Liard Hot Springs BC to Whitehorse YT

Leaving Liard Hot Springs this morning, we enjoyed more great scenery and a very busy day for wildlife on the road side.  We saw a black and then a brown bear, then an elk that was pretty much black (caught in those forest fires, I guess), then some bison.

At first we just saw this lone bison lumbering down the side of the road.  He was up on the rise, then angled down towards us and walked right along the side of the road.  You can't really make them out in the picture, but he's got a massive swarm of flies around him.  We knew bison were prevalent in the area, but felt very lucky to get to see one right up close like this!

A few minutes down the road we saw another bison running in the opposite direction beside the road.  We took several pictures of the first one, so we just slowed down but kept on riding this time.  One bison, pfft.

A few minutes after that we came across a whole herd of them grazing by the side of the road.  I estimated 20, and Dad counted 19.  Craziness!  I don't have much have a zoom on my camera, so I don't have any decent close ups, but they are quite an impressive beast.

A few more minutes down the road, and we find an even bigger herd spread out all over both sides of the road.  There had to be at least 40 of them, just grazing our laying around, sometimes just a few feet off the roadside.  I wanted to ride right up and snap some good close-ups, but I also wanted to live to ride another day so we stayed at a good distance then crept through on the yellow line.  I was expecting a herd of about 80 next, likely right in the middle of the road, perhaps driving cars or riding motorcycles.  Apparently we'd seen our fill of bison though, because this was it for the day.

We stopped for gas, breakfast, and info in Watson Lake, YT.  The info centre has a "forest" of signs all around it.  At first I thought it was just a few rows of signposts, but as we rode around the centre I realized there are hundreds of posts and thousands upon thousands of signs.  We didn't have time to wander the entire forest, but you could easily spend half a day looking for places you've been or lived.  I found Kanata, ON, a few places in VT and NH, a NB license plate, and quite a few from near Hudson's Hope BC.

There are forest fires burning just west of town at the top of the Stewart Cassiar Highway, and the whole down was full of smoke.  None of the shots I took really portray just how smokey it was, perhaps because having the smell permeate everywhere was part of the effect.  We want to take the Stewart Cassiar on our way back south, so we're hoping the fires are out by then.  It's been a really dry season for this area though, and we hear the fire is spreading quite quickly.

We arrived in Whitehorse in the early evening.  We didn't even think we'd really make it all the way today (Sat), else we would have left earlier so we could have arrived during business hours.  Now we have to wait until Monday morning before we can go to Yukon Honda and have the knobby tires we shipped up installed.

We stopped by the visitor's centre when we arrived to get help finding a campground and dinner.  They had one of those big topo maps with points of interest that light up.  Here is Dad lighting up the Dempster Highway and the Arctic Circle.

Liard Hot Springs

We left Hudson's Hope early this morning, after a good night's sleep in our "Swiss Cabin".

The morning was cold and drizzly, and breakfast at the Blueberry Esso in Wonowon (at mile 101 of the Alaska Highway) didn't exactly brighten the day.  We met up with an adv tourer from North Carolina, and rode with him on and off throughout the morning.

We all stopped for gas at Buckinghorse River Lodge, but found a note on the pump apologizing for there being no gas left.  The note said the next gas was 125 miles north (too far) or 30 miles back south (too bad).  Then I noticed a sign at the building across the highway.  It looked like it said "unleaded gasoline" on it.  Why would the gas station I was at send me back 30 miles when there was gas right across the highway?  We went to check it out, and sure enough they had plenty of gas.  I asked the guy who unlocked the pumps for us if he knew the competition across the road was sending people 30 miles back.  "Yeah, that guy is crazy.  We put signs up along the road saying we had gas, and he drove over them with a truck.  His wife has a black eye, y'know?  Some guy ran out of gas, then found out we have gas from someone who stopped to help him.  He came back and punched the crazy guy out."  So…if you ever need gas at Buckinghorse River, go to the building on the EAST side of the highway not on the WEST.

The scenery north of Fort Nelson is amazing.  If we'd stopped to take pictures, I'd show you, but we didn't.  They wouldn't have done the scenery justice anyway.  There was quite a bit of gravel due to roadwork, which made for some very dusty and a few tricky sections as gravel mixed with pavement.  The highway snakes along immediately beside Muncho Lake, just a few feet above the water.  The lake is breathtaking, even with bug guts splattered in your right eye and nowhere to stop to wash them out.

We stopped at Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park for the night, caught dinner at the lodge across the highway just as it closed, and walked up to enjoy the hot springs with all the other tourists.  The beta pool was probably the nicest, although perhaps only because it wasn't nearly as busy as the alpha pool.  There were languages and accents from all over, which I always enjoy.  Most people at the pools were friendly, and happy to chat and give tips on how to fan cool water from the pool floor up onto yourself as you make your way to the searing hot source to place a trophy stone on the pile.

We met Anne, who is heading from Vancouver to Dawson City by truck to pick up a friend then up the Dempster to Inuvik.  She gave us some tips on the pools before we headed up, including the fact that the sulphur smell does not go well with an empty stomach.  She was gone by the time we got back, but left a note wishing us well.  Maybe we'll see you up the road, although you've got a good head start on us now.

We also met a couple of adv riders out of Anchorage, who were heading back after three weeks down to California.  I hope you guys get some sleep before work on Monday!  We'll do our best not to make any "trophy rocks" on the Dempster.

 

Finally, thanks to the staff who runs Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park for allowing us to stay in the Day Use area because the normal tent sites were all full.  There were several other tenters staying there as well, and we were all grateful for this exception from the normal provincial park rules.  The park is particularly far from any other accommodations, and allowing tired campers to pitch a tent where there is room surely keeps many tired campers off the roads at night.  Good policy, and I hope it doesn't get abused.

Swiss Hospitality

It was raining when we finished our tour of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam this afternoon, so we sat in some dinosaur footprint fossils under an awning to wait for the rain to stop before riding back into town.  I returned the nod of a passenger of a minivan that arrived as we waited; nothing unusual, must be just another rider who happens to not be on their bike at the moment.  I noticed he took an extra long look at our bikes, then back at us before heading into the visitor's centre with his family.

The rain wasn't letting up, so we decided to head to the visitor's centre's cafe to see if they had internet access.  As we started to sit down at a picnic table outside, the guy I'd exchanged nods with earlier came outside and asked if we'd care to come inside and enjoy some BC hospitality.  I didn't catch his meaning at first, and his slight accent threw me because "Thick Canadian" is the only accent I've heard around here, but he explained he'd like to buy us lunch.  We declined lunch, but allowed him to get us something to drink as we sat and chatted with he, his wife, and their daughter and son.

They'd recently moved to Hudson's Hope when he started a job as a mechanic at the W.A.C Bennett Dam.  He works in the same garage my Dad used to work on our old Volvo in the middle of the cold BC winters.  (I remember being in that garage as a kid, probably 5 or 6 years old, seeing a truck tire being taken off a rim.)  He and his wife are originally from Switzerland, and have been in Canada for almost 20 years.  He'd always been interested in Canada, and his obsession was cemented when he visited in the early 80's, and returned to buy a motorcycle in Montreal and ride it to BC and spend several months there.  He met his wife back in Switzerland, but made it clear from the start he'd one day move to Canada.

We soon asked about the sling he had his arm in, having also noted how he was obviously in a bit of pain.  It turns out he hit a deer while riding his motorcycle not two weeks ago - his first accident in about 30 years of riding.  He was coming home and had only 1km left when there was suddenly a deer out in front of him.  He said he remembers thinking "oh, this is going to be close", then waking up in the hospital several hours later.  He was wearing a full faced Shoei helmet, a proper jacket, heavy-duty double layered Carhart pants, and tall leather boots.  He hit his head hard enough to crack the helmet near the temple, but it did it's job and his head is fine.  He suffered 2 broken ribs, a cracked shoulder blade, and two breaks on one collar bone, but his jacket and pants saved him from being torn up.  His boots took a beating, but saved one foot which was drug under his bike.

As scary as that story was, we really enjoyed talking with he and his wife about riding, living in Hudson's Hope, moving far from family, and lots of things in between.  Much to our surprise, they welcomed us to stay for the night in a cabin they have next to their house a little ways outside of town.  (It was actually about as close as any house gets to the campground we'd stayed at the night before.)  His wife greeted us as we rode in, and made us feel very welcomed.  We'd arrived later than we wanted, and the kids had already gone to bed.  Their oldest, the daughter, had really wanted to be awake when we arrived, so her Mom woke her up so we could talk a bit.  I'm guessing she's about 6 years old (I'm horrible at that game though), with long blond hair she tucks behind her ears, and a huge smile.  Really sweet.  Their son was younger, and a bit more shy.  Hopefully we'll see him before we leave in the morning, although we hope to get going pretty early.

I'm typing this from inside their cabin right now, and this is easily the coolest accommodations we've had so far.  Like their stunning home, the cabin is completely log construction with a red metal roof.  It's got two small beds, a wood stove, a skylight, some tables, and chairs for the kids.  Their property backs onto the Peace River, and is just a few hundred metres down from the Peace Bridge and Peace Dam.  What a house, what a view, and what hospitality!

So, we've showered, I washed some socks in their sink (they offered to let us do laundry, and to transfer to the dryer for us if we wanted to get to sleep!), and we're now both in bed.  I think Dad's asleep already, as I'll be in just a few minutes.

Can't Go Home Again

We spent today riding around Hudson's Hope, visiting old friends and reliving old memories.  Naturally, the town has changed quite a bit in the last 25 years, but it was sometimes surprising to see how things have also stayed the same.  Memories lurked around every corner, and if I stood in any one spot long enough more would just keep coming, sometimes with overwhelming power and clarity.

One third of my elementary school was disassembled and sold to another town, and the remaining two thirds are now offices, meeting spaces, stores, and a nice hair salon.  Thanks to the Pearkes Center's owner for letting us look around.

 

The trailer park that used to be nearby is gone, but the roads and pads remain.  What an odd sight.

The ice arena my Dad helped build is still there, but we didn't find time to go inside.

The pool I used to swim at is still open, and I met one of the people who taught me to swim.  (We didn't actually see her at the pool; she's the daughter of friends we had dinner with, and she stopped by to say 'hi'.)

Here are the townhouses we used to live in.  Later, when we lived in the house shown below, I was on a bicycle ride with my Dad on my new two wheeler.  I froze with terror as I careened down that incredibly steep hill (yes, the one in the picture) and failed to negotiate that sharp right hand turn before the townhouses. I left the road heading straight for the broad side of the townhouse, and became air born as I cleared the ditch.  I landed on the grass on the far side of the ditch, and remember laying there for a few minutes, with my Dad on the grass beside me as I recovered from the accident.  A nice memory, all told, but I decided not to try and recreate it with the motorcycles.

My childhood best friend Katherine's house is still there, but she and her family are long gone.  (She's recently married, and I've seen wonderful pictures of her with her husband in Paris.)  I didn't have time to go looking for the tree house behind her old place, but I did see the field she ran across, crying, after I happily explained to her how I figured out that the whole Santa Claus thing was a scam.  As I recall, neither she nor her father were nearly as happy about my discovery as I was.  He'd already called my Mom by the time I finished walking home (Katherine must have run fast when she was upset), and my Mom tried to explain to me why I might not want to tell all my friends about my discovery.  Over 25 years later, and I'm still surprised when people want to believe obvious lies.  When will I learn?

The family that bought our old house when we left still live there, although the father of the family passed away suddenly about two weeks ago.  He used to work for the Hydro commission like by Dad, and was just two years older.  Scary.

The grocery store is just as sad as I remember it.

The high school has been demolished, and a new health centre has gone up nearby.  I somehow forgot to find out where kids go to highschool now.  Perhaps the new elementary school I saw is actually K-12.

"The Hill" where we used to toboggan has been ruined by a Rec Centre of some kind.  We already had a Rec Centre!  It was called "The Hill"!

I played "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" in those trees over there, and in that house.  (Oh my!)

The dams my Dad helped commission are overrun with security now.  We had to register when we showed up at the W.A.C Bennett Dam, and got in trouble for going down to the main building to take pictures.  In our defense, they didn't tell us we couldn't, and there were no signs saying so either.  I stupidly began to explain this to the security guard, but she wasn't too upset with us to start with and I quickly realized I should just apologize and move on.  In the picture below, you can see someone just behind the bike coming to ask if we're lost.  "Not at all," I told her.  Security found us a few minutes later.

We took the $6 tour of the dam ($4 for seniors, Dad), which felt a little odd to me, and must have been downright surreal for my father.  I remember my Dad taking me to the dam when I was about 6, and we could go anywhere.  I've walked around the bottom of the pencock where a turbine usually sits when it was apart for service!  The $6 tour wasn't half that cool.  Cameras were not allowed.  I kept trying to imagine what it would be like going back to my old workplaces, but having to stay behind all the tour boundaries, and just look at things from the walkways.  At one point the tour guide asked if anyone had been under a dam before.  I LOLed.  I then had to explain that my Dad (indicating to the man next to me) worked here 25 years ago.  The rest of the tour group seemed very impressed and, although our tour guide did an excellent job, they sometimes looked at my Dad as if for verification if she stumbled at all during her spiel.

The church I grew up in recently had it's surfaces restored, and it looks like new, which is saying something because it was built in 1938.  I used to ring the bell on Sundays, and the rope could lift me off the ground.  I once froze my tongue to the doorknob of the front door.  I see they've replaced both the door and the door knob since then.  The surface of my tongue has since been replaced as well.

I had a crush on Tina when I was a kid.  She always wore dresses, which didn't seem practical to me for playing at recess.  She lived in a trailer at the top of a hill.  Apparently her parents are still there.  I rode by, and it's been very well maintained, but Tina's play house is gone.  I remember her dad's old Honda Shadow.  It had Honda motorcycle's wing logo on the tank, and I thought it looked way cooler than my Dad's CB550K because it was so new.  (Probably a 1982 instead of my Dad's 1974.)

I was playing in that ditch at the end of our old street one summer when I realized, as a 6 or 7 year old, that summers seemed like a different life from school.  How long were summers anyways?  When would I have to go back to school?

The road I was riding my bicycle on when I accidentally swallowed a bee (it flew right in my mouth!) is actually gone now.  I guess that'll stop it from happening again.

We caught an old hockey teammate of my father's as he was heading out fishing with the son of another former teammate.  I used to go to school with their daughter, and would go over to their place to play.  She lives in New Zealand now, and her parents are hoping to buy a home there soon too.

They want to finally leave Hudson's Hope because a third dam, "Site C", has been given the go ahead.  Site C will flood the beautiful Peace Valley, covering hundreds of square kilometers of valley, including homes and farms.  It will also create hundreds (thousands?) of jobs, and will provide a large amount of clean electricity.  I can see both sides of the issues, but was surprised to see so many signs of opposition in an area largely built on the existence of two other dams.

Finally, it was wonderful to spend some time with you, S and A.  Thank you for the steak dinner, including my first corn on the cob of the year, and for helpful tips for our trip north.  I look forward to getting those old pictures of St. Peter's, and to seeing some of those sunrises you've photographed from your porch overlooking the Peace River.  What a view you have!

Remember for your next trip back East, I'm one day's drive from New Brunswick - the perfect place to stop for the night on your way through.

(Back) To The Beginning

Pulled over to "Batten Down the Hatches" for the storm ahead.  It was a good one.

Today we rode from just North of Edmonton AB to my 'home' town of Hudson's Hope BC.  Although I wasn't born in HH, we moved there when I was just a few months old, and stayed for the first 7 years of my life.  As much as anywhere, this is my home town.

On the way there, we passed through Dawson's Creek.  Before it was a teenage drama on The WB, Dawson's Creek was well known as "Mile 0" of the Alaska Highway.  Jessica might understand how "Mile 0" connects with "I'm a ninja.  Kawabunga time." in my head.

Some shots from Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway

Nothing looked very familiar on the ride through towns I'd seen as a child, such as Grand Cache AB, Dawson's Creek BC, or Fort St. John BC.  The main drags all look the same from one town to the next now, with the same restaurants, and the same box stores.  Then, as we turned off from the Alaska Highway to Hudson's Hope, I had a memory of my Mom at the turn off's gas station, just a few years older than I am now, packing her two kids into the silver Volvo 242 I later learned to drive on.  I only remembered a few bits of the drive from Fort St. John to Hudson's Hope, but maybe more would have looked familiar if I'd only looked up and to the right, like I was a kid sitting in the back seat of a two door car.  The road is much more dramatic than I remember, with some amazing vistas, and some pretty steep climbs and descents.  If it hadn't been close to dark by the time we arrived in HH, I would have turned around and ridden it again!

One of the many vistas on Hwy 29 east of Hudson's Hope BC

In the last 20 minutes before reaching Hudson's Hope we saw nine deer along the side of the road.  Nine!  Although most were by themselves, we did see one group of three.  It turns out Hudson's Hope is overrun by deer right now, which wasn't the case when we lived there.  It seemed like there was a deer around every corner, and they stroll right through the middle of town, eating garbage and destroying flowers and trees.

We hadn't managed to contact any friends in HH on our way in, so we pitched our tents at the campsite by the Peace Canyon Dam.  The dam's construction is the reason we moved to HH in the first place, and there are pictures of me walking on the floor of the valley that is now flooded by the lake we camped on.  The valley was full of dinosaur fossils, and there is a good one of me sitting in a footprint thats larger than I was.  Dad figures he and I were part of the first group to ever canoe those waters, having carried canoes down to the water shortly after the dam was completed, well before they were open to the public.

Me, contemplating the flooded Peace Canyon

Dad, indicating rules that obviously can't apply to us.

Edmonton

Having put my bike back together, we were ready to roll out of Three Hills this morning.  Thanks once again to our friends and trailer haulin' saviors there, for your help and hospitality.  Thanks for the aircraft hanger in which we worked on and cleaned our bikes, too.  Nice digs.

We rode west then north into Edmonton, and swung east to visit Sherwood Park, where we used to live in the late 80's.  The house we used to live in looks almost exactly as we'd left it: same horrible pea green color, same number Dad had hung on the front step, same trees (just a lot bigger.)  The neighbor across the street came out to leave in his car, but stopped to take a picture of us and chat for a few minutes.  He said the owners of our old house were on vacation, and that we could probably just snoop around back.  We rang the doorbell, and when no one answered we took to snooping.  There's a shed in the back yard, and my basketball net isn't up anymore, but it looks very much as we'd left it 20 years ago.  Are those our Christmas lights hanging up?

We stopped by my old school, and walked around the grounds a bit.  I was surprised to discover I remembered most of the paths through the forest out back, as well as all the streets, alleys and shortcuts in the surrounding neighborhood.  It's funny what sticks with you, buried away.

Next visited my Dad's brother and his S.O.  I hadn't seen them in about 12 years, and the few hours we had for dinner hardly made up for that.  Unfortunately, it was getting late and we had to be a little north of Edmonton in Morinville before dark.

We had friends to stay with there that I hadn't seen since leaving Alberta.  The "kids" who are around my age looked a little different than when I last I saw them, but their parents hadn't changed all that much.  Thanks to Mrs. P for the spare beds, and the wonderful breakfast.  Thanks to Mr. P for hurrying home so you could see us before we took off.  Thanks to T. and her boyfriend for riding up from Edmonton to see us; that's a sweet Suzuki you guys were on.  If it ever gets traded for something more comfortable, I'll take you for some nice rides in Vermont.  Thanks to N. for coming over with three out of her four daughters, the youngest being just four weeks old!   That grey streak is understandable, and pretty hot! Do people compare you more often to Rogue, or Bonnie Raitt?

Baby Face

My wonderful, but sometimes naive, wife thought this trip would be the perfect opportunity for me to finally try growing a beard.  When she says "beard" what she really means is Bradley Cooperesque stubble.  I've tried to explain that I just don't grow enough hair to have any kind of beard.  I don't think 6 weeks is going to help that fact.  Six weeks will simply give me a longer, very patchy beard instead of a short, very patchy beard.  More time != more stubble.  A face full of stubble will never happen.

Here's what about 8 days of "beard" looks like.  Note the distinct "no hair will ever grow here" zones.  Who thinks I should give up this experiment now and save myself further humiliation?

Thanks to all the friends and family who refrained from asking what was wrong with my face, and apologies to the children I've scared.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Actually, it's motorcycles, trailers, and airplanes. After yesterday's further motorcycle troubles, we were rescued by an angel from Three Hills AB who came all the way to Rosetown SK to pick my bike up with her trailer. We didn't get back into Three Hills until almost 2am this morning.

We've removed the final drive's pinion housing from my bike, and I'm going to ride Dad's bike to Calgary to try and get it repaired first thing Monday morning. It looks like I get to see my friends in Calgary after all!

As I type this, I'm sitting at Prarie Aviation's hanger, watching our friend land after taking my Dad up for an acrobatic flight! They /just/ touched down.

Trailer Trials

After my bike's leaking final drive stranded us in Rosetown SK, a good friend from Three Hills AB very generously came all the way to trailer my bike back to her place.

If you look closely, you can see my Dad's headlight as he passes someone to catch up with us.  Passing isn't that interesting on Saskatchewan roads.

Sometime after midnight we started to get a bunch of shimmying from the trailer.  When we stopped to check on things, we found that both straps holding my front wheel straight we had failed.  One had disappeared completely, and the other was broken but hadn't blown away yet.  We figured the loose wheel must have allowed the shimmying due to wind, although that seemed unlikely.  Even with a soft cloth placed between the straps and my side panels, one strap had rubbed right through my paint.  In fact, the shimmying had gotten so bad that the bike had almost come off the center stand - we found it sitting right near the apex.  If that had happened, the bike would have fallen over on the trailer.  We re-anchored the front wheel, switched drivers, and continued on.

The shimmying was still there, but now even worse.  We stopped and looked things over again and found a flat tire on the trailer!  It was completely blown out, with tread missing and everything.  Thankfully our Towing Angel had a spare!  It took some trickery to get the trailer up high enough to change the tire, but the spare tire from her car and a bit of 2x4 I'd picked up in a back alley in Rosetown did the trick.

I'm surprised the picture isn't more blurry due to the massive number of mosquitoes that were attacking us as we worked.

Stranded - I mean it this time

We left Saskatoon this morning thinking we had completed repairs that should last us the trip.  We weren't able to replace the front seal on the final drive (pinion gear seal) because you need some specialty BMW tools to do the job.  We tried bringing the entire pinion gear assembly to the dealership, but they didn't have the necessary tools either!  We didn't think the seal was leaking that badly, so we expected to be able to continue on and perhaps top up the final drive gear oil once in a while.  The new speed sensor / oil plug we'd picked up had been improved to it was no longer as delicate as the original, so we weren't worried about doing the job a few times on the side of the road.

Unfortunately, the seal had different plans.  This morning we got about an hour west of Saskatoon before we noticed I was rapidly losing gear oil again.  We had lunch at the A&W in Rosetown SK, and then went looking for an patch of shade in which to look at the final drive yet again.  From what we can see, the oil is leaking from the pinion seal we have in hand, but can not install without a special tool (or two).  I'm losing oil too quickly to continue.

We've friends in Three Hills, AB, and they have offered to drive over 4 hours to come get me with their trailer, and take us back to their place.  We are so fortunate to have so many caring and giving friends and family!  Once in Three Hills, we'll remove the final drive pinion gear housing from the bike again, and I'll carry it on Dad's bike into Calgary to have it repaired.  Dad will stay behind in Three Hills to visit.  Hopefully my trip to Calgary will also allow me to see some friends who, just the other day, I had to inform that plans had changed and I could no longer see them.  C & K, I'll be calling you tonight!  I'll stop changing plans on you soon, I promise!

How I got from Rosetown SK to Three Hills AB

If you ever find yourself in Rosetown SK on a Saturday, looking for internet access, don't bother wandering around downtown trying all the local businesses, or trying the grocery stores (with a dining area), or asking the police, or the coffee shop, or the library.  You'll just end up hot, thirsty, and sweaty.  Instead, just go back out to the highway and find the little Rosetown Info Centre.  They don't have WiFi, but they've a computer and a printer you can use.  They also sell ice cream there, and have a Diary Queen right next door if you want a Blizzard instead.  (BTW, happy 25th anniversary, Blizzard.  We love you!)

If you ever find yourself in Rosetown SK on a warm, sunny Saturday and you need to kill a few hours, you can hang out at the high school down the street from the A&W.  There is lots of shade on the luxurious grass surrounding the school, the town's swimming pool is just down the street and opens for public swim at 2pm, and there are places around the school to hide under when the rain comes.  And in Saskatchewan in the summer of 2010, the rain will almost always come.

 Sleeping through class at Rosetown Central High

Thank you Saskatchewan!

Thank you to my Uncle and Aunt in Saskatoon for offering to come get us with a trailer when it looked like we were stranded, for the shelter, fantastic food, hospitality, good conversation, much needed garage space, ice cream, and multiple trips to the BMW dealership.

Homestead Ice Cream, 910 Victoria Ave, Saskatoon, SK.  Eat there.

My Uncle "stands guard" while the rest of us get ice cream.

I still think he rode it around while we were inside.

Thank you to their beautiful daughter, my cousin, for the yummy breakfast at her favorite breakfast diner.  Sorry we made you wait so long!  Let's not let another 17 years go by before we see each other again.  Have a wonderful wedding, and an even better marriage.  You picked a good date, and a good husband too, I'd say.

Thanks to my cousin from Moose Jaw, and his lovely wife and two kids for getting up so early and coming to spend the day with us in Saskatoon.  I wish we could have seen everyone in Moose Jaw, but I'm very grateful you put in all that effort to come see us, let alone treat us to a second evening of ice cream.  I know it can't be easy traveling with a 4 year old and a two month old, on a work day, on last minute's notice.  Your kids are great, and it was so great to see you and meet your family.

Part of my Moose Jaw connection

Thanks to my father's cousins for coming over to see us when our day's plans ran late, and for my father's aunt and uncle for staying up to see us when we came over late.

Thanks to my cousin in Estevan for Skyping us as we visited her parents.  It's not nearly as good at seeing her again, but it was nice to chat if only for a few minutes.

Finally, thank you to my father, uncle, and cousin who all pitched in on yesterday's repair work.  If it wasn't for needing that specialty BMW tool, we'd have had that job done no problem.  Often 4 'mechanics' is like too many cooks in the kitchen, but we worked very well together, and it was a day I won't soon forget.

 How many amateur mechanics does it take to re-install the final drive?

We didn't get to spend nearly enough time with any of you, but we're grateful for the time we had.  If you're ever remotely near Vermont, please let me know.  You'll always have a place to stay, or hopefully I can come see you if you're just "nearby", like perhaps in the Maritimes.

Saskatoon Layover

This is just a quick update to say we're alive and well, and relaxing in Saskatoon SK.  I had some mechanical problems with the final drive on my bike, but we've got spare parts in hand (with more to arrive at the dealership today) and we'll be attempting a repair later this morning.  If all goes well, we'll be rolling again tomorrow morning.

 Sunset above Kakabeka Falls

After staying in Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, we made it a short day and rode to Rushing River Provincial Park the next day.  It was mostly nice and sunny, so we tried laying out all our gear to dry out from the daily rain since we'd hit the road.  Unfortunately there were sun showers about every hour, so we gave up on the idea of dry gear and went for a swim in Dog Tooth Lake. 

Campsite at Rushing River

The next day we got up early with the intent of riding to Moose Jaw SK to see family.  Unfortunately, the day began with Dad's battery being flat, for some inexplicable reason.  He hadn't left the key in, or any accessories on.  After getting a boost from a park ranger, the bike seemed to charge fine, and it hasn't been a problem since.  Still, the first stop of the day was to Canadian Tire for some booster cables to carry.

A tank of gas later in Winnipeg, I was looking over my bike as I had a drink, and I noticed evidence of quite a bit of oil weeping from both seals of my final drive.  It took some calling around, but I found a BMW dealership in Saskatoon and ordered the additional spare parts I'd need for the repair.  (I was already carrying one of the seals I'd need).

 Weeping final drive.  Shed a tear.

Not knowing how much oil had leaked out, I wanted to top up the final drive to ensure it wasn't running dry.  That was the second trip to Canadian Tire for the day.  That's when things got kinda bad.  The speed sensor on the final drive doubles as the plug for the fill hole.  It's a small plastic piece, known for cracking if you over tighten the bolt that holds it.  I was literally saying "don't over-tighten, don't over-tighten, don't over-tighten" out loud as I apparently over-tightened it.  I didn't know I'd cracked it, so we put it all back together thinking all was fine.

Looking smug, thinking we'd made a nice fast final drive oil top up

A tank of gas later, and all the final drive oil had leaked out the now empty fill hole, and was spread all over the back of my bike and gear.  We pulled around behind the Esso in Grenfell SK (pop. 947) and ran through our options.  We were no longer going to make it to Moose Jaw for the night, let alone the BBQ where three families had gathered to see us.  By the time we completed a roadside repair that we though would hold, it was getting dark and it sounded like heavy rain was coming.  We had a steak dinner at the local bar, and stayed at the local campground for the night.

The sign above the pool table read "Last Chance Saloon"

The next morning we hit the road to test the fix we'd made the night before.  Twenty km later I had oil all over my bike and baggage again; the fix was a fail.  Family in Saskatoon offered to come get my bike with a trailer, but we decided to try a similar repair one more time.  This time I used a bit more instant gasket, and we found a "spare" bolt somewhere else on the bike (which itself was replaced with a tie wrap) to replace the missing bolt that used to hold the speed sensor / oil plug.  This time the fix held, and we were able to make it the rest of the way to Saskatoon under our own power.

Broken speed sensor, and lots of instant gasket

We're staying with my mother's brother and sister-in-law, and I got to see their daughter (my cousin) for the first time in 17 years!  She was 12 last time I saw her.  She's getting married on Aug 5th (my anniversary, which is how they picked the date she assures me).  Hopefully a cousin and his family can make it up from Moose Jaw to see us tomorrow, we'll have breakfast at a favourite spot of the cousin who is getting married, and we'll focus on getting my bike repaired.

Loosen Up My Buttons

When I'm riding into a storm and stop to prep all my rain gear, I get a song in my head that says "Batten Down the Hatches" to the tune of "Loosen Up My Buttons".

Mississauga ON to Sault Ste Marie ON

Tripometer: 1150 some odd miles
Location: KOA "Kampground", Sault Ste Marie, ON

I'm lying in my tent, freshly showered and quite ready for sleep.  I'm trying to think of something more to say beyond "we did this, we saw that", but when you see so much so fast, it's hard to process it all.  Leading up to, and the first of, the trip felt very hectic.  Today was simpler, less hectic, although I wouldn't dare say relaxing.  (I don't know if "relaxing" will ever describe 8+ hours of motorcycling at highway speeds, but maybe that day will come.)

We had a good night's sleep and leisurely breakfast at Jess' parents' place, and took off up Hwy 400 to Sudbury along with a light amount of other high speed traffic from Toronto.  The roads were straight and boring, but I love the sections of dotted lines that go on forever.  Dedicated passing lanes were frequent, but passing lines of cars across a dotted line is somehow more satisfying.

Poutine at Harvey's.  I must be in Canada, eh.

We took on fuel for ourselves and bikes in Sudbury, and saw our first Giant Thing, in this case the giant nickel.  I couldn't help but notice how the Sudbury air stings your nose as you try at admire the "giant" nickel, which itself is completely dwarfed by massive smoke stacks nearby.

The Giant Nickel, Sudbury ON

Having enjoyed nearly perfect weather for the first part of the day, we paid for it  in rain rain rain from Sudbury to Sault Ste Marie.  Except for some very disappointing performance of Dad's "waterproof" Rev'It gloves, all was fine.  We had some pasta for dinner at a chain restaurant, and left intending to make it to Batchawana Bay Provincial Park for the night.  We realized right away that we'd likely arrive after sunset, so we changed plans and headed for the local KOA instead.  KOA's are nice in that they're normally easy to find, and the facilities are great.  You pay a premium for those "free" hot showers and kitchen facilities though, and the sites are really packed together.  Hopefully tomorrow finds us in Kakabeka Falls provincial park just west of Thunder Bay.  Of course, I won't have the wifi access to make these posts then.

Failed Self Shot, KOA Kampground, Sault Ste Marie ON

First Days: Odiorne Point State Park NH to Mississauga ON

Tripometer: 600 some odd miles
Location: Jess' Parent's House, Mississauga, ON

Today was the first full day of the trip for me. Meeting Dad on the coast and dipping our tires and feet in the Atlantic was definitely the start of the trip, but having gone to work first meant the day hardly felt like vacation for me.

Tires in the Atlantic at Odiorne State Park NH

Feet in the Atlantic at Rye Beach, Rye NH

On the way to Bellows Falls VT from our start point at Odiorne Point State Park NH we stopped for dinner and music at Fritz's Fries in Keene NH. My friends' band, Hot Mustard, was playing, and the music and food are always good. We got to chat with them and some other friends while we ate, but didn't stay long because we had work to do before going to bed. (BTW, my apologies to Jim for not saying goodbye when we left. Kelly deciding to tell the entire restaurant about our trip kind of distracted me.)

Hot Mustard playing at Fritz's Fries, Keene NH

Late Night Dremeling

We stayed up later than planned installing some equipment onto Dad's bike, so we slept a little late and hit the road at about 8:30. Jess rode with us as far as Chester, which was a very nice send off. Saying goodbye to Jess was much harder than I thought it'd be. Not that I thought it'd be easy, but I didn't expect the very strong and visceral urge I had at one point to just call off the trip and stay home. That happened before we left the house, and felt like it was partly just nervousness. Actually saying "goodbye" and riding away from her in Chester was pretty gut wrenching though, and I had to make fun of myself for going all "Ewan"*.

Ready to leave for our first full day

Having pushed all feelings deep down inside where they belong (that one is for you, Rambo - I still remember your sage advice from years ago ;) ) the trip continued on to Max BMW in Troy, NH where we bought and installed a new air filter for Dad's bike. I should have done that same, but was slow to decide so will have to pick one up elsewhere.

The ride across upstate NY was as boring as usual, but for the excitement of sun and wind. The wind was strong enough to prompt other travelers at the Interstate's service stops to ask us, "how ya doin' in this wind?" It wasn't blowing us out of our lane, but it kept things interesting. I found the heat quite hard to deal with, and was totally wiped by the end of the day. I had a pretty serious case of heat stroke when I was 7, and I'm told that often effects your ability to deal with heat for the rest of your life. I never thought much off it through years of climbing, biking, Ultimate, etc., but recently I've noticed my riding partners always fare much better than I on hot days. I'll pull over because I'm starting to feel a wee bit wonky in the head, but Jess or Dad will say they just feel pretty hot. Time for me to invent in-helmet-AC.

We got into Mississauga around 7:30pm, and dropped off the knobby tires to my kick-ass friend who is shipping them to Whitehorse for us on the cheap. S, we can't thank you enough! Plans fell apart (well, never really started) for meeting up with my sister, so Jess parent's took just Dad and I out for dinner at Congee Dynasty. It was yummy as always, and fun to see Dad try new food - he's always game.

We cleaned up and slept well at Jess' parents'. Sleeping in Jess' old room would have made me miss her terribly if I were able to stay conscious for more than 10 seconds once in bed.



*"Ewan" is a term Jess and I use to describe someone who gets all nambsy-pambsy about missing "love ones" like their "wife" and "children" while on motorcycle trips of a lifetime. Some of you may have seen the inspiration for this term as Ewan McGregor bellyached about missing his family in "The Long Way Round". Pfft...**

**I kid!  Ewan and Charlie's books and shows are a big reasons Dad and I are even on this trip, just like thousands of other recent adventure tourers.