Canadian Rockies '18: Day 11

START LOCATION: Nelson, BC
END LOCATION: Banff, AB
MILES TRAVELED: 318.7
TOTAL MILES TO DATE: 5535
WEATHER SUMMARY: Overcast to perfect

Had a good breakfast. Left late on purpose to let some nasty weather clear. Enjoyed a pretty cool ferry ride - and then enjoyed some great roads on the way to Banff.

Getting here was the plan. Seeing the beauty of God's creative work in this neck of the woods should be a highlight. We got to connect with our friends Ben and Tami tonight. Best of all - seeing my girl tomorrow evening... I can't wait.

I have pics. I have video. But I just can't work on those tonight. I had two periods of extreme fatigue today, struggling to stay awake. This is a function of the pace we're keeping - and I must rest again and more than I have in recent days.

I'll share this, then sign off: As the Canadian Rockies came into view today, I said to the other guys, "Boys, this is what we came for." After a brief pause, I continued, "You know, it takes a special case of crazy to do this."

Crazy indeed.

Here's where the road less traveled has taken us so far:

Canadian Rockies '18: Days 9 and 10

START LOCATION: Seattle, WA
END LOCATION: Chilliwack, BC
MILES TRAVELED: 447.8
TOTAL MILES TO DATE: 4749.3
WEATHER SUMMARY: Rain to hot

We arrived in Chilliwack, British Columbia at 9 PM after a hard, intense day of riding. The day started with the border crossing into Canada. The actual entrance was uneventful. The agents were polite, asked a couple of questions, and wished us a good day, only confirming we were not transporting weapons into the country. The mistake I made here was taking us into Canada using the main interstate entry point. We lost an hour here in a stop-and-go line when the secondary entrance points would have allowed for a much more timely entrance into Canada.

Next up was a venture into Vancouver to see what the city was like. This was a another mistake. Traffic was challenging, and we were hot after suiting up for the rain we experienced earlier in the day. But we've seen and experienced another beautiful city along the way.

Next, we headed off in search of Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. Somehow I missed in my research the tidbit of information that the walk from the parking lot to the lighthouse was LONG. And unless one makes it to the right viewpoint, you get a partial view of the lighthouse. That would do for me. Even more walking and climbing over rocks led to the prize that we look for whenever we are routed near the coast. I love the water, and I am fascinated by lighthouses.

We all needed a rest after finally making it to the viewpoint.

Junior always ventures out to places the old guys don't dare attempt.

Leaving the lighthouse, we rode some absolutely fantastic motorcycle roads... the Sea to Sky Highway, the Duffey Lake Route, and the amazing Fraser Canyon route. Sadly, I had a corrupt memory card in my GoPro for most of this. It seemed to be recording - but was not. The views and the exhilaration are forever etched in our minds and experience, but there's no video to share. Here's an interesting note for movie buffs: the original Rambo movie was filmed at Hope, BC, located at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon run.

Our lodging place, as stated earlier, was Chilliwack, BC. We don't like to be out after dark - especially on winding mountain roads - so we were racing the clock to get to our hotel. We rolled in with about 10 minutes to spare before sundown, checked in, grabbed a bite of dinner, and called it a day

START LOCATION: Chilliwack, BC
END LOCATION: Nelson, BC
MILES TRAVELED: 467
TOTAL MILES TO DATE: 5216.3
WEATHER SUMMARY: Awesome!

Day 10 was another full day, and we were very tired / sleepy yesterday and today - so I'm not going to post much. I'll do my best to get to a more detailed report later. In summary, the day included a visit to the Othello Tunnels, a stunning architectural railroading architectural and construction feat, a bit of riding on the Trans-Canada Highway to make the day manageable, ice cream, a ferry ride, and an incredible run on the first part of the Nakusp to Creston Scenic Ride.

 Here are some pics from the ferry ride, and a link to a video I created using the GoPro Quik app.

Here is the link to the GGoPro video:

https://gopro.com/v/GLa0JdKqvzg8

That's all for now. I must rest. And I'm sure I'll think of the challenges of the road as I drift off to sleep.

Canadian Rockies '18: Day 8

START LOCATION: Spokane, WA
END LOCATION: Seattle, WA
MILES TRAVELED: 407.8
TOTAL MILES TO DATE: 4301.5
WEATHER SUMMARY: Perfect!

Best part of the day: I got to talk to Lindsey and Lorelai and Jaimee and Ruth. Starting my morning this way, I just KNEW Friday had to be a better day. After all of these days of rain, rain, and more rain - today was weather perfection. Crisp and cool with abundant sunshine made for personal comfort and great riding conditions.

The roads we experienced today were absolutely amazing... beautiful from a scenic perspective and jam-packed with riding excitement. It's late. We're very tired. So not a lot of pics and not a lot of description.

Beyond the great weather and excellent riding, we met Trent in Seattle, went to the Space Needle, and had some great time together at dinner. Didn't get into town early enough to make it to Pike Street Market or whatever it's called.

Another big day tomorrow... riding roads less traveled.

Here's a link to some riding video:

https://gopro.com/v/D75wKg99BDQ6

And here are just a few pics from the day:

Steve trying so hard to have an opportunity to ride a Harley.
"No, friend, I'm sorry. It's just too much power for you."

Located 1,200 feet above sea level, Diablo Lake, stmply put, looks unreal.
The brilliant turquoise water is impossible to miss. It positively shines.
The crystalline lake's distinctive jade-green glow comes courtesy of
finely ground glacier sediment suspended in the water.

Canadian Rockies '18: Day 7

START LOCATION: Missoula, MT
END LOCATION: Spokane, WA
MILES TRAVELED: 407.8
TOTAL MILES TO DATE: 3893.7
WEATHER SUMMARY: From bad to good

Before the Day 7 update, here are some practical things from the road:

1. I did laundry again tonight. That makes three days in a row. Because while I only PLAN to do laundry every other night, and only NEED to do laundry every three days, I do laundry when there is an opportunity to get it done without waiting for a washer and dryer. So... three nights in a row.

2. Because I did laundry tonight and only had one change of clothes to wash, I'm going to wear the same exact clothes tomorrow that I wore today. The clothes are clean, of course.

3. I missed being able to talk to my kids and grandkids today. We're in the Pacific Time Zone now. By the time we arrived in Spokane, it was too late to call. Lindsey sent a video of Lorelai "talking' to Papa. This made me smile. I was able to have a most humorous text message exchange with Jaimee and Lindsey tonight while at dinner. This made me laugh.

4. I have "appointments" to call Lorelai and Ruth before I ride tomorrow. This will make the day a good one no matter the conditions.

5. I miss Annette, and I'm counting down the days until she joins me in Calgary, Alberta.

6. I got to FaceTime the last two evenings with my dog, Berklee. He doesn't understand technology.

7. I had to jam on my brakes today to keep from having an uncomfortable encounter with a moose. Sadly, the GoPro wasn't running then. But we were able to see and appreciate this magnificent creature.

An overview of where we've been so far,
as recorded by the SPOT Gen3 satellite tracker.

Now, to the Day 7 update:

I have no words. I mean... when we ride the northeaster US and eastern Canada, I expect this. It's usually dry out west.

One of the last things I did last night was check the weather forecast for our starting point and ending destination. I really thought we'd have a good weather day. So I packed my rain suit away and cleaned my bike. A gentleman visiting Missoula for a fishing adventure said, "You're wasting your time. It's going to rain on your riding and my fishing." Nope. I did not receive that. Not for a moment.

I went up to my room to brush my teeth and came back down to find all of the other guys in full rain gear. The sky had turned gray, and light rain was beginning to fall. I suited up. I got cranky. And we set out in yet another day of nasty, annoying rain.

Many of my friends have heard me say my strategy in planning these adventures includes finding the most challenging roads I can find - roads with curves and elevation changes - and riding them as fast as we dare. It's a grand venture. Lolo Pass offered all of that. It's a high mountain pass, and is rated as one of America's 15 best motorcycle roads. There is little traffic and excellent road surfaces most of the way. Unless those roads are wet. Wet roads make me nervous and create a barrier to our experiencing the rush of exhilaration these routes offer. I got crankier.

If that wasn't enough - and if I had not already had more challenges on this ride than the previous six rides put together - I realized my GPS wasn't working properly. We all have the route loaded into our GPS, so it wasn't as though we would be in crisis. Randall was able to load the route into my Harley-Davidson Infotainment system. But I'm comfortable using my Garmin Zumo 665... knowing where to find all of the information I might need, like distance to the next turn, current speed, current speed limit, distance to destination, ETA... I'm familiar with the functions that help my find gas and food quickly. The Harley-Davidson GPS can provide all of this information, but not as easily, and I certainly don't have the familiarity I've developed with the Garmin after riding tens of thousands of miles with this GPS unit. So... you guessed it: I got even crankier.

I had planned a stop at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center, and this stop offered me an opportunity to figure out what was broken with my GPS. The guys were very patient with me as I reloaded the route to no avail, then began reloading maps to my GPS. This lengthy process was progressing well when I left my computer and Garmin device to return to my bike for a moment. There were probably ten seats in the area where my computer and GPS were syncing. But the little old lady coming in as I was going out seemed to want the seat where my computer and GPS were working. So she closed my computer and moved it. Stopping the map-reloading process. I'm not sure why she chose to do that. I didn't ask. I internalized my growing crankiness and decided we needed to get back on the road.

But amid all of this crankiness, there was good news: The sun came out and the road began to dry. Shortly after leaving the visitor center, we began to find dry roads, and we were able to lean into those curves at speed as I had envisioned. The ride got fun.

In the time of riding without my GPS, and while I started having problems with my PackTalk communicator (I know, right? What else can go wrong??), we missed our planned lunch stop. We picked a random little place in a hole-in-the-wall town, and Dad's Diner actually turned out to be pretty good. While there, the guys waited patiently again as I reloaded maps into my GPS. This effort was met with success, and we were finally in business, heading out to finish our day.

I still had issues with my communicator at times, but managed to leave the crankiness behind. The sun continued to shine most of the time. And the laughter returned.

I'm thankful for friends who are patient and compassionate. I'm thankful for friends who pray for me in the difficult moments along the way. And I'm thankful that tomorrow will be better day. Tomorrow, we'll ride again. And tomorrow, we'll meet the 6th wheel on this bus as Trent joins us for our ride across the border and into Canada.

I didn't take many pictures today because we didn't stop very often. I'll post what I have below. I put a quick video together of our ride through Lolo Pass. You can find a link to the video below, as well.

Yes, tomorrow will be better. And we'll ride on in search of more roads we've never traveled.

Here is the link to the Lolo Pass video:

https://gopro.com/v/71Brnp110bzN

Matt loves to explore... and here he is at the river's edge.

There is a lot of Lewis and Clark history around Lolo. 

Junior grabs a quick nap.

Fun at dinner while waiting on our shuttle.