after thoughts and more!!

I want to apologize for being so late with this update. You would think that a retired guy has lots of time to finish what was started. I admit that I was just lazy and I needed a prompt from Ed Kiss to get on the bus and get going!! Thanks Ed!!
General after thoughts with my adventure: This trip had been planned for two years prior to my retirement. I was able to use lots of information that I found on the internet to plan and actually get on the road. Thanks! Al Gore, for inventing the internet!!
Why did I choose a KLR 650? It was cheap and reliable. Lots of riders have circumvented the world on a KLR. From my research and readings, it appears that not all countries have available dealerships to procure parts. Thus the KLR has to carry a lot of extra parts. My KLR was virtually trouble free for the entire trip. I did have to have a new fuel petcock installed. The stock chain finally wore out after 17,000 miles. I will have to install new sprockets and a new chain before driving the Mule to Oregon.
Equipment: I did not do any major modifications to the Mule. New tank guards were installed. I'm really glad that I found out about Alaska Butt Pads. Saved my butt!! I really liked using Anti Monkey Butt powder, especially during the extreme hot weather that I encountered. I never used the camp stool that Pat and Courtney gave me for my birthday. Most of the camping that I did was in campgrounds with amenities.
The Jet boil stove was great!!
I packed heavy but I really was glad that I had a good tent, big sleeping bag and a large, 3.5 REI sleeping pad. I used all the tools that I carried in the 4" ABS tool tube. ACCER mini computer worked great.
The route: Thanks again Al Gore!! I conversed with lots of fellow riders on the KLR forum. I also used motowhere.com to plot daily routes and also used Judy "Garmin" GPS when close to cities to find out where I was going. It was eye opening to travel on the east coast. Too many people and they drive too fast!!
Since the KLR was a smaller MC, I plotted routes on back or secondary roads. I really enjoyed talking to all the people in the small towns that I traveled through. It seems that they all have relatives that live or have lived in Alaska.
What I would do different!! As much as I like my KLR, I had many conversations with MC riders. All suggested upgrading to a bigger bike. Well, I took their advice and purchased a 2009 BMW R1200 GS. It's got all the bells and whistles that I'll ever need. The enclosed pics are my new ride. Actually went riding today. Temps were low 30's but this bike has heated hand grips.
My GS hugs the road and is a smooth ride. Should be for 20K price tag. Yeah, it's a lot of money but I can ride all year down here and the speedometer maxs out at 220 mph. I have to baby the GS for 600 miles during break in. There are lots of small, curvy back roads to ride.
I start work next week at the Sherwood Ice Arena. Only doing three nights a week but that will make the MC payment. The GS is set up for two riders. It actually has an on-board computer that lets you change the dampening for different rider configurations and road conditions. Bought two new helmets as the born again date had expired on my older Nolan and I wanted Valley to have a good brain bucket for our adventures.
I am looking forward to adventure riding with Valley and exploring new routes in our new State (We will always be Nanooks!!).