Clearly, the Top of the World Highway was the highlight of the 7,221 miles between Key West and Anchorage because it is unique, challenging and memorable.
These two photographs by Roy and Carole Timm capture the flavor of the 68 miles from Dawson City, Yukon, to Boundary, Alaska. Click on any image for a larger view.
A quick way to access all photos and reports on the ride to Alaska is to click here.
One day after our arrival in Anchorage, the arrival of wives aboard a Citation CJ2 signals the return to life in the normal lane. E.B., Robert and Bob and their wives will board a cruise ship for a passage south to Vancouver, Craig will take the jet home to his young family, and the mag guy will go boating before catching a commercial flight home. Our Harleys have been turned over to Gary and Joanie Brandt at Classic Motion for transport home.
A feast in the Crow's Nest Restaurant atop the Captain Cook Hotel lowered the curtain on an excellent adventure that will live on in fond memories forever.
. . . two weeks on the road with a bunch of great guys on a bunch of great motorcycles.
. . . arrival in Anchorage safe and sound after 3,261 miles from Idaho Falls, 4,561 miles from Mesa, and a grand total of 7,221 miles from Key West.
. . . riding in the mountains, whether they be Denali in Alaska or the Canadian Rockies, even if it is wet and cool before the day breaks into sunshine.
. . . after hot showers meeting up in the bar at a swell hotel* like Captain Cook. (The question is in which one of three bars will I find the boys after I complete this upload?)
The day starts with a kind of familiar look—showers and temps in the 40s—but what do you expect in the mountains? In truth, the overcast moments only heighten the enjoyment.
We did see Denali, the highest mountain in North America, albeit only on the mural at the overlook where we stopped for photos.
What we did see in actuality was a horse in the wild which is quite unusual at this latitude, according to knowledgeable sources in our group. It was a mule in a meadow about 175 miles south of the Arctic Circle. (Later, after the comment posted below under Day 13, it became apparent that someone had been pulling my leg with the horse thing. The animal in the photo is indeed a moose.)
* OK, the Captain Cook Hotel may not be that swell after all. They refused to serve me and asked me to leave the lounge on account of my footwear. After a long day in riding boots, I was wearing comfortable sandals, with dress socks. Not flip-flops, proper leather sandals. According to policy set by the owner, Wally Hickel Jr., I'm a slob not fit to drink in the Crow's Nest Restaurant. In Alaska, of all places, sandals are not good enough!
—Georgs Kolesnikovs
It's kind of sad, really, that this will be our final day on the road.
It's cloudy this morning in Fairbanks but we hope that Denali, aka Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America, will be visible as we ride by.
In Fairbanks, we're the farthest north our travels will take us. We're only 125 miles from the Arctic Circle, closer to Russia than to Idaho or Arizona.
On the way here, we passed through North Pole, Alaska, and disturbed a lady moose feeding by the side of the highway.
Yes, very much so! The Top of the World Highway is an unforgettable ride. It’s challenging, but not overly so for riders of intermediate or better experience.
The highway runs for 68 miles from Dawson City, Yukon, to Poker Creek, Alaska, the border crossing point. About two-third of the distance, say, 45 miles, is gravel road. That’s the easy part.
On the U.S. side of the border, where the road is known as the Taylor Highway, the ride begins to go downhill, literally, on a rough clay road that would be treacherous in rain—for close to 50 miles before pavement is reached.
The top-of-the-world experience results because the road snakes along the tops of ridges above the tree line, providing sweeping views of valleys and mountains, vistas that seem to have no end.
We’ll have to wait for better photos from Roy and Carole Timm but this from-the-saddle shot gives an indication of what the scene is like.
The road snakes along the tops of ridges for close to 70 miles.
That’s what provides the see-forever experience. Click on any image for a larger view.
We cleared U.S. customs in minutes to begin the ride down to Chicken, the smallest tourist trap in the world, and, eventually, Tok.
Carol Timm, far left, and Roy Timm, far right, give the boys the paparazzi treatment, gathering personality photos which you’ll see in the magazine.
The Taylor Highway, which is the Alaska extension of the Top of the World Highway, isn’t much more than a dusty dirt road through the bush.
Today, we ride the Top of the World Highway into Alaska.
The arrival of professional photographers Roy and Carole Timm has raised the bar in the pictures we can post on the blog and that we'll feature in the magazine. Mount Lorne stands guard on the horizon, the Yukon River winds its way to the Bering Sea, and five riders continue their glorious journey to Alaska. Photo by Roy Timm.
Bob Esrey, Robert Hobbs and Georgs Kolesnikovs chase after E.B. and Craig Chester up a big hill at Pelly Crossing in Canada's Yukon Territory. Photo by Carole Timm.
Dawson City’s famous gambling hall is named after bona fide dance hall queen Diamond Tooth Gertie. During the Gold Rush of 1898, in order to distinguish herself from numerous Klondike kings and queens, Gertie Lovejoy wedged a sparkling diamond between her two front teeth. Any discomfort this caused paid dividends. Instead of working the creeks for her riches, Diamond Tooth Gertie made her fortune by mining the lonely prospectors who readily opened their gold pokes in return for her affections. In Dawson City today, Gertrude Lovejoy’s moniker lives on at the town-run non-profit Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino.
Replete with cancan dancers and a singing master of
ceremonies named Gertie, Canada’s oldest gambling hall gives one a
chance to re-live the heady days of Dawson’s Gold Rush era.
Some visitors cannot hold themselves back and jump on stage to join the dancers, as witnessed by our own Bob Esrey.
Bob brought the house down with his Kansas City reverse pelvic thrust which left Colleen Booth, his professional partner, amazed. Photos by Roy and Carole Timm.
