Mile 3609

This morning it's up to the Eagle Rider station to pick up the bikes for Michael and Ludwig.  As they can take the taxi to get there do I fight my way through morning traffic in Vancouver.   No fun at all to maneuver this heavy bike from one red light to the next.  But when all the rental formalisms are done, the morning traffic jam is gone as well, and going onto Hwy-99 and then onto Hwy-17 to Tsawwassen, BC is relatively easy.  We arrive at the ferry terminal and get immediately a place at the next ferry to Swartz Bay, BC on Vancouver Island.

Arriving in Swartz Bay, BC we make our way down to Victoria, BC, the capital of the province of British Columbia. The first thing which springs to my eyes is how green the city is, and how modern the architecture is.  Many different materials from wood, concrete, and metal are combined in a very modern, sometimes simplistic way of architecture.  Very pleasing to the eye, and fit for this vibrant city.  We park the bikes at our hotel and change them for e-bikes to explore further the city.  Victoria is very cyclist friendly with bike lanes galore, which make exploring the city and the waterfront easy.  Below some impressions of the city around the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia:

Ferry terminal Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC

Knowledge Totem in front of the Legislative Assembly of BC

The legislative Assembly of BC

The Hotel Empress

Emily Carr Statue at the park entrance to the Empress

                    The Homecoming                                        The Veteran Sailor

The Fisherman's Wharf Park

"There is no right and wrong way to paint except honestly and dishonestly.  Honestly is trying for the bigger thing.  Dishonestly is bluffing and getting through a smattering of surface representation with no meaning."  -  Emily Carr, Canadian artist and writer 1871 - 1945

Mile 3559

This morning is layering the call of the day.  I wake up to 42F, and start layering my clothes for today.  Base layer, mid layer, top layer, protective gear, insulated gloves, neck gator and anything else to keep me warm.  It's five o'clock and till the sun comes up will be another hour and half to give some warmth to the day.  The order of the day is to rake up miles as I will be heading to Vancouver, BC to meet my brother in law Michael, and my riding buddy Ludwig this afternoon.  So I trace back from my campsite to Hwy-2 and follow it to Spokane, WA, where I turn onto I-90 to Seattle, WA, and here turning onto I-5 North to Blaine, WA for the border crossing.  From there it is down to Richmond, BC and then entering Vancouver, BC to my destination downtown to meet those two.  Spokane and I-90 are a breeze to ride, hardly any traffic at all and a new road surface.  Of course following the Snoqualmie River and going over the pass is a treat on its own, and descending to Mercer Island and crossing Lake Washington is worth a ride.  This of course changes immediately coming into Seattle,WA which to my impression has turned to the worse comparing to my last visits two years and eight years ago.  Fighting the stop and go through those major construction sites lets me work hard on the brakes and clutch, and after about a hour  of finger and hand exercise I'm through and traffic eases.  Border crossing into Canada is once again quick and easy due to the ArriveCAN pre-registration and up to Vancouver, BC I go.

Very little did they know then, ....

I arrive early afternoon at the hotel just to learn that Michael and Ludwig will be late due to flight cancelation and rebooking.  This is bad news indeed for all of us.  If I'd have known of that earlier this morning, today was a crystal clear day with moderate midday temperatures, I would have chosen a different route instead of the Interstate and would have explored the Northern Cascades, a route I'm trying to ride since many, many years.  So it has to wait for another time, again.

"Travel teaches toleration." - Benjamin Disraeli - Prime Minister of the UK 1874 - 1880

Mile 3081

Today I can take it easy as I have only 300+ miles to go.  The plan is to go around Glacier NP to the South where I will pick up Hwy-2 again, and to follow it all the way to Newport, WA.  As I don't want to go through the gravel on MT-89 again, I make a slight detour to Browning, MT.  And the detour was worth the drive, as I see black bear mama with cubs in the search for breakfast.  A little while later I see some more bear, some bison, and a lonely stack.  That detour was worth all the way and already made my day.  

Going around Glacier NP brings me to a statue of yet another great person, John Frank Stevens.  He was a civil engineer hired by the Great Northern Railway and explored the Marias Pass and declared it fit for a railroad.  With that connection amongst a passage through the Cascades and many more of the more than thousand miles of railroad he helped to built, the great transport ways to the pacific sparked an economy based on railroad transport.  Stevens left 1903 the Great Northern and in 1905 was hired by Theodore Roosevelt as chief engineer to the Panama Canal (1905 to 1907).  There is also a Roosevelt obelisk at this location at Marias Pass.

William H. "Slippery Bill" Morrison claimed "squatter rights" to the land at the Marias Pass.  Through tuff negotiations he agreed to give half of his land to built the Roosevelt obelisk at the Marias Pass, under the stipulation that no concessions "hamburger stands" as he referred to shall ever be built there during his lifetime, and he relinquished the rights to the rest of his land at the time of his death.

 

I continue following US-2 to Kalispell, MT (bad memories of the H-D dealership there from our trip 2014 to Alaska), and follow for great length the Kootenay river.  After passing Libby, MT, the falls are always worth to visit,  and following Troy, MT I cross the border to Idaho.  Unfortunately there are no nice pictures to show as the forrest fires around Bonners Ferry, ID made the whole sky hazy. 

I follow US-2 South to Sandpoint, ID before crossing the border to Washington State to reach Newport, WA, my final destination for today.

Today I was rewarded with great scenery and lots of wildlife.  A perfect day to be out and about, at perfect weather.

"You won't get fired if you do something, you will if you don't do anything. Do something if it is wrong, for you can correct that, but there is no way to correct nothing." - John Frank Stevens, self taught civil engineer 1853 - 1943

Mile 2690

I'm up to a pleasant 60+F, and feel already that this will be a great day.  I'm finally moving towards the mountains and that rises the spirits.  A fellow rider told me yesterday that Hwy-89 going North is a big construction site and motorcycles are advised to take an alternate route.  Since I'm not a big friend of riding through gravel I change my plans and take MT-59 North to Jordan, MT, pick up MT-200 East to MT-24 North until I'm back on HWy-2.  Only one hour more, but no construction, so the plan. The drive up to Jordan, MT leads me through some rolling hills, and along a wind farm with hundreds of wind turbines.  But what if there is no wind like this morning, all rotors were on standstill, .....

Anyway, as I saw reaffirmation of my job, I found MT-200 and went on it.  Did I say that I wanted to avoid road construction?  Now this didn't work all too well, as there is a major one on MT-200 and I was challenged to a 13 mile gavel path I had not planed for.  The junction to MT-24 couldn't come fast enough, but at about 15 mi/hr it took me almost an hour to get through the construction.  

On to MT-24 I came along Fort Peck Dam, and was once again made very much reminded of the climate change.  The dam is so low, that the spill gates run dry, the turbine houses are shut down, and only the inflow is let out.  And we are talking about the once mighty Missouri River.  What a petty sight indeed.  I was wondering already yesterday the low river level when I crossed the Missouri River, and likewise the same when crossing the Yellowstone River.

After the Fort Peck Dam it was on to HWy-2 and going West to my destination of St. Mary, MT at the east side of Glacier NP.  Once again it was farmland of wheat and rye, or cattle farm land.  Just for the giggles of it, Montana has about 1.1 Million in population, but about 2.6 Million cattle ranched.  Anyway, the view din't change very much for most of the day, pretty disappointing.

And as during the last two days when I was along the Great Lakes shorelines, or traveling through MN and ND, late morning and in the afternoon the wind picked up, sometimes getting very gusty, forcing me to make use of my whole lane, and sometimes some more.  Today again, I was leaning the bike most of the afternoon either to one side or the other, not to get forced to much of track.  Ever wondered why it is that when you're on a bicycle that you always have headwinds, and when on a motorcycle the wind always blows from the side?  Anyways, I also survived that before coming to my final challenge of the day, shortly before St. Mary, MT finding a sign that "motorcyclists are advised to find alternate route".   Very little did I know about an alternative route, and so it was onto gravel again for the final climb up to St. Mary.  With the water truck ahead of me it made the ride like ice skating, something I definitely don't want to experience again tomorrow.   But I came across a nice monument commemorating the Blackfeet Indians.

  

View to the eastern entrance to Glacier NP

So I made it finally to the camp site, not 100% as planned, but after a very exiting day.  And I'm finally in the mountains.

And finally I'd like to pay tribute as well to two of the greatest adventurers and explorers of our time, Lewis and Clark.  I'm following their trail on and off for some days now, and I can only imagine how it must have been for their expedition to conquer this country.  What an undertaking this was, and unfortunately so often forgotten of where we would be without those two having explored the way to the West. 

"As we passed on, it seemed those scenes of visionary enchantment would never have an end." - Lewis Meriwether

Mile 2126

After a much needed, and good night of sleep I woke up this morning to a whooping 42F.  I couldn't get the water fast enough to boil for my hot morning coffee to drive the chills out of my bones.  Breaking camp helped too to bring some warmth back to the bones.  Leaving Bemidji, MN I picked up Hwy-2 again and made my way West.  Very quickly the sun was above the horizon and a crystal blue sky indicated that it will be another gorgeous day.  I came up to Crookston, MN, home of the "Museum for the Sugarbeets".  I have no idea what you can see there and most probably have to come back, as they weren't open at 8:30 in morning yet.  So I went on through endless miles of straight road, and farm land galore left and right.  

Traffic was almost none existent, and it is really difficult to stay focused when the scenery is not changing.  

Coming up to Rugby, ND I made a stop at the "Northern Light Monument" and museum.  Not very much to see, but an impressive tall monument.  Just a couple of yards further down the road is the geographical center of North America.  Also this marker is not very much to see, but I feel much more centered now having been there.

Anyway, I continue Hwy-2 and by the time I hit Williston, MT I have shed off already all my layers I had put on this morning, as the mercury is reading 104F.  I'm melting away, gulping down water and Gatorate, and feel the breeze when I go Hwy-16 south to Glendale, MT to pick up I-94 to my destination of Miles City, MT for today.

Not such a long day, but a hot one, and having ND and MN behind me, the two states where you either be a farmer or you work in the oil service industry, let me look forward to Montana and change in scenery now.  Tomorrow it is up to the North to Glacier NP and St. Mary, MT, but this will be another story.  And whilst I am at stories, do you know Paul Bunyan and his blue Ox?  Check out the stories of this North American Hercules and his friend Babe the Blue Ox.

So that's it from me for today, now it's off for a well deserved beer and some food.

"That's a tall tale.  That's a tall tale for sure."  Quote from Paul Bunyan

Mile 1488

Today will be a long day, and not only because I hardly did get any sleep, but I also have a lot of mileage on my plate.  After I woke up the fifth or sixth time because some campers had decided to make the night day, or visa versa, I called it quit with sleeping and broke camp at about 4 o'clock, had a quick breakfast and coffee and was on the road.  I picked up I-69 again in Emmett, MI, and went on to I-75 North to Mackinac Bridge.  The beauty of being out so early is seeing the sunrise and the beautiful colors  the sun draws that early in the morning.  I got spoiled with some low laying fog north of Saginaw and the sun painting its morning colors over the meadows there. There's no better start into the day than seeing nature doing its best.  Then it was passing one of the most feared bridges in the US, at least according to a survey amongst US car drivers, the Mackinac Bridge.  I still don't know why half orf the track is steel grid, and the other half is solid, I have to research this one day.  But it doesn't matter, I still enjoy riding over this bridge.  The view is spectacular, especially if there is ferry traffic below, like on a sunny morning today.

Then it was onto Hwy-2 and along the dunes of Lake Michigan, followed by a rugged cost line of the lake which could have been easily anywhere near Bar Harbor, ME.  Halfway along the way I made a jump up Rt.77 to meet Rt.28 and followed the shore line of Lake Superior.  Both shore lines could not be more different, to the south the rugged and stormy see, and here the tranquil and smooth beaches.  Near Ironwood, MI I joined Hwy-2 again and made my way up to Duluth, MN the home of Aerostich, the manufacturer of motorcycle clothing such the Roadcrafter, or the Darien jacket.  Sorry guys, I'm wearing Klim, also a good product.  And what better music to play from my iPod riding through Duluth, MN than from one of their own, Bob Dylan.  From Duluth its just another last stint for today, following Hwy-2 to Bemidji, MN for my camp site.  Once again the last rays of the setting sun bath the wetlands between Deer River, MN and Case Lake, MN in the warmest colors one can imagine.

A perfect day comes to an end, many miles, nice country, and finally I got my shore drives.

PS:  KOA Bemidji, MN, great place, friendly service

Nee-Gaw-Nee-Gaw-Bow (Leading Man), a tribute to the Chippewea Indians, at the lake side in Wakefield, MI

"Your soul dreams those dreams, not your body, not your mind.  Those dreams come true." John Thunderbird - Chippewea

Mile 621

I started pretty early this morning and learned my first lesson that at 6:00 o'clock a short sleeve T-shirt is not enough to keep you warm.  It was pretty chilly all the way through MA and into NY, and the low hanging dark clouds didn't help to let the sun come through.  But I-90 brought me quickly westward, and after Albany, NY going on to Syracuse, NY the clouds finally decided to give way to the sun and a nice blue sky treated me.  Crossing into Canada over the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge was a breeze but traffic was terrible.  This area around Niagara is full of small and big industry, and the nice ride along the lake I had envisioned fell short to those, and the choice was going back to the Hwy.  Traffic only started to ease at Hamilton, ON when I entered the "Green Belt" and was down to almost nothing when crossing back into the US in Sarnia, ON.  From there it was only a short ride to my quality hotel in Emmett, MI and an early stop.  Pretty good mileage for the first day, but tomorrow will be a long one.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao Tau