Tuesday August 20
David and I went through hoops to get oil changes on both bikes today and were on our way by about 1:00 this afternoon.
We left Prince George and headed to 100 Mile House, a short day compared to most. It really is the name of a town in central British Columbia. On our journey here, we just kept our eyes on the road and rode, at time very fast, to get to our destination. However, at about the midway point in our journey, a deer bolted out of the bush in a section of 4 lane highway.
Miraculously, David missed it even though it was only about 4 feet in front of him and it managed not to get struck by any other vehicle even though the highways are busier now that we have been heading more southerly. Not much of note in the town itself, nor in getting here, so I have not pictures.
The best part of reaching 100 Mile House was that my nephew Sean joined us here. Since we were a bit late, he had already settled into the hotel by the time we arrived at around 5:30. He had beers and Coke ready for us and talked about his experience getting here. 800 km for him, and I believe that he has never done anything anywhere close to that before, he doesn’t even really do highway. He’s experienced now - what a sport! He really wanted to participate in our journey if even only for a short bit. That was fair since he was a necessary part of acquiring the Goldwing for Dad.
Wednesday August 21
As the newest member of our troupe and a resident of Alberta, Sean had a few suggestions of routes that may be interesting, so we agreed to venture down Highway 97 in central British Columbia and it was a great decision. After a short ride we arrived at Chasm Ecological Reserve to view The Chasm, a 300-metre-deep gorge created by glacier melt 10,000 years ago.
The day was beautiful and the road conditions were great for riding. As we headed south we emerged from forests into a desert! The landscape was so different from anything that we had yet seen as the climate here is arid and the trees and shrubbery is sparce, but still it is mesmerizing in its unique beauty. The golden hills, not technically mountains according to my brief and somewhat confusing research, were at times harsh, at others softer in their edges, like rounded undulating clefts.
We stopped at the edge of a massive mining operation and were glad to have Sean with us to explain what we were looking at. It was the Highland Valley Copper Mine. Honestly, it was kind of disturbing to see what humans are doing to the land as we see the carving away of the earth and the “trailings” that the bi-products left behind from the process of extracting the copper that is so much a part of our daily lives. The scale of the operation and its equipment was mind-boggling – imagine dump trucks bigger than your house!
We rode through some brief but pretty heavy rain and stopped in Kamloops for lunch where after a large bowl of soup and half a sandwich, Dad shocked us by eating a massive boat of a banana/ice-cream/whipped cream sensation. The man can eat when he decides to!
Sean saw a bear, no-one else did, but we’ll believe him.
We ended the day in the lovely town of Sicamous BC. David and I washed our filthy bikes then bought fixings for BBQ and picked up Sean for a beer at a cool pub by the marina. It was a great day with Sean and he said that it was the most fun he’d had riding with more twisties than he had experienced. We ate outside and enjoyed the other neighbours and dogs sharing the motel with us.
Thursday August 22
David has been making all our hotel arrangements throughout the trip and it has been a challenge. Since this leg of the trip brings us very close to Banff, the cost of accommodations is extreme, so I decided to book through my Visa rewards. Unfortunately that didn’t go so well since I misread the map and booked a non-refundable room in totally the wrong town. We were looking forward to another day of riding with Sean before he left us to return home a the end of the day. He was very gracious though and smiling as always while he gave us suggestions of ways that we could re-route to our new destination and we sadly bit him adieu after breakfast.
We rode toward Kelowna and at first it was lovely as we edged along the beautiful Okanagan Lake but then we hit the city. How quickly we have become accustomed to the quick and easy flow of travel on remote and rural roads, the city was congested and a bit annoying. We ended up at the Kelowna City Park where we encountered a couple who gave us a wonderful tip about a route that we would enjoy on motorcycles.
We vacated the city back up through Vernon and veered off onto Highway 6. What a thrilling ride it was zooming along the edge of the “mountains” curving in and out as we followed the Upper Arrow Lake.
Early in the afternoon, as we came around one of the many blind corners we had to stop abruptly when we can upon an accident that had just occurred. An SUV had hit an RV and the occupants were just getting out of the RV which was across the entire road. David immediately got off the bike to help. He checked out the situation and advised where required and once he saw that the situation was stable, we squeezed our bikes through the debris and set off again.
There are many more vehicles on the roads now in the south and not nearly as many passing opportunities, but the flow is good and we can still have loads of fun leaning into curves and David and I remark frequently on how much fun we are having. We also enjoyed two different ferry crossings along this small highway.
We ate lunch in the beautiful village of Nakusp, located on the shores of Upper Arrow Lake in the Kootenay Rockies. The entire village main street was adorned with perfectly maintained gardens and baskets overflowing with colourful flowers and plants- they were everywhere. I'm disappointed that I didn't take a picture to share with you.
At one point late today Dad expressed his concern, and it was well made: The roadways are narrower here and the dense forests come right against the road. He suggested that we slow down as he doesn’t want to hit any bears. Good point and David adjusted the pace accordingly. Shortly after that discussion, David saw a large logging truck narrowly miss a deer bolting across the highway and then at the end of the day, we were flagged down by two ladies who needed help pushing their SUV off the highway after they had hit a deer. Dad and I helped push as David steered it onto a driveway.
It was a very long day that started in Sicamous BC at 9:00 and ended in Golden BC at about 9:00. But it was a very fun ride and we are back into the big mountains again.
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