How time flies!

Oops.  I said I have 6 months until my trip in my last post when in actuality I have only 5 months.  See, I've already lost a month.  This is why I need to make plans well ahead of time.  I posted my query about tires on the Adventure Riders website and received numerous responses that included many good ideas.  The tire issue seems to boil down to this:  if I desire to ride many back roads, should I invest in a set of true off-road tires to mount on the bike when I get up there.  The next question is should I try to find someplace to ship the tires to in the Yukon Territory, or should I take them with me.  Obviously there are up and down sides to each alternative.  I did have a brilliant idea; if I decide to carry my tires with me, I plan on visiting my sister and her husband in Minnesota on the way up, so maybe I'll have the tires shipped to their house; then I won't have to carry them as far.  Considering that I would really like to explore some ghost towns while in YT/Alaska, the next consideration is two-fold: will I have the time to do the back roads I want to do that would make the tires worthwhile, and is it worth the added expense of purchasing the tires, having them mounted when I get up there, then having my road tires remounted for the ride home?  My plans call for me to be at Dawson City, YT for the summer solstice celebrations on July 20th.  If I leave there on the 22nd, I will have 28 days until I need to be at Sedalia, Missouri for the BMWMOA rally.  I'll need a good 10 or 11, so I'll say 12 days to travel from Tok to the rally site.  That leaves me 16 days for exploring Alaska.  Now, there will be days when, for whatever reason I will not travel much, so realistically figure 10-12 days to explore.  The 2 main long roads are the Dempster Highway to Inuvik and the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse.  Both of these are almost 500 miles one way, so figure 2 days for each.  Do I really need to do both the Dempster and the Dalton Highways?  Once past the arctic circle, does the tundra look much different?  A lot will depend on the weather.  I think what I need to do next is to research the ghost towns, see where they are and which ones I'd like to see.  So far I have identified 5 potential mine sites to visit.  In addition, I obviously want to spend time at Denali National Park.  But I should keep in mind that I will have over 20 hours of daylight per day!  Also, if I decide to carry my tires with me, I need to figure out how to carry 2 tires on the back of my bike while on the "high speed" roads, and probably find somewhere to store my 2 road tires when on the gravel  back roads.  It will be hard enough riding these roads without the dead weight of two tires balanced on the back!  But perhaps I do want to carry them as "spares"?  Maybe I can mount them on the outside of the panniers (saddle bags) so if I fall over they will act as bumpers?  Sounds reasonable.  So, the planning continues.  I'll have to start thinking about the prep for the bike soon, too.   And what camping gear to take.  And tools, spare parts, emergency supplies, etc.  And only 163 days to go.  So much to do, so much to do....