ROUTE 66 (LAST DAY ON THE ROAD)

I woke about 6:30 am and heard King just coming in the front door. He had already gone to the gym, worked out, showered and went to the Golden Arches and brought me back coffee, a smoothie, a yogurt parfait and was preparing toasted waffles. What a guy!
It looked like a nice morning out and I was excited that this was my last day on the road. In less than four hours I would be pulling into my driveway and shutting down this beast for awhile. Today was not about scenery so please don't expect any photos. Today was the last of 30 days and 7,604 miles of hard riding through rain, wind, heat and cold. It was an adventure I will remember forever.

My wonderful house sitters took care of everything and left the place cleaner than when I left back in June. My fur kids (cats), were both waiting and soon figured out who I was again and then it was non stop purring. I have a very filthy bike and trailer that need a major bath. The whole island could use a good mowing and of course the laundry. So, home sweet home and a busy weekend as well.

Please stay tuned for my next adventure.

ROUTE 66 (DAY 29)

When I woke up it was so cold in the camper that I could see my breath. Yesterday I had passed into the Eastern time zone but had forgot to adjust my watch. Thinking I had gotten on the road by 9:00 am it was actually 10:00 am. I had told my friend, King, that I would be in Sudbury that evening. He had kindly invited me to stay at his apartment. I found the scenery had significantly deteriorated after passing the Soo (Sault Ste. Marie) and the steep craggy cliffs of granite were replaced with flatter farm land. I shot this photo on a beach only a few yards from the highway. It was quite windy and the temperature had only risen to about 16'C (mid 60's F) but two brave little girls were actually swimming.

The ride into Sudbury was somewhat uneventful and visiting King was a wonderful way to spend my last night on the road. He is the perfect host. He gave up his own bed, went out to the grocery store for tonic and limes, took me out to dinner and toured me around the highlights of Sudbury.

This is a heavy duty mining town that is known for it's nickel ore. Like Wawa, it has a huge sculpture of a "nickel" (Canadian 5 cents) mounted up on a prominent hilltop looking over the town. We had to see it before the sun went down as I would be leaving in the morning and he was off to work early. As you can see, we had a little photographic fun with it.

We had lots to talk about so that filled the evening. By 10:00 pm I was losing steam so off to sleep I went with thoughts of getting home in the morning at long last.

ROUTE 66 (DAY 28)

I was awake at 6:00 am and I had a big day planned so I got up. Believe it or not I was packed up and on the road by 7:15 am and already putting down the miles while you were just thinking about getting up.
There are few things as tranquil as a lake or river in the early morning. The mist still hanging over the mirror like water hints at the chill in the air.

The scenery along the north shore of Lake Superior is breathtaking. I took all kinds of photos so after a two day photo drought you now have some "Group of Seven" landscapes to view.

I made good time but lost an hour when I crossed from the Central to Eastern time zone. I made it to Thunder Bay around noon. Here's a nice shot of the Thunder Bay harbour. You can see the ore ships anchored in the bay waiting their turn to load or unload their cargo.

My goal was to make it to Wawa, Ontario by dinner time. That way I'd ride to Sudbury on Thursday and then have a short three hour ride home on Friday.
I got to Wawa a little after 6:00 pm and having been there back in 1968 (my first epic bike trip) I wanted to photograph the huge Canada Goose statue that stands guard at the town entrance. This amazing sculpture was built in 1960 to commemorate the completion of the Trans Canada Highway.

I was able to find a nearby camp ground and got set up. After a 500 mile day I wasn't wanting to seek out a restaurant so I just cooked up the last of my Kraft Dinner and tuna. A couple of vodka tonics rounded out my day and then it was time to relax.
The weather had changed dramatically and the temperature dropped to 8'C (46'F) overnight so it was a cold night in Wawa.

ROUTE 66 (DAY 27)

Sure was tough getting out of that delicious warm hotel bed this morning. After a nice relaxing shower in a very fancy new marble bathroom I just wanted to fall back in bed. But alas, I had some riding to do. The room included a full breakfast so I also took advantage of that. It beat Cheerios all to hell. The night before I had noticed a nice neat row of about seven Harleys parked outside near the front entrance. While I was enjoying my waffle and yogurt I couldn't help noticing this guy who came in just for a coffee and then left. As he walked out I saw the big patch on his biker jacket that read, Hells Angels.

After I had packed up and was down the road I thought that I should have at least got a picture of the bikes. Some of the bikes had stickers on them that said, "Property of the Hells Angels" "Fuck with this bike and find out". They all looked well groomed and handled themselves well. They had a pickup truck and enclosed trailer for all their luggage that would follow these guys so they could ride free of baggage. After hauling this trailer for 6500 miles, the idea of riding without it is very appealing.

The flat long straight stretches in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba changed into these wonderful graceful curves and hills along side rivers and lakes and all framed in lush evergreens. It instantly reminded me of Muskoka. Up around the Kenora area they have the same granite rock all along the highway only more so than Muskoka. 

I didn't take a photo again today because I suppose we are all familiar with this Northern Ontario landscape. I simply rode and drank in the beauty. It was a good day.

I found a nice camp site in Dryden, ON. When I was setting up my camper I saw that it was still all wet from the rain two nights ago. The good thing is that once you have it set up it air dries in no time.

Because I had a pretty ambitious day planned for Wednesday I decided to crash early and hope for a good sleep. Night all.

ROUTE 66 (DAY 26)

Well, the weatherman was right. When I first woke up I peeked out the tent flap and the sky was completely overcast and a huge black cloud was headed my way. It had rained during the night so the tent and bike were wet. I decided not to waste any additional time by making coffee and just had my grapefruit and Cheerios with fresh blueberries so I could pack up quickly afterwards. The camp site's internet didn't reach to my location so I wasn't sure how the day would unfold as far as precipitation. I  figured that it would be raining at some point so on went my rain gear.
As it turned out it rained on and off all day. My destination was Brandon, Manitoba, about a 400 mile ride from Swift Current. By late afternoon it really started to come down hard making it impossible to see but I persisted and ultimately made it to Brandon.
I could feel my butt was soaked even though I had on my rain pants. My gloves were also soaked. I found a camp ground right next to the highway and drove in. I paid for the tent site and then drove to it anxious to get the camper set up so I could get out of the rain. No sooner had I got off the bike than I was absolutely swarmed with hundreds of tiny mosquitoes. I got right back on the bike, returned to the camp office and requested a refund. They were very understanding about it and said that the bugs this year were the worst in recent memory. Ten minutes later I was checking into a nearby motel. It felt so good to have a nice big clean dry room to spend my evening in. I got out of my wet clothes and into some fresh dry ones. I poured myself a drink and contemplated my next move. I didn't want to have to ride anywhere so I just walked next door and had dinner at a nice restaurant.
The internet worked great so I took the time to do my daily blog. I also checked the weather reports for the next few days along my planned route and I should have clear sailing from here on out.
I'm afraid that with all the rain I wasn't really able to take any photos but out here on the prairie there isn't that much to photograph.

ROUTE 66 (DAY 25)

It was a nice crisp morning and Ged had  already walked Bear and was out doing a little extra hedge trimming. We had a cup of coffee and then it was time to kick it into gear. I shaved, showered, packed and was on my way. Ged snapped this shot just before I left.

The sky was a sun cloud mix which persisted all day. The one thing I noticed about the prairies is the sky. It is huge and seems to go forever. You can look up at any time and see the weather you currently have as well as what you had and also what's coming your way. The landscape is mostly flat and the highway straight. When you see a train you can see the the entire train, from the engine to the caboose, because there's nothing to obstruct your view.
There are a few cattle ranches but mostly hay and canola farms on massive acreages. The canola fields are this incredible bright mustard yellow. The plants are harvested and pressed to extract the oil.

Here I am at the end of the day relaxing next to the camper with my vodka tonic on the trailer tongue beside me.

Sitting there I was admiring my bike in the evening sun so I took a photo. My Street Glide is a sweet ride.

For over a week now I've had no rain and lots of warm sunshine but my luck is changing. The forecast for tomorrow is rain so I will need to dig out my rain gear.

I had a 300 mile day today and got to Swift Current, Saskatchewan around 3:00 pm. Normally I would keep riding but I figured, why push myself? If I continue to make such  good time I should be back home in Bracebridge by Thursday, Friday at the latest.

ROUTE 66 (DAY 24)

The bed in Ged's spare room was one of those "princess and the pea" beds that had a very high but very soft mattress that you just sink into. It was wonderful. When I woke up he was out taking his dog, Bear, out for a morning walk. Ged wanted to take me out to this dutch cafe in a neighbouring town about 60 kms. away. About halfway there he let out a loud groan which kind of scared me because he jerked the wheel at the same time and I thought he was having a heart attack. It turned out that he just remembered that he had left his wallet at home. Needless to say we didn't turn around.
He ordered for us and all I was asked was, "white or wheat"? When our meal arrived it was eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and toast, a real Ulster Fry breakfast. What was unique was that all the food except for the toast was grown, butchered etc. without any hormones or preservatives on their own farm.
Here's a shot of Ged as we drove home with very full tummy's.

A few miles north of Champion is the town of Vulcan. If you're a Star Trek fan then you know that  Spock on the TV series was a Vulcan. Years ago the town contacted Leonard Nemoy, the actor who plays Spock, and invited him to the town. To their surprise he was delighted to come and now the town has capitalized on the Star Trek theme.
Today they were holding a classic car show on the Main Street so we thought it might be worth seeing. Here are some photos I took in Vulcan.

Remember that this is a very small agricultural town in the Alberta prairie land. Here is the car show taken from the middle of town. As it turned out it was a nice diversion but not the best show after all.

I had to take a picture of this. It was actually not a car engine but a small gas barbecue which they were raffling off. If you look closely on the right side you can see the chrome handle that lifts the top to expose the grill inside.

Ged had mentioned that he really wanted to trim his hedge before he leaves Sunday on vacation. I was so appreciative for him putting me up and showing me around that I offered to trim the hedge. It was a very warm day so it turned out to be a bit more work than expected.

Before leaving I wanted to get a shot of Ged and Bear so I got one.

Dinner time rolled around again and Ged wound up having a left over Subway sandwich while I had a couple of barbecued hot dogs. Typical bachelor feast. We watched a couple of documentaries on Netflix and when the last one ended I realised that Ged had fallen asleep on the couch. It was 10:00 pm and I was leaving in the morning for Swift Current, Saskatchewan so I quietly got up and went to bed.

ROUTE 66 (DAY 23)

After the sun went down it really cooled off over night so I woke up feeling pretty cold. Nick and Renae were planning a 9:00 am departure on their three day vacation so I got up to have some breakfast with them and see them off. We had some coffee and got to talking and next thing we knew it was almost 9:30. After they left I finished making my breakfast, showered and shaved and then decided to ride into town. I needed gas and I hoped for some photo opportunities.
It looked like a beautiful morning but the smoke trails from the fires kept a haze over everything. This is very frustrating to me to have this condition in such an amazing place for scenery. Here is a shot just a block from where Nick and Renae live. It's really quite spectacular even in the haze.

Here is a shot taken in town from the gas station looking up at the ski mountain.

My good friend back home, King, had suggested I try to contact his daughter who also lives in Fernie. I left a message but she hadn't responded by 2:00 pm so I made the decision to move on down the highway. I ultimately got a message from her but by then I was in Lethbridge, Alberta. The highway between Fernie and Lethbridge is quite spectacular if you love huge mountains and clear mountain lakes and rivers.

Just north of Fernie is Sparwood. Because the whole area has half a dozen large open pit coal mines many tourist attractions involve mining themes. Just as I was going into this awesome sweeper curve in the highway I saw this incredibly massive mining truck. It's the largest truck in the world and because they use these in mining they had it out on display.

One other thing I really wanted to do was check out Frank's Slide. You see, back in 1903 there was a tiny town called Frank which sat at the foot of Turtle Mountain. One day the whole side of the mountain broke away and came thundering down on top of the town. They had to cut through it for the road, river and railway but other than that it remains the way it was in 1903. You get a funny feeling standing looking out at the mountain and the carnage below.

Today I decided to simply go back home through the Canadian Prairies. I had considered dipping down into the northern states but I should be home by July 25th which is one month and that's enough for me.

Once you leave the mountains it gets very flat again with farmer's fields that go off to the horizon. When I got to Lethbridge, AB it was 5:00 pm and although I hadn't ridden very much I needed to look for a campground. I was within an hour ride to the town of Champion so I decided to call Ged, Penny's older brother, and see if he might put me up for a night.  I had stayed with him two years ago and knew that he would be happy to hear from me.

Ged was wonderful. We bonded right away and had to check out his latest automobile project. For dinner we drove his little hot rod Mustang up to the nearby town of Vulcan and had Chinese. 

Now back at his place, we flipped on a movie. We couldn't find anything we liked and Ged was fading fast. He wound up going to bed and I updated the blog.

ROUTE 66 (DAY 22)

Expecting the day to be another scorcher I decided to get off to an early start. Unlike past mornings I was all packed up and on the road by 7:30 am. I was leaving the Tri-Cities, a place full of unpleasant memories as a Ford Motor Company rep. back in the late 70's.
As I travelled north through rolling farm country I could see a massive cloud of haze moving from West to East across the sky. This got worse the further I drove. It turned out that this was smoke from several fires that were burning up in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. The strong winds out of the west were carrying the smoke  across the state and even into Idaho and southern BC. Although it obscured the scenery it actually had a cooling effect by shading the sun.
I was making good time and decided to push myself to get to Fernie, BC. so I could visit with Nick (Penny's son) and his wife, Renae before they departed on a three day vacation to Alberta.
As I climbed up into the mountains the smoke was really making it difficult to see the incredible natural beauty of this region. Here is a shot taken from a highway lookout. You can just make out the distant mountains.

I had to get this next shot just to prove that I was there.

It was coming up to 6:00 pm and Nick and Renae had asked me to meet them in town at the park where their team, The Pirates, had a baseball game.

Pardon the pun but the game was in full swing when I pulled up. I took tons of pics but I will just post a few. It was fun watching a game that I used to play often as a kid.
Here is Renae up to bat.

Here is Nick as pitcher.

Renae in the dugout. The sexiest baseball player I've ever seen.

Here's a couple of good group shots.

After the game Nick picked up some beer and pizza and I followed them back to their place in Hosmer.
They found that real estate in Fernie was way too expensive so they bought a fixer-upper further out of town. It's still a work in progress but they have done a fine job renovating so far. They were both leaving Friday morning on a three day vacation so after helping them pack we all headed to bed.

ROUTE 66 (DAY 21)

The weatherman said it was going to be a killer hot day and he was right. It always starts out very  gently and just builds from there.
By the time I'd gained consciousness Angie had left for her morning class and Alicia was off getting their car services across the river in Vancouver, Washington.
Cavan woke in very good spirits after a great deal more sleep than he normally gets. We fixed some breakfast and then walked to a nearby bank. I had agreed with Barbara to give Cavan and Angie $500 to help them through this rough spot until Cavan can get back to work.
Once back at their place I showered and shaved and packed up the camper. We said our goodbyes and I was off. The first half of the day was relatively nice as I cruised along the Columbia River Gorge with it's huge cliffs bordering the mighty river.
Having spent two years living in Gresham, OR (only two blocks from where Cavan now lives) I had visited Multnomah Falls more than a couple of times but I had to stop for a photo.

I liked this shot too.

I hadn't driven very far when I saw a sign for the Bonneville Dam and Power Plant. I had never taken the tour so I decided that this was going to be the day. This is only one of about six dams and power plants along the Columbia river which divides Washington and Oregon states. The river is full of salmon among other fish so they built several structures to allow the fish to survive the generating plant and have access to their spawning beds up river. Additionally huge river barges carry grain and other commodities up and down the river and so each hydro generating plant also has navigational locks.

Here are a series of shots that depict the various elements of this facility. Here is the spillway which lets water that is not being used for power generation to flow freely.

Here is a schematic of the generating plant.

Here is the big turbine that sits at the bottom of the above schematic (1) and is turned by the water passing over it. It in turn turns a giant magnet (2) that passes copper windings that produce the electricity.

Here is the giant generator (2) inside the plant.

Here is the fish ladder. There is a shot showing the salmon milling about as they swim from one step to the other. I also included an underwater shot of the fish ladder that shows the lamprey eels that also travel through the ladder.   They are about 20" long and have some serious teeth in that sucker mouth of theirs. Gross!

By the time I had reached Hood river it was getting quite toasty and the lush tree covered cliffs had turned into dry grass and shrub covered hills.

The temperature had already hit 100'F (35'C) and riding was getting quite uncomfortable. My goal was to get as far as the Tri Cities in Washington State (Richland, Kennewick and Pasco).
By the time I arrived the temperature had hit 108'F and I secured the very last tent site at the KOA campground.
I had stopped just before arriving to pick up more ice and groceries because I was really looking forward to my vodka and tonic following such a hot and dusty ride.
It was too hot to eat so after getting settled in and pouring myself a drink I just lay on my bed and listened to some tunes. It felt so good. I may try to get an early start tomorrow so I can lay down some miles before it really gets hot.