Often when I'm on a motorcycle trip I run into fascinating people while on other days, the emphasis is on the ride. Today was one of those days. We really didn't stop anywhere for much time so it was one of those days to enjoy the ride.
The day started with a stop at Starbucks in the Safeway store in Castlegar and then we were on the road. East of Castlegar Highway 3 climbs out of the valley and into the mountains. From a temperature in the high 20s, it grew cooler as we climbed and when we reached the top of the pass it was quite refreshing.
Between Castlegar and Salmo
Between Salmo & Creston
The ride between Castlegar and Salmo was a great start to the day with light traffic. We quickly made it to Salmo and the beginning of the Salmo-Creston Skyway. The highway topped out at 1734 metres and the temperature was perfect. The only drawback was that about twenty kilometres of the road had just been seal coated and the riding was not great. The ruts caused our motorcycles to feel like they were wandering and there was always the concern that approaching traffic would throw up rock chips. It seems as if that didn't happen, but we were glad to see the end of that section of the highway.
For the fourth time this year for me, and the second for Garry, we arrived in Creston. After stopping for a short break we headed out of town, making a short stop at a local farm to buy fresh Lapin cherries. The samples we had were so tasty that I bought two pounds of them.
Once again, the ride was just excellent. The country here is beautiful during the summer and today was an outstanding day. We stopped at Yahk, BC with the hope that we might see a CPR train passing through but it was not to be. We did however, make a good dent in one of the bags of cherries before we hit the road for the last seventy kilometres to Cranbrook.
Yahk, BC: Highway 3 and the CPR line
On the way in to Cranbrook we crested a hill and saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time. The sight was almost breathtaking and a harbinger of things to come on the east side of the city.
On the west side of Cranbrook there is a large railway museum but most of the locomotives and cars are outside and exposed to the elements. Cranbrook gets good winter weather so many of the exhibits are showing the results of that exposure. I suspect that the museum is run by volunteers and keeping all of the rolling stock in good condition must be a daunting task.
Our first stop in Cranbrook was at Harley-Davidson of the Kootenays to deal with a slight leak in my brake fluid reservoir. The service writer tightened the screws and cleaned off the leaked fluid. Next was a visit to Telus. Garry's personal cell phone has been malfunctioning and he decided to buy a new one in Cranbrook before we cross into the United States tomorrow. Since the process of activating the phone and changing his accounts took time, I rode to Starbucks mainly because of their excellent air conditioning which was welcome because the temperature was in the mid-thirties.
Harley Davidson of the Kootenays. Lots of motorcycles.
The last leg of today's ride was the hundred kilometres to Fernie. As we rode east the Rocky Mountains became more prominent. In addition traffic became quite heavy. One of the frustrating parts of this part of the ride was that there were very few passing lanes and although there were many dotted lines it seemed that there was very little traffic when there were double solid lines, but when we had broken lines there was almost oncoming traffic. Sitting behind a motor home dawdling along at eighty kilometres per hour in a one hundred kph zone is decidedly frustrating. Even incredible scenery does little to relieve that frustrating feeling.
Three views of a mountain east of Cranbrook
As we approached Fernie the mountains were closer and more spectacular. The highway twisted and turned following the contours of the land. The last fifty kilometres to Fernie was some of the most scenic we have seen yet. And we have seen quite a lot of beautiful country over the past three days.
The road to Fernie, BC
As we entered Fernie we made the decision to stop at the Super 8 motel, so we haven't yet actually been in Fernie yet. That will happen tomorrow because we found that Fernie has a Starbucks and we plan on Starting our day there. Across the highway a small river runsby and after we settled in I took some photos. To my delight, I saw a fly fisherman in the river. For me there's something special about seeing a person fly fishing. I think it's the combination of patience and skill that a good fly fisherman must have t be successful. In some ways a lone fly fisherman standing in a clear stream is iconic. Anyway, it is always a sight that I enjoy.
Across the highway from out motel in Fernie, BC
Fly fisherman on the Elk River in Fernie, BC.
Another view from our motel in Fernie, BC
Berries along the Elk River
Another view of the Elk River and mountains beyond.
Tomorrow we will ride into Alberta then turn south through Glacier National Park before making the decision on which highway we will take in Montana. Our original plan was to ride the Highway to the Sun but this evening Garry found out that the road is closed because of a fire. That's a bit of a disappointment but we'll cope. We covered only 340 kilometres today but it was a very good day and tomorrow promises to be a great one as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment