Shaken Not Stirred

We stayed at The Keystone in Valdez. The keystone started life as part of the camp at the Alyeska pipeline terminal. Several years ago it was moved to where it is now on Hazelet Street.  They added showers and toilets to the rooms, new siding and viola a hotel is born. It’s ok. The rooms are small. They are clean, but the halls still look like a work camp. Worst of all the bathroom fans are loud, and the walls are paper thin, you can hear a fan several rooms away and you can sure hear when your next door neighbors wake up at 3:00 am.  I was glad they did not realize it was straight sex Sunday.

We got up early. Peppermint was ready to gas up by 7:30. We saw a couple of the HOGS but the legends were smoking through  Keystone Canyon before we were even missed.

Did I mention that the Richardson Highway into Valdez is rough? Well if I didn’t it was because the Richardson Highway out of Valdez is even rougher! They are repairing some of the major frost heaves but doing this there are 15 or so places where the pavement has been removed and replaced with a drop off and a few hundred feet of gravel. There were times on that stretch of road that I was sure that I was feeling every moving part of the bikes suspension front and rear. It wasn't a bad feeling just a sense that we were all working together, the suspension more than me.

Looking across Valdez harbor towards the Alyeska Terminal former home of our hotel for the night and where our oil is shipped  south.

At the Holy City Peppermint headed for Tok. She was going home the long way. Siz and I headed for Eureka for breakfast, and were in time for it.

 West bound riding as one in and out of the corners, around large slow vehicles, perfect passes, feeling elated to have been on a weekend holiday free to be a biker hoodlum for a few hours…