GOLDWINING IT THROUGH THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

It was just about a year ago when my wife Carol told me that she wanted to ride through the Canadian Rockies. The first words out of her mouth were, “Glacier National Park.” “What state is that in”, I asked? “Montana”, she quipped, “Oh, and lets go to Banff too!” “What’s a Banff, “I asked?

In less than a moment I had booted up our GPS mapping program and began selecting places to visit. Before long I had a route that started at our home in California and stretched through Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Alberta, Canada; British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and back – a 3,500 mile journey that would take us 17 days.

The plan was to leave home mid-day on August 27^th, and enjoy an easy going and short ride up to the Peppermill in Reno. We got reservations for a show at one of the casinos downtown, and we knew that the food at the Peppermill would be great. The best laid plans of mice and men…as it turned out we didn’t leave Pittsburg until after 3:00 PM and didn’t arrive at our hotel until about 7:30. Needless to say we had to throw away our pre-paid show tickets.

The second day of our trip took us through the Nevada desert where we had ridden three times before. Our first trip had been to Sturgis in 2004, followed by a trek to the Grand Canyon in 2005, and then to Carlsbad Caverns in 2006. We knew the roads well and we couldn’t wait to feel the warm desert wind in our faces not to mention the aroma of damp desert soil mixed with a touch of sagebrush. One of the most beautiful sunsets that we had ever witnessed occurred during our ride to Sturgis. A desert sunset is simply beautiful beyond compare. Our second night in Elko yielded a Basque meal at a place called Star—way too much food—and dirt cheap too!

Our 3^rd day was spent traveling from Elko to Idaho Falls, ID. We had seen the Snake River before and couldn’t wait to shake hands this old friend again. The rock formations surrounding the Snake River area near Twin Falls are majestic. We wondered if we were anywhere near the place where Evil Kanevil attempted his rocket cycle jump. Our stay in Idaho Falls was quiet and comfortable. Evil Kanevil wasn’t there.

On our 4^th day we were in new territory. Both of us were beginning to get excited about our next destination. We had never been to Butte, Montana, and even though it was slightly “off our route” we wanted to see it, so that’s where we had scheduled our overnight stay. We arrived in the late afternoon, checked into our motel and immediately headed for our Goldwing with the intention of touring the downtown area. We donned our helmets and mounted up, but before we could raise the kickstand it began to rain – and then it began to pour. In fact, it poured so hard we couldn’t see beyond the edge of the parking lot. Thank goodness we hadn’t left the protection of the motel portico. To say that the sudden change in the weather was unbelievable would be an understatement. Just as unbelievable was what happened 5 minutes later. The sky cleared and the rain stopped. Just as suddenly as it arrived the storm completely disappeared. Actually, it turned out to be perfect. The late afternoon heat was cooled by the rain and the mist oozing up from the wet pavement looked eerie and so, so cooling. Butte is an old copper mining city that appears from its architecture to be at least 150 years old. 1800’s style brick buildings were everywhere – no modern structures anywhere. Most importantly, for as old as it appeared to be the buildings were all in mint condition. All of the old look brand new. The town appeared to us to be like a priceless antique – all spit and polished.

On a nearby mountain we noticed a tiny white statue. We were to discover later that it was a statue of the Madonna that can be seen from as far away as a hundred miles. The statue is called “Our Lady of the Rockies” and is as tall as the Statue of Liberty. It was interesting to see the “Gallows Frames” surrounding the town. At first we thought they were oil wells, but we were to later discover that they were used during the turn of the century for copper mining.

Only a few weeks before, we had seen Glacier National Park for the first time on the Travel Channel. What we watched heightened our anticipation. The ride between Butte and Whitefish, Montana, lasted only a few hours, but as we neared Whitefish our surroundings changed from open planes to mountains and lakes. We spent over an hour traveling around one side of Flathead Lake. Flathead is so large it made Lake Tahoe (near our home) seem like a tiny fish pond. Whitefish is a small community very near the west entrance to Glacier Park. We walked both sides of the street window shopping and reading menus. We enjoyed our very first Elk dinner in Montana. What meal could have been more “cuisine de locale”! The sunset that evening was to die for.

We spent our 6^th day traveling through Glacier National Park. We met 4 Harley riders in one of the parking lots near the park entrance. We asked where they were headed and told them that we were on our way to Calgary. They told us that they had originally planned the same trip but had changed their minds because they had heard it was snowing on Logan Pass. Apparently, not every leather clad Harley rider is adventurous. Carol and I made a pact that we would travel as far as we could and then turn around if we had to, but we wanted to see as much of the park and “The Sun Road” as we possibly could. Our first stop deep within the park was at Lake MacDonald and the Lodge. We were definitely in the mountains. It was cool and crisp and the trees offered an aroma you can only experience in a forest. We toured the lodge and the lake, and before long we were both spooning up warm bowls of soup in the lodge dining hall. While we were there we got an update on the weather conditions over the pass and decided to press on. We never saw such a vast area composed of gigantic tree covered mountains, enormous tree covered valleys, an artist’s palette of flowers everywhere, unique rock formations and gigantic waterfalls that traversed from the tops of mountains right down to the side of the road. The entire area was greener than any place we had ever seen – except maybe the Carolinas. When we arrived at Logan Pass the temperature was 44 degrees and it was snowing lightly. Fortunately for us it wasn’t sticking. Snow and rain surrounded us all day and our response to the conditions was “how beautiful it was to be one with nature in – adverse conditions and not.”

We spent about 20 minutes touring the Logan Pass visitor’s center and downing mugs of fresh, hot coffee – sorry no Starbucks. The roads in the park varied from freshly paved asphalt to mud covered crushed rock. The condition of the roads turned out to be an adventure in itself. That afternoon we ended up at our lodging, the Prince of Whales Hotel in Wheaton, Alberta. All I can say is that this was without a doubt the single most unique hotel Carol and I have ever visited. You literally have to see the pictures to believe it exists. A structure out of the past with a spectacular view of snow capped mountain ranges that surrounded a pristine lake that was crystal clear and as smooth as glass.

Our 7^th day was spent traveling through Canadian farm country on our way to Calgary and Banff. As with Butte, Calgary was an out of the way destination, but we had to see it. As we neared the downtown area what we saw reminded us of Oakland. We didn’t get off the bike and we traveled through it as quickly as we could. Ten minutes after we had left the downtown area and we were back in the mountains again. We arrived in Banff just before sunset. We had time to window shop and get a burger. The roads between The Prince of Whales Hotel and Banff were surrounded with mountains covered in snow that reached through the clouds and then some.

We spent most of the next day touring the area. Banff is simply and unbelievably beautiful. It is surrounded by dense vast forests, fast running, crystal clear streams, rushing rivers and majestic waterfalls. But even as beautiful as nature can be Banff touts a man made phenomenon that can’t be beat – The Fairmont Hotel. We enjoyed high tea there, met people from all over the world, danced by ourselves in the grand ballroom and toured the immaculately manicured gardens surrounding the hotel. We enjoyed photographing hundreds of brightly colored flowers and an endless array of interesting fauna and flora. Fauna and Flora – I believe they were actually a couple of ladies from Australia – 78 year old twin sisters I think. The mountains away in the distance were snow capped and it was difficult to see where they ended and where the sky began. Butte, Glacier and Banff are all must-see places.

That evening we mounted up and headed for Lake Louise – about 70 miles away. Our room was on the 8^th floor overlooking the lake. The view was spectacular. Again, we couldn’t tell where the mountain tops ended and where the sky began. It was too beautiful for words. We had never before seen lake water that was such a unique shade of turquoise. I doubt we will ever see those colors again. Again, we were amazed by the brilliant palette of colors in the flower gardens that completely surrounded the hotel. When God made Lake Louise He broke the mold.

After Lake Louise we thought we had seen it all. And then we arrived at the Columbia Glacier, which consists of hundreds of acres of solid ice. We drank melting glacier water, saw mountain sheep and danced on the glacier. It was like being in a giant open air refrigerator. The tires alone, on the vehicle that got us up to the glacier, were 5 feet tall. After the glacier we proceeded to our next stop – a town called Jasper. The ride through the mountains was spectacular. Jasper turned out to be a stop for a hot dog and a quick tour of what turned out to be a small mountain town. We left Jasper at dark and headed for an overnight stop in Valmont, British Columbia. This was our first night ride. It gave our headlights a real test. There are no superhighways between Jasper and Whistler. It’s all two lane road. When the sun goes down it gets pitch black. With the fear of Deer and Bear in the roadway, and with the night so very dark, our bright headlights proved to be invaluable.

On our 10^th day we traveled to Kamloops, B.C. Valmont and Kamloops were overnight stops on our way to Whistler, B.C. On our 11^th day we traveled from Kamloops to Whistler. The mountain road was flanked on both sides by lush forests, crystal clear streams and glistening lakes. We arrived in Whistler near dinner time. We were to immediately discover that Whistler is kind of like the Disneyland of mountain resort communities. We spent the next day enjoying one adventure after another. First, we walked on suspension bridges that were 100 feet up in the Whistler forest tree-tops. Our next adventure involved “zip wiring” where we found ourselves shackled to a wire-mounted pulley and traveling 1100 feet, at what felt like light-speed, from one mountain to another about a hundred feet above a rock lined river – what an amazing sensation. Then it was off to ride the gondola to the top of Whistler Mountain. We didn’t realize that a gondola could be so long that it would take a half-hour to get from one end to the other – actually we enjoyed over an hour round trip taking dozens of aerial photographs of the surrounding area. After the gondola ride we met up with our guide who escorted us on tour of the bear areas of Whistler Mountain. We were within 50 yards of several Brown bears for nearly 30 minutes. It was scary for much of the time because we were out in the open with them – no fences, no barriers, nothing. It was scary and exciting all at the same time. The bears didn’t seem to mind our presence. In fact, they hardly paid much attention to us at all. That is until our guide walked through some loose gravel startling both us and the bears. Talk about a moment that was “tense”. After the bear adventure it was back to the hotel for a delicious dinner that included: venison sausage, elk tenderloin, Alberta beef tenderloin, lamb tenderloin and a cut of pork that was heavenly. After our delicious meal we traveled from Whistler to Vancouver. The entire 70 miles of mountain road was under construction as the result of the upcoming Winter Olympics at Whistler. We spent the entire ride dodging road hazards and “under construction” signs.

On our 13^th day we traveled by ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island. We discovered that motorcycles have “first on – first off” privileges and bikers don’t have to wait in line. So cool! Between Nanaimo (where we landed on Vancouver Island) and Victoria we made a stop at a town called Duncan known for its totems. They are colorful and interesting. We didn’t arrive in Victoria until after dark, but that proved to be a blessing because we saw parliament for the first time at night. It was lighted up like a Christmas tree. What a site.

On the morning of our 14^th day we enjoyed breakfast on the front porch of the Fairmont Empress Hotel overlooking Victoria harbor and Parliament. Then it was off for a ride through the island back country to a place called Butchart Gardens where we photographed some of the most beautiful landscape on the planet. By the way, we traveled part of the distance to and from downtown Victoria on Carey Road. Kind of cool listening to the navigation system telling us to “prepare to turn right on Carey Road.” Very funny! That evening we ferried from Victoria to Port Angles, Washington. Once we were in Washington we rode another 100 miles and then took a second ferry before finally arriving in the Seattle area.

On our 15^th day we toured the space needle and enjoyed lunch in the dining room at the top. Then we went down to the waterfront and toured the first Starbucks and Pike Place Market (That’s where they throw the fish. It was in the movie Sleepless in Seattle). After that we rode until evening where we had dinner with friends in Portland, Oregon. Dinner was followed by a 70 mile night ride to our hotel in Springfield, Oregon.

On our 16^th day we traveled from Springfield to Redding, California. On the way we stopped in Ashland, Oregon and window shopped – a very quaint community. We agreed we would definitely go back to Ashland for their annual Shakespearian Festival someday soon. Our last overnight was in Redding. Redding is a great place to get a good night’s sleep.

On our last day we traveled home from Redding. About half-way met friends for lunch in Willows, California, and then went straight home from there. When we arrived we unpacked everything that we were carrying on the motorcycle and laid the entire contents out on our driveway. We couldn’t believe what our Goldwing had carried all those thousands of miles. What a ride!