My trip all in one blog

I did not do a daily blog during my trip this time so I am doing the whole trip in one big blog.

Day 1 June 15

 Day one was not really very exciting at all. Some of us met at the A&W at Acheson and the rest met at the hotel in Edson. We left around 5 ish so the first day was just to Edson. It rained about half the ride so we were a little wet when we arrived.

Day 2, June 16

The second day we traveled from Edson to 100 Mile house. This was a great ride and the weather was mostly nice. It threatened to rain a couple times but mostly it was great. We stopped for pie at Little Fort and the ride from Little Fort to 100 Mile House was excellent.

 

Getting ready for Day 2

Morning prayer time

Rest time by Jasper

 

Mount Robson Rest stop

This guy was setup on the lawn at Mount Robson entertaining the tourists.

Mount Robson backdrop

More side of the highway rest time

Time for pie at Little Fort

All lined up at 100 Mile House

Day 3, June 17

On day 3 we ventured from 100 Mile House down to Osoyoos. It was a really great ride again and the weather was awesome. I thought it was going to get really hot but it was not as bad as we thought it would be. The ride out of 100 Mile House Down to about Cache Creek was especially nice. with big wide open views and good pavement and little traffic.

Another rest stop

Mathew on his phone again

Side of the highway break

The fathers on fathers day.

Day 4 June 18

On day 4 we rode from Osoyoos BC to Walla Walla Washington. It was a warm day but a good ride. Encountered a bit of construction and on a hot day it is not fun just sitting on the side of the highway or going slow behind a pilot car. However it was a good day and we got to ride a ferry which is always fun.

Route on Day 4

Getting ready to leave Osoyoos

Leaving for the USA

Dreaded road construction

Waiting for the ferry.

Made in the ferry

Finally cooling off a little

Resting near the barley fields

Please don’t rain

Day 5 June 19

Day 5 was from Walla Walla Washington to Lolo Montana. This is the road we have been waiting for it has many miles of winding roads. It was a good ride but the second half the pavement was a bit rough. The weather was great though and the scenery was awesome.

Walla Walla to Lolo

Preparing for the day

Coffee Break

Very nice little coffee shop

Mathew is happy about the winding road

Resting again

The young ones finally catch up

Nice scenery all the way

Day 6 June 20

This is the day that I venture off on my own. The rest of the crew were heading north and home but I headed south for a few more days of riding fun. This day did not exactly turn out the way I had planned. However it did have a happy ending. As I left Lolo I started to notice a little shimmy in my front tire. At first I thought it was just the pavement but then it continued on all kinds of different pavement. I stopped a couple of times just to look and see if I could see something wrong with my tire. It finally became apparent that I needed this looked at. I got on the phone and found a Polaris dealer. Polaris used to make my Victory motorcycle. I called and they said they would have a look if I got there on time. They were in Hailey Idaho so I rushed down there and they had a look and were able to replace my front wheel bearing. It only delayed me 2 hours. I was tenting in Hailey that night so it all worked out. Hailey is about 17 Kilometers from Ketchum Idaho where I spent a bunch of time skiing back in the late 70’s. I made some friends at that time and decided to see if I could look them up. I found my friend Scott Curtis and we had a great chat about the old days and where we ventured since the old Sun Valley days.

The route

Getting ready to leave Lolo, actually our hotel was in Missoula

Break time

Diagnose the problem

Yup it’s broken

Bad wheel bearing

Tear it apart

All fixed

My buddy Scott

Time to tent

Day 7 June 21

After tenting I went and hung out with Scott for a while again. He drove me around town and showed me some of the places I used to live when I was there way back in the day. The place had changed so much that I could not find my way around very easily. I didn’t get on my way until about noon so I got a bit of a late start. I was planning on getting all the way to Ely Nevada but was not sure if I was going to make it. Once I got going the highways we very fast and straight so I was able to make it to my destination as planned. Lots of desert driving but it was still fun. I ended up at the KOA campground in Ely and setup camp there.

Place we lived winter 1977 -78 it is called The Ranch

This is our condo we stayed in during the Winter of 1978-79

Scott’s house

Desert riding

An unusual sign for a bathroom door

My campsite at the the KOA in Ely

A sunset in the desert

Day 8  June 22

The next day I traveled from Ely, Nevada to Springdale, Utah which is just outside Zion National Park. The drive in the desert is very straight but actually quite scenic. This is mostly desert and it started to get pretty hot.  By the time I got to Springdale the temp was about 41 C. That is way to hot to camp so I was able to fine a nice air conditioned little cabin.

Resting in the desert

A long straight road

 

It is a hot one today

The scenery just outside the park

My air conditioned cabin for the night

Day 9 June 23

The weather in the morning is much more agreeable and so it was very nice to ride in the morning. I went through Zion park today. It is very scenic and a wonderful drive but it is also very crowded because it is a favored destination in the summer for tourists. After the park I headed towards the Grand Canyon. Most people head towards the South Rim of the Grand Canyon so of course I decided to go to the North Rim. This was a very hot and windy ride. This is also a national park so I had to pay again to go into the park. Of course the Grand Canyon is very awe inspiring so I enjoyed my time there. I was actually planning on going to the west coast at this point but I was getting tired of the super hot temperatures. The average temperature during the day had been around 37- 40 C so that is a bit tiring to ride in that sort of weather. I decided to head back north and traveled back to a town called Kanab.

Sunrise at Zion

The rock climbers

The Grand Canyon North Rim

Day 10 June 24

From Kanab I traveled up towards Salt Lake City. I was getting near the city and traffic was getting a bit busy so I wanted to try to find a way to get away from the city quickly. Well I went toward a place called Silver Fork and then through a mountain pass to Park City. There are about 7 ski resorts in this area and it is a major tourist location so I did not get away from the traffic after all. I finally got up to a place called Coalville and found a nice campground there. For some reason I did not take many pictures through here.

My room in Kanab

Day 11 June 25

From Coalville I traveled north for a while to Idaho Falls then over to Arco. These are roads that I have traveled before and they are very awesome.

My room in Arco

Ice Cream Time

Day 12 June 26

From Arco I went to Boise the north to a small place called New Meadows. The ride north of Boise to was pretty awesome.

These are the bugs that don’t hit me.

Nice little Motel for the night

My Room

Day 13 June 27

I then continued my journey north through Lewiston, Coeur d’Alene, and on to Bonners Ferry. Parts of this were so great. The perfect storm of riding good pavement, nice curves, no traffic, good weather, great scenery, and and awesome motorcycle.

Breakfast time

Along the river

Great views

Day 14 and 15 June 28,29

From Bonners Ferry i went up into Canada to Fernie up through the Crowsnest Pass and up The Cowboy Trail to Cochran where I spent the night with my friends John and Kathy Doell. Then the next day home.  I did get a bit of rain but nothing too serious.

Just a little rain