What next!?

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No post yesterday as the Wifi was down at our hotel.

It was a long day, and the first two thirds were roads that we had already traveled. We saw a few bikes heading north still. We wish them good luck. Last we heard was that it would be this week. But once it does open, there will be 3 or 4 days worth of backed up trucks and other travelers all going the same way. The last third of the ride was wonderful from Grande Prairie to Jasper, AB. The trip down the Ice Fields Parkway had been recommended by another rider in Ft Nelson. We had mountains on both sides of us, but rain a lot of the time. Jasper reminds me of the little towns around Boulder, CO. Same atmosphere, and same sort of people. As the Wifi was down, we went to the Ded Dog Saloon, recommended by the hotel bartender. Good local be, and good people. Stayed entirely too long, and it was rough starting this morning. We canx our ferry reservations, and since it was not our fault the road was out, gave us 100% refund. Pam immediately told me she’d put it aside for when we reschedule. I’m a lucky man! We’re already discussing when, where, and how to do this again.

After we did get going this morning, we had a great ride. It was low 30’s when we started, and didn’t get to 60 until late this afternoon. But with the warm wx gear on, the sun shining, it was phenomenal. This area is absolutely breath taking, in the views, the roads, and wildlife. I took 142 pictures before noon. It gets tiring looking for wildlife waiting to jump out in front of you, but is necessary. Today we saw several deer, 2 black bears, a brown bear, bald eagle, and a group of big horn sheep that were happy sitting in the road. An RV from the other direction, and us headed south had to sit and wait for them to get up and move, which they did with no sense of urgency. We got up to 2100 meters elevation, and there was still snow on the sides of the road. Because of the time we started, and headed south, we had the road mostly to ourselves until about 10 o’clock. Then the tour buses started to roll in, but they were all headed north. No issues crossing the US border, and the agent told us that he had other bikes cross today after aborting rides up the ALCAN. We met 2 of them at our hotel. They had come from Huston, and turned back at Edmonton. They had talked to some others that were changing plans as well. According to the almanac, this was the correct time to go there, as the rainy season doesn’t normally start until late June. We’re both a bit puzzled by the number of people we talk to, headed that way, and have no idea there are any issues. We don’t discourage anybody, just provide them with the web site for the road conditions.

So here we are in Whitefish, MT. We had planned to spend tonight here, and then ride through Glacier Nat’l Park tomorrow, before heading south to Yellowstone. Guess what, Glacier is closed due to snow and mx at the higher elevations. Parts of it are open, but you cannot go from one side to the other. Had a couple of local beers and a burger, and we’ll look at the maps tonight and decide where to next. We are still having a great ride, seeing and going to extraordinary places. The only discussions related to work are the fact that we don’t want to.

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Photos

Just a teaser
A whole bunch more of these when I get back

Continental Divide
at this pont it is also the border between Alberta and British Columbia

Mike
at one of the many overlooks along the highway.

Comments

[RorBob]

Any day away from work....
Have a great time.