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I had to get out of town. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. So at 8:30
am Saturday I packed up my VFR and headed out the garage. And I made the only
mistake I was to make the entire weekend: I took 9 all the way from Woodinville
to the BC border. Now don’t get me wrong: 9 is a beautiful road once you
get past Arlington, but until then, it’s two-lane traffic hell. This delayed
me slightly… The beauty of this trip, however, was to remain with the
fact that I was missing two things: a speedometer/odometer and a clock. Therefore
I didn’t know how fast I was going or if I was late. This makes for an
interesting trip, that’s for sure.
Day 1
I crossed the Canadian border at Sumas/Abbotsford around 10am, where I upset
the border guard with one of my answers.
Border Guard: “Where are you going?”
Me: “Around.”
Border Guard (with slightly irritated look): “Can you be more specific?”
Me: “Oh, sorry. I’m not sure – probably up near Kamloops”
She let me go without even looking at my ID. I love National Security!!!
From Abbotsford I headed north to Mission and followed #7 east to Hope, where I got to work recruiting for STN. I had pulled in for fuel and two bikes pulled in behind me. One was a metric cruiser, the other an 1100RT. They mentioned that they had just met on the ferry from Victoria (where they’re from) and so I handed them each one of my “STN – Official STN Greeter” business cards I just happened to have with me. The cruiser was headed north, but the RT and I were both heading east on #3. “Large Bob”, as he introduced himself led the two of us on a spirited ride over the Crow’s Nest highway. Obviously I don’t know our speed, but I maintained about 6K RPM, which, IIRC, means about 85mph. Just fast enough to keep it interesting. And the traffic! I keep hearing how terrible it is on that stretch, but I don’t think that we passed more than half a dozen cars the entire way to Princeton. The day started out chilly, with heavy but high clouds, and these same clouds spit at us while on #3, but not for long. The RT rider and I parted ways at Princeton and I stopped for my first time (other than fuel) at 2:20. Oops – time for breakfast!
From Princeton I went north on 5A – beautiful road!!!! It starts out rather twisty and then straightens out until you reach 97C. From here I headed west to Merritt where I once again took up the Nirvana of 5A into Kamloops. It was now 5pm. Time to make tracks! I took the oh-so-dull #1 east until I found the turnoff for 97 to Vernon. I was going to take this road at one point last year, but was turned away because of the forest fires. I’m glad that I tried it again, as it’s a much better alternative than staying on the #1. I could see why they closed the road as well – the trees were scorched right up to the edge of the road and entire hillsides were nothing more than blackened spires. It must have been amazing to see the fires!
From 97 I headed south on 97A through Vernon and into Kelowna, arriving around 7:30. I had a bit of search to find a “reasonably priced” motel, but eventually ended up in a small room right off the highway, where I was privy to the sound of every single vehicle that drove by!! Grrrr. I had a nice steak dinner, crawled into bed and wondered why people watch tv…
Day 2
I found myself awake at 7:30 (according to CNN – they’re kind enough
to post EST on their channel) and was back on the road by 7:45. This time I
headed south on #33. I had been on this road once before and really enjoyed
it and was looking forward to riding it again. Today I felt the inclination
to pull out the camera, so there are plenty of pictures. It was cold –
I could see the frost along the side of the road – and the Canadian Forest
Rats were out in profusion!!! A few looking at me from the side of the road,
a small herd feeding in the fields… luckily, they saw the “VFR”
(“Vicious Forest Ratcatcher”) on the side of my bike and ran away.
Where #33 ends at Rock Creek I headed east to Midway, where I made my first stop to try and warm up. There were a couple of bikers there as well, and they came over to say Hi. One of them travels around with his beagle on the back of his bike – a rather interesting set up. They were both friendly and said I was very “brave” to ride down the 33 this morning because it was so cold. Uh huh. The guy with the beagle made some road recommendations and then I was on my way.
The crossing point at Midway was cute – one bored looking guard commenting on what a nice day for a ride it is and asking if I had even been arrested. Hehe – the very thought of that makes me laugh. Anyway… From Midway I followed the road towards Curlew, but took the turn off west towards Wauconda (one of the recommendations). I’m glad I did! What a fun road, almost no traffic, very little civilization and excellent scenery. Oh, and three American Forest Rats (the only ones I saw the entire trip) who had to display their bravado by not only running on the road, but running towards me! All three of them… I honked my horn, which seemed to have confused them quite a bit and they took off, first left, then right, eventually finding the forest. Stupid creatures…
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Along the way past Beaverdell |
On the way to Wanconda |
From Wauconda I reached #20 and headed east again to Republic. More fun roads. At Republic I headed south on #21 all the way to Keller Ferry (the second recommendation). I was tempted to skip this, but I’m glad that I didn’t. It’s a cute little ferry that can hold maybe 3 cars total. No fee, no real schedule. The two guys just go back and forth between the two docks whenever there are cars there. Oh, and #21? Beautiful. It follows the Sanpoli River which means that it winds back and forth and up and down. Once you get to Keller it has straightened out a bit, but it’s still a good ride.
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The northern landing point of the Keller Ferry |
Here comes the ferry |
After Keller Ferry I continued south to Wilber (no gas!). The roads really straighten
out and the air becomes quite hot and dry once you get south of the Columbia
here. Rolling fields and small ranch houses dot the landscape, with tractors
causing great clouds of dust to roll towards the heavens. It’s very peaceful.
I went very fast. I then hopped onto 174 to head northwest to Grand Coulee.
I had seen the dam previously, so I just stopped by to get some “STN wuz
here” pictures.
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Look back towards the Keller Ferry |
My VFR at the Grand Coulee Dam |
The guys at Midway recommended 174 to Brewster, but I wanted to see what 155 to Omak was like, and I’m glad I did. More nice rolling sweepers, especially after Nespleem. Wheeee! From Omak I took #20 to Winthrop where I sat down for breakfast/lunch at 3:00 (again, my first real stop of the day – my how time flies when you’re on a bike!). There were many, many cruisers there, and a small pack of sport bikes, but no one I recognized. I ate my meal, paid and left. Time to fight the land yachts… I hit the North Cascades Highway with a vengeance. The road was in great shape, I passed… um… aggressively and the sun continued to shine warmly. Small amounts of snow melt was oozing across the roads which I cautiously rode over. I have almost no tread left on the rear tire but I have plenty of tread on the sides, so I tried to stay leaned over as much as possible.
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The road to Omak |
Wilbur - its out there somewhere |
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My bike on Washington Pass |
A serious warning sign near the Methow Valley |
I made one more stop in Newhalem for a breather and then hoofed it home to Seattle. Rolled into town about 6:30, a little tired but very content and ready to go again tomorrow. Too bad I have to go to work instead….
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Washington Pass on the North Cascades Hwy |
On the way to Darrington |