Bow Tie Tour

We headed out and the first hour of the ride was nice and semi clear.  We could see the bottom half of the mountains along the way and could only guess what the full view looked like.  I guess I’ll have to go back and see the top half someday    We stopped to see a Glacier but it was too far out so we didn’t get to walk on it.

Eric Jumping for joy because we saw the sun peak through the clouds

A shot of the Mountains

Alas the sun sighting was fleeting and as we continued on our way the sun disappeared and the rain returned

One good thing about riding through the mountains is when you get to higher elevations the rain turns into snow and you don’t get as wet. But there also is the ice factor on the roads which wasn’t very helpful.

We continued in the rain all the way to Gakona where the road forks, one fork going to Fairbanks and the other out to Tok Junction and Canada.  Because of the storm and the washed out bridges (see posts below) all the traffic from Fairbanks to Anchorage was diverted through the small town of Gakona.  When we arrived it was late and there were no rooms available and no camping either.

As we were filling up with gas and Jason was trying to fix an oil leak I made some small talk with an Inuit lady whose pickup truck we had passed a few times on the road.

We finished gassing up at the same time and we started following her so we could avoid hitting wild animals in the dark.  About a mile down the road I though “wouldn’t it be cool if the lady in front of us randomly pulls over and offers us a place to stay tonight, nah that wouldn’t happen… would it?”

Another mile or so down the road she pulls over and one of her kids gets out, walks back and invites us (three strangers on motorcycles) to spend the night.  Having no alternative we said yes.

A few more miles down the road we pulled up to their small house and helped them unload their truck full of groceries. Her names was Brenda and she took care of about 9 foster children in her small house.

We talked, ate some smoked salmon and here is where it gets even cooler. I mentioned that my wife (at the time my fiance) had been up to Alaska on a missions trip a few years ago.  Brenda asked me what her name was, I told her, lo and behold Anna had worked at the nearby church on her trip and had talked to Brenda who also works with the same church.

So off all the people to “randomly” invite three strangers to spend the night it just “happens” to be the one person in Alaska who also knows my wife.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so.

We spent the night in the garage, it was cold and a little damp but much better than sleeping outside with the Grizzlies.