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2003 Kenai Peninsula Tour Photogallery

Kenai Peninsula Road Report May 18th to May 23rd

The Kenai Peninsula in South Central Alaska is rich in natural beauty and sparsely populated. It is full of mountains, wildlife, rivers, lakes, and rugged coastline. Besides motorcycling, one can hike, mountain bike, sea kayak, river raft, horseback ride, deep sea fish, fresh water fish, bear view, and nap.

Even though there was only one guest, I decided to run the trip anyway. It would be a good opportunity to ease into the season, tuning staff, equipment and vehicles. And, we had the chance to explore some new roads with terrific scenery!

Nodie, a nurse practitioner from Bainbridge Island, Washington, joined us for the trip. Though she rides to work every day, had never been on a motorcycle tour before. When she met my mom and I working at my booth down at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show in Seattle last November, she couldn't shake the idea of touring Alaska by motorcycle. By the end of her week in Alaska, she was very impressed by the scenery she saw, and enjoyed the characters she met along the way…..even my staff!

Kevin, my good buddy from the ski resort days, joined us as the support car driver for the week. He's one of the funniest people I have ever met, and Nodie enjoyed our company at the end of each day.(I hope she wasn't just being polite when she said that!)

May 18th:

We met Nodie at her Hotel in Anchorage, and took her back to Girdwood. Before leaving town, we stopped at the supermarket to fill the coolers with odds and ends for lunch and snacks for the week. In Girdwood, we checked Nodie into the Carriage B&B, a family run B&B surrounded by tall Sitka Black Spruce and bordering California Creek, a small clear water creek. There is small wild King Salmon run in the creek!

I came back after an hour to go for a short ride with her. The Suzuki DR 650 I had lined up for her was a bit tall, so she tried my Yamaha XT 225. That was the ticket! (Though, If I had to do it again, I would have had her on a BMW F650 GS.) We circled around town for a while. We rode up to the ski resort, past the Prince Hotel, and then up Crow Creek Road. The weather was great, and before long, we were near tree line, staring at glaciers and mountaintops. Dall sheep could be seen high along the rocky outcroppings.

That evening, we took Nodie to the Double Musky; a hidden Cajun Restaurant with some of the finest food in the state. After a sampling of appetizers, we escorted her back to the B&B (just across the road!)
Nodie was excited. The first day of the tour was the next day….

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2003 Kenai Peninsula Tour Photogallery

May 19th:

129 miles. Currently we are at Cooper Lake, near Cooper Landing. Blue sky and no bugs.

The Glaciers in Portage Valley looked like ice cream, blobbing down the mountains. Not a cloud in the sky. …

Animal log: one Porcupine, 3 moose, and the swallows are back for the summer!

All the mountains are out today. The road out to Hope was a bit chunky. Though paved, the Hope spur road is a bit weathered and uneven. It is fine for a road bike, but just keep on your guard. The town of Hope is real sleepy this time of year. We ate a picnic lunch and watched a bald eagle, a Sandhill Crane, and some sea-gulls glide back and forth over the mud flats, past the Sea Breeze Café.

A local Labrador retriever came over to beg for food. It was called away by its owner, but was soon back. Even with the sad eyes, she couldn't work the crowd.

The water is crystal clear up here in Cooper Lake. No one is around. There is a multitude of bug life and songbirds. The sun is warm and the breeze refreshing.
We will be returning shortly to Cooper Landing and put Nodie up in the "Sourdough B&B". We will be staying at our friends' house down the way: Dom, Shannon, and their new one, Ellie.

No Mosquitoes at all!!

The gentle lapping sound of the lake against the shore is soothing.

-later-

End of the day:

144 miles. Willie, the native preacher at the Sourdough B&B chapel, (he introduced himself as his wife's butler) told us the story of when Nancy Kerrigan's nearly blind mother stayed at their place, and got so close to a moose, she saw the shape. Hard to stay focused when Willie is talking.

May 20th:

Staying at Dom and Shannon's was great. The dog got the couch, Kevin got the futon, and I the floor.

185 miles today. 6-8 Moose, feeding off the side of the road. We took Kalifornsky Creek Road out of Soldotna. OK views, but not really worth it.

The ride down to Homer was beautiful: Mt. Redoubt and Mt. Illiamna, both over 10,000 feet, loomed across Cook Inlet at us from the Alaska Peninsula. We stopped for lunch and a rest in Ninilchik, sight of one of many Russian settlements in Alaska. The old Eastern Orthodox church still stands on the bluff.

We ate sandwiches and sat for a while right on the beach, gazing across Cook Inlet, and the incomprehensible mountains of the Alaska Peninsula.

Bald eagles cruised up and down the beach…perhaps looking for scraps from the many clam diggers out on the beach at low tide.

In Homer, we took the East Road out 20 miles, almost to the head of Kachemak Bay. Super beautiful! It was clear all day, and this was the cherry on the Sundae for the day!!!

The East Road is interesting in that along the way, you have traffic, no traffic, hippies, fishermen, spectacular scenery, wildlife, and Russians. There is an old Russian settlement, and the men still have the traditional beards and the women the old style dresses. If you ever get to Homer on a motorcycle, do not forget to take the East Road.

We are staying on the spit tonight. I checked Nodie into Lands End Resort…where she went on and on about how great the hot tub was…and it was!! Located at the very end of the spit, the hot tub itself is outside surrounded by plexy-glass…with nothing but gorgeous views of the mountains across Kachemak Bay.

We camped nearby at a campground on the spit…and the screeching and goings-on of the bald eagles was such, that it almost became too loud!!

We had fish and chips for dinner at a local restaurant, then Kevin and I decided to go over to the Salty Dog Saloon, and see what there is to sea…

May 21st:

182 miles today. Windy.

But, the ride out the East Road (we couldn't resist to ride it again in such weather!) was terrific. Great scenery…the mountain range across Kachemak Bay gleamed in the hazy sunlight. The jagged peak line encircled outpouring glaciers, reaching for the ocean.

Eagles, moose, Hippies and Russians OH MY! We went to the switchbacks started…where the gravel starts, and the dual-sport junkies should ride down, down, down to the beach…..

Then, it was heavy wind all the way back to Soldotna. Clear views of the Iliamna Range on the Alaska Peninsula passed us by as we gripped the handlebars.

Off the coast, it warmed up and the ride to Cooper Landing was pleasant. In total, we saw 6 moose and too many Bald eagles to count.

During the night on the spit, the eagles and sea-gulls apparently got together, and bombed the hood of the Suburban and the KLR. Wasn't pleasant to come across it before coffee.

We stayed the night again in Cooper Landing. We had a good dinner up at the Bar at the Kenai Princess Hotel, just down the road. There is quite a view from up there, perched above the Kenai River.....

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2003 Kenai Peninsula Tour Photogallery

May 22nd

88 Miles. Good weather. 1 moose, two sea lions.

We stopped by Exit Glacier, on our way into Seward. As usual, the first glimpse of that glacier spilling out from the Harding Ice Field was spectacular. We walked around the glacier for about an hour. I chewed a good piece of it. The bright, young leaves from the spring foliage was catchy to the eye.

We are staying at Lowell point tonight. It is a small point about a mile past the town of Seward along the coast. The road out there is dirt, right next to the ocean. The 3,000 foot plus fiords around Seward are something to see from there. Literally, the mountains jump right out of the ocean!

I had a secluded cabin for Nodie booked for the trip. She really liked it, and it was close to the ocean. We went to Rays, right on the harbor in Seward for dinner. They presented us with one of the best meals of the trip. Their specialty is seafood, and the wine list is longer than the food menu!

May 23rd:

90 miles, good weather.

On our final leg from Seward to Girdwood, Nodie went white-water rafting on Six Mile River. The company, Class 5, specializes on this river.

After three hours and two canyons, she came back exhilarated. She quickly kicked off her rafting outfit, the helmet was on, and we were down the road.

Motorcycle - Raft - Motorcycle.

Ironically, it was the windiest of the trip at the very last mile before the pull-in at Girdwood. Nodie held on like a trooper, and we finally reached our final destination of the tour.

Once again she stayed at the Carriage B&B, and we had our fairwell dinner at Chair 5 Restaurant.

Though the official tour was over, Nodie's adventure continued for 6 extra days. She rented the Yamaha XT 225, strapped her kit on the back, and headed into the northern horizon the next day.

She ended up in Talkeetna for a couple of days, and even took a flight-see of Mt McKinley. Then, she continued on to Valdez via the Glenn Highway. At Valdez, she took a ferry east across Prince William Sound, and pulled into Girdwood once again.

When I asked her the best part of her solo trip, she said that Thompson Pass (outside of Valdez) was so compelling, that she made another run through it the following day!

End Note:

The tour went very well, and the weather was extremely cordial to us. All the mountains were out, but we had to keep our wits during the windy times. There was little road construction. Having not been on the East Road before, I say that that road is a must ride for those headed down that way.
The last part of May is a great time to tour the Kenai Peninsula. The weather can be great (we had several 70-75 degree days) and there is little traffic. Mix that with NO BUGS, and you have a winning combination.

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2003 Kenai Peninsula Tour Photogallery

Articles about Alaska Rider Tours

- Rider Magazine "Before the Mountains Disappeared" March 2003 issue

- Bike Rider Magazine "Northern Exposure" December/January 2003 issue

- Bike Rider Magazine "Northern Exposure Part ll" February/March 2003 issue

Road Reports

2003 Guinea Pig Road Report

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