Fairbanks, Alaska - as the subject line suggests, this will be the final entry in the Northerntierbiking blog. 'Cuz I'm home!
Not that I returned to Fairbanks the easy way. On Sept. 11(great day to travel, that) I hopped on an overnight train from Worcester, Mass. to South Bend, Indiana. After a day in the Bend, wandering around the almost unrecognizable university I graduated from less than a decade ago (they've gone on an obscene building boom) I met up with my Alaskan friends Tim and Jenna in Chicago.
Highlights of Chicago included a visit to the mammoth Museum of Science and Industry, which is a curious mixture of new, state-of-the-art exhibits and stuff they clearly haven't updated since 1983. The newest exhibit is "Target: America," a DEA-financed anti-drug display that attempts (with some success) to link drug use to terrorism. The highlights were the simulated meth lab abd crack den, which looked very bizaree sitting in a museum.
Tim, Jenna, and I also visited the Hologram Museum, an odd, out-of-the-way place full of very '80's holograms that appears to have been sited in an old funeral home, and Cereality, a downtown 'cereal bar' where you can order concoctions like Captain Crunch and chex with peanut butter, chocolate sauce and bananas. It's good stuff, but it basically amounts to paying $4 for a bowl of cereal.
Then I headed back to South Bend for a day to hang out with friends while Notre Dame played Michigan; I was actually offered a ticket to the game, but blanched at the idea of paying $50 to sit alone in the student section. So I watched it on TV instead; considering how badly ND got whupped, it was a wise decision.
After another brief visit to Chicago, I hopped on another train, this one a two-day ride back to Seattle. It was a wonderful trip, although they managed to time it so that the best scenery - Minnesota, Glacier National Park, the Cascades-mostly fly by at night. But the trip through the flatlands of Montana was endlessly interesting, mostly because I was directly paralleling the route I had taken on my bike. I even saw a guy biking past that I think I may have met a month beforehand in New York state! Very bizarre. And the entire terrain looked different: all of the crops had been picked since I last came through, turning everything shades of beige.
I spent a couple of days in Seattle, staying at a hostel and taking in all of the usual sights. My favorite parts were a ferry trip across Puget Sound, a peek at the weird public statuary in the Fremont neighborhood, and a visit to the Sci-Fi-Museum, which sits inside the Frank Gehry-designed building at the base of the Space Needle that is better known for holding the Experience Music Project.
Then I flew home, arriving in Fairbanks at about midnight on Friday after 104 days away. I'm now embarking on the next phase of my life, trying to make a living as a freelance journalist. It may not last long, but I've got the funding lined up to support me through at least November; after that, I might just have to get a damn job.
The bike trip was a fantastic experience, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks to everyone who kept up with the blog and commented; I hope I was able to capture the spirit of the ride in my posts.
Now, without further ado, here's a last batch of photos:
Chicago, Illinois - This giant sculpture, nicknamed "The Bean," is a centerpiece of the amazing new Millenium Park, which just opened but has instantly became a focal point of downtown.
Chicago-Also in Millenium Park is this spectacular Frank Gehry-designed bandshell. Jenna said it looks like a lotus, while I more saw it as a giant cricket head.
Havre, Mont.-the Empire Builder, the train I took from Chicago to Seattle. Minutes after I took this photo, I ran into a convenience store to grab som soup for dinner and came about 30 seconds away from missing the train. Oops.
Seattle, Washington - the men's room door at the Science Finction Museum and Hall of Fame. Smartasses. I was hoping they'd have urinals to service 14 different species, but no luck.
Seattle - This giant troll sculpture is (of course) under a bridge in the funky area of Fremont. For a sense of scale, that's an actual VW bug in its hand.
Seattle-also in Fremont is America's largest sculpture of Lenin, salvaged from Slovakia. It's an impressive if incongruous sight.
Not that I returned to Fairbanks the easy way. On Sept. 11(great day to travel, that) I hopped on an overnight train from Worcester, Mass. to South Bend, Indiana. After a day in the Bend, wandering around the almost unrecognizable university I graduated from less than a decade ago (they've gone on an obscene building boom) I met up with my Alaskan friends Tim and Jenna in Chicago.
Highlights of Chicago included a visit to the mammoth Museum of Science and Industry, which is a curious mixture of new, state-of-the-art exhibits and stuff they clearly haven't updated since 1983. The newest exhibit is "Target: America," a DEA-financed anti-drug display that attempts (with some success) to link drug use to terrorism. The highlights were the simulated meth lab abd crack den, which looked very bizaree sitting in a museum.
Tim, Jenna, and I also visited the Hologram Museum, an odd, out-of-the-way place full of very '80's holograms that appears to have been sited in an old funeral home, and Cereality, a downtown 'cereal bar' where you can order concoctions like Captain Crunch and chex with peanut butter, chocolate sauce and bananas. It's good stuff, but it basically amounts to paying $4 for a bowl of cereal.
Then I headed back to South Bend for a day to hang out with friends while Notre Dame played Michigan; I was actually offered a ticket to the game, but blanched at the idea of paying $50 to sit alone in the student section. So I watched it on TV instead; considering how badly ND got whupped, it was a wise decision.
After another brief visit to Chicago, I hopped on another train, this one a two-day ride back to Seattle. It was a wonderful trip, although they managed to time it so that the best scenery - Minnesota, Glacier National Park, the Cascades-mostly fly by at night. But the trip through the flatlands of Montana was endlessly interesting, mostly because I was directly paralleling the route I had taken on my bike. I even saw a guy biking past that I think I may have met a month beforehand in New York state! Very bizarre. And the entire terrain looked different: all of the crops had been picked since I last came through, turning everything shades of beige.
I spent a couple of days in Seattle, staying at a hostel and taking in all of the usual sights. My favorite parts were a ferry trip across Puget Sound, a peek at the weird public statuary in the Fremont neighborhood, and a visit to the Sci-Fi-Museum, which sits inside the Frank Gehry-designed building at the base of the Space Needle that is better known for holding the Experience Music Project.
Then I flew home, arriving in Fairbanks at about midnight on Friday after 104 days away. I'm now embarking on the next phase of my life, trying to make a living as a freelance journalist. It may not last long, but I've got the funding lined up to support me through at least November; after that, I might just have to get a damn job.
The bike trip was a fantastic experience, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks to everyone who kept up with the blog and commented; I hope I was able to capture the spirit of the ride in my posts.
Now, without further ado, here's a last batch of photos:
Chicago, Illinois - This giant sculpture, nicknamed "The Bean," is a centerpiece of the amazing new Millenium Park, which just opened but has instantly became a focal point of downtown.
Chicago-Also in Millenium Park is this spectacular Frank Gehry-designed bandshell. Jenna said it looks like a lotus, while I more saw it as a giant cricket head.
Havre, Mont.-the Empire Builder, the train I took from Chicago to Seattle. Minutes after I took this photo, I ran into a convenience store to grab som soup for dinner and came about 30 seconds away from missing the train. Oops.
Seattle, Washington - the men's room door at the Science Finction Museum and Hall of Fame. Smartasses. I was hoping they'd have urinals to service 14 different species, but no luck.
Seattle - This giant troll sculpture is (of course) under a bridge in the funky area of Fremont. For a sense of scale, that's an actual VW bug in its hand.
Seattle-also in Fremont is America's largest sculpture of Lenin, salvaged from Slovakia. It's an impressive if incongruous sight.
9 Responses to “The Voyage Home”
Leave a Reply
About me
I'm Tom Moran, a bicyclist from Fairbanks, Alaska. I'm spending the summer of 2006 riding from Anacortes, Wash., to Bar Harbor, Maine.
Hi Tom, I happened to come across you site surfing the net looking for people that have crossed the US on the ADV Northern Tier route. I am a Canadian, actually a Quebecer living in Mtl wanting to do the x-country bike ride...I have driven across Canada on Hwy 1 and I did not particularly though it would be a great idea doing it on bike...being a member of ADC I have been posting on the Forum for people to tell me how the Norther Tier route is like. I hope this post gets to you somehow eventhough your trip is over. Please email me!!!
THanks,
y.fortin@equipe4saisons.com
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