Updated July 11, 2006

July 13 and 14 stops changed!  Lunch July 18 added

 Notice:  A lot of the below is underlined.  Not my fault ... it is the program! <g>

We will have special events in Florida, Tennessee, Utah and Texas.  Various legs of the trip may be modified as time goes on so please check back often.  The first stop will be in Gatlinburg, TN instead of Knoxville.  NEWS FLASH ... it is strongly urged for you to get a passport.  Type in "Visiting Canada" in your search engine for official information.  You may want to contact your insurance company to get coverage for Canada.

 Day 1 June 30, 2006:  Leave St. Augustine, FL to Gatlinburg, TN  557 miles

We will assemble at  5:30 and be treated to a breakfast by the folks from the parent-infant program at Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and will leave at 6 a.m. from First City Honda on

     We will stop at Madison, GA to meet with a biker and tentative plans are to have lunch at his mother's home.  We should arrive there at 1:00 p.m.  Madison is to the east of Atlanta and is on US 441.  On HWY 129, turn right on route 83 (

     From St. Augustine --  I-95 to I-295, US 1 toWaycross, GA; 82 to Pearson, then 441 to Athens, (We will be treated to a BBQ lunch in Madison, Georgia), Route 129 all the way to Calderwood, TN, then Foothills Parkway East, then 321 East to Galinsburg, then 441 North to the Mountain Adventures Motorcycle Shop at the Galinburg exit of I-40 where they are planning a local event and we will arrive in the middle of the festivities)         

     To check out this venue go to http://www.mountainadventurestn.com/.  They plan to have dinner for us at 7 p.m.  This is the only part of the trip that we have three events planned in one day so there is not much wiggle room here.  However, we will all be fresh today so we can handle the pace.

     We will travel the famed "Tail of the Dragon" (approx. 318 turns in just 11 miles) on US 129 between Tapoco, NC and Deal's Gap, TN as it passes south of Great Smoky Mountain Nat. Park. (thanks to Darryl).  I hope to have a windshield mount clamp for a video camera so this should be great!  Photos will be posted on the website daily.

     Suggested Lodging for June 30:   Ramada Limited Kodak,

 Day 2 July 1, 2006:  Leave Gatlinburg, Tennessee to Madison, Wisconsin  716 miles for a total of 1273 miles

Leave 6 a.m.  Ramada Limited Kodak

Route: I-40 West, I-75, I-64, I-65, then Indianapolis, I-74, then north on I-39, then I-90 to Madison.  This will take us around Chicago.

      Suggested Lodging for July 1:  Motel 6, Madison, WI #1173 , 54 Thierer Road, Madison, WI  53704    608 241-8101  I made reservations for three rooms.  Bikers who want to save costs by sharing a room MUST contact me, otherwise, make your own reservations.

Day 3 July 2, 2006:  Madison, Wisconsin to Fargo, North Dakota 505 miles, total 1778 miles

Leave 8 a.m. Motel 6, Madison, WI

Route:  I-94 thru Minneapolis, then I-29 North.  This will be a nice cruise through flat terrain.  I know 1778 miles the first three days is a lot but our adrenalin will be high as we are approaching Canada!  From Madison, we will have left all that congestion behind and have wide open spaces in front of us!

July 2 Suggested Lodging: Motel 6 #1158 in Fargo, ND  

I made reservations for three rooms.  Bikers who want to save costs by sharing a room MUST contact me, otherwise, make your own reservations. 

Day 4 July 3, 2006: Fargo, ND to Yorkton, Saskatchewan  516 miles for a total of 2294 miles

Leave 9 a.m. from Motel 6 (a good rest, and then an easy day’s drive!)

Route:  I-29, Canadian 75, 16

Suggested lodging for July 3:  Howard Johnson, 207 BROADWAY EAST, YORKTON, SK S3N3K7 (800) 446-4656 or (306) 783-6581 for booking info.  I made reservations for three rooms.  Bikers who want to save costs by sharing a room MUST contact me, otherwise, make your own reservations.

Day 5 July 4, 2006:  Yorkton, Saskatchewan to Lloydminster, Alberta --- 375 miles for a total of 2669 miles (this is a nice, fast route across the plains). 

Leave 9 a.m. Howard Johnson, Yorkton, SK 

Route:  Canadian 16

Suggested lodging for July 4: Best Western Wayside Inn

After such a short day’s drive, we will be all invigorated for the final push to Alaska!

Day 6 July 5, 2006:  Lloydminster, AB to Fort St. John, British Columbia --587 miles for a total of 3390 miles

Leave Best Western Wayside 8 a.m.

Route:  Canada 16, 43, 97

At Dawson Creek, we will stop at a deli and stock up on provisions.  I will have a trailer and a large cooler so you can put in some perishables in your supplied Tupperware® containers.  After our obligatory photo session at Milepost Zero, we are off on the Alaska Highway!  After about 17 miles, we may want drive on the original old Alaska Highway and cross the historic curved wooden 531 foot long Kiskatinaw River Bridge.  At milepost 42, we could visit the world's largest glass beehive while dodging moose on a 10 mile gravel road.

Suggested Lodging for July 5:  Quality Inn Northern Grand  Heading west on the Alaska Hwy, turn right on 100th St then right again on 100th Ave. 250-787-0521  800-663-8312.  I made reservations for three rooms.  Bikers who want to save costs by sharing a room MUST contact me, otherwise, make your own reservations.

Day 7 July 6, 2006:  Fort St. John, BC to Watson Lake, Yukon – 587 miles for 3977 miles

Leave at 8 a.m.  Quality Inn Northern Grand

Route:  At milepost 147, we may want to take a break at Mae's Kitchen.  A photo shot can be done at milepost 168.5 at the 98-foot-high Sikhanni Chief Falls.

At milepost 278 is a Trapper's Den for a brief break.  It gets really interesting at Stone Mountain around milepost 371.  I always see caribou and stone sheep.  We may also see bears!  Toad River Lodge at milepost 422 may be a nice place for a snack and hot coffee.  As we approach Liard, we may see bison.  I counted over 30 bison once before!

Finally, we will arrive at Watson Lake "Gateway to the Yukon!"

     Suggested lodging for July 6 would be Belvedere Motor Hotel, (867) 536-7712, belvedere@watsonlake.net; or the Watson Lake Hotel, (867) 536-7781.  Campers can check out Campground Services at (867) 536-7448.  I made reservations for three rooms at Belvedere Motor Hotel.  Bikers who want to save costs by sharing a room MUST contact me, otherwise, make your own reservations.

Day 8 July 7, 2006:  Watson Lake, YT to Beaver Creek, YT -- 550 miles for a total of 4527 miles

Leave Belvedere Motor Hotel at 7 a.m.

Route:  We could drive to Mukluk Annie's Salmon Bake at milepost 821 for lunch.  After passing thru Whitehorse, Capital of Yukon, we will see majestic snow capped mountains at Haines Junction.  Wait until you see the reflection of Sheep Mountain on Kluane Lake!  We will then ease into Beaver Creek with lots of daylight left.  We can go to Buckshot Betty's for a nice meal and stay there (867) 862-7111 or at Ida's Motel (867) 862-7223.  How does caribou sausage breakfast and bison burgers or caribou stew sound to you?

     Suggested lodging for July 7:  Westmark Beaver Creek. Milepost

Day 9 July 8, 2006: Beaver Creek, YT to Fairbanks, Alaska -- 290 miles (this should give you time in the afternoon to have your bikes serviced and relax) for a total of 4817 miles

Leave Westmark Beaver Creek 8 a.m.. 

We will be in Alaska in a few minutes!  I recommend you contact a service department in Fairbanks for bike service.

Days 9 through 12 -- July 8 to July 11 ... Fairbanks? Prudhoe Bay?  Homer?  Here are some ideas

 Why not stop here at a hostel?  I reserved four beds @ $25 per person for July 8 and 11.  I also made reservations July 8 and 11 at Super 8 Motel, two rooms. Bikers who want to save costs by sharing a room MUST contact me, otherwise, make your own reservations.

 If Prudhoe Bay, I suggest July 9 overnight in Arctic Getaway which is north of Coldfoot in Wiseman.  It is 225 miles from here to Prudhoe Bay. 

Wiseman has several historic buildings.  A small mining museum is located there.  We have a cabin reserved for 4 people, 2 in one room, and two single rooms. Bikers who want to save costs by sharing a room MUST contact me, otherwise, make your own reservations.

     We will then arrive Prudhoe Bay July 10, then back at Coldfoot July 10 at Coldfoot Camp which is a 52-room inn.  This is the furthest north watering hole in the USA … Frozen Foot Saloon.  We will then be back in Fairbanks July 11.  

Prudhoe Bay Tours information:  907 659 2368  or  toll-free   877 659 2368   907 659 2449

Tour is $37 per person, no reservations needed as
     they rarely fill a vehicle.

ADVANCE SECURITY INFORMATION REQUIRED:
     Driver's license number required
     Passport number desireable
     Minimum 24 hours notice
     They suggest calling before leaving Fairbanks

Tour schedule for 2006 not set at this time.
Tour schedule for 2005, five tours at
     8:30am, 10:30am, 1:30pm, 3:30 pm, 5:30pm 

     Some of you may want to rent a gravel road ready car as you can always cancel that later.  Please believe me when I say you want to take your time on an unimproved road.   You can call Dalton Highway Auto Rentals at 907 474-3530 at Arctic Outfitters. 

Some of you may want to go to Homer instead so that would be July 8 in Anchorage, then July 9 in Homer ... it is a quaint fishing town and you will enjoy visiting the old Russian fishing settlements enroute.

     I imagine some of you will want to take off immediately to your various destinations but if you want to stay in Fairbanks, you can do a search with your favorite search engine and find dozens of camp grounds, bed and breakfasts, hostels and hotels around Fairbanks.

Day 13 July 12:  Fairbanks, AK to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory  582 miles for a total of 5399 miles plus what you added in Alaska

7 a.m. meet on parking lot at Super 8 Motel on

Route:  Alcan Highway

For lodging July 12 -- Edgewater Hotel,

Day 15 July 14: Pink Mountain, BC to Red Deer, Alberta -- 633 miles for a total of 6719 miles plus what you added in Alaska