make for a welcome side trip to soothe my aching back and tailbone after miles of rutted and rocky roads.  The semi trucks should be interesting.

You meet the nicest Athabascans on a Honda! Leskasaki and the two others whose names I won't disrespect with poor spelling told me a bit about the north, Deadhorse and Barrow. Great folks!!!

While charging my new battery outside the walmart for 2 hours I struck up a conversation. I will post some pages from my journal here which I keep updated daily. Please excuse my fast and sloppy handwriting.

It was a very moving moment. My hat's off to you sir.

I spoke with my fiend Phil who is in HI until Wed so he suggested I visit with his XO, Chris. I called him up and was invited over for a salmon bake last night. I rode over 200mi at 30 mph stopping a total of 30 minute over 8 hrs to arrive just in time for dinner. I wolfed it down and enjoyed their great company before crashing out on their couch. What a day! Today I hope to get a new tire, fresh battery and change my oil. I hope to find a welding shop to fix my broken rack.