Chuck:
About 3 am I heard rain on the RV roof and went out to cover my bike. It was already getting light. It has been almost a month since the solstice and the nights are now mostly dark for about 2 hours. At this latitude, each day is about 3 3/4 minutes shorter every day. The rain continued throughout the morning. We used the time to catch up on correspondence, pay bills, etc. By mid-afternoon the weather cleared and we headed south on Alaska Highway #2 toward Tok. Betty dropped me at the same location she had retrieved me last evening. The highway is still flat and miles slide by easily. At about mile 17, I spotted a moose grazing in the ditch beside the highway; he watched me and I watched him. Betty planned to stop for the night at Dot Lake, a picturesque rest stop she had read about in the MilePost guide book. By the time I arrived, my left knee was complaining again. Beautiful campsite, thousands of fireweed with bright purple flowers covering the lake shore and the right-of-way along the highway. A hot shower, happy hour, pasta, a walk along the lake and good-night.