Canada Alaska 2008 Motorcycle trip Day 32

Day 32 -
View Larger MapWe had oatmeal for breakfast in the room, gassed up Jennifer’s Versys with Jennifer's 2 gal spare gas can and checked out at about 11:30. We went across the street and topped off our tanks and then headed out for Canada/Beaver Creek. We stopped in Delta Junction at the Buffalo Diner for lunch about 14:30. Eric had a Buffalo cheese burger and Buffalo chips (like flavored curly fries only flat), Jennifer had a chicken salad. There were lots of friendly people in the restaurant.
We met three guys at the next table who were all from Anchorage working for a security company for the summer protecting scientists, surveyors, tree huggers, work crews, geologists, etc. from wildlife (bears and moose). They said pepper spray was worthless and the bells people sometimes wear just make bears curious. They use 12 gauge Remington 870's with rifled slugs. (Same old refrain!) They told us a joke, "How do you tell Grizzly poop? Answer, It smells of chili peppers and has bells in it."
Jennifer wrote 2 postcards and mailed them off at the Post Office right next door to the restaurant. Then we rode to Tok, bought gas and got 2 free Tootsie Pops. From Tok we rode to Beaver Creek in Canada.
Outside of Tok a sign said construction next 47 miles. They weren't kidding. Lots of road construction on the Alaska side with some mud, fresh graded gravel, and wet dirt. There were 2 Pilot car places. We made it to the front of the line at both pilot car places before starting. It was a very tiring ride with all of the construction.
Beaver Creek is on the Alaska Hwy just across the border in Canada. Canadian customs had only one guy working when we arrived there and we had to wait around for about 20 minutes. Because Jennifer was born in Venezuela, she needed proof of Citizenship so she showed him her passport. Maybe he thought Hugo Chavez sent her as a spy.
We got into Beaver Creek about 21:00, checked in to the 1202 Motel and got a “suite” at $65 (because their $35 rooms were not available). The suite was not exactly "sweet", but it had clean sheets and a shower. We did laundry at the Westmark RV park while we had dinner at the only restaurant in town that was still open, the Lounge/Bar at the Westmark Lodge. Caesar salads for both of us.
The non-local clerk at the Westmark RV Park Mini Mart/Laundromat told us about his female grizzly bear experience/encounter 2 days before. There were no cubs present and that is probably why he survived. He was out for a run, noticed her and started videoing. He noticed through the viewfinder that she was coming towards him. Then he tried to make himself big and make lots of noise but that didn't change anything. She kept getting closer. He panicked and sprinted away and she started chasing him. He had accidentally dropped his MP3 player and after about 100 yards of running, he glanced back and saw that she had stopped and was sniffing his player. He kept going but came back after 15 minutes and saw that she was still there with the MP3 player. His advice to us was, if you have to run from a bear, drop something that would have your scent.
We bought some snacks and returned to our “suite” with our clean laundry. It was 01:00 before we got to sleep, we have a long day planned for tomorrow.