. . . another great meal on the road. Only problem was no vino, beer, or liquor of any type. The lodge is on the reservation and the tribe has a special meeting going on for the weekend. Per their local ordinance, no liquor can be served to tribal or non-tribal members during the event. That included mbbt members too!!!

Yesterday was raining, cold, ugly weather and today we woke to a crisp 46 degrees, clear skies and no rain in the forecast . . . Yippee!!!!!

Mirror like finish on the lake as we headed out on our last day our ‘coup de gras’ . . . the climb over Logan Pass!

Heading back into the mountains from the plains . . .

. . . 17 miles of UPPPPPPP . . .

No traffic at 8:30am, but the traffic would build during the day. At least there would be no trucks allowed. The traffic gets so bad during the day on the west side that bicyclists need to get over the pass and past Lake McDonald by 11:00am. If you don’t make it there by 11:00am, you need to take the shuttle bus out, with your bike on the front or have an alternative was to get out. TommyH is driving today and the plan is for him to meet us at Lake McDonald in case we don’t make the time limit.

The start of our climb . . .

BEAUTIFUL fully lit scenes, corner after corner, as the sun shines over our shoulders . . .

Like Yosemite,in an effort to keep traffic down, Glacier offers a free shuttle service to park users. It runs about a very 20 minutes. Handy, especially for hikers that are starting out down the road. No need to worry about leaving a car.

Most of the valley, and mountain sides we rode through, had been burned several years ago. But as you can see, Mother Nature is making a come back. Nature abhors a vacuum.

I met Sally at one of the pullouts where she was walking Jack and Sasha, two Border Collies. She was having trouble getting them to do their morning business because they were not used to being on leashes. They are used to running free and didn’t like an audience!!!!!

On the Going to the Sun Road, east to west . . .

. . . this was a very interesting area, where the road turned back on itself . . .

You can see the road on the left and the right . . . lots of day hikers.

. . .  and lost of water flowing EVERYWHERE!!!!

Here is a touring concept from another era. The Park Service bought the fleet many years ago and the touring cars were recently reconstructed by Ford. Six bench seats and a retractable ‘ ragtop’. Looked like a fun way to tour the park.

After a 17 mile climb, Connie the Clydesdale was winded and we took a break at the pass . . .

. . . looking back over our shoulders we could see what we had climbed up . . .

. . . and looking ahead we could see what was to come . . . YESSSSSSSS an 11 mile downhill. Best and longest downhill I have ever ridden.

Here is part of the route down. Everyone’s hands got sore from the constant braking action needed to keep your bike from running away . . . or hitting cars in front of you on the procession down the mountain.

But . . . the vistas were stunning . . .

Looking back on the way down . . .

. . . on the bottom, we followed the river to Lake McDonald. Crystal clear water . . . you could see every detail on the bottom.

The G was the only one who made it to Lake McDonald within the time period allotted and was able to bike all the way to Whitefish. The rest of us met up with TommyH and, of course being hungry, headed to West Glacier for a little lunchy.

We had a yummy lunch and had a good time with our waitstaff, Diane. She was from Connecticut and, like the rest of the staff we have met, works in the National Parks during the three month summer season. She works in food service back in Connecticut at a University during the school year and has been doing the yin/yan thing for 10 years. She liked TommyH and said he reminded her of Jonathan Winters. When she served dessert, she had changed her mind and thought he resembled Bernie Sanders!!!! She said she had not  felt the ‘Bern’. He left her a BIG tip!!!!

We are staying at the Chalet Hotel for two nights. Also staying the first night were the staff of Austin Adventures, based in Billings, MT. They are starting a tour tomorrow through the Park with nine riders . . .

Kera was busy cleaning out the van. Here is the snack tray they have available at every SAG top along with their mascot. Sounded like a great trip with LOTS of pampering. You can read more about their tours here.

We had a great final dinner downtown at Loula’s, a place that Greg had eaten at many times. I had the Crab stuffed Salmon with Hoppin’ John and broiled Brussels Sprouts.

The G had the Chicken Pot Pie. It was so big he planned on saving half of it for the van ride back to Wisconsin . . .

. . . ten minutes later he realized that was not going to happen!!!!

Peanut butter chocolate cake for dessert and a stop at the local ice cream store, for single scoops, all helped bring our trip to a successful finish.

Sunday morning rolled around an it was time to load up the van for the BillyB and the G to head east back to Wisconsin . . .

Hard to believe everything fits in there but Greg, TommyH’s and my carryon’s. We fly out tomorrow.

TommyH, Greg and I had the day to explore Whitefish and Kalispell. We started at the annual Huckleberry Festival where Greg and TommyH had a corn dog followed by more goodies . . .

From there we walked, out to Whitefish Lake, on the city limits. We needed directions, so walked to the beach with Gwen with her two puppies

One last chance to go shopping. Using the TommyH mantra of . . . ‘I see, I need, I buy’  . . .

Greg was very excited over a jersey . . .

. . . and went gaga over it!!!!

I decided to go cowboy and bought a pair of boots and matching jeans (no belt buckle, though) . . .

And TommyH bought a black leather vest to go with his Harley. Here he is ready to practice his best Palladin ‘quick draw’ . . .

. . . but then suddenly broke into his best Fred Astaire impression of . . .

. . . ‘Singing in the Rain’ !!!!

Time for one last dinner in Whitefish . . .

. . . I think we will pass on this place.

We settled on Tupelo’s, Number #1 Trip Adviser recommendation and it was DELICIOUS!!!!!

clockwise: Greg had the ‘Not Quite Famous’ Mac & Cheese, TommyH had the thick cut Pork Loin girts/cornbread, I had the Low Country Shrimp and Grits with Tasso ham. DELICIOUS!!!

We couldn’t leave Montana without one more dessert. Biking miles today = 0. clockwise: Greg had the Sticky Toffee Creme Caramel, TommyH had the Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, I had the Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chantilly Creme. Nice way to end the night!!!!

Plane boards tomorrow at 5:00am so I guess we will leave for the airport at . . . 3:30am?????????

And so ended a great trip, through Jasper National Park, Banff National Park, Kootenay National Park, YoHo National Park, Waterton National Park and in the US, Glacier National Park.

The whole trip would not have happened without the meticulous planning conducted by Greg, whom we all toasted in appreciation.

His great sense of continuity, logistics, pre-planning, dealing with ‘on the road changes’, PLUS putting up with a minimum of four other opinions on how things should be done was commendable and resulted in this being such a wonderful experience for us all. Here in his typical fashion of, ‘taking one for the team’,  we searches for the best corner of the room to sleep in during his night on the floor in the triple. May not be on the couch!!!!

 

ps. I was the only one who never did see a bear. I REALLY felt left out when I even missed the bear found in a cherry tree in Whitefish!!!!!

We all slept great last night and were up in the restaurant at 7:30am when they opened. We have developed a pattern of being the first ones at breakfast!!!

Right outside of our hotel was a good view of the Bear Claw lookout I hiked up to yesterday.

Greg had  his own room last night with  fireplace in his living  room . . .

. . . and a fireplace in his bedroom. Plus a Jacuzzi tub!!!

We rolled out of the Waterton Valley and began a 5 mile, 8.5% average grade, ride towards the US border. Looking to the west there was a good view of the Prince of Wales hotel.

. . .and there was the Bear Claw lookout point again. Doesn’t seem quite that high when compared to the mountains around it!!!!

Yippee . . . real cowboys????

The climb seemed to go on forever and at such a slow speed one has PLENTY of time to look around and take in the scenery. I was also admiring the new roadbed. Very nice!!!!

In fact, the crews who had laid it were already out looking for areas that needed to be repaired . . .

. . . they also take core samples every kilometer to send in for analysis.

As you can see on my Garmin, the black dot being me, I had just ascended Mt Everest, starting from the left side of the screen, I was ready for one nice downhill. Banzaiii!!!!

 

We passed out of Waterton National Park and into the Blood Indian Reservation. The Canadian government deeded 4,300 acres to the tribe to use as a timber bank.

. . . and it is ONLY for tribal members.

As I made the final climb back up to the US border, the weather started looking a little UGLY!!!!

Soon I was across the border, as my trusty Garmin indicated . . .

The plaque at the border signifying the joint Peace Park designated between Canada and the United States.

Once again, another good change to see a BEAR. I’m still zero for zero!!!!

Right near the birder station there was an outfitter getting ready to head out into the bush.

I no more passed this Montana State border sign and it started to rain. It would rain for the rest of the day, sometimes so hard I had to squint between the top of my sunglasses and the visor on my helmet to see the road. NOT FUN!!  It was about here that it started to hail on BillyyB and me. The hail looked like popcorn bouncing off the road shoulder.

Wasn’t long before I saw this Border Patrol officers rig who was out patrolling out on horseback. Haven’t seen one on these since our Southern Tier ride along the US/Mexico border.

We descended out of the mountains on a really sweet downhill that took us into the small burg of Baab. Not much there, but they had a GREAT statue outside one of their schools!!

I’ve heard about these FedEx depots along the border. Canadians have parcels sent to these private depots near the border and then drive down to pick up their packages. Evidently delivery time to Canada is dreadfully slow because of Canadian customs. Must want them to shop locally!!!!

Off the reservation and back in the Park at Many Glacier . . .

. . . cycling along a 12 long mile road paralleling Lake Sherburne

. . . as I looked  ahead I saw something black . . .could it FINALLY be a bear . . .

NO!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT . . . I finally did see one on the side of the road . . .

As Ranger Bob (who used to work at Lake Kegonsa State Park in WI) explained in his chart. . .

. . . one should give a bear a WIDE berth . . .

I was so excited to see one, I shook his paw!!!

Soon I rolled through the park entrance and had a nice chat with Ranger Linda about the new road construction that will be started next year and take three years to complete!!! Hopefully the Park Service will use the same road standards their Canadian cousins do.

I rolled into Many Glacier in between rain storms. Very pretty setting with  . . .

. . . a big, old lodge, full of tourists!

Nice dining room!

They had a great photo display of how the glaciers are disappearing. This is one of probably twenty photos they had of various glaciers that have all melted. The shot above is from 1903 . . .

The same  vantage point is from 2012!!!

We left the Heritage Inn at the earliest hour yet . . . 9:00am and headed south to Waterton National Park and the Waterton Lake Lodge, our home for the night. We are out with the cowboys now!!!!

BEAUTIFUL rising today as we headed back into the mountains. Easy ups and downs, nice temps and blue sky. 66 degrees!!!

We passed this B&B for sale.Most of us bought to many Canadian dollars at the airport in Edmonton and don’t want to cash it back in to USD. So . . . we pooled it our cash and put a down payment on the B&B for a new mbbt clubhouse . . .

. . . room for the hole gang. We’ll collect from everyone else when we get home!!!!

GREAT vistas and we ride bank into the range YeEHAAA!!!!!

Yikes . . .Waterton sounds like fun!!!!

These two beauties came over to the fence to say Hi. I keep forgetting to take apples from the breakfast buffets to feed to critters along the way.

Well look at that . . .TNC of Canada doing the right thing out here in rural Alberta. They have a maple leaf as their logo rather than the oak leaf the US organizations uses.

First car kill I have seen on the road this trip. You can see the car parts strewn around behind it. I’m not sure if I have ever seen one with it’s eyes open. Looked like I had awakened her and she was ready to get up. Sad . . . .

We stopped at one of the many overlooks along the way . . . and TNC was featured again!

One of only about 10 of these I have seen across all the miles we have ridden on Canada . . .

. . . must have been a very happy person, well remember by their friends.

Quite the setting for a home . . . million dollar view out the back window, Snaren!!!

Special meaning for emJay!!!!!

Miles and miles of BEAUTIFUL scenery rolling by. Great road conditions, low traffic, blue sky, mild temps . . . wished we could ride forever!

Nearing the border. Love the French version!

We entered back into the Canadian National Park system, at Waterton Park. It shares a boundary with Glacier NP in the US. We cross the border into Glacier tomorrow.

As we rolled into the park . . . there was the famous Prince of Wales Hotel that has been so prominently displayed in so many photos spreads.

SLOW DOWN . . . bear crossing . . .

Signage everywhere . . . maybe I will finally see one. I did not.

We had a nice little lunchy on the balcony of our Lodges Restaurant. Marissa, a graphics art student from Calgary, put up with our bad jokes and corny behavior. A GOOD SPORT!!

TommyH had a NICE hamburger. Reminded us of Sprechers!

There are so many deer roaming around town that folks need to fence in anything you don’t want them to munch.

I went on a little ride about town. There is the Bear Claw hiking trail that ascends 700 feet to this FANTASTIC vista. Took 22 minutes to ascend and 20 be get back down again!

The Samsung phone takes better panoramas than my Canon. We are pedaling through that tomorrow!!!!

Looking the other way you can see the Prince of Wales Hotel below.

After I descend, I hopped on the bike and tooled over to check the hotel out . . .

Nice digs!!!!

Backroad’s bike tours was there too. They seem to have been shadowing us for the last week. They had the tablecloth topped folding table with goodies set up behind the vans. We have been relying on Cliff Bars we carry in our handlebar bags and water!!!! BUT, our tour didn’t cost $3,000/person either!!!!

I had to get a photo of Connie ‘The Clydesdale’  Cannondale and me in front of the hotel. The Old Girl has a lot of miles and memories of the many trips she has hauled me on in the US, and now Canada too. She has never let me down and been a good riding companion.

Here is the triple for tonight. The G is on the floor right next to our balcony door. Cozy!!!!

One thing about Canadian’s, they don’t like to eat too early in the morning. We continually have problems eating before 8:00am, even in touristy areas. Even getting coffee in our hotels/motels before 8:00am is impossible. We went to the Loaf this morning which opened at 8:00am. The owner had the front door propped open and invited us in . . . had to wait 10 minutes even for coffee. As you can see the G is usually ‘chomping at the bit’ to get on the road. Got all his duds on already!!

But it was worth the wait. We all had ‘The Works’, which reminded me of the full Irish breakfast, only no blood sausage. That should hold us for a few miles down the road . . . which are predicted to be VERY wet today. A 70% chance of rain in the afternoon near Pincher Cr, our home for the night.

After riding through 10 mile construction area with LOTS of trucks, torn up road and no shoulder we came to Sparwood, which is the home to the ‘Largest Truck In the World’.

You can see the size of it when comparing the children climbing in the wheel well. The truck was made in the 70’s and assembled on site. It would make 300 trips, 12 minutes each way, before it was down for 15 hours of maintenance. In the 90’s the turbo charger blew up and it was too expensive to fix the truck so now it sits outside of the Chamber of Commerce.

The rain spit on and off all day. Cloudy, cold and windy. Today we would cross over he Continental Divide for the second time . . . it’s out there somewhere!!

After much climbing, we all rolled over the top . . .

. . . including Hercules!!!!

Greg was there too . . . but the G had already rolled  over the top.

I had the ‘find’ of the day, a pair of orange sunglasses with lime green bows. Helped make the day a little brighter!!!

A big downhill once again brought us back into Alberta. We will stay in Alberta until we cross back into the United States, in two days.

Lots of lakes again, including this one with the MASSIVE outthrusted crust.

I heard a train approaching as I came upon a bridge and waited for it to pass . . .

. . . scurrying ahead I caught a view of it passing along the lake.

It was an ugly weather day so when we came to the Rum Runner and it was about 1:00pm we decided to spin in for some lunch. This is actually the first day we have stopped for a formal meal around noon . . .

. . . but with a dry  roof over our heads and 1/2 pound burger in our tummies, the world soon seemed right again. No drinking though . . . 27 more miles to ride on this 72 mile day.

They had lots of mounts in  the Rum Runner including this beautiful specimen. Would love to see one of these sauntering across a big field. Going the other way of course!!

One of the last towns we passed through before we reached Pincer Cr was Lundbreck, home of the ‘Oldest Liquor Store in the West’, or so they claim. It’s closed now. The price of liquor here in Canada may have driven them out of business!!!

Right outside the store was this ‘off the road’ tricycle, compete with bell to scare away bears!!!

Soon we came to the Frank Slide. One day in 1903, at 4:10am, a huge piece of limestone 3/4 of a mile long and 450 feet deep broke off the crest of Turtle Mountain slamming into the town of Frank, population 600. In about 90 seconds homes, buildings and lives were destroyed. 70 people were know to have died in the slide.

Not much looks very different from the day of the slide in 1903.

A few additional shots from last night show the feast we had prepared by Chef BillyB. Greg drove yesterday and did the shopping during the day . . .

Barbeque chicken, parmesan broasted potatoes and salad  . . . YUMMMMMMM!

TommyH was so excited about Greg’s ‘selfie stick’ . . .

. . . he dropped some of the chicken in his lap and it left a nasty stain right in his crotch. Luckily he had a “Shout Stick’ along and Shouted It Out. Us old people are ALWAYS spilling . . .

. . . but we do try to be tidy, especially Greg who did all the dishes and insisted we ‘air dry”!!!!

The boys take beer inventory every night, usually by sampling, and the G discovered tonight they were ‘dangerously’ close to being dry . . .

. . . only four cans left and we are once again 50 miles from now where!!!!!! I think they tossed and turned all night worrying about it.

No breakfast where we stayed so the G started out on the 74 mile day on an empty stomach. Seemed too darn right uncivilized to the rest of us, so we drove 20 miles to Cranbrook for breakfast and would end up with a 60 mile day.

At the restaurant BillyB met two British Columbia paramedics on the job. They have an interesting system where the province only has one national ambulance service that provides emergency support to the whole province. Every little burg does not need to worry about, recruiting, training and equipping their own service. An advantage to socialized medicine?

Billy and I both had the brisket hash with potatoes and eggs. We could have split a portion!!!

In fact he didn’t finish his . . . I’m riding today so ate every scrap of mine!!!!

TommyH’s breakfast burrito was TOO BIG TO EAT, so he got a cute little to-go box to carry on his bike!

We decided to fuel up before we left civilization. $1.149 for gas . . . not too bad? Canadians price their gas by the litter (approx. 4 liters equal 1 US gallon) so that’s $1.149 PER LITER. You can do the math!

Needed to fuel up on beer too. By asking around, Greg our tour guide, found the best deal in town . . .

Yikes!!!!! We need to do the math to find out if a gallon of beer is more expensive than a gallon of gas. Needless to say, there is more sipping going on at night, than guzzling!!!!

Greg rolls out onto the dry pavement that would quickly become wet. Clouds and rain come and go in the mountains. Greg, TommyH and I road in and out of the rain most of the day while the G never felt a drop!!!

I hope we see some ponies!!!

This guy could read the sign and felt was safe to graze along the road.

BillyB hopscotched with us all day, proving SAG. One nice thing about driving is you can stop and have a nice lunch. Which he did here. In fact he started his dessert . . .

. . . before his yummy hamburger showed up!!!

Sky looks ugly to the south . . . to rain coat up or not, that is the question.

. . . how many more miles to go???

The last 30 miles had some great downhill’s as we headed to our overnight town of Fermie.

British Columbia,  as well as Alberta, are VERY concerned about wildfires and there are signs everywhere . . .

. . . right across the street there was a remote satellite telemetry weather station, just like we use in Wisconsin to help predict the fire weather.

On the way down we came across a 3 kilometer zone where there must be LOTS of problems with wildlife crossing the road. They had cameras about every 100 yards all the way through the zone. That truck is a good example of the type of traffic you constantly have going by you, ALL DAY at 70 miles per hour, only about 6 feet away from your bike!!! It’s numbing . . . .

After having seen no wildlife in the zone, as I approached the end of the Wildlife Alert zone I noticed a deer tail in the road . . .

. . . which led me to look in the  ditch and there was a car killed deer. One of the few dead things we have seen along the road on the whole trip.

It is AMAZING how new life appears in nature from dead life. Natural recycling. If you do not have too queasy of a stomach, click here !!!!

For those that do get queasy . . . look at this yummy creation below!!!!

As I made my final approach to Fermie, the first thing I saw was a DQ. I have not had one on this trip yet, so reliving my end of the day TransAm tradition, I wheeled in for a yummy ice cream novelty. I will only do this once though. Soon TommyH appeared too!!!

Here is the triple room for tonight. The bunks reminded of us the ‘submarine’ we had on our Lake Tahoe bike trip.

We compared the ‘roadside treasures’ we had found along the way today. I found this flag. With fantastic scenery, ‘free’ medical care,  relatively low taxes, no ‘The Donald” and no Hillary, cool weather and no mosquitos,  I am thinking of having emJay and the ‘D’ Fed Ex’ed up here and staying!!!

The G took  the cake today for the big fins though . . . probably $500 worth of had tied fishing ties.

One of his son-in-laws is a BIG fly fisherman so he is going to get on nice gift!!!

We could have eaten in again tonight but decided to go out for dinner.

Most of us went out to a place that catered to puppies too!!!!

Pizza, flatbreads, beer, salad . . . plenty of carbs all around.

Missy was our two-handed server. Five years ago Canada mandated the switchover to these table top machines in any restaurant, convenience stores, etc. Gave vendors 18 months to switch over. After that the old system would not be operative. Works wonderful. Your chip card transaction is done right at the table, your credit card never leaves your sight, it prints out your receipt and you are on your way. We have a lot of catching up to do in the US. We had to sign for every transaction because our banks have not issued PIN numbers yet. What’s the holdup????

So . . . we have seen chipmunks, marmots, I saw a mule deer with a rack today but here are the most impressive sightings:

BillyB 2 grizzly’s, 1 black bear

Greg 1 black bear, 1 grizzly’s

TommyH 3 grizzly’s

TommyH 2 grizzly’s’, 1 black bear

Rick ZERO of any bears!!!!!  (I must be riding too fast!!)

It REALLY rained last night and we thought it was going to delay our departure this morning but it had stopped sometime during the night and the streets were dry!! G headed out about 8:30am and the rest of us hit the road at 9:30am.

Yippee!!!! I hope we see some ponies along the way today.

They are serious about driving safely in the snow here in British Columbia.

Soon along the way we saw an invasive species check station . . .

. . . I pulled in to have a chat with the gang.

No Zebra Mussels in BC or Alberta yet and they are determined to keep them out. Brian and Matt, of the Ministry of Natural Resources, are on the job helping keep invasive aquatic critters out.

This cleaning machine is high pressure and the spray can be heated. If treating a craft for Zebra Mussels, they crank the temp of the solution up to 40 Celsius which will kill them.

We biked along two long beautiful lakes today. Looking across Lake Invermere you could see the famous Fairmont Spa Resort. Biggest hot spring operation in British Columbia. Fairmont also owns the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff.

First roadside memorial I have seen on this trip. Canadians must be better drivers than us.

The road was excellent today. Wide shoulder, new pavement and relatively low traffic. We seemed to have left behind the busiest tourist areas. The second lake we biked along was Columbia Lake, the headwaters of the Columbia River.

Beautiful scenery as we rolled south to our overnight stop, Skookumchuck.

No restaurants nearby, so Greg stopped in Canal Flats for groceries. A cookout again tonight!!!

Interesting business in Canal Flats. We all stopped by for Ear Candling. Quite an experience!!!!

Some tourists had stopped their camper along the shoulder so the kids could feed the horses. Nice . . .

We left Columbia Lake behind and pedaled the last 20 miles to Skookumchuck. Right about at this point BillyB saw another black bear. This one ran down a steep bank, crossed the road and back up the other side. Everyone has seen a bear, several in fact, EXCEPT ME!!!!

After a 60 miles ride, we’ve were set up at the motel by 3:30pm, all showered, got the clothes drying on the line,  and started cocktail hour by 4:30pm

We were all up by 6:00am. Breakfast was not until 8:00am but they had coffee makers in the rooms and they gave us extra coffee packets packets. The highlight of the morning coffee discussion was the G’s description of how a mouse ran across his face as he slept on the floor in Cabin 8!!!! “I could feel the claws across my face and I set an Olympic high jump record”, he stated. Hope he has a tetanus shot!!! Cold continental breakfast but we all ‘carbo loaded’.

The ‘G’ was an accountant when he was on the job and in fact started long enough ago that this is the type of machine he used to balance  the State of Wisconsin budget. They are still using it at the resort!!!!

Our cabin resort was so far out in the bush there was no electricity available and the resort had their own generator. Ran 24/7/365!!!!

Brittany and Lisabeth were ready to clean up after the mess we left behind! It’s Brittany’ second summer at the resort and Lisabeth’s first. They are two of the four staff that live on site with the husband and wife team owners. Not sure if they ever get a day off and if they do where do they go!!!!

Everybody else bailed on the ride yesterday when it started raining, except me.  They turned north in the van and headed back 10 miles for their start. I turned south from the cabins and headed south to Radium Hot Springs. It was the PERFECT day. Downhill, the sun was bright, no wind and NO TRAFFIC. With Asleep at the Wheel on the headphones I headed south. THE PERFECT DAY!!!!

. . . only way it could have been better is with my Smoochie riding by my side. Next trip!!!!

Very few car killed critters along the road. As I pedaled along I saw what looked like an orange with a snake head attached to it. In Canada??? Implementing my 5 second rule ( if I am still thinking about a potential photo five seconds after I ride by, it I go back), I turned back. No Snake . . . but their was an an orange peel and some critter had pooped on it. Nature at it’s best!!!

Lot’s of traffic on the road in the afternoon. Here are the remnants of one less vehicle on the road. Burned down . . . hopefully the driver got out OK.

Nice view over my shoulder. Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up every morning, get your cup of jojo and sit our on the porch with my Smoochie and the D, and admire this view.

The Provinces do quite a job of fencing their interstate/major roads with a six foot fence. But how does wildlife get from one side of the road to another? I noticed these breaks in the fence and thought they hadn’t finished the installation . . .

. . . I finally look at the other side of the road and there was a matching setup.. The critters walk out on one side of the road, cross the road, and through the one the other side to safety. Of course only if they don’t get hit by a car.

Kootenay Crossing . . . 60 miles from nowhere. Maybe one of the loneliness outposts of the Canadian Parks system.

A LONGGGGGGGGG climb resulted in summiting Sinclair Pass. What a view. How could it be improved?

. . . add one happy old guy retiree, beaming from ear to ear, because of the ‘zen like’ state he is experiencing!!!!

I had reached the top of the climb, as my Garmin shows. I’m ready to drop off the side of  the world!!!!

Yessssssssssssss . . . .

. . . they even had a map of the 7.5 mile downhill into Radium Hot Springs.

That’s me . . . the tortoise!!!!

These run outs are a lot steeper that in this photo. If an eighteen wheeler loses braking power the driver takes this 60 percent ride to defeat gravity and speed of their runaway truck.

Soon I rolled into the city of Radium Hot Springs, our overnight.

. . . local architecture, interesting!!!

We are staying at the Crystal Springs Hotel. Nice place!

TommyG, Greg and I are in the Triple. BillyB and TommyH are in the Double.

. . .the Gallagher suite. He was on the floor last night with the mice . . . I am on the floor tonight. No mice in this place!!!

BIG discussion about today’s ride over the pass.

We ‘balanced the books’ tonight to bring our finances up to date and the G, our accountant, declares success. All the figures balanced!!!

We are hoping to have a steak fry outside tonight on the patio . . .

. . . but first appetizers. Billy slices and samples!!!

Here is the grill area . . . unfortunately it started raining . . . REALLY raining. We were able to grill our steak . . .

. . . thanks to chef BillyB who braved the storm to be our grill meister . . .

. . . and was working towards getting things just right. Five riders . . . five levels of doneness!!!

. . . PERFECTION ( I only wanted the six ounce version)!!!!

The five us us then polished off a half gallon of Rollo infused ice cream.

TommyG did  the honors of cleanup. Nice guy!!!!   70% change of rain tomorrow . . . should be interesting!!!!

We woke around 6:00am but no breakfast until 7:00am, so we decided . . .

. . . to have a map meeting. Lots of riding options today and weather was going to be an issue.

So . . . better start out with the breakfast buffet which of course was an  . . . ‘all you care to eat’ type of affair!!!

TommyH wanted Eggs Benedict, which were not included on the buffet, so order ala carte. He also received about 5 pounds of potatoes with the eggs. He ran out of room!!!!

Greg is having such a great time up here he has got a part time job driving a bus around town. He drops us off for ride in the morning and moves on to pick up the kiddies going to summer school!!!!

Rain forecasted today so people are moving slowly as we decided what to do today. Here were three old ‘geezers’ sitting outside of our hotel waiting for their Social Security checks!!!

We finally decided to try to beat the rain today and headed to Castle Mountain, our ending point from yesterday. On the way down from Deer Lodge we saw these three elderly Asian women hauling their suitcases up the 5 mile hill. Would be interesting to know what their story was!!!!

 

We finally  got on the road by 1:00PM . . . our latest start yet!!!

Only seven miles to Vermillion Pass . . .

Good thing we don’t have any apples along today . . .don’t throw them out the window!!! Tomorrow it’s banana peels!

We made got up to the divide and had took the customary photo . . .

. . . believe it or not we had a ‘brisk’ tailwind that helped push us us the mountain.

Once we started the downhill run we entered British Columbia . . .

. . . where they take speeding VERY seriously!!!

Great downhill runs from the top!!!

As I pulled into the Paint Pot’s roadside attraction and walked 1 km into the pot area it began to rain . . .

The pools are formed from iron oxide deposits that have been pushed up from underground springs. 

Looks like a hot tub!!!! If it was warm water, I might have jumped in!!!

Two fires have burned through the area, in 2000 and 2003 burning over 8,000 acres. I road through miles and mile of burned timber. You can see the reproduction, about 12 year olds, coming through the dead trees.

Here is where we re staying tonight and in fact . . .

. . . the place was threatened by the fires and luckily for us survived (otherwise we would have been sleeping in the van).

We have cabins 7 & 8. Nice and cozy once we turned the heat on!!! Looks like Ma and Pa kettle sitting out on the porch of Number 8.

Our entertaining area . . .

, , , full kitchen

. . . two beds and a cot.

They have had bear sighting in the area though so we have three locks to protect us!!!! (ps. Forgot to mention that yesterday BillyB and TommyH saw a grizzly and a black bear while cycling down the road).

If the bears don’t get you the electrical fire that comes off of all these extension cords might!!!!

If was a great experience at the Lodge and in fact we had dinner there which was a lovely affair AND reasonably priced by Canadian food standards . . .

. . . even enough left for peach crumble with ice cream for everyone!!!

 

It felt creepy though with this guy watching. Seemed like wherever you went in the lodge dining room his eyes would follow you!!!!

Tomorrow onto Radium Hot Springs!!!!

Tommy, Billy and I got up early and our hotel was not serving breakfast until 7:00am, so at 6:30am we found the local bakery!!

Soon we were checked out of our hotel and heading to our pick up point yesterday afternoon, Peote Lake. Beautiful morning as the crew headed south.

An hour and a half down the road it was time for a little snack . . .

. . . including Billy’s unique little ‘flask’ filled with trail mix. Brilliant idea . . . he should patent it!!!

. . . don’t gulp too much though!

Here Billy and TommyH pass under an overpass . . . looks innocent enough

. . . but many of the underpasses do not have a road over the top rather a ‘wildlife corridor’ such as this one. It allows wildlife to traverse from one side of the road to another without becoming road kill.  Brilliant!!!

BillyB and TommyH leading the way out for . . .

TommyG and Greg

. . . as they all parallel creeks, after streams, after rivers. Visually stunning and water running everywhere!!!!

If only one could ride with earphones. The traffic is UNBEARABLE and we are hoping it will diminish some as we head west. As we rolled through a park entry point, one can see the lines of cars waiting to get into the park.

After finishing the days ride, we had enough daylight left so decided to drive over to Banff and check it out since our riding route will not take us there. Yikes . . . it was as bad as Wisconsin Dells. Traffic EVERYWHERE and hundreds of souvenir shops.

But there is one site not to miss and that is the grand dame of a hotel, The Banff Springs.

So we decided to tour around some . . .

walking through the concierge stations . . .

. . . here was one of the dining rooms being set up for an Indian wedding which are known to last for days. TommyH tried to talk his way into being  invited but still wearing his biking kit, was promptly turned away. That is beginning to become a habit for our group, not being admitted to venues because of our clothing!!!!

So, we headed back to our rooms at Deer Lodge, located right next to the Lake Louise Chateau. Great old wooden hotel with a great dining room.

One of the nice lounge areas. Gets chilly enough up here for a fire at night.

But speaking of fire . . . in these great old WOODEN hotels, best to know where the closest fire escape is. As the attendants always say on planes , , , “the closest exit may be located behind you!”

We decided to eat right at Deer Lodge . . .  a good choice! I had the flank steak, medium rare, with an eggplant tomato salad and onion crisps, a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon  . . .

. . . and topped it off with a crème brulee. Should sleep good tonight. Tomorrow we climb over the Continental Divide. Should have these calories worked off before noon!!!!

1. 

The peloton is usually all together for the morning group shot and within he first 5 minutes we are split up. Some stop to take photos, some stop to pee, some stop to pee again, some stop to eat. But we usually group up again every 5-10 miles.

We vanned out to our ending point from yesterday which was right near a large over view, literally built  off the side of the mountain. The walkways had glass planks. Not sure if I would have walked out  on that!!!!

. . . .but there were busloads of tourist who paid the for the $40 admission including a round trip bus ride out Jasper.

Oh . . . there is snow and ice up there in them there hills!!!

Soon we could see the Columbia Ice fields in the distance. Of course distance in the mountains is a relative thing and hard to estimate.

We had planned to group up at the Columbia Ice Fields Visitor center. My sister and I were here with my grandparents about 40 years ago. Surprisingly for me, lots of memories flooded back into my brain!!!

As we met in the gravel parking lot one of the gang was SOOOO taken by the views he for got to unclip from their pedals and took a tumble (no names mentioned to protect the innocent).

Here is the snow cat ambulance that responded to the scene. We see if Medicare pays for it!!!!!

Soon we left the ice fields and Jasper National Park crossing into Banff National Park which we will ride through for the next several days.

We had a BIGGGG downhill as we descended the pass. Again distance is a relative thing in the mountains and here you can barely make out TommyH as he approaches the bottom of the pass. Too much traffic, too many curves and a bumpy road prevented stopping along the way.

Soon we met up, at The Crossing,  with BillyB who was driving the van today. There is always a discussion about where we are and where may be a good place to meet up again for water refills or a little snack. The van usually hopscotch’s ahead of us.

It was time to have a little lunchy. TommyH and I had a hankering for a roller dog. At $7.99 CND, we decided to pass!!!! (not sure of the bun was included). Food is expensive in these tourist area of Jasper and Banff. Ever meal seems to start at about $20.00, including breakfast!!! However, the USD is relatively strong .

We have been bumping into a self supported Adventure Cycling Association tour riding through the Rockies. Brings back my memories of crossing the United States eight years ago on the TransAm.

We have our own security contingent along, TommyG keeps an eye on our VALUABLE us rigs!!!

There is a feeling that the thinner air has a great effect on those from the Midwest. It was about mid afternoon and I was starting to get hungry again. Everything reminded me of food . . . .

. . . was that a giant slice baked potato I say down by the stream? where is the butter and sour cream????

Great view to the east.

Now this critter looks tasty . . . say they taste like chicken!!!

 

TommyH and I came upon this juicy juice that had been place out on the road by TommyG. He found it on the side of the road after he and Greg had stopped to discuss the Grizzly bear they had just seen. They came over a rise and 100 feet ahead and out 20 feet from the shoulder was a the bear. They crossed to the other side of the road and   gave it a wide berth. When it saw them, it turned around and scampered back into the forest. Greg could have sworn he saw  blood dripping from it’s canines and the G thought he saw and arm with arm warmers still attached hanging from it’s mouth!!!!

 

 

One more downhill  . . .

. . . and one more big guy to see on the side of the road.

before we came to the end of out ride today.

Lots of traffic so we vanned into Lake Louise.

Tonight we are at the Mountaineer for our first night in Lake Louise and then we move to Deer Lodge. Lake Louise is PACKED with tourists!!!!

Nice place with great views AND a guest laundry!!!

We sort of take over a place when we move in. We are on the second floor so put some of our ‘excess luggage’ to good use!!!

We have a driving and room rotation set up for this adventure. Two in one room every night and three in the other (usually means one on the floor). Tonight the G and I had the double.

Soon it was time for dinner. We went to the Post Lodge but they wouldn’t let us in the dining room because the G and TommyH had  shorts on!!! They steered us to their pub which had ‘casual dining’ available. AND a rib special tonight . . .

YUM!!!!!!

We still had enough daylight left so we scooted out to the Chateau Lake Louise. This was  another stop on the trip with my grandparents 40 years ago. It seemed like yesterday. We decided to have a drink in the lounge but it was only open for paying guests!!!! They directed us to a ‘pub’ in the basement and there was a half hour wait. So much for just having a quick nightcap. Oh yeah, rooms at the Chateau start at $541CND/night!!!

Lake Louise in the fading evening light.