Preamble

OK, so this is my first attempt at a blog. The object is to have a log of my trip, as opposed to writing on a rough notepad. Hopefully I can include some photos. Family and friends have asked I create this to see where I am. It obviously depends upon Internet access, but I will keep rough notes then update when it is available.

So what is the trip?. It is something I have wanted to do for a while, and is in fact two trips bolted on to each other. I'll treat them as such, with an overview of each.

I have wanted to do a 4 corners ride for a long time, basically taking in the 4 corners of the US, visiting places on my 'to visit list'. I guess now it would be called a 'bucket list'. I did not know there was a santioned tour until this year when reading the bumph sent with my AMA renewal. So of course I signed up. What is the 4 Corners Tour?. Check out http://www.usa4corners.org/, it describes the requirements and process to register. You basically visit the 4 corner cities of the US in 21 days. the corners being; San Ysidro, CA -  Blaine, WA - Madawaska, ME and Key West, FL. You can visit them in any order, the 21 days being from when the first is visited. Obviously there are proof of visits you must adhere to.
As I reside in Washington, my plan is to start at Blaine, WA,., and visit the others in an anti-clockwise route, finishing at Madawaska. I will then head for Ontario to spend a couple of weeks or so visiting friends and family before heading west towards home. I have some places to visit en route, including the Avenue of the Giants, California Pacific Highway (1), Pensacola Air Museum, obviously Key West, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Now comes part 2.
Another 'bucket list' item is to ride the ferry from Alaska back to Bellingham. Having done the obligatory 'Alaska Cruise', I thought it would be really interesting to spend more time closer in shore, and in a more relaxed manner. The ferry to Bellingham originates at Skagway, so I thought Haines would be a good boarding point. From that a more ambitious route grew, to include Dawson, Whitehorse, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Haines. Hmm, one might think, what is this guy smoking?. Well, we will see. I have options here. I intend to visit my youngest son and his family in Hanna Alberta anyway, so detouring to Edmonton then 'north to Alaska' is not too bad. I can bag it, ride direct to Haines, or try the whole nine yards. It depends on my state of mind, butt, body and bike. I'll play it by ear.
My tentative planned return route is through Ontario to Sarnia, then taking the US route and crossing back into Canada I15 in Montana. I have done the Trans Canadian H1 route from Toronto to Vancouver before, and found it boring apart from Calgary to Vancouver. Plus I almost ran out of gas a couple of times in northern Ontario.
So preparation is underway for the bike and myself. Nervous?. Sure. Excited, definitely. Count down has started.

Planned Route: