All good things....

After nearly a week of being wined, dined, chauffeured and generally pampered by cousins Rosemarie and Doris, it was back on the road on Monday morning… but not alone! Over the weekend Caroline and Jim had caught me up and were also now in Edmonton. So after a few fruitless phone calls I finally made contact with them on Sunday afternoon and we arranged to meet up at a coffee shop on the Trans Canada Highway at 10am on Monday.

My time with Rosemarie and Doris ( and Laura) had passed way too quickly. We had even managed to see Elvis once again; strange but he always seems to be in town when I arrive! It was a really good night out at the West Ed Mall’s Jubilation’s theatre watching Gracelands which of course featured a whole host of Elvis material and other 60’s songs. But all good things must end and it was time to finally bid farewell to my long lost cousins and head south (ish). Caroline and Jim were intent on riding the Icefields Parkway which I had taken on my last visit to Edmonton, but as I had turned off about half way along it I was more than happy to join them for the ride.

The giant garlic sausage at Mundare 

First downer of the day, the coffee shop was closed, so we headed off towards Jasper intent on stopping at the first sign of coffee! It was a long time coming, in fact we had to run all the way to Hinton, almost two thirds of the way to Jasper before we finally found a Subway where we thought we might as well have lunch as well. The lobster sub was good, the coffee rather less so, but then, we had been spoilt by Tim Horton’s superb coffee anything else was second best ! The Trans Canada Highway is not one of my favourite roads even though the traffic is generally fairly light. It’s just too straight and flat with mediocre views along this stretch until you get nearly to Jasper but there’s not really a lot of alternatives available. We also stocked up with groceries at the local Safeway supermarket then pushed on to Jasper for fuel before swinging left (south) along the Icefields Parkway.

Caroline at Athabasca Falls

The first campground we tried wouldn't let us stay as they had no bear boxes for our food supplies in spite of the fact that out aluminium panniers were probably stronger than the sides on an RV and…. we didn't sleep with our food right next to us. However it wasn't far to the next site which was just a couple of miles from the Athabasca falls. We soon had a roaring camp fire burning with the free wood which was on offer and with Caroline in charge of the cooking with Jim and I as her sous chefs, dinner took no time at all, starting with some wonderful Taber Sweet Corn cooked in its sheaves over the open flames. We washed it down with a couple of reasonably cold beers and just sat, chatted and relaxed, happy with a goods days ride.

We thought we had made a fairy sharp exit from the camp as we headed back along the road to the falls, but were

Athabasca Falls Pt2!

astounded to find that the coaches and a good few RVs had made an even earlier start, so the place was already very busy. I’d been there a few weeks previous but it was pretty enough to deserve a second look and a few more photos before we headed on along to the next big stop; the Icefields Glacier. On my previous visit I hadn’t bothered to join the madding crowd heading up the path to the very foot of the Glacier, but Caroline was intent on doing the hike, which whilst not over long, was quite steep, so I tagged along huffing and puffing on my little legs as Caroline just sort of glided along on her rather longer (and fitter) ones!!! It was definitely worth the effort expended just to try to get some idea of the scale of the Glacier. All along the way there were signs warning of the dangers of hidden crevasses, and telling people to stay on the paths. There was even a notice about a young boy who had strayed just yards from the path and his parents, slipped into a deep crevasse and had died of Hypothermia by the time he was recovered. Of course, all of this made no difference to the dozens upon dozens of people who thought they new better and wandered all over the place the wrong side of the barriers. I kept my camera at the ready, just in case !

Caroline & Jim at Lake Louise

 Our destination for the day was Banff but we made a quick stop at Lake Louise as we had all heard how lovely it is. Last time I was there it was all covered in a couple of feet of snow, which was in January 2014. This time the sun was shining brightly which of course meant that the crowds were also out in force. We didn’t even stay long enough to grad an ice-cream. Yes it was beautiful, but so full of people, cars and RVs that we felt no inclination to tarry. As we left I set the GPS up for Banff’s Safeway store which also happen to be a few hundred yards from the Visitor information office. So Groceries, Beers and Campsite were all sourced conveniently from one parking spot. The campsite was about 5km from the town and in a pretty location, in fact the first we tried was already full but we were directed to another just a few hundred yards further on. Once more Caroline performed her gastronomic miracles over the open fire. Starters of the last of our Taber Corn from the previous day with Pork Ribs, roast potatoes and broccoli; superb!

After diner we discussed our route for the following day which looked likely to be our last ride together as Jim wanted to run for the US border via Waterton Park, whilst I was heading to Creston and Taz & Joels place. We rode as far as Radium Hot Springs together, where after a coffee at Timmy’s, Jim and Caroline turned south whilst I headed north around the loop which would take me to Creston via Golden, Revelstoke and Nakusp.  It had been a fun two and a half days travelling with such good friends and we parted talking of hopefully meeting up again somewhere south of the border.

Lake Louise

I camped overnight at Nakusp, venue not only for the forthcoming Canadian Horizons Unlimited meeting but a BMW motorcycle meeting the weekend before it. I did think about hanging on for a couple of days for the BMW meeting but was so looking forward to getting back to Taz & Joel that I decided against it. The ride from Nakusp to Creston involved a nice twisty road through the mountains and two ferries. The scenery was fantastic with the warm sun just putting the icing on the cake. Stopping by a small lake to take a photograph, I was amazed to find thousands of tiny toads around the waters edge. There were signs asking people to be careful not to tread on them and I did my very best to comply. However as they were only about a centimetre in size and hopping around all over the place I can’t be certain that I didn’t squash one or two !!!

I arrived to a lovely welcome and just in time for one of Taz’s superb salad lunches, it was just like arriving home!

So now I have a few days to do a bit more fettling on the bike, sort out and tidy my kit and try to get my Esta extended for a further 90m days. Meanwhile I’ll get to not only enjoy the company of another two good friends but I’m told we will be going to a free open air concert on Monday evening. So it looks like Tuesday before my wheels move further than the Porthill customs post. That’s if I can find it through the thich smoke that is enveloping Creston Valley at the moment from wild fires just south of the border in Idaho… It really is getting quite worrying as we look out across the valley as we now cannot even see to the far side which is only about half a mile away. We are constantly watching the web site for any news of the fire spreading our way, but as I type this at 7pm local time all seems to be OK.

Crossing the Continental Divide!