Canadian Rocky Fall Run

[Spud]

My solo trip through Canada is in the Bag.

Day 1: Left work at 1:00 pm, bike was pre-loaded and trip was planned. A few weeks of planning my route and getting ready, mostly through suggestions of forum members were complete.

Leaving home--unseasonably warm--Mid 80's. My wife Lori sees me off from her office downtown Idaho Falls--a block from my office too...

Heading North on I-15. Go past the town of Dubois, Idaho (pronounced "Do-Boyz"). Michael Jackson was planning to build Neverland 2 here....

Rush Hour on I-15 heading to Montana

Toward Butte, MT

Gassing up about 200 miles from home...coat represents no temptation to any HD rider....

Heading NW from Butte to Missoula, MT, I tagged along with a local in a black Toyota Supra. He seemed to know the road quite well. Coming over a crest, we came up on a Montana State Trooper, who was kind enough to allow us to calibrate our speedometers by pacing us at exactly 75 MPH. For 45 miles. :angry2:

Day One Complete--Nice afternoon rider to Missoula, MT. Temps were too hot for my gear!

DAY 2: Fired up and ready for Canada! Getting out of the parking lot before sunrise--lots of riding ahead today.

MT Dawn, Highway 93 North:

Sunrise:

Flathead Lake, later that morning.

Gassed up just south of the MT/Canada border, this was across the street:

Roosville Border Crossing

Fueling up in Canada. It was $14.23 per Canadian Dollar for 11.671 litres, so USD per Gallon would be, let's see, divide the 14 times the...litres to gallon, carry the three then... Oh screw it, I'll let Mastercard figure it out!!

Turning at Radium Hot Springs East, heading into Kootenay National Park

Them thar's the Canadian Rockies!

Vermillion Crossing, Kootenay N.P.

At this point I should mention the PERFECT riding weather I lucked into today: about 65 degrees and sunny!

OK, now a few clouds starting...

Crossing from BC into Alberta. Hard to believe 24 hours ago I was at my desk in Idaho Falls! The FJR eats the miles!

Speaking of desk--I have to get back to work! Will post more from next two days later....

 

[Spud]

Continuing on then....

I was headed to Golden, BC to stay Friday night. I thought if time permitted I would throw in the loop through Kootenay NP and Banff NP.... I made it up there in time so went through.

Banff NP:

Rode into Lake Louise. Clouds kept coming through--trying to get a shot in the sun. Ended up with a lot of nice photos. Here's a few.

The resort on the edge of the lake...

The canyon I'm about to ride down to my destination in Golden, BC...

Heading down there...

Into the canyon in the bottom...I had very little traffic to deal with the whole way through here...

Looked like this cloud got caught on the top of the mountain...

Crossed over the "New Park Bridge" getting near Golden. It's over 400 meters long--don't know how high....

Notice the Semi Truck and Cars for perspective.

Made it to my room in Golden BC. This big flag was flying at the truck-stop next door...

Day 2 in the Bag. Rotate head 90 degrees right for better view

 

[Spud]

Saturday September 19, I'm in Golden, BC. I need to get down to Spokane/Coeur d'Alene to stay on track. A very thick fog is covering the town this morning. Visibility is not good. I waited a little to get on the road to see if it would lift. Finally headed out toward Glacier NP and Revelstoke NP. The fog made it pretty rough going for the first while.

If you've ever wondered how the air flows on the windscreen, this will give you an idea...

Climbing up a big pass, I could see the sun coming through. I finally got up above the clouds...

The views were spectacular--almost no traffic on the roads at all--still early morning..

Went through several tunnels along the steep mountainsides...

Unbelievable mountain views everywhere. This pic taken from right off the side of the highway...

Stopped at the "Hemlock Grove", a rain forest of ancient cedar trees. Had the whole trail to myself. Spent some time in there--one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen...

To give you an idea of the size of these trees--notice the bike at the bottom...

Dropped down to Shelter Bay, where the road ends and a ferry goes across the lake. The ferry is free of charge

I'll also mention my pass to go through all the national parks was about $8.00. Way cheaper than US parks....

The road to the ferry was a great smooth piece of windy pavement, but knowing I would be dead-ended and waiting with all the other traffic, I rode conservatively....I was glad I did as when I got there we had 20 minutes to wait, everyone got out of the cars, and we all had a good conversation about where we were heading. I was the only bike!

Shelter Bay...Upper Arrow Lake, BC

We got loaded on--my position--Front Row, Center.

Heading across Shelter Bay...

The other ferry passing...

So, getting on the ferry front and center, meant when it docked I was first off. And no one else was on the road ahead of me. That was a fun ride! Blazed through to Nakusp, then to New Denver.

Took Highway 31A from New Denver to Kaslo. Awesome road. Started raining. Then REALLY started raining. At one point the downhill sections of the road were running about 1" to 2" of water. The bridge crossings were wood. I plugged along and passed two other bikers hanging out under an overhang waiting for it to pass.

Made it to Kaslo. Rain let up. Pulled over and literally poured water out of my gloves.

Kept going toward the US Border...following Kootenay Lake.

This bridge goes into Nelson, BC across one arm of the lake..

Made it to the US Border. I was as kind and polite as possible. I answered all of their questions honestly. Then the Customs Officer says, "OK, go ahead and unload your saddlebags." The made me take everything out, and went through all of my stuff with rubber gloves. I was pretty pissed. They tried putting it back together, but it wouldn't fit (you know how organized you have to pack), then finally gave me permission to re-pack my own stuff so it would go back in. I guess they are just doing their job, but I thought it was a little overboard...

OK, Canada's done. Now, Washington State...

 

[Panman]

Looks like you had a great ride! Crossing the border either way is always a mixed bag sometimes ya feel the love, sometimes ya feel pissed.

 

[Kasey]

Great report and beautiful pics Spud! I see you also rode some of the favorite roads that we did on the CFR Rally.

Kasey

 

[skifrik]

Awesome report. Been there many times. That is my favorite place on earth... so far.

 

[Spud]

Continuing down to Spokane along the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway...

Dam...

Darn near ran out of gas going toward Spokane. There are people living up there but no towns!

Had to stop THREE TIMES! for wild turkey crossings. They would be mulling around the side of the road, then one would cross, then another and another... They are way bigger than they appear in this picture. Also had deer on the road three times through there.

Finally made it to Spokane. That was a long day...

Spokane Sunday AM, ready to head home...

Blazed the interstate. Crazy gusting winds, a few scary moments getting thrown around...Went through Spokane; CDA ID; Missoula/Butte, MT; then South, back into ID.

After leaving home Thursday at 2:00 pm, i was home Sunday at 5:30 PM. Hard to believe everything I saw in that short amount of time!

My trip total tally:

And, finally, my good luck riding shirt!

So far for me, the trip of a lifetime! But hey, I just got the FJR in March this year!!! :yahoo:

 

[TCMike]

Great report! That area is awsome, but I haven't done it on a bike.........yet.

 

[Old Michael]

Well done Spud.

Great ride and report with gorgeous images of your incredibly beautiful back yard.

If only summer (and riding season up there) could last forever.

How you likin' that bike?

 

[0Face]

Awesome report!

 

[feeger]

Hey, I recognize that shirt! Great report and pics!

 

[Spud]

Well done Spud. Great ride and report with gorgeous images of your incredibly beautiful back yard.

If only summer (and riding season up there) could last forever.

How you likin' that bike?

It's true--summer (and riding season) will be over very soon here. The bike will sit from November through probably March. The bike has so far done anything I've wanted it to do--as you well know. I plan to keep it a long, long time.

 

[High Desert Rider]

Great ride report and pics! Really enjoyed seeing all you saw. Would love to do a Canadian Rockies ride!

 

[Niehart]

Hey, great report & pics. Don and I are waiting for here at Page. Oh, and nice shirt!