Monday, July 3, 2000
Waiting for the ferry
at Anacortes
Washington State
Ferry
State of Mind
Gordon and I rode and ferried our way to Victoria, British Columbia.
We left Mom's condo early enough to mail my third roll of pictures home to Melody, get maps from AAA for our return trip across the continent, and get a Canadian Non-Resident Insurance card for me from State Farm. Both the AAA and State Farm people were very helpful.
We rode on up from Seattle on I-5 to highway 20 and into Anacortes where we lunched at the New Olympia Restaurant.
Between Seattle and Anacortes, a couple on a BMW motorcycle passed us on the interstate, and we met them again at the ferry terminal. Ed (nickname: Fast Eddie B.), and his wife, Sita (nickname: Firestarter [Huh?]), were just beginning their motorcycle vacation. They had shipped their BMW on ahead from Florida and flown to Seattle to begin their ride to Canada and back home. Ed owns a couple of Gold's Gyms in Pembroke Pines and Hollywood, Florida, and he didn't have enough vacation time to ride both ways across the continent. He sent me a picture that says a lot about why we ride motorcycles, whatever the brand.
The Washington State Ferry took a beautiful route through the San Juan islands on the way to Sidney on Vancouver Island. It stopped to disembark passengers on two of the islands. By the way, I've always thought it strange that Victoria is on Vancouver Island, and Vancouver is on the mainland.
After clearing through Canadian Customs at Sidney, we rode south on highway 17 to Victoria and found our motel. We ate an excellent dinner at Four Mile Inn, which was within walking distance. Reaching Victoria was Gordon's second major goal for this trip.
Tuesday, July 4, 2000
The Empress Hotel
Happy Independence Day from Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia!
Since Gordon and I were on motorcycles, we figured it would be safer to be away from all the extra cars and sport utility vehicles speeding to their destinations around the Fourth of July holiday. Just about any foreign country other than France qualifies, so we're in Canada. We didn't take many pictures today.
First, we took a bus tour of Victoria. Besides being a popular wedding and honeymoon destination, it's also a popular retirement location. We heard it said that Victoria is the city of "the newlyweds and the nearly deads".
The retirees obviously have way too much free time; there are flowers, hedges, and manicured gardens and lawns everywhere. We were told it's that way year-round because of the mild climate, so anytime is a good time to visit.
Canada's oldest Chinatown is in Victoria. The Gate of Harmonious Interest at its entrance is flanked by two lions. Legend has it that the lions will roar if an honest politician ever passes through the gate. So far, they haven't even purred.
The largest house in Victoria is occupied by the Provincial Lieutenant Governor, and its grounds are open to visitors. The town centre is an area of about three blocks by six blocks along the waterfront. This includes the Empress Hotel, where presidents, kings, queens, and many celebrities have stayed, and lots of neat shops for souvenirs and stuff. The downtown population seems similar to that of Asheville; an eclectic bunch if ever there was one.
After the bus tour, we returned to our motel for the Goldwings and rode in to the town centre. After finding a place to park, we wandered about. The bus driver/tour guide had suggested an Italian restaurant called Pagliacci's, so we had a wonderful lunch there. We managed to resist the famous Cheesecake Cafe...but it wasn't easy.
While we toured the downtown area on foot, Gordon finished shopping for his last batch of souvenirs. Next we went to the Royal British Columbia Museum. The focus was on the geography, flora and fauna, and the history of the native peoples and the settlers of Victoria. My feet gave out after a while, so I just sat down and waited until Gordon needed a foot break. After a short rest, we retrieved the Goldwings and returned to the hotel and had dinner again at Four Mile Inn. The first night, we ate in the pub, and the second night in the restaurant. Both were excellent.
Wednesday, July 5, 2000
Ferry from
Vancouver Island
Osoyoos,
British Columbia
We rode back up highway 20 past Sidney to Schwartz Bay and took the BC Ferry to Tsawwassen on the mainland.
Here's a tip for ferrying motorcycles just in case the ferry ride is less than smooth. Use wheel chocks on the rear wheel to keep the bike from rolling. On this ferry we backed up to the built-in "curb", so only one chock was needed in front of the wheel. Fit another wheel chock under the right side of the frame opposite the sidestand. You can see that one under Gordon's Goldwing in the picture. That one helps prevent the bike from tipping sideways away from the sidestand in case the ferry bumps the landing a little hard. It was smooth sailing on all the ferries we rode.
We didn't want to go into the big city, so we bypassed Vancouver and rode Trans Canada Highway 1 east to Hope, where we picked up highway 3, which would take us as far as we wanted to go across Canada.
Highway 3, also known as Crows Nest Highway, winds north and south through the Cascades and then through the Rocky Mountains to go east, and it often approaches the U.S. border. We went as far as Osoyoos, where we found a campground alongside the lake.
Osoyoos is a neat place. Coming into town from the west, we crossed one last hill and a lake surrounded by a fertile valley magically appeared. Osoyoos is the warmest place (average temperature, I guess) in all of Canada. The name Osoyoos (O-sue-use) is an Okanagan Indian word meaning "the narrows" or "the place where two lakes come together." Osoyoos Lake runs north and south from town all the way into the U.S. to the south. The lakeshore north of town is prime Canadian wine grape country.
This picture was taken from the east as we were leaving the next morning.
Thursday, July 6, 2000
U.S./Canada Border
in Idaho
We continued along Highway 3 eastward through Rock Creek, Grand Forks, and Fruitvale to Creston, where we turned south and reentered the U.S. into Idaho.
This picture at the border crossing looks slightly unreal. I had my camera set for fill flash, and the reflective sign reflected all too well. It turned back so much of the flash, everything else came out really dark. I was able to lighten the dark areas a bit with my photo editor.
We rode across the northeast corner of Idaho and into Montana as far as Kalispell. We intended to camp at Whitefish near the entrance of Glacier National Park, but threats of rain, thunderstorms, hail and temperatures in the 30's (F) convinced us to seek a motel room in Kalispell. Unlike Beatty, Arizona, many hotels in Kalispell were full, but we found one that wasn't.
Bumper sticker seen in Montana: Earth First! We'll log the rest of the planets later.
Friday, July 7, 2000
Heaven's Peak
Hanging Valley
Hanging Valley
Closeup
Waterfall
Saint Mary Lake
Two Dog Flats Grill
Camping outside
Great Falls, Montana
We rode out of Kalispell and entered Glacier National Park from the west. The main road through the park is named the Going To The Sun Road, and it just happens to go past Going To The Sun Mountain. After a long ride along Lake McDonald, the scenerystarted getting really interesting as we climbed. We stopped several times for pictures.
There are waterfalls galore in the higher elevations. Some of the mountains also have "hanging valleys" through which the snowmelt water cascades. You can just see one in the first hanging valley photo. The second is a close up of the hanging valley. There are still glaciers in the park, replenished by each winter's snows.
The "Weeping Wall" has water falling all along its length. The top is covered by vegetation, so you can't see where the water originates. I think some water also flows out of crevices in the wall. Anyway, the wall's name describes its appearance pretty well.
The next picture shows where Going To The Sun Road passes over a waterfall. My guess is that this waterfall is through a hanging valley, too.
The most picturesque scenery along the road is west of Logan's Pass. Just east of there, though, we saw mountain goats climbing up a steep hillside.
A long ride past Saint Mary Lake took us to lunch at Two Dog Flats Mesquite Grill at the Rising Sun Motor Inn, and then to the eastern exit. From there, we rode on to Great Falls, Montana, for overnight camping. My tent is teal colored, Gordon's tent and towel are blue.
Saturday, July 8, 2000
Some of the rest of these journal entries will probably be somewhat short, as we need to do more riding and less sightseeing if we're ever going to get home. Today's entry runs on a bit, though. We didn't stop to see any touristy areas today, so there are no photos.
We left Great Falls early and arrived in Billings, Montana in time for a late lunch. Wing Ding, the largest Goldwing rally in the world, had just ended. Over the last couple of days, we met lots of folks on Goldwings going north and west on their way home. There are still a lot of Goldwings in Billings; perhaps getting a late start for home to avoid the rush.
Our next stop would be somewhere near Rapid City, South Dakota, and we tried to decide during lunch which route to take: I-90 or US-212. Our waitress suggested I-90. When we asked her why, she thought for several seconds and said, "The interstate is a better road." She asked another customer for us and got essentially the same response. Obviously, we took the less-traveled path.
US-212 runs through two Indian reservations; Crow and Northern Cheyenne. There are few towns and facilities, and those aren't teeming with cash, but the Highway is in fine condition except for about ten miles where there are a lot of patches in the pavement. The 70 MPH speed limit is almost the same as the interstate's 75 MPH, and US-212 is over 30 miles shorter from Billings to Spearfish, South Dakota. Even though it's only two lanes, US-212 has lots less traffic and is lots more pleasant than getting blown around by eighteen-wheelers on I-90. There was, however, one minor bit of excitement.
As I was rolling along at 70 MPH, a mule deer jumped out from the left side of the road and began running across just in front of me. There was no time for me to react. In hindsight, I think if I had reacted in any way, it would have been the wrong way in this case. If I had grabbed the brakes, I would have hit the deer or been broadsided by it. I couldn't tell how fast the deer was running, so I couldn't know which way to swerve to avoid it.
I passed just in front of the deer, which then, startled, leapt across my lane behind me. Gordon was following, and he said it was so close it looked like the deer tried to jump over me but would have been too low to clear my Wing and me. As it was, the deer and I passed within about five feet. A swerve to the right would have given me a bit more clearance, but straight ahead served just as well.
Until then, we had seen an occasional deer on either side, but well away from the highway. For the next ten miles or so, we saw fifty or more, including several bucks. Most were well off the pavement, but a few were close by, so we kept a careful lookout from then on. I checked for noseprints on my Gold Wing's trunk the next time we stopped.
We rode then across the northeast corner of Wyoming and stopped for the night at a campground in Spearfish, South Dakota without further incident.
Sunday, July 9, 2000
Crazy Horse
Monument
Mount Rushmore
National Monument
We held our campsite for an extra night so we could spend the day exploring the Black Hills. We rode through Savoy and Lead and down to Crazy Horse Memorial on US-385. The monument has been under construction for over fifty years. Korczak Ziolkowski, the fellow who started carving the mountain (with dynamite, mostly) died in 1982 at age 74, but his wife and eight of his ten children are still working on it. Crazy Horse's face is complete, and work had started on his horse's head. You can just make out the painted horse's head outline in the photo. Eventually, an Indian university will be built at the memorial complex.
I had been wearing an elastic back brace for much of the trip; it helped prevent lower back pain. When we stopped at the Crazy Horse Visitor Center, I rolled it up and stuffed it into my coat pocket. When we were about to leave, I discovered it had fallen out somewhere. I searched to no avail in all the areas I had visited, so we gave up and rode on to Mount Rushmore National Memorial to see George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. After that, we went back to the campground via Pluma and Deadwood. As it turned out, I never missed the back brace after that. Perhaps my back muscles finally adjusted.