Homeward Bound

It's been over three weeks since I left and I'm about 7 hours (one more day of riding) from home as I start to write this.  I arrive home on Friday.

I was able to stop and visit friends in Manitoba and that allowed me to return to a place that I
worked more than 30 years ago...Pinawa, MB.

On the way there, I made sure I went through Tyndall.  This is where the rock was quarried for the
Parliament buildings in Ottawa.  The good stuff is behind the trees.

I worked in Pinawa for Atomic Energy of Canada.  My assignments were all in the Waste Management
Branch. Here's the plant.  It's down to 500 people and the reactor is decommissioned.

 

I lived in Kelsey House (below), three times.  There were lots of students and single adults because of the

housing challenges in the small community.  Thus, the dormitory approach.

I washed my windshield in the Winnipeg river...there are always lots of bugs on the windward edge of

the bike.

Picture three more days of riding to get from the Manitoba border to...

I was just working out some of the facts and figures.  The odometer says:  12426 km, so it will be

about 13,000 when I pull in the  driveway.  I've used 540L of fuel, which at about $1.25/L avg., is

about the cost of a return plane ticket to Whitehorse.  I've seen mileage at about 5.5 L/100km over

the whole trip, with a high in the mid 6s and a 4.9.  It all has to do with speed and headwinds.

Actuals:

What a marvellous life opportunity this has been.  Some of the highs have to be:  Whitehorse and

everything and everyone in it and the glaciers, wherever they were.  Low points:  I've left a few

articles behind (!) and then the day coming out of Montana and facing the 4.5 days of slogging to get

home.  It was nicely punctuated by a visit with Jimm and Aileen in Stonewall, MB though!

How affirming that everytime I stopped somewhere and took off my helmet, someone was there to talk

to.  Either I began the conversation or they did.  It was often biker-to-biker, but similarly

cage-drivers, who may have once had a motorcycle, liked to talk about their rides too.  Like

Jerry...next door at the campsite in Bark Lake, MI...south of Mackinac.  He had a Gold Wing and

wondered what temperatures were like up in Alaska.

There'll be some work to be done when I get home.  The centre-stand is kaput (it was repair-welded

before I left).  I'll need to do the tires again, too.  The front was cupping, though I thought I was

checking the pressure frequently enough.  That'll all be after the big scrub.  I can't even imagine

how bugs get splattered all those places.

I wonder what my mileage would have been if I wasn't

carrying all that extra weight?

I've really had a wonderful opportunity to see how grand and glorious our country is.  I used to

think we were big, now I think it's a massive place.  There's lots of empty space, in the north, on

the Prairies, around Superior.  But, there's something in being able to stop and talk to people,

anywhere here that is so inspiring.

Thanks for following along.  Time to step back on the escalator.

Glacier Park, MT then the Prairies

Into the mountains and out again

Last night was taken at the gate to the Glacier Park, in Montana.  It's quite a touristy zone on the
west/south side.  Amusement parks, souvenir stands, etc.  Once you're in the park it all calms down
nicely.  It's a wonder of the world, actually.  Look on...

I began by getting to the road early, as I usually do.  In fact, I planned breakfast in the park.  I
had expected to be camping, so I had everything.  I just didn't want to face a wet night and cold
temperatures, in a tent.

So, I set up the old burner and did up a double-portion of instant oatmeal, with Okanagan cherries
and apricots.  I had a Starbucks (instant coffee) and stood beside the swirling waters of the
MacDonald, where it leaves the glacier valley and empties into its namesake lake.

There is almost no way to do justice to the vistas and the surroundings of the park.  It is unlike

any other area I've been to, including the Alps and the Rockies in Canada.  I'll let some of the

pictures tell the story.

This second shot is after climbing from the river to about 1500m.

Look out for the waterfall...

And there's still more climbing to be done (peaking at about 2100m...6800 ft).

Mountain Goat

This shot has just about everything...

Yes, I made a snowball and yes, I threw it off the mountain!

The lake at the east-end of the park...

Bye, mountains...til next time.

And onward to Swift Current, SK picking up one time zone and knocking off one province (AB).

A warm, wet Sunday from BC to Montana

A warm evening on the shores of the Columbia River at the hot springs leads to...a warm morning, in Nakusp.  Thankfully.  It seems my sleeping bag isn't cold-weather rated.

I was packed and road-ready at 7, so I set out missing the 9:00 a.m. Hot Springs opening to gain the time...maybe there's hot springs or a hot tub in my future.

Mist was everywhere.

The sort of roads I like to tackle, as mentioned yesterday are usually the shortest way, possibly the slowest way, but definitely the most interesting...til later this morning.  Read on.

When a rider sees a sign like this...it's game on.

I made 1000 curves effortlessly following a river into Laslo.  Because that means it's downhill, the effort is so much less.  It was revealing to see the river grow as we descended the 1000 metres or so.

Gas and then a breakfast recommendation from the proprietor.  Go the golf course.  Yes!

I checked out this hot springs resort, for $11.50...but

wanted to a) get to church or b) catch the ferry.  The ferry leaves at 10:40.  It's b).





At the ferry port, the anti-McDonalds...look closely.

Ferrying across the Kokanee...

The next short cut was not to be. 

I had to ask directions once and then when I figured it out with a few miscalculations, it was a "no go". 

It was going to be a shortcut to Cranbrook.  Maybe some other year.

I made it to Montana this night...I avoided a storm by chill-axing at Timmy's with soup and a phone call home.  I didn't take too many pictures because of the overcast conditions.  I'm staying literally at the gate of the Glacier Park shared between Alberta and Montana.  Tomorrow, more glaciers.

Distance Day

This was a day for some distance, with some shortcuts.

I left PG (Prince George, the locals use the short form) early and ran fairly steadily south on BC97.  Most of the locals were doing somewhere between 120 and 125, so the miles flew by.

I spotted a shortcut which would eliminate going into Kamloops and which resulted in a little bit of dirt riding on some logging roads. 

It was gorgeous and I think I wasn't the only one with this idea, since

I passed two BMWs going the opposite way.  I now am convinced that the shortest way is the bestest way.

Dropped down through Salmon Arm and the Shuswap Lake.  The local fruit is in-season, cherries primarily.  Things that we won't enjoy so much in Ontario this year.  Yes, I bought some and yes, they're delicious.

The clear, blue sky of the last few days has finally given in to overcast, high clouds.  The worst clouds were in Quesnel...where the clouds are man-made.  The local pulp plant just fills the whole valley with that unique sulphur-ey smell.

In Salmon Arm, I found the local WiFi McDonalds and uploaded two blogs.  It's quite a task to stay current, to write, to organize the photos, and then to find a way to upload from the road/fast food hut.

I also met a guy, Daniel, who is on a DRZ normally, but now is the curator of Bacon.  You need to go to ADVrider.com and read the story about "bacon".  Bacon is a stuffed pig who is going around the world via various rider/curators.  He's been all over and is handed over when the present guardian finds a new rider/guardian.  He encouraged me to get this blog up on that website.   Done. 

Then, before I left, Gary, a City counsellor in Revelstoke came in on a KTM 950 Adventure (black).  We chatted for a bit and he agreed to lead me into Rev'town and point me down the road to Naskusp...recommended by others along the way.  See the mountains in the distance?

So, we had an awesome ride up past Sicamous, past Craigellachie (Last Spike), and through some of the coolest air ever.  Seriously, when you go past a stream or waterfall which is mountain-fed, the air temperature drops dramatically and you can even get the shivers, though the ambient air is probably 25 deg now.  When we got to Revelstoke, we crossed the Columbia River, which is seriously swollen.  The recent early summer/late spring rains and the melt of the last few weeks have combined to bring the river nearly to spilling over.

Gary sent me down a one-way highway (23) to continue my ride.  It ends in a ferry across the Columbia

(which is really more like a lake between mountain ranges.  The half-hour ferry deposits you on the east shore and you can ride 5 minutes to a hot springs/spa. 

I continued down to Nakusp, which because  of the late hour didn't permit me to get to their hot springs.  Perhaps in the morning.

I'm tenting again...having eaten at a fast-food trailer at the ferry dock.

Friday the 13th...I should be in Port Dover.

Not!

Besides the run out from Stewart past the glaciers going out the way I came, this was not an eventful day...unless you count the closed gas station at Meziadin, where I needed to refuel.

Let me share the morning sky first.  Moonrise and sun on the town's glacier.

The need to refuel meant an hour or so of limping along, feathering the throttle, at 100, then 90,
then 80 in sixth gear, all the while doing mental calculations about 

• the size of the tank (21L), 
• the previous longest run before fueling (I don't actually remember), 
• when the "bars" on the fuel gauge change and how much is left (the last solid one before the "flashing" starts went off at 327 km on the tripmeter), 
• what the theoretical distance is to empty (420 km), 
• how far I had to go to get gas (385 km), 
• how fast I had gone on the top half of the tank (not too much...it affects the consumption rate, obviously), 
• how do you deal with bears when you're standing on the side of the road, waiting for a ride (honk the horn alot), and 
• why are the roads so empty this morning?

Once I fueled up at a First Nations station...not expected and just 10 km shy of the next major town,
I was feeling much better.  Hey, they even threw in some totem poles to make it interesting.

I went through the town just after this that had the most unique set of mountain tops...like a saw-blade...

I needed to refresh later on, so I went for a swim...the day being quite warm...in Burns Lake.

Lovely.

I refueled again behind some western riders, one of whom had a unique license plate.

The other, from Alberta on a Super Tenere, had a Dacre sticker.  Who'd a thunk that?

Into Prince George, order a Dominos, and get caught up on pictures and email.  Blog to be updated
later.

Snow, frost, more snow, and glaciers

Reading this in Southern Ontario won't get me much sympathy, but I'd like you to know that the first,
full day out of Whitehorse was a cold one.  I awoke to frost on the motorcycle at Dease Lake.

The day from Whitehorse took me almost to Watson Lake, but I turned south on the Stewart-Caspiar 
highway.  It was alternatively scary and beautiful.  At the top end, where it leaves the Alaska 
Highway, the first hour or so traverses a very large forest fire...or the remnants thereof.  As well, 
the highway is much narrower, with no shoulder, and I saw bears in the first few kilometers.  No 
problem, it's just that having shoulders on the road means that you have passing room for going 
around them.  The surroundings were amazing, with much more snow on the mountaintops than in Yukon.  
It's a fairly slow road, taken best at 80 to 100 km/hr.  You wouldn't want to go much faster, given 
the abrupt radius curves and the oncoming traffic...when it shows up...and it's often a semi.  There 
are not many services, not unlike the Alaska Hwy, so you have to be careful to fill up when you can.

It was a day of making distance through a very remote part of northern BC.

In Dease Lake, I took a motel room and ended up chatting with a bunch of geophysical assayers.
They're criss-crossing that part of B.C. with a helicopter and a magnetometer, to identify the rock 
structures for later mineral exploration.  Two of the guys were from Ontario.  There are a couple of 
helicopter pilots in the mix, too.  We shared an outdoor bbq and a few beers while chatting about 
this and that.

The next morning was an early departure.  All the surveyors were up and at 'em.  I was the first bike
of a dozen to hit the road.  It was frosty.

I planned to travel slowly, both to enjoy the road and to keep from getting too cold.  Mission
accomplished.  I had a cold breakfast before leaving and was hoping for a grill or two to show up on 
the way.  It did, more than I could have dreamed of.  The Totogga resort was absolutely the best 
breakfast I've ever had.  Everyone, staff included, was standing around the foyer having a coffee 
when I arrived.  It was really pleasant.  I had the mega-breakfast, the #1, with 3 eggs, four pieces 
of bacon, real fried potatoes, and toast.  It was a bit pricey, but the options were few.  What 
really made it interesting was the family type of atmosphere, with the chat between tables, fostered 
by the communal coffee urn.  The plain truth was it was such a large brekky that I couldn't finish 
it.  I tried but couldn't.  It meant pushing away from the table, early and taking in the wonderful 
menagery of stuffed animals in the place.  It really was a top-notch resort.  Imagine them keeping 
the arrows on display for many of the trophy animals taken locally.


Every once in a while you have to slow down...

The balance of the day saw more snow on the horizon, literally.  The glaciers from there, south were
spectacular.

When I turned off (on a side trip) towards Stewart, BC I was absolutely overwhelmed with the size and
closeness of the glaciers.  The road into Stewart is through a canyon cut by the river pouring off of 
the lake formed by the glacier.  The blueness of the ice and the magnificence of the size of the 
ice-river was amazing.  I met a guy named Grant Zimmer, from Saskatchewan, on another VStrom and we 
had a bit of a chat about the bikes and the place.  Later on, in Stewart, we'd get together for a 
beer or two.   I can't do enough with words to describe the glaciers...so I'll let the pictures do 
the talking.

I wasn't done with the bears.  One was on the inside of a curve, against a rock face.  I swung way
out and fortunately, he didn't bolt across the road.  Yipes!  Again, no pictures...how do you plan 
for that?


I swept through Stewart with the intention to go down the road to Hyder, Alaska.  It's only a few km 
past the centre of the town.  I had a nice chat...NO U.S. CUSTOMS!!...with a lady who runs a souvenir 
shop.  She told me all about the 6th largest glacier in North America, just 35 minutes up the road.  
Well, I didn't really feel I wanted to go any further.  I bought a bumper sticker and learned that 
the Iron Butt guys go to Hyder, in order to claim that they went to Alaska (the short way, just like 
me).  On the way back into Canada (!), CBSA interviewed me and asked if I had handguns, tobacco, etc. 
They were intrigued that I had come all the way from Guelph just to get a bumper sticker.

I took a campsite just a few blocks from downtown.  It was right against a creek where the salmon
run, which was formed because of a massive rock cliff towering above the town, across the canyon from 
the glaciers.  I was able to cool a few cans of beer in the creek while I set up the tent.

I strolled into town to figure out what to do about dinner and spotted Grant's bike at the hotel.  I
didn't see him in the restaurant, so I continued my walk out onto the boardwalk.  The river from the 
glacier back outside of town runs right into the Pacific.  There's a tide in Stewart which comes way 
up from the coast.  So, now I can claim that I ran all the way to Alaska...and the Pacific ocean!

I chatted with a guy sitting on a bench (from St. Catherines!), who told me that the best dinner in
town came from the bus (!).  What it was was a converted utility van, with kitchen.  He was 
absolutely right, I believe.  I had a 

King Salmon dinner, with latkes, and a mixed salad sitting on a 
picnic table gazing out to the tidal plain...did I mention it was warm?  What a beautiful evening.
Moss on the trees!

I went back to the hotel and found Grant in the bar, he was drinking Sleeman's (from Guelph) and I
had a (Lethbridge) Pilsner (Old Style...anybody remember?).  We had a good chat about e-health 
initiatives, motorcycling, and what it's like up "north".


Glacier above the town...

Back to the tent and out for the night.  Tomorrow, Prince George.