25 .05.2010




After staying in the beautiful one year old Hotel North Pole for the past six days, we were invigorated and ready to move on. We were only a couple of days from our end destination of Anchorage. The ride through the snow capped mountains and fast flowing rivers was awe inspiring. The thaw was penetrating the ice and snow here, and the spring foliage was looking pretty. Lots of blossoming flowers and trees and the dark brown mountains under the snow caps made for a picturesque sight.

Just as our tummies were rumbling, Des pulled in at the biggest igloo we had ever seen. It was built of styrene foam and timber,painted white and looked fantastic. Inside the temperature was very cool, and the building looked like it had not stayed in business very long. It was built to accommodate travelers overnight and also as a tourist office and shop . It was very spectacular inside with all timber finishes and circular appointments, because of the igloo shape. It was a shame the business could not make a go of it. Fuel costs to run the generator apparently sent the business under and it had been left derelect.

After lunch at the igloo and a walk around the surounding little log cabins, we rode through the mountains and greenery to a small place called Trapper Creek. We enquired about fod and accommodation but decided not to top up with fuel as we would be shipping the bikes from Anchorage and they would need to be empty of fuel for transportation, and Anchorage was not very far from Trapper Creek.

The Trapper Creek Inn was under new management and had some lovely rooms for rent. We selected one with a view over Mt. McKinley in the Denali Ranges. It was an apartment with two rooms and two double beds for $130.00. The restaurant in the Inn had soup to go, and we were allowed to take the whole cooking pot to our room to eat it. The beans with meat soup was delicious, so we went to the Inn again to buy the pot of Minestrone as well. Yum, a lovely dinner.

Lynn and I walked to the local second hand dealer's yard. It was full of interesting, different and odd stuff including a few very old cars and trucks and heaps of number plates. The property was fun to photograph. The owner said the locals bring their visitors and friends to browse and shop there, that’s how his business survives. He is also the local tyre dealer and fixer.





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