Travelogue - Canadian Rockies
August 8th - 23rd, 2008
Prologue - The plan was hatched early in the
year. Actually, Sue sort of planted the seed on our Costa Rica trip.
Unfortunately Sue couldn't join us, she switched jobs and didn't have
vacation time built up. But Lisa and I were able to swing it and so it
commenced. We had both been wanting to do the Rockies and the National
Parks for some time.
Link to Lisa's Pictures
Day 1: Friday, August 8th
– Berkeley, CA to Hopland, CA
And
so it began at 3:00 in the afternoon in Berkeley, CA with matching parking
tickets outside the camera store. Lisa needed a battery for her camera
before we took off so we stopped at a store in Berkeley. Clearly we both paid no attention to the
parking meters and marched inside the store without a care in the world. We
were on vacation, which tends to negate normal brain functioning activity
and common sense. Guilty. Oh well, $30 later for each of us and we were on
our way to Hopland, CA.
We
wanted to at least get out of town on Friday as we had a destination of
Westfir, OR for Saturday night and it was a long way if we didn’t get a jump
on things. We hopped on 101 and over to 175 into Hopland. Michele and
Lindsay are friends of Lisa’s in Hopland and we spent the evening with them
on their beautiful spread of 5 acres. We were also greeted by their three
dogs, Maggie, Blondie, and Jack, who were very excited to have company. We
had a lovely evening of wandering around the property, drinking spirits,
BBQ’ing, and bench racing.
Click on the thumbnail pictures for a
larger view
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Michele and Linsday's spread in Hopland, CA. Beautiful.
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Michele and Linsday's backyard in Hopland, CA.
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My bike, ready to roll on outta Hopland
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Lisa's bike, ready to roll on outta Hopland. Hey, what's all that stuff on the back :-)
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Day 2: Saturday, August
9th – Hopland, CA to Westfir, OR
We
were up early with the critters, but no roosters thank goodness, and off on
our journey by 9:00 am. As we waved our final goodbyes and motored
down the road I had Sue’s voice in my head saying “slow down and smell the
roses."
We
had a few miles to chug to get to our next destination, which was Westfir,
OR, about 450 miles northeast. Lisa’s brother and friend (Scott and Paul),
were visiting another one of their friends, Tommy, who lived there. We
jetted of on 175 to 29 to 53 to 20 to get over to I-5. We figured we’d
drone on I-5 for some time to make time and log some miles. Horribly
painful and boring, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do and sacrifice to the
freeway sometimes. As we were droning along, Lisa saw a sign around Turtle
Bay for a “Bodies Revealed” exhibit. She had wanted to check this out for
some time so we detoured and toured the exhibit. Very interesting and a
nice break from white line fever.
Bound for Westfir we soldiered on more I-5 and then veered onto 97, crossed
the Oregon border and finally headed west on 58 into the little town of
Westfir. We were just in time to catch the tail end of the local Saturday
music festival in the outdoor amphitheater. Xydeco music was the theme and
it was rockin’. We had a nice evening BBQ on the deck and visited with
everyone. Tommy’s house was right across the street from a beautiful
covered bridge and river that we could hear running all night long. Who
needs, CD’s.
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Lisa steps in it, gum that is. At the gas station right before we hit I-5. Lovely.
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Covered bridge in Westfir, OR across the street from Tommy's house
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Shot of the bridge from Tommy's house
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Paul and Lisa at Tommy's place. Getting ready to rumble on out of Westfir
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Lisa at Cougar Dam
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Cougar Dam
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Day 3: Sunday, August
10th - Westfir, OR to Leavenworth, WA
After a nice breakfast with everyone we headed north out of Westfir on 19.
It was a fabulous little twisty road with not a car in sight for miles and
miles and it paralleled the river for most of the way. This brought us up
around Cougar Dam and eventually onto 126. We headed east on 126 to 20 and
back onto 97 heading north.
For
some reason, which we laughed about later, this was an agitating day. There
just seemed to be a series of events that made us both shake and
scratch our heads. As we rolled into Cougar Dam parking area for a break
after a long and fun stint on 19, there were a few “crack-heads” in the
parking lot. They sure looked skanky! One of the women had a shirt on that
said, “I would fuck you”, how lovely. They tried to start a conversation
with us, no thanks, buh-bye.
Later as we rolled through the town of Sisters, Lisa saw a photo opp and
pulled off the road into the bike lane. We parked appropriately to the
side of the bike lane, maybe not
legally, but appropriate, however, a woman on a bicycle felt that 6 feet of
space between our motos and cars was not enough for her to safely squeeeeeze
by. So she yells at us, “well, isn’t this awkward”. I couldn’t
help but burst out laughing because she was so ridiculous. I think she
gave me the finger. Ah, winning friends and influencing people, what I do
best!
This next incident was really my favorite for the day and so very special.
A wonderful realization that we were still in the States and hadn’t quite
made it to the tranquil land of Oz yet. We pulled into some po-dunk gas station
along 97 in Oregon and Lisa’s priority was the bathroom. My priority was
gas so I pulled up behind a woman in her Volvo. The gas attendant was
filling her car and another car. He finished but the owners of the cars had
wandered off somewhere into the store. I was patient, as I had to wait for
Lisa anyway. Lisa then came out pissed as apparently they didn’t have a
bathroom, what, at a gas station? We decided to go, but by this time I was
blocked in and waiting for Volvo lady to move her car so I could leave with
Lisa. Volvo lady gets back to her car and proceeds to have a conversation
with the other car owner, who was blocking the other side of the pump. She
was completely oblivious that I was waiting on her. For God sakes people,
have a little courtesy. Finally I yell at her, ARE YOU DONE. She
looks at me and snottily
says, YEEES. I said, GOOD,THEN GET THE FUCK OUTTA THE WAY. I think it finally
dawned on her that she was holding up the bullet train and she moved.
We
blasted off in search of a gas station with a bathroom and gas, novel
concept. We found all the above in Biggs Junction, Oregon which is right
before the Washington border and crosses over the Columbia River gorge.
Still rude people and bad behavior but the most fabulous hamburger was had
in a diner and it seemed to make everything right with the world again.
Just past the border and heading over passes, the most ferocious winds
kicked in. Wonderful. Rain and cold don’t bother me, but I do not like the
wind. I was caught in a horrible windstorm years ago and I almost wrecked
due to lack of control of the bike. This memory always crops back up in my
mind and I get a little rattled. We pulled off the road for some gas in the
torrent of wind. We took a little break too and ended up pulling our bikes
up next to two other ladies on Harley’s. And such a pleasant lot they
were. One had spurs no her riding boots and scowled as Lisa tried to talk
to her friend. I scowled back, rolled my eyes, and looked away. Again
I was disgusted with bad behavior and unfriendly folks. By this time I was really
starting to reflect on the people we had run across during the day and it
was sort of sad, the selfishness, lack of awareness, rude, crass.
Oh
well, onward we went, wind howling, dodging bedding on the highway, and
heading toward
Leavenworth, Washington. The last 35 miles north on 97 turned my
inner frown
to a huge grin. Can’t keep me down long and especially after I swing my leg
over those two wheels and find a twisty road. A friend of mine at work in
our Seattle office had told me about Leavenworth and said we just had to
go. It was a big railroad and sawmill town at the turn of the century, but
when the railroad and sawmill pulled out, the town barely existed for 30
years. In the 1960’s the town leaders changed the appearance of the town
and brought tourism. Beautiful mountains are the backdrop of the town and
it has since been transformed into a Bavarian village. This was one of the
two nights that we stayed indoors and rented a little cabin. The owner was
a sweet elderly lady that still ran the place. Our back deck opened onto a
river, beautiful. We scrubbed off the road grime of the day and walked into
town for some dinner. We found a fabulous Italian restaurant,
Alley Café, had an incredible meal with a nice bottle of wine and
recapped our day. What a fine ending to a bit of a challenging day from a
people perspective.
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The view from our back deck at Leavenworth, WA cabins
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Shot of bridge and Columbia river
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Day 4: Monday, August
11th - Leavenworth, WA to Nelson, British Columbia
We
pulled out of Leavenworth in the morning onto highway 2 in high spirits and
anxious to cross the border into Canada. We traveled northeast on 97 to 20,
east on 20 to 31 north and crossed in the northeast corner of Washington at
the Nelway border crossing. We both agreed this had to be one of the most
beautiful days scenery-wise in the States. It was uneventful in the way of
people, except for the hunk at the gas station on highway 20. He had pulled
in behind the gas station where we were taking a break and was very
interested in our motorcycles, our routes, and our adventure. We chatted
for quite some time with him, as he didn’t seem to be in any hurry.
Eventually he climbed behind the wheel of his truck, warned us to stay alert
for deer, and wished us a safe journey. Lisa and I stood there wiping the
drool from our chins . It was rather funny as we traveled along, we got a
number of comments and a fair amount of attention.
Two women traveling alone on motorcycles seems to still be somewhat of an
anomaly and a great source of questioning, conversation, and entertainment.
Ok, so we really didn’t mind the extra attention.
As
we neared the border we had all our paperwork in order and readily
available. We had heard different stories about people having hassles and
such so we had everything in line: passports, drivers license, bike
registration, special Canadian insurance cards from our insurance
companies. When we pulled up to cross we had to wait for a few minutes for
the guard to finally appear – probably in the bathroom we giggled. He asked
us a few questions about firearms, drugs, alcohol, purpose of our stay, and
then waived us through. We were both a bit disappointed that we did not
have to produce a single document, we were hoping for some drama or a good
story. But in the end, nice to sail through and be on our way.
We
headed along 6 north, then 3A and finally 31 to get to our destination of
Toad Rock Campground (TRC) for the night. We went through the fabulous
town of Nelson, British Columbia on our way there. We arrived at TRC around 8:00 pm and the proprietor (Mary Laird) came wandering over to
welcome us in. Lisa had heard about TRC from someone and had checked it
out. It caters specifically to motorcyclists, but cars are welcome too.
Mary has had the property of 40+ acres since the 70’s and in the last 6
years turned it into a wonderful campground. She turns no one away, there
is plenty of room and great campsites everywhere. If you don’t have camping
gear you can rent a little cabin or other accommodations such as a converted
VW Bus, School Bus, Venetian Princess bed (well, that’s what I nicknamed
it). We enjoyed chatting with Mary and a number of other camping guests.
We stayed here for two nights and highly recommended it to many others.
Dinner the first night was down the road at JB’s Restaurant, which was our
first and only unpleasant experience with the locals. We walked in and sat
down and were completely ignored for 10-15 minutes. I finally went up to
the bar to get drinks and menus and they were very snotty to me. Hmmm,
odd. We drank our beers and were still ignored. Lisa’s turn, so she went
to the bar to ask if we could order some food. Finally the lady came over
and took our order. We would have left but this was the only gig near TRC
and it was already dark and we were tired. Food finally arrived and it was
worth the wait, it was fabulous! As all meals would turn out to be in
Canada. Lisa and I were really wondering what was going on with the service
and why we were being ignored. Instead of getting pissed, we killed them
with kindness and the waitress finally started to talk with us. Lisa asked
a few probing questions and the lady fessed up that it was really hard to
get good help and that many people did not want to work in the food service
industry. She apologized for the crummy service and turned out to be a very
nice lady. Guess some people just get stuck.
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Shot of signage before we crossed into Canada
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River shot right before we crossed into Canada
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River shot right before we crossed into Canada
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Shot of Lisa taking river shots. We started this game of us taking pictures of the other taking pictures. It had to be stealth though.
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Day 5: Tuesday, August
12th - Rest Day at Toad Rock Campground
After logging ~1400 miles we decided to take a rest day. We got up and
headed to breakfast at the Balfour golf course, recommended by Mary. Again,
fabulous food and a beautiful view of Kooteney Lake from our table. We then
loaded up for a day at
Ainsworth Hot Springs, which was just down the road from TRC. As we
pulled in the parking lot, and barely had our helmets off, we were
surrounded by a few biker guys. They were anxious to chat and hear our
story of where we came from and where we were going. A nice exchange, which
would become a re-occurring scenario wherever we went and ran into other
motorcyclists. The motorcycling community in Canada was really cool, very
friendly, and open, egos were left at home and it was just great
camaraderie. We were soon ensconced in the warm hot springs water of
Ainsworth and gazing out at the view of Kooteney Lake. We wondered what the
working folk were doing.
Later in the afternoon we wandered around TRC chatting with folks and
visiting all the areas on Mary’s property. Her dogs were fabulous too –
huge black Lab, and a Bouvee/Rotweiler mix. They patrolled at night
and kept the bears away, seriously. We were in bear country there, but
the dogs did a great job. We could here them in the middle of the
night making their rounds and barking at any potential threats. We
felt very safe. We rode into the town of Balfour to check out the
ferry terminal, bakery, and market. We gathered up some snacks and a
bottle of wine for dinner so we could just chill at camp. We ended up
chatting with a really nice couple from Missoula, Montana and they gave us a
number of tips on good roads to check out.
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Breakfast table view of Kooteney Lake at Balfour Golf Course
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Flowers at the golf course
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Balfour ferry dock.
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I liked the sign of the duck crossing
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Lisa looking happy and relaxed at Toad Rock Camground (TRC)
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Mary Laird's ride at TRC
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Lisa, me, Mary Laird of TRC
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One of the optional accomodations at TRC if you don't have camping gear. Always wanted to spend the night in a treehouse
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Mary Laird's house on her TRC property
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TRC - You get down with your bad hoopty ride, Lisa!
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Communal fire pit at TRC - loved the Canada chair
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The Venetian Princess bed at TRC
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Wayward cabins at TRC
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Bus, magic bus. More accomodations at TRC if you don't have camping gear.
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Day 6: Wednesday,
August 13th - Toad Rock Campground to Revelstoke, BC
We
were off in search of new adventures early, but not before a loop around the
lower portion of Kooteney Lake. A number of people had told us we just had
to take the ferry across the lake and then do highway 3 south to Creston,
BC. Well alrighty then, let’s do it. We headed to the Balfour ferry where
there was this convenient and yummy bakery that had piping hot goodies. We
boarded the free ferry for the 30 minute ride across the lake and over to
Crawford Bay. We shortly stop in a little artesian town, can’t remember the
name, but they had very unique and interesting things. There was a broom
store that Lisa loved, they didn’t allow rides though, some cool jewelry
stores, and the forge. The forge was my favorite with wonderful ironworks
and jewelry.
We
meandered along highway 3A south to another tourist spot called the Glass
House. It was built by a mortician that used embalming fluid bottles.
Strange, yes, we thought so. But nonetheless very interesting and built
overlooking Kooteney Lake with more stunning views. Onward through Creston
on highway 3 west and then over to Castlegar, BC. Castlegar was set in this
deep valley surrounded by mountains. It was a trip coming into the area as
you descended down a steep hill. We could see an airport in the valley with
a jet that taxied and took off. It had to circle once and climb steeply so
it could gain clearance of the mountains. Looked like an e-ticket ride to
me! Pass.
We
continued north on highway 6 through Nakusp, BC to highway 23 to the Galena
Bay ferry. Another free 30 minute crossing and over to Shelter Bay. Sort
of odd on our way to the ferry in that we had an unpleasant driver in a Jeep
Cherokee try to block us from passing him. We were scooting along pretty
quickly as we had 30 minutes to get to the next ferry and it was 20 miles
away. As we came up on this guy, he sped up and straddled the middle of
the center line. Okay. Not sure what his point was and as I started to go
around him he moved over even more. We gunned it and got around him safely,
but what a dumbass. Of course he pulled in right behind us in the ferry
line and I was tempted to have a little chat with him. Lisa talked me out
of it so I just glared and gave him the finger instead. I felt a little
better.
We
continued up 23 north to the town of Revelstoke, BC for the night. We were
originally going to motel it, and got the last room in a motel. What a
fright though when we walked in, we should have checked it out first. The
non-smoking room was filled with smoke, we choked and gagged and got a
refund. We reloaded our gear, found a tourist map, and located the local
campground and set up for the night. We later hiked into town to a steak
and pizza joint and had a terrific pizza and a couple of margaritas to wash
it all down. We swished and giggled our way back to the campground.
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On the ferry crossing Kooteney Lake
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Lisa, on the ferry crossing Kooteney Lake
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Cool sign in the little artisan community across Kooteney Lake
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The forge in the little artisan community across Kooteney Lake
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Inside the forge at the little artisan community across Kooteney Lake
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Flowers
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More flowers
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Glass House along the route to Creston
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Glass House along the route to Creston
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Glass House along the route to Creston
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Glass House along the route to Creston
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Lisa on bridge at Glass House along the route to Creston
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Reflecting lake on the way to Creston. It was so still you could see every possible reflection of the mountains and sky.
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Reflecting lake
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Galenas ferry
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Second ferry dock of the day from Galenas Bay over to Shelter Bay
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Day 7: Thursday, August
14th – Revelstoke, BC to Jasper
We
both awoke a bit saddened and melancholy, as today was the one-year
anniversary of Craig’s death. It was very comforting to be with Lisa
on this day. We talked and reminisced a bit before we
headed out for breakfast. In memory, I was wearing my special “bakery t-shirt”
and Lisa had brought some ashes. Lisa led the way as we headed out and wove
through the back roads of town. She just sort of kept weaving her way
through streets and then happened upon the best bakery in town. We both
laughed and nodded at the irony and had a little toast to Craig and his
sweet tooth that morning at the Modern Bakery and Cafe.
Our
sprits picked up and we
were soon excited about our destination of Jasper via highway 93,
which is the Icefields Parkway and the most beautiful scenery I have ever
witnessed. But first we had to navigate Trans-Canada 1 (TC1), which is the
main highway with lots of traffic and semi’s bearing down on you. All the
tourists want to putt along and stare at the mountains and the locals want
to haul-ass and get to where they are going. Makes for some interesting
pucker moments as semi’s are passing you by and coming at you at warp speed
and mass. We made it fine though with no incident and lots of stops along
the way to photograph. We soon saw mountain goats and big horned sheep
swiftly climbing the rocks or just standing around off the road enjoying the
views. Seemed so odd to just see them out and about without being caged or
fenced, it was wonderful.
We
strolled on into Jasper in the early evening and bagged a campsite at
Whistlers campground just 2 miles out of town. We didn’t stop much on the
Icefields Parkway going up as we were a bit concerned about getting a
camping spot. We agreed to do the tourist thing on the Parkway on our way
down to Banff. The Whistlers campground had a beautiful walking path into
town that followed the river the entire way. We set up the nest and then
went into town and immediately feel in love with it. It was so quaint and
non-commercialized. No Starbuck’s or REI anywhere, just local Mom & Pop
shops. Had a great dinner of elk at Villa Carugo restaurant and then
wandered around town afterwards.
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Trans-Canada racetrack, I mean, Highway 1
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There's Lisa, snapping shots again
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Lisa on TC1
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The trusty steeds
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Falls off of TC1 - can't remember the name
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Falls off of TC1 - can't remember the name
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Falls off of TC1 - can't remember the name
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Falls off of TC1 - can't remember the name
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Falls off of TC1 - can't remember the name
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Lisa at falls off of TC-1
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Day 8: Friday, August
15th – Sightseeing in Jasper
We
quickly sniffed out the local bakery again, called the Open Paw Bakery.
Fabulous! We dined on the fresh out of the oven goodies and then made our
way out to Miette Hot Springs on highway 16 east for the morning and early
afternoon. The ride out there was gorgeous with only a car or two along the
way. The rest of the afternoon was a lazy day cruising around town, sipping
beer at the local microbrewery, eating ice cream for dessert, and enjoying
the warm evening air. We strolled back to camp along the walking path and
slept like babies until the wind, rain, thunder, and lightening show
arrived. Fortunately this only lasted an hour or two and then blew
through. This was the first of a number of evening storms that would hit.
Beautiful though and short lived. We quickly learned that all gear should
be stowed safe and dry in the tent and not left lying on picnic tables
unattended for the night.
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Near our campground in Jasper
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On the road to Miette Hot Springs
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On the road to Miette Hot Springs
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On the road to Miette Hot Springs
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On the road to Miette Hot Springs
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Parking lot of Miette Hot Springs
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Miette Hot Springs
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Jasper ahead!
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River near campground
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Mule deer near campground
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Jasper sunset
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Day 9: Saturday, August
16th – Sightseeing in Jasper
Saturday in Jasper was much more crowded than during the week. Not sure
where everyone came from, but by mid-morning the streets were crowded and
bustling with people. Yuck. What happened to our sleepy little town. We
made the best of it, I know, tragic, and found a nice café for breakfast
before we went in search of Maligne Lake.
We
had wanted to also hike Maligne Canyon, which was suppose to be gorgeous,
but Lisa had somehow managed a queen size blister on her big toe and was in
no condition to hike. Owwie. We did the ooh and ahh of the canyon from a
distance and then hopped back on the bikes and headed down the road to the
lake. We walked around the lake and found a nice place to lie in the sun
for a while. We decided to wade out in the water and cool off and I
promptly sliced my little toe on a sharp rock. Great, we were both sort of
limping along now. Lisa had some band-aids so she patched up my toe and
eventually we headed back to the bikes. We saw a female elk on the way back
to camp, she was just standing by the side of the road munching on
something.
Lisa continued on to Athabasca Falls down the road and I detoured back to
camp. It was very hot and I tend to wilt in the heat and am easily
sunburned. Lisa grew up in Arizona and is well accustomed to the heat, so
she carried on and got some great pictures of the falls while I napped in
the tent. zzzzzz. That evening was a big night in Jasper, the rodeo was in
town, no kidding. We just had to go check it out. What a hoot. Lisa
killed me with her riding outfit. She got all dolled up, skirt, blouse, and
moto boots. She hiked her leg over her bike, tucked her skirt around her
legs so it wouldn’t blow about, put her helmet on, and said, “come on, let’s
go”. Hysterical! And I did get a shot of that. There were not signs or
directions, but we had asked a local gal the day before and she gave us
directions. We ended up at this event center that looked like a high
school. We entered to buy tickets and were still wondering where the rodeo
was. They directed us through some doors and then another set of doors and
lo and behold there it was. Looked more like the high school gym converted
into a rodeo arena. Gotta love small town events. It was standing room
only and we didn’t have proper seats but we had a great time anyway. We
were gonna go to the big dance afterwards but we chickened out, mostly just
younger folks anyway.
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On the way to Maligne Lake
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Maligne Lake
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Mountain goat on way back from Maligne lake
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Lake/river that was only knee-deep all the way across
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Lisa, knee-deep in it...
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On the way back from Maligne Lake
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On the way back from Maligne Lake. Which one doesn't belong?
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Lisa all dolled up and ready for the rodeo in Jasper
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Rodeo in Jasper, yee-haw.
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Day 10: Sunday, August
17th - Jasper to Banff
This was a wonderful journey south down the Icefields Parkway on 93. We had
come up this way but didn’t take time to stop and smell those roses. This
time on our way back down we did smell all the roses. We saw more mountain
goats and wooly white mountain goats, amazing lakes, and glaciers with blue
ice still on them. We even rode through a brief sleet storm on the way.
The weather sure can change quickly.
Coming into Banff was a rude awakening! As soon as we pulled into town we
were assaulted with traffic, congestion, and commercialization. Ewww, was
both of our reactions. On top of it all, Lisa was starving and a bit cranky
due to her condition. We pulled over and Lisa blurted out, “THIS IS A
MESS!” I couldn’t have agreed more. Ta boot, we didn’t exactly know where
we were going other than in search of camping. There happened to be some
other motorcyclists that we had parked next to so I started chatting them up
asking if they knew where the camping was. Here we go again, the curiosity
that two women were traveling by themselves and had come all the way from
California. Ah, yeah, we did get the vote a while back. Actually they
were very sweet and I took to chatting with one of the guys for quite some
time. I had taken my helmet off and had my back towards Lisa. I realized
that I had been babbling on for a while with my new friend and
glanced behind me at Lisa. Lisa was not happy, had never taken her helmet
off (bad sign), nor impressed with our friends. I quickly remembered she
was about to gnaw her arm off in ravenous hunger. Whups, would love to stay
and chat longer with you guys, but gotta go. We walked down the street to a
pub the guys had recommended (good find) and got ourselves squared away with
some grub. Amazing how some food can change your perspective. We asked the
waitress about camping and she directed us to some campgrounds we had heard
about that were supposed to be nice. Two Jack lakeside was the number one
recommendation but it was full. The nice gal at the kiosk called over to
Johnston Canyon and they had plenty of room. She turned us on to the Bow
Valley Parkway, which is the scenic byway so we didn’t have to endure TC1.
The BVP runs between Lake Louise and Banff. We got settled at Johnston
Canyon off the BVP, which was fabulous, and right across the street from a
little resort (Johnston Resort) that had a restaurant, small diner, and gift
shop. Perfect.
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Wooly white mountain goats on Icefields Parkway 93
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Glaciers on Icefields Parkway 93
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Glaciers on Icefields Parkway 93
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Glaciers on Icefields Parkway 93
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Lisa riding ahead on Icefields Parkway 93
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Lake on Icefields Parkway 93
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Me and lake on Icefields Parkway 93
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Lake on Icefields Parkway 93
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Lake on Icefields Parkway 93
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Lake on Icefields Parkway 93
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Lake/glacier on Icefields Parkway 93
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Day 11: Monday, August
18th – Banff Area, Lake Louise
We
were most happy with our find at Johnston Canyon and decided to remain her
until our departure day of Wednesday. Today was a day at Lake Louise and
sightseeing around the area. Of course Lake Louise was as stunning as
everyone had said. It was overcrowded of course, but we went early enough
where the light was fantastic for picture taking and it wasn’t completely
overrun. We wandered through the Fairmont Hotel which was adjacent to the
lake. We befriend a few more people, one in the gift shop and one in an art
gallery. Ethan from the gift shop was very gay, but very sweet and so
wanted to go to San Francisco, gee imagine that. He was our best friend and
asked all sorts of questions about San Francisco. We ended up buying some
beautiful and unique items in the gift shop. We said goodbye to Ethan and
then meet Richard in the art gallery. He was quick to chat with us and
point out some gorgeous paintings by local artists. He quickly noticed we
were motorcycle riders via our boots and said he was a fellow rider as
well. He was a plethora of information about the local sights and what to
go see and eat.
We
wandered down the road to Lake Moraine, per Richard’s suggestion. We were
originally going to skip it, but we were both glad we didn’t. We had a nice brunch on
the patio and were joined by very aggressive chipmunks. One was so adamant
about trying Lisa’s quiche, it jumped up in her lap! One also ran into the
store and stole a rice crispy treat, no lie. The gals in the shop say it
is one in particular that steals food.
Lisa wanted to shop in the town of Lake Louise and I wanted to find an
Internet connection and check-in with family and friends. We found a local hotel
connection and then Lisa took off to the town shopping center. We
reconvened a few hours later and headed back to the campground. Along the
Bow Valley Parkway was a lovely little inn/cabin place (Baker Creek)
with a full restaurant and nice patio. We pulled in to stop for an
afternoon beer on the patio. Another great place with more beautiful
scenery. We had some downtime at the campground so I taught Lisa how to
play cribbage. She mentioned her dad and brother used to play all the time
and knew her dad would be proud of her learning to play. Dinner was a jaunt
across the street to the Johnston Canyon Resort. And let me tell you, we
found the best soft serve ice cream ever!! We were going to share a cone
and we each took one bite and got our own.
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Lake Louise boat house
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Lake Louise
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Lake Louise
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Lake Louise
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Lake Louise
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Lisa at Lake Louise
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Me at Lake Louise
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All together now - Lake Louise
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Lake Louise
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Lake Louise
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Lake Louise
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Lake Moraine
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Lake Moraine
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Chipmunks at Lake Moraine
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Birds of Lake Moraine
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More chippy-munks
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Lake Moraine
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Lake Moraine
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Day 12: Tuesday, August
19th - Banff Area, Yoho
It
started like all the other days had, but the sky soon grew angry and we were
in the midst of a torrential downpour. We decided to head over to Yoho
National Park and the town of Field for the day. Our first stop was to
Takakkaw Falls and on the way up the mountain it started to pour. I figured
it would just pass through as all the other storms had but this one stuck with
us for the day and a few days following. We hadn’t anticipated a deluge for
this day and hence didn’t bring our rain gear along.
The
Falls were the highest and most gorgeous we had seen. The spray alone from
the falls would have felt like it was raining anyways. We were soon soaked
and headed down to the town of Field. We had a good restaurant (Truffle
Pigs) suggestion from Richard and it was indeed nice. We sloshed in and they didn’t seem
to mind so we plunked down at the bar for some hot chocolate and a blueberry
muffin. Mmmm, that was the best hot chocolate and whipped cream I’ve had in
a long time! So was the muffin. It is also where we found Jewel the pup
outside the kitchen waiting for her owner. Jewel was a beautiful white and
black mix of Newfoundland and Saint Bernard. She really was a jewel.
Once we warmed up a bit, we decided to continue our wanderings and went to
another recommendation we had gotten from Richard. The Velvet Antler is a
pottery shop that has been in Field since 1971. The owner Katherine and her
husband Ryan make incredible works of art and display/sell them in the
shop. Their daughter is an expert at dragons but she refuses to
sell any of her pieces. There were a few on display though. Katherine and
a new young apprentice, Shane, were manning the shop and stopped everything
to chat with us and show us the gallery.
We
continued our meandering down the street to a gift shop where Lisa found
some great jewelry and I found some cards. We were about done with the town
of Field by then and in between storm heads so we decided to bolt back to
camp. On our way back the weather nailed us again, which called for a stop
at our favorite little inn/cabin place, Baker Creek. We had a couple of
Bailey’s and coffee to warm body, spirit, and soul. We managed to dodge the
rain on the final ride back to the campsite. We took nice hot showers and
relaxed for a while. We contemplated dinner choices and Lisa had noticed
macaroni and cheese on the menu back at Baker Creek. Done! Back on the
bikes and down the road and boy was it worth it!
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Lisa at Takakkaw Falls in Yoho
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Takakkaw Falls in Yoho
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Takakkaw Falls in Yoho
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Takakkaw Falls in Yoho
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Takakkaw Falls in Yoho
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Takakkaw Falls in Yoho
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Jewel the St. Bernard and Newfoundland mix at the Truffle Pigs restaurant in Field, BC
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Velvet Antler potter studio in Field
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Velvet Antler potter studio in Field
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Gear drying in tent at Johnston Canyon campground. We had gotten a little soggy
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Johnston Canyon campground
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Day 13: Wednesday,
August 20th - Banff to Coeur d’Alene, ID
The
rain was still hanging around, but we were prepared this time with our rain
gear. We quietly broke camp, suited up, and pouted a bit as this was the
start of our journey home. We were excited to see Idaho, but the reality of
a great vacation starting to end was sad.
It
was unusually chilly as we started south down 93. By the time we logged
about ~80 miles our teeth were chattering and our hands were soggy and cold. We saw
a sign for Radium Hot Springs, and you guessed it, detoured inside. Aahhhh,
bravo! The warmth lifted our spirits and the skies cleared a bit too.
Onward down 95 south to the border crossing into Idaho at Kingsgate. The
guard did ask many more questions, but only requested our passports. Again,
a breeze, with nary a hassle. We continued south on 95 into Coeur d’ Alene.
I had always heard good things about Coeur d’Alene and wanted to stop and
check it out. It was towards the end of the day so we visited the visitor
center and the lady helped us with campgrounds. We found a nice place but
the drawback was the freeway noise, yikes. Nothing a few earplugs couldn’t
cancel out though. We had a great dinner at the local steakhouse, Wolf
Lodge Inn, that apparently was the best in town and we were lucky to get a
reservation – which the lady at the campground had made for us. How nice.
We had to bring back a few scraps for the kitty cat that had befriended us
at the campground not soon after we had pulled in. She was pregnant and
looked a little hungry so we helped her consume a bit of protein.
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Quack! That's all I had for the day. Three ducks at a gas station somewhere in Idaho.
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Day 14: Thursday,
August 21st - Coeur d’Alene, ID to Baker City, OR
Lisa studied the map in the morning and led us on the scenic byway around
Coeur d’Alene Lake. What a ride! We twisted and shouted around the lake to
no traffic, superb pavement, and stunning views around the lake. We popped
out onto highway 3 and continued south on it into a little town for
breakfast. The place had just opened and the food was delicious. The cook
came out and chatted with us for a while and asked us all sorts of
questions. The waitress was an uppity/snotty college student studying for
her PhD, so I think the food industry was beneath her standards but needed
some income. The cook put her in her place though and it was fun to watch
the exchange.
More rain was in store for us on this day as well, but it was spotty and
never a downpour. We liked highway 3 so much we continued on south until we
finally intersected 12 and 95 near Lapwai. We jumped on 95 south and
carried on. Besides Canada, western Idaho was definitely my favorite
scenery, the colors were vibrant and different in ways I haven’t noticed in
other states.
We did
have a very entertaining detour in the afternoon in Cottonwood, ID. We
were tooling along 95 and saw the Dog Bark Park on the side of the road.
It was a playground of wooden dogs and such. There was a huge
structure that was in the shape of a dog and it was actually a B&B.
Really bizarre! The owners were a little whacky, but very sweet and
friendly. We got a kick outta the place.
We eventually hit 71 and headed northwest for a stint through
Hells Canyon and over to 86 into Oregon. Hells Canyon was creepy for some
reason and we were trying to put our finger on it. I think it was the lack
of people or any activity as we rode through. It was like a ghosttown and
the lake was nearly void of boats. I think we saw only two boats, very
strange, hence a bit creepy.
We
had planned to make it further than Baker City, OR but as the day wore on
and we were heading west right into the sun, we grew weary and decided it
was finally a hotel night. We tapped into the GPS and it offered some
suggestions. We found a nice place, cleaned up, and went to the local
Mexican food joint across the street that was recommended. Mmmm, think I
had a hangover from the margaritas and the shots of tequila the waiter was
bringing us. Gotta love the locals. Lights out!
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Dog Bark Park - woof
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Dog Bark Park - woof
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Dog Bark Park - woof
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Dog Bark Park - woof
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Walter the Golden Retriever - reminded me of Jesse
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Mean rotten kitty - she was just old and fiesty
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Dog Bark Park
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Dog Bark Park
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Lisa with the creepy people at Dog Bark Park
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Lisa with the creepy people at Dog Bark Park
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Day 15: Friday, August
22nd - Baker City, OR to Burney Falls, CA
Lots of droning on this day. We headed southwest on 7 to 26 to 395 south.
Highway 7 and 26 were very pretty and so were parts of 395. But soon the
white line fever set in on 395 through central Oregon. Straight, long,
boring, and fast. We slugged through it at 90 mph most of the way. Nothing
else out there but tumbleweeds, sand, and sagebrush. Although it was a 450
mile day it didn’t seem that bad, gee, maybe because we were going 90 mph
most of the way?
We
stopped in the little town of Adin, CA that was on 299 and above Burney
Falls. It was a cute place and we hung out in the General Store for quite a
while. It was very warm outside and the store had a huge fan inside to keep
us cool. All the locals seemed to file in and out and it was a bit of a
hub. We marveled at all the stuffed animal heads on the walls above
and inquired how one would go about transporting such tonnage back home once
it had been killed. It
became quite the discussion with local hunters piping in and sharing their
experience and thoughts. Every day is a school day.
We
pulled into Burney Falls State Park, wishing on a hope and a prayer that we
might get a campground for the night. Usually they are booked 6 months in
advance, especially on a Friday night. Campground is full, said the ranger,
but, I do have some of our “environmental” sites open. The difference is
that there are no showers and pit toilets. Fine with us. We went down a
service road, opened a combo gate, and then viola, a nearly deserted slice of
Burney Falls tucked away in the outskirts. Good to know for future use. We
were still full from a very late lunch so we skipped dinner altogether.
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Rollin down the Oregon Trail, somewhere in Oregon
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Day 16: Saturday,
August 23rd - Burney Falls, CA to Home
The
sad realization of our final day hit us hard. We were still high on such a
fabulous adventure that we got to share with one another, but we were not
ready for it to end. We were not ready for the daily grind and our lives we
had left behind. We had both completely unplugged and reached a wonderful
state of relaxation and happiness. And someone had just hit the stop
button.
We
vowed not to get in homing pigeon mode and to stay off the main arteries as
long as we could. We pulled out the last map of the journey and plotted a
course on some roads we both hadn’t been on. From Burney we took 89 south
to 44 east to service road A21 south to 36 east to 147 south around parts of
Lake Almanor. This was a beautiful ride around the lake and reminded us of
the road up by Lake Coeur d’Alene. We jumped back on 89 south to 70 south
and finally to I-80. I-80 was again an assault to our senses and we came to
a screeching halt. I looked at my GPS and it calculated 30 miles to my 680
cut-off. UGH, 30 miles of lane splitting took the wind out of both of our
sails! We stopped off the I-80 before our split points to rest a bit,
recap, and say our emotional goodbyes.
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Me, rollin rollin rollin...Lisa shot this while we were rolling down 97 in Oregon, but I thought it fitting as the last shot.
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Epilogue -
I couldn’t have
asked for a better travel partner on this trip. Thank you, Lisa! We shared
and experienced so much together. We laughed, we cried, we awed at the
beauty, we adapted, we overcame, and we loved every minute of it!
