Anchored down in Anchorage

Denali National Park is a 'Must Do' for any visitor to Alaska, but as we rode past the entry, the hoards of 'Blue Rinses' and kids turned us off. That, and you can only ride 15 miles into the park before having to pay a large sum of money to take the shuttle bus. Stopping further south we managed to get some photos of the cloud shrouded Mt McKinley (Denali) before continuing onto Anchorage.

Mt McKinley, Denali National Park

So you'd think things would be easing up, a little less stressful being this close to the end. In desperate need of a beer, and being a Friday night, Mike and I head out in Anchorage. We've got the low down on where the live music's at, we've changed out of mucky riding gear and we even went to the trouble of washing. We walk six blocks to find an ATM. My mood turns from bad to worse when I can't withdraw $100 (Don't worry, this was to last me a few days, I wasn't going to spend it all on beer). I try again, it will give me $60. Stupidly I look at the balance. -$1872. Ouch! My monthly 'allowance' should have gone in few days ago. Had I really spent it all in two days?

In a foul mood we walk another block to get that beer. What do you know, with no USA identity you need your passport. We can't convince the bouncer that we're older than the 21 years we obviously look (This adventure has taken years off, evidently) so have to traipse back to the Hostel.

As a result of our mood and the fact that we did end up getting that beer (after walking 21 blocks), Saturday turned into a duvet day. Lazing in bed with a hangover and afterwards, bike chores.

Still miserable on Sunday, the rain not helping our moods, Mike headed off to Tok while I decided to stay in Anchorage and sort out my financial woes. It was time to check the dreaded bank balance. Ah ha, it would appear that I had been feeding the population of Caracas, Venezuela for a few days. I was kind of glad that it wasn't my financial mismanagement that had lead to my money troubles but with only $32 in my wallet, a credit card that was nearly maxed out and having only one night's accommodation paid for, I was kind of in a pickle.

But as a guy once told me in a Hostel in San Diego, years ago, when I had less cash and no credit card, 'Something always turns up', it was chin up and get on with it. By 10am Monday morning I had a job spring cleaning a Motorhome for $100. Not bad for five hours work. I also get fed and watered and taken on a rather long scenic drive.

Seeing as how the bank wouldn't send me a replacement card (That would be sent to my friend's house in London who happened to be on 3 weeks holidays, great timing) or refund the stolen money for some time, my best chance of escaping Anchorage before the winter was to try and catch up with Mike, at least Mike had a credit card that wasn't almost full. With it still raining and after having thanked the staff at the hostel who had continually tried to put a smile on my face, I rode out of Anchorage on Tuesday morning.

I hadn't heard from Mike since he had left but I figured if I kept emailing him with what had happened and where I hoped to meet up with him, he might wait for me. Five hours down the road I see Mike's bike parked outside a campground in Tok. For the first time in days I've got something to smile about. Bless him, Mike had been emailing me since Sunday afternoon to tell me he was waiting in Tok for me, but for some strange reason, his emails were bouncing back. As a last ditch effort, he had parked his bike on a road that he knew I'd be passing on. And boy was I happy to see it.