This is what the road between Tok and Anchorage looked like at midnight. Little did I know that I was heading for darker skies and freezing rain over the Chugash Mountains before I dropped down into Anchorage. Later this evening I dodged no less than 3 moose. One so close I had to brake hard in order to not harpoon the draft horse sized ungulate. They are hard to see at night. I also got my first taste of Alaska style road maintenance. They don't screw around trying to fill potholes. They just rip the whole road up for miles on end. You're cruising along on nice tarmack, then suddenly you find yourself on a muddy road right out of the congo (except colder). This was becoming more of a challenge than I wanted at the end of a thousand mile day. When I rolled into Anchorage at about 5:00 AM local time I was definetly done. You could stick me with a fork.
I got about 4 hours rack time then had to get my bike over to Alaska Leather for my new offroad tires they were holding for me. They said I was the first idiot ( I mean adventure rider) to come by this early in the season from the lower 48.
Later that evening, Chuck, a friend of a friend ( thanks again Aden) picked me up, bought me dinner, gave me the nickle Anchorage tour, and regaled me with stories of his GS exploits. The next day he loaned me the use of his garage so I could change my oil. Thanks again Chuck. Anytime, anywhere, man. I regret I didn't get a shot of Chuck.
Anchorage was OK, but I was gettin itchy to head north. Downtown was like downtown anywhere, except that the small green City Hall lawn was carpeted with drunk Indians. Sad.
I did enjoy seeing the floatplane base at Hood Lake. Largest assembly of floatplanes in the world.