[Note that NEW PHOTOS are posted on the Photos page...]

I can not even remember how long it was since we started our ride south on the Cassiar Highway, since the bugs ate me alive at the Junction of 37 and the Alaskan Highway.

Was it a week ago we started, or was it two or three ago. I can not even remember what day today is. It is not that I have a memory problem or any more then usual. It is just days and nights run into each other and all the markers that keep track of the day are left behind when we travel each day to a new place.

There is a common thread that keeps it all together. Bugs, bugs and more bugs. There is now reason for this many bugs. I am currently trying to recover from a bite that got me a week ago in the eyelid, swelled it up so bad I look like I just got out of the boxing ring. The rain was something that dampened out spirit and has been a thread of commonality. Currently we are in Ketchikan, Alaska hiding out at Alltec Computer store updating our website which is really avoidance from going out and getting wetter then wet. It seems we really are wimps but we are working on getting ready for the West Coast ride down the USA through Oregon. Also another common thread is the amazing wonderful people we meet that share so much with us. Wow! People are really wonderful. Thank you all for your gifts of generosity.

The Cassiar Highway was great in most parts and really bad in others. Most of it is a grade A bike touring road and about 15 percent is really bad. (Pot holes holding water, mud, under construction) Randy broke a spoke so we had to try to get it fixed which we failed at so we hitchhiked past the worse part and limped to Stewart. We got rained on a lot but when the scenery cleared we had incredible vistas with snowcapped mountains, glaciated waterways and lakes, the widest range of vegetations we have seen so far. We saw a few bears, a wolverine, dear and lots of birds.

We recovered in Stewart with evening views of the Salmon at Fish creek and the occasional grizzly showing up to frolic in the water and splash around in the pools in an attempt to get his dinner. We borrowed a jeep from Tracy ( who treated us to wonderful homemade breads) and rode up to see the Salmon Glacier above Hyder, Alaska. A man called Keith lives up at the road summit overlooking the Glacier, in a tent under the sign announcing the Glacier. He is called the bear man and you can bye his stuff but what is amazing is he has been living in a tent in this area for 30 years selling his stuff. We also meet a helicopter driver who supports the crew which cuts the brush along the US and Canadian border. He had his Helicopter on the edge of the cliff at the summit. I could not believe he could do this, some people are nuts.

I like to be creative in travels so I found a way to get to Prince Rupert which would cut off a week of cycling. We hopped on the US mail plane that flies from Hyder, Alaska to Ketchikan, Alaska where we will take a ferry to Prince Rupert. It was an amazing sight to see two bikes, bike touring luggage and 4 passengers take off in this float plane called a Beaver. We flew over the Misty Fiords. The sights brought tears to my eyes. Pristine Fiords which we flew just 100’s of feet from the ridges tops in the misty August afternoon.. It is something I would recommend everyone to try.