Bike Trip: Day 3 of 3

Another bright and beautiful day greeted us as we prepared to journey back over the mountains towards Medicine Hat.

By the way, Fernie BC is a quaint little town and looked like a great spot to return to for winter skiing!  Caroline took this picture as Dale and I went into a tunnel craved through the mountain just outside of Fernie.  I was relieved it wasn't too long of a tunnel!

By this time we were on highway 3 and re-entered Alberta via Crossnest Pass.  We were glad we weren't travelling in the wintertime as there were obvious signs of avalanches, rock slides and road closure possibilities.  (I'm there if you look closely to the right of the sign...)

Another one of our stops included the Frank Slide sight.  My greatuncle on my mom's side, John Scott lost his life in that slide and his body never recovered.  It was a sobering yet important stop to me.  There's no way to capture the magnitiude of the slide.  It took three pictures to capture the breadth, and even then, it isn't a complete perspective.  I've included a few pictures below, including this first one from inside the memorial centre.  It is off a mobile with the names of those who lost their lives.  if you look closely at the centre hanging, you'll see "John Scott, Bookkeeper".

When we left the Slide, we found that the highway went right through the fallen rock, removed for the highway and nearby railway.  Quite a ride.  

We continued on to Lethbridge where we grabbed a bit of lunch then booted it on to Medicine Hat!  In total for this 3-day trip, we travelled 1195 kms!

Bike Trip: Day 2 of 3

It wasn't hard to pack up, eat a quick breakfast and get back on the road in the morning!  We layered as many clothes as possible as the temperature was cool, and even cooler with the wind created by riding motorcycles.

One of the most incredible sights was an unnamed waterfall beside the road.  We were able to pull off and take some great shots of this unexpected scene!

For the next couple of hours the weather turned even colder and wet!  We put on our rain suits and drove carefully back down toward Lake Louise.  By the time we had lunch at the same restaurant as the day before, the sun was shining and we didn't see rain again for the rest of our trip.  (yay!)  The weather was hot, too, and we quickly took off as many layers as possible before we cooked.

It was amazing to me that once we crossed into BC, the remnants of forest fires were all around us, making the mountains look grey and bleak.  The many pine and cedar trees stood in silence like burnt matches. 

That night we stopped in Cranbrook, BC and visited the local Harley-Davidson dealer for yet another t-shirt.  Walking back from dinner to our hotel, we were accompanying by a mule deer leaping down the main road median.  She eventually turned into a back alley and safely off into the nearby field and woods.

Bike Trip: Day 1 of 3

After our days in Canmore and at the Stampede, Chris and Holly took Olivia back with them to Medicine Hat.  Dale and I with Jim and Caroline then took a 3-day bike trip northwest through the icefields to Sunwapta Falls (50 km south of Jasper), then back southwest to Cranbrook, BC and back east to Medicine Hat.  It was a great time of MANY breath-taking views, bear sightings, extreme weather changes from cold and wet to hot and dry, and conversations with some colourful fellow-bikers.

The best way to describe the trip is definitely through pictures!  Our first stop after leaving Canmore was at Lake Louise.  Though the lake and surrounding area was beautiful, it was crowded and commercialized.  After talking with a "local" and taking his recommendation, we had lunch in a reasonable lodge-like restaurant, and really enjoyed our time there.

Next, we turned north off the TransCanada on to highway 93 towards Jasper.  We noticed a distinct temperature change as we travelled throught the Icefields.  The glaciers were amazing, including the Columbia Icefields, Athabasca Glacier, Bow Glacier and others.  Absolutely enormous!  All of the streams, rivers and lakes were blue-green, clear and beautiful!

For the most part the weather was clear.  We rode through some light rain, but was out of it again before it was necessary to put on rainsuits.  Along this route, we spotted our first of a few bear sightings!  It was a little unnerving to be on a bike instead of a car and stop along the road for a photo opp - the guys kept the bikes running!  Caroline took a great shot of one of the bears we saw.

On a recommendation from one of Jim's motorcyle magazines, we stopped at Sunwapta Falls, 50 km before Jasper, and rented cabin-like rooms for the night.  We also ate dinner there.  Though each rooms had fireplaces with supposedly working floughs, the rooms still filled with smoke so the romantic fire idea didn't last long.

The Sunwapta Falls are part of the Sunwapta River, an Athabasca Glacier fed river so the river was running fairly high from the glacier melt.  The Falls are in two parts.  We only saw the first part.  The second was a little hike from the first, but we weren't exactly in our hiking gear.

Calgary Stampede Day Two

On day two of our Stampede visit (after sneaking in a visit to the Calgary Harley-Davidson, of course), we took in a few more shows including a musical ride, trick riders, superdogs and rodeo - of yeah the prime roast buffet for the second day was pretty amazing too, though there are not pictures!! ;) 

Liv wants a trick saddle now and go to circus school!  She did a great job climbing the rock wall - the rest of us were happy to cheer her on!

Calgary Stampede & Canmore

It has been quite a time of adventure since our last post! We packed up a few things and headed to a resort just before Canmore, AB for a few days. That became our homebase while we went to the Stampede, etc.

It was a great drive to the mountains, seeing many wonderful views of the mountains. Elk (the "unicorn" of Banff) was among our wildlife sightings.

The Stampede was lots of fun! The first day we went, we saw the stock dogs competition, team penning, chuck wagon races and the grandstand show. All the events we saw were awesome. The grandstand show was even better than two years ago when we went to the Stampede, with the death-defying motorcross riders and many aerial acts! One of my favourites was the suspended drummers!

Campfire with Chris!

Holly's garden is in full bloom, the flowers all gorgeous!

This was a fun night, when Chris built a campfire for us to enjoy in the backyard.  Note that the fire pit is an old tub from a washing machine that had handles and legs welded to it.  We started with roasting our fresh sausages over the fire and then oo'ed and ahh'ed as we watched the copper tube with a piece of garden hose create a variety of colour in the fire.  We capped off the evening with guitar and singing.  Even Keyta had a great time (that dog is relentless! :))

Tuesday, July 6

A morning run along the neighbourhood coulee was a good start to the day and saw a deer and a few prairie dogs along the way!

In the early afternoon, we drove to Dinosaur Park and the Badlands, where the coulees/hoodoos are plentiful and the landscape very unususal!  We watched a storm approach and waited in the van when it finally hit.  It only lasted a few minutes.

When the sun came out again, we hiked among the hoodoos for a bit, taking advatange of photo opportunities.  We drove to Brooks where we visited with Chris & Holly's oldest son Jacoby, drove by a buffalo farm then drove back to the Hat for supper. 

In the evening we enjoyed the live sounds of "Mahoney" in a  local pub while Chandler took Liv to see "Toy Story 3".  It was a wonderful and relaxing time.

Sask, Alberta and Medicine Hat

After three long days of travelling we were able to take it a little easier on the fourth.  We even slept in a little, had a leisurely breakfast and mosied further west, without any rain this time.

Saskatchewan lived up to its reputation of being flat, but had a few rolling hills which helped break up the monotony of the drive.  We saw the repair and remnants of the flood damage and had to merge lanes a couple of times.

After lunch in Swift Current, SK, we made it into Alberta and finally Medicine Hat mid-afternoon.  We were very happy to see Chris, Holly, Chandler and their driveway!  Chris broke out the steaks and we had an awesome dinner complete with Alberta beef and homemade ice cream pie!!

We took Monday, July 5th to regroup, do laundry, tend to some errands and wash the van.  It was a great way to recover from a long trip and begin planning the next section of our adventure.  Stay tuned! :)

Saturday, July 3rd

After getting on the road in our best-ever time so far, we discovered a record-breaking lineup at the local Tim Hortons in Dryden.  We decided to wait a little longer and drive to Kenora before getting our "fix".  As it turned out the line-up in Kenora was long too.  I guess that if a Tim Hortons is only going to occur once every hour and a half or so, there is bound to be a line up!

The scenery around Kenora was lovely and the town was picturesque.  We were glad to keep trucking though and finally made it to the Manitoba border.  At this point we were driving through rain, but covered with rain suits the guys stuck it out on their bikes.  It was handy to have the trailer to change in, but even in that the mosquitos swarmed.  (We'll insert a few pctures later.  It is quite late now, and quite frankly none of us have the energy to retrieve the camera from the van tonight.)

It wasn't long before the rain cleared up and the hot sun re-emerged.  We stopped in Winnipeg for lunch and a breather and hit the road again.  This time Liv rode on the back again and enjoyed riding with Dale for about three hours.

We crossed the Saskatchewan border with no fanfare...no sign or any markings.  Saskatchewan, you may have a boring province, but surely you can find something to celebrate.  Having NO "Welcome to Saskatchewan - land of the wheat field undertoe" (or something) sign is just so lame! 

Getting over our disappointment of a lost-never-to happen-again photo op, we forged ahead and ended our day in Regina for the night.  Apparently there are severe storms all around us even tornado watches.  Other than a few showers, we were spared any weather like that, for which we are extremely grateful.  We saw a few lightning bolts in the distance, but that was it. 

The 'live' wildlife spotted today included a couple of prairie dogs and a llama farm.  WOW!!

We are glad to be tucked away for the night and will enjoy the last few hours of our trek tomorrow.  Jim's been on a beef boycott since we left Ottawa, saving up his appetite for Alberta beef - Chris & Holly, I hope you are ready! :)

Day Two - on the road again

Today we were able to get started a little earlier now that we know how the van should be packed.  It was a great weather day, sunny but a little windy. 

The drive around the eastern and northern tip of Lake Superior was spectacular!!  The landscape was thick forest and very hilly.  The views of the Lake were breath-taking and there were more photo opportunities than time to take them.  The van chugged here and there but made it!  We were looking for wildlife but only saw a groundhog, a small fox and a young deer.  Caroline claims to have seen an eagle, but she was the only one who saw it...  Liv enjoyed a few hours on the back of the bike with Dale.

We visited the Harley Davidson in Thunder Bay and the guys picked up t-shirts.  We pushed our limits but finally made it to Dryden, ON - we were glad to have the extra hour with the time change outside of Thunder Bay.  It's hard to believe we've spent about 17 hours driving already and are STILL in Ontario!  We are anxious to cross into Manitoba and feel like we are making progress.

Dale discovered that wearing a bandana to shield his face from the sun was a good idea...mostly.  Tomorrow we'll pin it down so it can't flip up in his face!

We are looking forward to another good night's sleep and another awesome day tomorrow!  We are are so thankful for safe travels thus far, health and safety!  Keep praying us on!

Canada Day - the adventure begins!

We hit the road at 8:30 am with a full load in the van and the guys on their bikes. The day was a little cloudy but sunny enough that Dale ended up with a sunburned face, with his nose getting the worst of it. Sunscreen is a wonderful thing when worn. ;)

We saw a couple of funny road signs: “Oil change $40 and Worms” and “Fudge Factory Moccasins”. There were also a ton of motorcycles on the road taking advantage of the holiday... lots of waving.

I was rigged with an intercom on my hat, Caroline was armed with a plethora of maps and Liv had a wide assortment of electronics at her fingertips. Dale and Jim rode their bikes like veterans and did a great job following the van and avoiding the lousy drivers. We made good time with only a few stops for food and fuel and ended our day around 6 pm in Sault Ste. Marie.

The hotel we stayed in was awesome with a Caseys Restaurant attached, pool and indoor/outdoor hot tubs. We took advantage of it all after a tiring day and heard the Canada Day fireworks in the distance that night.