2,400 miles through the Canadian Rockies and Washington Cascades!

[FastDoc]

As some of you may recall every year my friend Jimmy (whom I grew up with in New Jersey. Poor bastard lives there but comes out every year to ride with me out west), and I take a vacation together.

This year he flew to seattle and rented a Bad Azz Harley Fat Boy. awesome bike. I rode the Gold Wing to meet him just north of the border in BC, in Weld-Land:-)



Goldie just west of Jasper National Park. The weather you see here was typical of a couple of days we had. Rainstorms with or without thunder and sometimes hail, with patches of semi-clearing. Towards the middle of the ride it became sunny and warm, and we were grateful. Even in the rain, the ride was amazing, and we kept warm and safe. The Gold Wing is an amazing travelling motorcycle. Dare I say the best?



A tour jet boat ride we took in Blue River, BC to see grizzly bears. We saw quite a few, and the boat ride was fun. Still, the 40 MPH run back to the cabin in a driving hailstorm was pretty painful on the face LOL!



Does a bear ____ in the woods? Turns out the answer is 'Yes'.





Jimmy on the jet boat.







A very cold FastDoc on the jet boat.



Goldie on a wet, slick typical wooden bridge common in this area.



The bikes outside the Moose Bar in Valemont, BC.



Inside the bar. Warming up by a fireplace.



FastDoc and FastBike.



So THIS is what Canadians do with tourists??

[FastDoc]

Sorry the pics are out of order, but I'm having a hard time with Photobucket and was anxious to share :-)



Goldie after thousands of miles of grime were washed off. I have a lot of respect for this bike and the engineering that went into it. She is fat, but a great dancer, and perfectly suited to the act of long distance touring in comfort, safety, and speed.



Enjoying a Mariner's game on the last day of vacation.





Back in Washington in North Cascades National Park.

[FastDoc]

Jimmy at the border.



Only in the Canadian Rockies!





Take me out to the ball game...



Ross Lake in the Washington Cascade Mountains.



Jimmy taking a break.



Goldie loving life.





Both border crossing took only 10 minutes or so.



Coming into beautiful Osoyoos, BC.

[FastDoc]

On a ferry across Kootenay Lake, BC on route to Nelson, BC.



Goldie on board.



The sign said this is the longest free ferry ride in North America. It was a beautiful trip, about 40 minutes.







Another exposure of Osoyoos.



The road down the mountain.



A clapped out TW200 with a (poorly) fabbed open header exhaust. Spotted in Nelson, BC, a very eccentric town. Weld and Tom each independantly referred to it as a 'Hippie Town' and that is an apt description. Fun place!

[FastDoc]

More of the TW200.







Grizzly bear spotted in Lake Louise.



The Lake Louise tram ride/skilift. Highly recommended.



Resting on a river in Kooteny National Park.



This beautiful scene is typical of the dozens of lakes, rivers, and mountain vistas between Jasper and Banff National parks.







Big Horn Sheep.



Lake Louise.



Canada rocks!



The Columbia Glacier, the genesis of the mighty Columbia River.





Maybe 40 degrees and a 25 MPH wind on the glacier.



Inside jasper National Park.

[FastDoc]

We swam in this lake, Christina Lake, after the couple (from Saskatchewan) said it was warm....

Never trust a person from Saskatchewan when they tell you something is warm. They simply don't know what warm means... LOL!





Jimmy crossing a plank over the Columbia River (more or less) at the base of the Columbia Glacier.

[FastDoc]

Self portrait in Yoho National Park.



Jimmy flying wingman.







Got any snacks?









Mountain goats.

[FastDoc]

Jasper













Jimmy on a hiking trail. we tried to go for short hikes as often as possible to immerse ourselves in the parks.





Many elks were seen at the roadside.









It was a great trip, completed, with God's help, in perfect safety.

I HIGHLY recommend a trip to Weld-Land for anyone who has not yet gone.

I am already planning a trip next year with Linda, but maybe we will fly to Edmondton and rent a car, or drive the Corvette rather than ride. But, who knows, she is good on Goldie :-)

[cheesy]

Great write up and pics, Doc.

Told ya it would be a fun trip.

[tecnolli]

Great pictures, many of them will do well as desktop wallpapers.

[MICRider]

Awesome pics Doc! You saw more wildlife than my son and I did when we went to Banff last summer... All we saw was a couple of ground squirrels!

[Weldangrind]

I knew you'd love it.

Did you visit the town of Banff? What did you think of Banff vs. Jasper?

I figured you'd get a kick out of Nelson. They have the most beautiful Walmart location in North America. I've never taken the ferry to get there.

I've never taken the Louise tram, but it looks like a stunning view.

Did you get stuck behind many motorhomes on the Crowsnest Pass (highway 3)?

[Weldangrind]

BTW, Christina Lake is warm by comparison. For whatever reason, it is the warmest tree-lined lake in BC. It's usually around 70F in the summer, which is far better than any other tree-lined lake.

[FastDoc]

Christina Lake really was OK for swimming, I exagerate it's coldness :-) The people from Saskatchewan were so funny though!

It was a pleasure to swim in, and the scenery was amazing.

There was no significant traffic over Crows Nest Pass, or anywhere on our trip for that matter (outside of Downtown Seattle). Whenever there was a slower vehicle, a flick of the wrist and Goldie torques right on past them, with Jimmy and the Fat Boy ('Buck') in tow :-)

With that said the speed limits in BC and Alberta where we rode were generously high, and the people using them drove far over the posted speed much of the time. Flow was about 15-20 KPH over the posted limit much of the time. The quality of the road surfaces, especially taking into account the elements, was excellent.

Mounties were rare. I never saw or detected one on the radar detector once past Hope, BC until we got back down to Osoyoos, BC.

In the rain (about 1/4 of the trip) we rode about 10 KPH below the speed limit and let people pass us at will.

[FastDoc]

We loved Nelson. The only thing we didn't like was the beggars and those obviously high on drugs. Liberals attract beggars...

We ate at a wonderful Indian food sidewalk cafe and it was the best meal of many on the trip. I enticed Jimmy into eating a Naniamo Bar. Not a difficult mission ;-)

The ferry was a highpoint of the trip. Highly recommended.

The tram at Lake Louise was a bargin. For a pretty low price you get the tram ride and an outstanding buffet lunch. We ate on the log deck with beautiful views.

Jasper is the place to be over Banff and Lake Louise. Not that there is anything less than excellent about the latter two places, but just that Jasper is so close to Heaven.