Trapped in Tok

We awoke to a lot more smoke in the air then the evening before. Thick enough for us to dig out bandanas in case it got bad. We figured we could dampen them up and breathe through them while getting through the area, if it was really bothersome.

We had already passed one large fire yesterday, we were going to pass 3 more today. The one by Tetlin Junction being the larger one today.

We ate breakfast at Fast Eddies, and filled up the tanks with gas. We ran into Bjoern and Sigrid, an Australian couple that have been traveling the world since last April. They flew into the US and purchased used bikes and have pretty much covered North, Central and South America. They were headed up to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Sigrid and Bjoern, Michael

We spent some time chatting with them and talking about the road. They were excited because after hitting Alaska, they would have covered everything on their bucket list. Check out their blog at: Pan American Highway - http://bikers.readmyblog.org/

We drove out of Tok with excitement (and forest fire smoke) in the air. We headed towards the Tetlin Junction, smoke on the horizon. 

Smoke in the air

We were able to get though the junction without any problems and found ourselves, finally, on the Taylor Highway. We were excited that the trip was finally starting. The plan was to make it across the border into Canada and stay the night in Dawson. We turned the corner and saw emergency vehicles in the road. Road Closed.   

Taylor was a no go today.

We came to a stop and the trooper told us the road would be closed for 8-10 hours. The Canadian crossing closes at 8 pm, so we realized we were not going to be able to make it.  We got a good look at the accident. It made both of us sick.

A motorcycle was lodged under a 40 foot motorhome. It was obvious the motorhome had run over the bike and dragged it a bit. Later we learned it was a fatality. We turned back to Tok. With that kind of wait, in the smoke, it was best to seek shelter. We were hoping at the time, that we could salvage part of the day by heading over the road into Chicken when they re-opened the road. We figured if we camped in Chicken, it would be almost 80 miles less to do in the morning. The road ended up staying closed until 10 pm.

By the time we got back to the Alaska Highway, the troopers had already put up closed signs on the Taylor. We met up with 3 riders that wanted to know what was going on. We filled them in and invited them to have lunch with us. None of us were going anywhere.

Mike, Aad and Jeanette

Jeanette, Mike and Aad are a family that have been living a nomadic lifestyle for 9 years, the first part of the journey started by bus, the last 4 years they have been traveling by motorcycles. The son is now 17 years old and on his own motorcycle… do the math… The kid has been on the road for half his life. They are schooling him along the way; he recently graduated from high school. These folks had just come down from Prudhoe Bay, and were on their way back to the lower 48. We hung out with them for 4 hours listening to their Venezuela tales. They were originally from Tasmania, but are heading to Holland to settle down for a short stint. We made plans to visit them. They are traveling in simplicity… no blogs, no phones, no computers, but he is thinking about writing a book.

Our hearts are heavy tonight, for the motorcyclist that lost his life today doing what he loved. Tomorrow we will take another shot at the Top of the World.

Stuck in Tok... waiting out a road closure.