Western Canada Bike Tour - July & August 1999

Dear Jo,

I thought I'd best get busy and write you a quick note about the trip in time for your family newsletter. As you know, the trip was a success, with everyone arriving home safely without any mishaps or serious breakdowns. It's so hard to know where to start with something like this so I will just stumble along in my usual fashion.

Since Axel and Petra were excited about getting their adventure off and running, Jackie and I decided to send them out to Cypress Hills Provincial park a day ahead of us. We arranged to meet them at the world's largest teepee in Medicine Hat. From there we rode on to Drumheller for a couple of days. We toured the Royal Tyrall Museum of Paleontology, so far the best museum I've ever been to. It had great exhibits, beautifully displayed. It's a must see for both young and old alike. After the Dino Digs and Hoo Doos we toured to a small mining town called Wayne. Pretty neat place, lots of cool stuff in the bar, antiques, and just a lot of very interesting old stuff. The road there was half the fun in itself, 6 miles and 11 bridges later you're there. Axel had it figured out to be a bridge every 500 meters.

After our stay in Drumheller we moved on to Calgary and a very quick look at Heritage Park. We got there in the late afternoon and they keep bankers hours if you can dig that. 8-5 and the sun doesn't even go down until 9:30 - 10:00!! So we rode out to Canmore and set up camp for the night.

The next day we went into Banff for all the sights to see there - Banff Springs Hotel, the Cave, more Hoo Doos. Then up to Lake Louise. Too many people but still a breath taking view! After an early supper we rode up to the Silverhorn campground, just south of the Icefields. When we got there the camp was almost dry, as they had six inches of snow 2 days earlier!! It was all gone on our arrival BUT STILL we're talking damn cold up there.

The next morning we broke camp and headed up to the Icefield for a look see. From there it was on to Jasper where we camped at the Whistler Campground. They have one section of park about 15-20 sites just for motorcycles. I guess they want to keep all the Scooter Trash to one area. Still, the best and cleanest of all campgrounds we were to visit on the trip. While there we spent 3 days jut checking out the sights, from Maligne Lake to Medicine Lake, which is really neat. Apparently each fall in late September and October the lake completely drains itself by its own doing, and its a big chunk of water, 60 meters deep in places we were told.

On the day we decided to stay close to town and camp, Jackie thought it would be something if we were to take the Tramway to the top of the mountain. Hard to believe it was her idea. On our last day in Jasper Axel & Petra had decided to spend one more day up there to do some extra hiking near Opal Pass. On the day they did their hike, we rode on ahead to my Aunt's cabin near the town of Barrier on the Yellowhead.

We had a great time there, just kicked back and relaxed for 3 and half days. We spent a lot of time just floating around on the water of East Barrier Lake. It's a beautiful lake with a closed water system (no rivers feeding it) so the water is always warm, 72 degrees at 7 a.m. to around 84 degrees in the late afternoon. Even a late night swim is warm. While in the area we all rode up to Wells Gray Provincial Park and saw three spectacular water falls, three and four times the height of Niagara Falls. On the way back to Barrier, where we were to meet Axel and Petra that afternoon, we got caught in the rain, about 30 mm of the 100 mms of rain during the whole trip. Axel says the rain was Petra's fault, he calls her his "Little Rainmaker". A nice native theme to go along with the sights and scenery.

Leaving the cottage and family (aunt & uncle) behind, we rode through the Fraser Canyon with a stop at Hell's Gate. Axel & Petra took the tram down to the canyon to have a look at the river. After one stop we rode into Sonya's for a couple of nights. During the ride into town Axel had a strong need to put Suzuki to the test. On the old highway into Port Coquitlam there are sections of road that are all 30-40 km curves with 11-18% grades. That's where he passed Petra and I like we were up on blocks and we didn't see him again for about 30 miles!

At Sonya's we caught up on some of our chores - laundry, wash and wax the old Hog, etc. But somehow being in Vancouver we didn't do all that much. You can only go to Stanley Park so many times before that gets old. So we went to the Trev Deeley Motorcycle Museum with some 250+ bikes on display. You could spend days there looking at some of the rarest of all motorcycles in the world.

Axel and Petra toured the town - Gas Town, China Town and more until late in the day and early evening. They somehow managed to pick up a couple of bogus parking tickets. But Axel fought the law and won, which is good for Don because the plates on the bike were, after all, in his name.

On to the island after a short boat ride which didn't really freak Jackie out too much. We set up camp in Sidney, just a bit north of Victoria and close to Butchart Gardens, which is just gorgeous. We used a couple of rolls of film there. Axel and Petra went into town that day to the museum and walked around down there near the marina as we checked out the Crystal Gardens. These plants and animals are either on or near the endangered species list. Basically we cruised around the town until we found Mile 0 of the Trans Canada Highway.

The next morning after we broke camp we took off for the Pacific Rim. On the way up there we stopped at Duncan to check out the totem poles, the town is full of them so we took a walking tour to see them. The walk was about as interesting as the poles were, for me anyway. These poles are all recently done, dating back to the 1950's. All done by various "artists". I was hope to see the ancient ones. We were only in Duncan for a few hours.

Then we went to Chemainus, the town of murals, all depicting old scenes of the days gone by. From old lumber mills to railways and their workers. Axel & Petra decided to walk around the town again, while Jackie & I opted to go for a horse and buggy ride.. $5.00 for a 45 minute tour, while the guide explains all the murals and artists. The horses were very well trained, they understood English quite well: left turn, right turn, no turn, stop, back. Pretty smart for something to haul a wagon load of dummies around!

After Chemainus we were off to Port Alberni for the night. A hotel, soft bed, clean showers, which we were all happy to see. And the best part - COLD BEER just down the stairs. The next morning we were gone to Tofino, more 30 km curves in the road and 18% grades, so you know what Axel was up to.

Once in Tofino we found a place to camp. Axel called ahead for a spot at Belle Pacifica Beach Resort, which was a damn smart thing to do! Called two days in advance and still put on a waiting list, #8 for 16 spots available. There we took it easy for the afternoon, set up tents and just went into town for supper and some supplies for the camp fire that night.

While there we met Ted and Melda from across the way. They were up from Powell River that week to take their son and his buddy surfing for a few days before going home to begin their motorcycle adventure - Banff, the Kootenay's & Montana, etc. Oh! Before I forget, your sister was just dying to see a bear on this trip. So, our first night in Tofino, after we cleaned up the camp site we were off to bed, only to get the hell scared out of us at 5 a.m.! It seems that somebody's sister forgot about a box of Old Dutch potato chips that were beside the tent during clean-up. Fortunately, this bear was disguised as a raccoon - good thing!!! Anyway, we shared our box of chips 50-50 with this mystery critter of the night. As you've guessed by now, our morning started early. That day was interesting from start to end - art gallery, walking on the beach, watching people surfing - we just enjoyed the whole day.

On the morning of the third day Jackie & I left Axel & Petra behind to do some more hiking for one more day. We rode up to Campbell River for the evening. We enjoyed the day's ride and got there in time for supper and a "Big Time Rain Shower". Yup. We got wet!

After one night in Campbell River we rode up to Telegraph Cove on the north end of the island. We got there early enough that afternoon that we had time to tour the town after setting up camp. This is a cool little place, each of the homes there on the dock are very small, cozy little cabins. They belong to the town doctor, radio dispatcher, telegraph operator. This town is somewhat like Big Valley at Craven, it soars in population each summer to between 30-50,000. Not bad for a town of 12 people, yes, an even dozen.

That night Axel & Petra showed up just at dark. We were beginning to wonder if they were going to make it there that night. The next morning they went whale watching and we went up to Port Hardy for a clutch cable for the Hog. We had agreed to meet Axel & Petra in Comox that evening to catch the ferry over to Powell River. There we met with Ted & Melda again and camped in their back yard for the night. They were busy with a swim meet that weekend so they opened up their home to us. It was nice to visit with them again. We had a few adult cold beverages, lounged around the hot tub till about 3 a.m. and called it a night.

Our ride into Vancouver the next day was different. We had to wait 2 extra hours for the ferry. It had broken a blade off the prop the previous day. On each trip across they had a diver cut a little more off the opposite blade to balance the prop. At our waiting spot we met with a bunch of folks. The three that were riding belonged to the "Sober Riders of British Columbia". Axel & Petra weren't too sure of these guys, especially the one called Wayne. He was a laugh a minute for us. There he was chasing the crew and passengers around the parking lot with his bike, harassed the dickens out of Captain Blye. There for a moment we thought we weren't going to be allowed on the boat. But we set sail with everyone else anyway. On the boat was a different story. There he just bugged everyone. He made the trip and the ride in the rain a little easier that day.

Once we arrived in Vancouver we headed over to Lynn & Dave's house for the night. It was nice for Axel and Lynn to visit that night as they had missed each other on the way to the island. We rode on the next day to Kamloops and left Axel & Petra to visit another day with their friends. They rode up the Duffy Lake road, through Whistler, Squamish, Lillouet and on to Kamloops where we regrouped for the night at Jim & Elvie's.

The journey home was a divided trip with Axel & Petra leaving ahead of us in the morning. We had agreed to meet at Revelstoke that evening. They rode into Vernon and Nakusp and up to Revelstoke. We toured Vernon to see some old sights and then up to meet Axel & Petra for the night. They found some trails to hike that night before dark while Jackie & I rode on to Golden.

The last few days we were on our own. Cory was going to have little David at the house that weekend so we rode on ahead of Axel & Petra. That way they could spend an extra day in the mountains hiking around the Kootenays.

We arrived home that Friday about 7:30 pm and Axel & Petra arrived on Saturday about 3 pm. We were all glad to be home, or at least on familiar ground. It was kind of sad to see Axel & Petra leave that Monday. It would have been nice to enjoy one more campfire and the great smokey suppers we had become accustomed to.

All in all it was a great trip, full of adventures we will remember for years to come. We hope some day to get together again and enjoy another ride. Don't know when, don't know where, but it should be and would be a pleasure for both Jackie and me.

So, as I round out this not so quick note, I thought I would give the trip a "Big Two Thumbs Up"!!

Wayne