Shed a tear: Leaving the Rockies

 

You know, even spending the vast majority of this trip riding my heavily laden motorcycle in the rain, in full rain gear and generally poor visibility, was not enough to dampen my mood; my smile; my spirit.

That changed a little on Friday morning. In the bright sunshine. In the most beautiful place I have ever rested my soul.

I can honestly tell you that I felt a profound sadness while watching the Rocky Mountains grow smaller in my rear-view mirrors.

I shed a tear leaving Jasper Alberta.

Leaving, sadly.

It felt like I had found my life partner – my mate – my lover.

Only to have her wrenched away from me by duty and obligation.

For the first time in almost 6 years I wanted to say ‘screw it all – I am going to do this……’

Fortunately, the old Joe no longer has the power that he once had and was not able to win over the Joe that embarked on this personal quest.

The idea of staying out west, while romantic, novel and adventurous – never really took hold. This trip was about finding something. I had no real idea what that might be prior to straddling the saddle on May 31 and heading to North Bay on the first leg of the journey.

I have a clearer idea now. Clear enough that I was able to continue to do that which I have been doing quite well for quite some time.

The next right thing. And for me, that meant completing the journey. And of course, heading home.

Saying that, and knowing it – did not make it any easier. At least, not until I had some time to think about it. And about what I have found.

So what did I find, you may ask. Well, it is not easily put to words. And some of it is just for me. But I can say that I found a stronger connection. I found a deeper peace. I found some untapped resources within myself.

I found a better understanding of who, and why I am.

I found love. A very real, very tangible love for all that has been given to me, and to us.

I also found that I have something important that I have to say. And I will say it when I get home.

There may not be much more to write about this trip of mine. I am in Regina, Saskatchewan as I write this. Friday saw me ride from Jasper to Drumheller, Alberta, where I took the time to see the sites and take, yes, lots of pictures.

Yesterday, I left Drumheller and rode all the way to Regina. A couple more pictures, but lets face it – the ‘epic’ part of my motorcycle adventure is over. I will take some pictures of the lake head and environs at Superior, weather providing, and post those when I get home, but unless something truly noteworthy happens, this is likely my last entry from the road.

I have been trying to get back to Ottawa for Tuesday morning in order to be somewhere, with someone, but I don’t know if I will be able to make it before Wednesday. It certainly would not serve for me to rush. For that is when mistakes happen. And in motorcycle speak, mistakes are generally not forgiven.

So, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you, fellow travellers, for riding along as I rode and wrote. Knowing that someone is reading has certainly helped inspire me to write. I have a ton of notes that did not make it into the blog, but I think that is because something else is growing from this journey of mine. And of ours.

Does anyone know a publisher. Heheheheh.

Link to the pictures from Jasper to Drumheller is HERE.

Drumheller to Regina can be found HERE.

Be good to yourselves. And be good to others.

It matters.

Peace.

Now, These are Mountains!

 

The Cascades were spectacular. The Coastal mountains – amazing. I found myself staring with a sense of wonder about all that was around me on more occasions than I can count. The beauty that I found myself immersed in was beyond my own ability to imagine as recently as 3 weeks ago.

And then, yesterday, I began the journey from Golden, BC to Jasper, AB.

I may never be the same again.

Golden is a beautiful place. Nestled in the Rocky Mountain Trench and surrounded by the Robson Valley, the Columbia Valley and the East Kootenay Valley, it is a small community that realizes it is a jewel, yet does not go out of it’s way to advertise that fact. Still a peaceful spot, it is a vagabond-campers paradise – largely due to the number of free, BC Hydro and Forestry Services sponsored campsites. Well maintained and frequented only by hardy, back-country style campers, these spots are generally virtually unpopulated. I never had more than 2 other campers in any of the BC Hydro sites that I used.

Vagabond Paradise

I really was in no hurry to leave this little spot in Golden, BC. The weather was the nicest I have experienced thus far, and the setting could not be more peaceful. Add to that the fact that there was a pretty major rockslide just 12 kilometres to the east of Golden that had closed the TransCanada in both directions and it was becoming easy to convince myself to just settle in for another day. Or two.

But like any mistress, the open road calls. And a man’s gotta’ answer, right?

I took my time packing up my site, as always being sure to leave no trace that I had ever visited, and made my way to the local Tim Horton’s for a pre-ride coffee. By the time I was ready to go, a group of riders coming in from Texas and on their way to Alaska for the D2D Rally informed me that the highway was open once again, with the east lanes still closed and buried in debris and traffic diverted to the west bound lanes for travel in both directions.

I headed out, sans-raingear and full of good spirit to enjoy a day of riding in the sunshine. And what a day it was.

I started this post with a commentary on some of the mountain ranges that I have travelled and enjoyed.

Yesterday I began to enter the Rockies – I mean, really enter the Rockies – for the first time.

Words like spectacular – gorgeous – amazing – awe inspiring – god-given – all of these try to give description to the grandeur that is the Canadian Rocky Mountains. And all fall short.

You really do have to see them to believe it.

I rode from Golden on through Kicking Horse Pass and up through the Rockies to Lake Louise. The scenes that I was given have been captured, as best I could, on still and GoPro footage. The stills are linked below. The GoPro footage will be up sometime in mid-July and I will link to it then. The video footage is definitely worth a watch.

From Lake Louise I decided to toss convention to the side (like I have ever adhered to convention) and opted to take a 234 kilometre side trip up to Jasper. Which is where I sit as I type this.

I may never leave Jasper.

I could live in the bush. Eat berries and nuts. Adopt a mountain goat for company.

Mountain goats on the way to Jasper.

Okay. Maybe not. My older brother pointed out that the aforementioned diet would leave me being a tasty bear-munchie.

It sure would be easy to stay though. At least until the snow flies. And then,….

On my way from Lake Louise to Jasper, I stopped for fuel at Saskatchewan Crossing ($1.75/litre) and met another long-distance traveller. Also named Joe, this fella is from Titusville Florida and is doing the southern most to northern most ride. He started out at the Florida Keys, mile marker 0 – and is riding all the way to Alaska.

We decided to ride together from Saskatchewan Crossing to Jasper, and shared a campsite at Whistlers in Jasper National Park. Joe worked as a subcontractor for NASA for 30 odd years and is enjoying his retirement on a BMW RS1200 – travelling long distance in style.

Very similar in riding style and pace, we got along just fine, and it was nice to share another portion of this epic journey with yet another vagabond rider.

So now, it is time for me to prepare to leave Jasper. I think I will extend my stay long enough to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain, then build up my resolve and hit the road. Sadly, that means that I am leaving the Rockies today.

I am certain of 2 things. One, that I will return to this mountain paradise again quite soon – maybe even next year. And two – that my entire adventure will take place here.

In the Canadian Rocky Mountains of Alberta.

Paradise Found.

Scenes from Golden to Jasper, including the Icefields Parkway, are located HERE.

From good to Amazing - Merritt to Lumby to Golden, BC

The rain continued to fall as I was packing up the bike preparing to leave Merritt on Tuesday morning. Although that had been enough to keep me there an extra day already, I could not justify staying stationary any longer. Merritt is pretty – but it just doesn’t have enough to see and explore to occupy another day. The East Indian proprietor of the little motel that I stayed at almost appeared sad to see me leave. As though he had not had a guest stay an extra night in a long time. Not sure why, but that kind of made me feel his loneliness. I thanked the gentleman, loaded up, and hit the road.
Within 20 minutes, as I cruised comfortably down highway 5A toward Princeton, the skies began to clear, and my smile began to broaden. In contrast, I found my speed began to slow. The scenery just looked so much more vibrant, alive and inviting in the sunlight. I felt much like I imagine a butterfly might feel as it emerges from it’s cocoon – taking in the wonder of the world that it has been born into. 
Natural Wonder.
I did not get too far along highway 5 before I found myself once again stopping to snap some pictures. I was gifted with one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen in my life a little ways after my first photo-stop.  I spotted a baby deer, or fawn, standing on a rise in a pasture and immediately pulled to the side to ready my camera. I snapped off one picture of the lone fawn, and then saw two siblings come bounding into the frame. I was mesmerized with this display of natures innocence and beauty, staring in wonder as these three little children of the animal kingdom engaged in the favourite game of all species of young – chase! I came out of my reverie just in time to snap off one picture of these playful kids, seen below.
Kids at play.
Riding on a natural high, and absolutely at peace with the world, I began, for the first time during my trip, to feel that which I believe I had been seeking since I began planning this adventure 9 months ago.
I am a part of something magical. Something wonderful and beyond the ability of my human mind to express. Connected and alive. I am sitting in a McDonalds restaurant in Golden, BC as I write this, looking out the window at the fluffy white seeds riding the breeze against a mind-slowing backdrop of the Rocky mountains, and I feel the exact same thing.
I hope and pray that I never lose this newfound ability to connect. Or, if not new found, at the very least newly realized.
I arrived in Princeton a short and enjoyable while after taking the above pictures, and decided that it was time for a coffee and a bite to eat. Actually, I think it is more accurate to say that it was decided, not so much that I decided, however…..
I pulled up to a run-down, almost gone-to-seed tire shop and asked the fellow who was lounging in an Adirondack chair in the middle of the parking lot where I might get a bite to eat.
“You could try the place right there” he said as he pointed to Thomasina’s on the corner.
Well,…..
When is a grilled cheese sandwich not just a grilled cheese sandwich?
When it is made at Thomasina's in Princeton, BC.
The bread that I enjoyed was baked fresh that morning - a specialty of the owner/ cook / baker, it is a hearty, wholesome and flavour rich blend of corn meal, flax, oats, whole wheat, rye and a touch of molasses.
The melting cheese that was dripping from the edges was a smoked apple blend that made my taste buds sing!
Served beside a delicious little salad with a light vinaigrette, and accompanied by a rich dark coffee brought to my table in a press, I could not help but feel content. At ease. Happy. All of these and more. Just the way comfort food should make you feel.
Comfort food at its finest.
I finished my wonderfully rich coffee alongside a delicious Irish soda bread, made from 2 ancient grains known as spelt and emmer. Slightly warmed and patted with butter, this was the perfect end to a delightful dining experience.
Jerome and Thomasina, your wonderful little restaurant and superb menu are the things of great and fond memories. You can be sure that I will one day return - and that I will sing your praise. Well done folks.
Worthy of praise.
I rode the old Hedley road out of Princeton – yet another magnificent motorcycle road, and stopped at a curio shop in Hedley where the owner felt obliged to tell me that the store was for sale if I was interested. Ah, if only….
I followed highway 3 back into Keremeos and the Okanagan Valley, the one area that I saw the sun during my ride west from the Rockies to the Cascades, and was once again blessed with beautiful riding conditions. The ride continued on up to Penticton, Summerland, Peachland, West Kelowna, and finally into Lumby.
Roads of note on this stretch are the Eastside road in Penticton which follows the eastern shore of Skaha lake – gorgeous scenery and really nice twisties with a low speed limit of 50 km, allowing the rider to really enjoy the area; the old Westside Road that follows the western shore of Okanagan Lake from West Kelowna up to highway 97 in Vernon – ranks right up there with the best of them, full of very challenging twisties and sudden drops and rises, it is another amazing motorcycle route;
I arrived in Lumby exhausted – it had somehow taken me almost 9 hours to travel a little more than 400 kilometers. Not sure how that happened. Well, maybe…………
I stayed the night in another motel – it was too dark to ride any further seeking a BC Hydro recreation site – and went right to bed.
Getting up yesterday morning, I packed up and left the motel a little late – almost 11:00. I went to find breakfast, and discovered Alice’s Restaurant – a ‘biker friendly’ spot with a good, quick breakfast, strong coffee and a couple of Harley’s in the lot. I struck up a conversation with a fellow rider who proceeded to give me some sage advice about the roads I would be encountering from Lumby to Golden, and we shared riding stories for a bit. After my coffee, preparing to mount up and hit the road, ‘Stinky’ (his self-admitted nickname) offered to lead me out as far as Cherryville. Stinky offered to give me a chunk of BC hash when we stopped to go our own way – that made me smile too. Just the way of the people out here – if they have it, it is yours. I thanked Stinky for the offer, assuring him that there was a time when, but I had since cleaned up and was approaching 6 years. Stinky reached out his hand and gave mine a firm shake. “Congratulations” he said, “I been thinking about doin’ that".”
Sometimes it really is the thought that counts. Pleased to have met you Stinky.
I got some good GoPro footage of the ride and will post it sometime after I get home.
Highway 6, from Lumby to highway 23 at Nakusp is another wonderful ride – lots of pictures and GoPro video to come. I rode on another ferry, always enjoyable, and continued on Revelstoke, crossing on yet another ferry, and finally made my way into Golden BC at about 8:30 last night. I stopped at the Tim Horton’s and got directions to the Cedar Lake campground, rode in and set my camp up in record time, and even had time to scavenge enough wood for a roaring fire before full dark had finally set in.
Oh – I forgot to mention that I saw my first black bear on highway 23 just before the Galena Bay ferry at the Kaslo turnoff. No pictures, but wow, what a sight.
I would love to be able to describe to you what the ride on the TransCanada highway, from Revelstoke to Golden was like, but I just don’t think that my words could do it justice. It is said that the Sami people had over 100 words to describe snow. I cannot imagine their description of the beauty that I have witnessed.
Riding through the Rockies last evening, all I could think to myself was ‘thank you god.’
I encourage any who would say that there is nothing else out there – nothing beyond ourselves – to take this ride. And see what I have seen.
Well, I have been in this McDonald’s for going on 2 hours now. It is almost 10:30 and I still have to return to Cedar Lake to pack up my camp.
There was a major rock slide in Golden this morning, closing the TransCanada. Looks like it is time for yet another route change.
Rockslide
Nothing if not flexible,….
My apologies for the super-long post – there was a lot to cover, and I actually feel like I cheated you out of the Rockies run from Revelstoke to Golden. Ah well, a reason for you to ride, maybe…..
2 days of pictures can be seen HERE. …..
….and HERE.
Thanks for riding along so far. More to come.
Peace.