Pacific Northwest & Yellowstone Sept 2014
- Thread starter Ex-Call Centre Chimp
- Start date
some more around the convention centre but now using photobucket.
seaplanes everywhere
it's big this convention centre
<a href="http://s1371.photobucket.com/user/tonyvwalker/media/P1010019_zpsc060cbbe.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag306/tonyvwalker/P1010019_zpsc060cbbe.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo P1010019_zpsc060cbbe.jpg"/></a>
i liked the buses
<a href="http://s1371.photobucket.com/user/tonyvwalker/media/P1010018_zpsdd617761.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag306/tonyvwalker/P1010018_zpsdd617761.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo P1010018_zpsdd617761.jpg"/></a>
that was easy
seaplanes everywhere
it's big this convention centre
<a href="http://s1371.photobucket.com/user/tonyvwalker/media/P1010019_zpsc060cbbe.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag306/tonyvwalker/P1010019_zpsc060cbbe.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo P1010019_zpsc060cbbe.jpg"/></a>
i liked the buses
<a href="http://s1371.photobucket.com/user/tonyvwalker/media/P1010018_zpsdd617761.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag306/tonyvwalker/P1010018_zpsdd617761.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo P1010018_zpsdd617761.jpg"/></a>
that was easy
Some locals waving at Bill Clooney........before he went Fox Hunting!
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JoJo
Registered user
Thursday 12th September As a result when she came to a stop just before joining the main road she toppled over & clattered poor Tony & Sue who were alongside her. The result was a game of motorbike skittles ending with all 3 of them on their respective arses. No major damage done though & Tony & Sue were as magnanimous about the accident as Jo was apologetic.
There were a couple of nice touches though that I thought summed things up. On other trips with other people this could have ended in sulking & argumentsbut I thought Andy B summed things up nicely when he quietly said to Jo (who was absolutely mortified) 'Don't worry about it Jo, these things happen when you're on holiday, it could have been any one of us'. A nice touch, and he was right - had we all been riding shonky KTM's & needed stabilisers.*
* To clarify, there was a small but steep ramp leading from the car park up to the (ahem) sidewalk and there was also loose gravel on the floor. Unfortunately Jo lost her footing & the bike went gently over onto Tony who did the gentlemanly thing & cushioned Jo's fall. If it hadn't been Jo who had gone over it could just as easily have been me or any of us. [/URL]
..... and there was me, 3 months later thinking that I'd quietly got away with that one! well at least I only had one 'topple' during the trip. I actually stalled it, on a ramp, on lock, on tip toes, not gravel..... and Tony's panniers were not quite as soft as you suggest...ouch!!
JoJo
Registered user
Loving hearing your take on things though Bill from your bizarrely acute OCD angle 
and I knew that your photos would be fabulous, even if completion of this report takes another six months, it'll definitely be worth the wait 
and I knew that your photos would be fabulous, even if completion of this report takes another six months, it'll definitely be worth the wait 
Thanx Jo.
Bless you, as I said it could have happened to any of us.
Bless you, as I said it could have happened to any of us.
..... and there was me, 3 months later thinking that I'd quietly got away with that one! well at least I only had one 'topple' during the trip. I actually stalled it, on a ramp, on lock, on tip toes, not gravel..... and Tony's panniers were not quite as soft as you suggest...ouch!!
I'll not mention the swearing through the intercom........
JoJo
Registered user
I'll not mention the swearing through the intercom........
Pot, Kettle, Black me thinks!!! .......... Oh the joys of voice activated radio
Enjoying this very much; great pics & entertaining storyline......
I'm a transplanted Canadian living in the UK now, originally from the West coast. Really enjoying your trip report and pictures of my old patch! More please.
Another one enjoying the RR, and Photos,Vancouver is a lovely city we spent a few days there in 2013 prior to an Alaskan cruise and holiday in BC the photo of the Pan Pacific and Gas Town brought it all back.
Norrie
Norrie
Thanx for the feedback Comrades, sorry about the slow progress.
Friday 12th September 2014
I wake up this morning feeling good about myself. No, scrap that - I feel great. I spent most of yesterday riding on my own & I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only that but I made it to Clinton without mishap. I'd arrived in good time & arriving first meant that had anything untoward happened the others would have been along not long afterwards to pick up the pieces. I had developed a plan. Set off early-ish, before most of the others & make sure I'm never the last person on the road - just in case.
By now Sarah was home from her Greek drinking spree, the kids would now be settled again, this helped my buoyant mood. I felt free. All was well with the world & I was no longer thinking about what might happen; I was living 'in the moment'. I don't know when I last felt so liberated or so deeply happy with myself - if ever. I'm aware this sounds like self indulgent clap-trap but I'm keen to record this feeling as it's very easy to slip back into my old worrying, OCD self. I much prefer this new me.
So off I set for Valemount with a real spring in my step and a huuuuuge smile on my face. Left out of the Cariboo Lodge and a quick ride up to 70 Mile House for breakfast at Smilies Cafe.
I arrived just as Paul & Sam did.
They were obviously expecting Bilco.
I'd made the decision not to over indulge while breakfasting so most mornings had English Muffins, Orange Juice & coffee. That was the order this morning and it was accompanied by a small selection of home made jams/jellies/marmalades.
Bloody delicious they were too. Any guesses as to what each flavour is?
I was joined by Pete who was now a solo traveller, Andrew still being in Vancouver (& that didn't exactly pan out as planned God love him).
Pete wasn't quite so shy of those famous American Breakfasts.
That's 3 sausages, 3 eggs, 3 rashers of bacon, hash browns & 3 of these. Good to see a healthy slice of orange there to balance things up
Seems to be going down well though.
And if all of that didn't cause enough havoc in your guts why not top it off with a little of this?
I wake up this morning feeling good about myself. No, scrap that - I feel great. I spent most of yesterday riding on my own & I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only that but I made it to Clinton without mishap. I'd arrived in good time & arriving first meant that had anything untoward happened the others would have been along not long afterwards to pick up the pieces. I had developed a plan. Set off early-ish, before most of the others & make sure I'm never the last person on the road - just in case.
By now Sarah was home from her Greek drinking spree, the kids would now be settled again, this helped my buoyant mood. I felt free. All was well with the world & I was no longer thinking about what might happen; I was living 'in the moment'. I don't know when I last felt so liberated or so deeply happy with myself - if ever. I'm aware this sounds like self indulgent clap-trap but I'm keen to record this feeling as it's very easy to slip back into my old worrying, OCD self. I much prefer this new me.
So off I set for Valemount with a real spring in my step and a huuuuuge smile on my face. Left out of the Cariboo Lodge and a quick ride up to 70 Mile House for breakfast at Smilies Cafe.
I arrived just as Paul & Sam did.
They were obviously expecting Bilco.
I'd made the decision not to over indulge while breakfasting so most mornings had English Muffins, Orange Juice & coffee. That was the order this morning and it was accompanied by a small selection of home made jams/jellies/marmalades.
Bloody delicious they were too. Any guesses as to what each flavour is?
I was joined by Pete who was now a solo traveller, Andrew still being in Vancouver (& that didn't exactly pan out as planned God love him).
Pete wasn't quite so shy of those famous American Breakfasts.
That's 3 sausages, 3 eggs, 3 rashers of bacon, hash browns & 3 of these. Good to see a healthy slice of orange there to balance things up
Seems to be going down well though.
And if all of that didn't cause enough havoc in your guts why not top it off with a little of this?
I loved that curry ketchup
We did seem to overwhelm the place; they had to draught in more help and more food to feed us lot. Great place that.
We did seem to overwhelm the place; they had to draught in more help and more food to feed us lot. Great place that.
Breakfast over & it was left out of Smilies, left at the next junction & along another fabulous road towards the I5 again.
We'd left Dean & Birgit behind so she could get some attention to her hideously gammy eyes from a local doctor (£898 bill, ouch).
Now Birgit was on her own bike so this could have represented something of a problem. As luck would have it Paul's wife Sam is a pretty capable bike rider for a girl & agreed to ride Birgits bike to the next hotel which I thought was pretty bloody good of her in the circumstances. I'm not sure she was too keen to do it but typical of Sam if it meant helping out she was happy to do so. They really are a lovely couple, Paul & Sam. I wonder if Birgit's found the scratch on the GS yet Sam?
As I mentioned above Pete was without his buddy today so he had to make do with my company. I like Pete. I shouldn't do, but I do. He's rich. Rich beyond my wildest dreams. He's a raging capitalist, he's into blood sports & worst of all he's a fecking Mason - unforgivable in my world. But I like the lad. A lot.
We poddled along at a steady pace, ambling rather than racing (something of a change compared to his normal pace behind Andrew) & taking in the scenery.
After an hour or so I was in need of a pee, (kidney stones meant I was drinking an awful lot of water) & as luck would have it as we rounded a corner there was a sign at the roadside for 'Cappucino'. Ideal, in we went and found a fabulous little place with a small restaurant & accomodation.
It was owned by a Canadian Italian with a love for AC Milan which allowed us to spend a little time discussing our shared dislike of Juventus.
A few seconds later we were joined by Jo & Chris who had been slightly ahead of us on the road but had seen us turn off & came to join us in a little off-roading.
The lake alongside was crystal clear.
and the cappucino passed the 'sugar test'.
The rest of the day was a steady plod but certainly no hardship with company like this
and scenery like this
.
I wasn't tempted by any of the food on offer though. My dog loves kids.......................... but he couldn't eat a whole one (Boom Tish!)
The promise of things to come
Along came Paul & Sam, though I'm not sure of this is pre or post scratch
Eventually we arrived at the Dream Catcher Inn, Valemount where I was allocated a room with a view.
There were a few Luxury Bungalows at the back of the hotel & romantic old fool that he is Chris had allocated those to some of the couples on the trip.
Glyn was delighted at the prospect of a night of 're-acquaintance'; Sandra perhaps less so.
Whilst for Mark it was clearly a serious matter.
Those of us staying in the main hotel went for some food in the town & ate at a fabulous restaurant. Andrew arrived just as we were finishing, having ridden over from Vancouver. He'd had the good fortune to see a bear along the way, the 1st of our trip. Rather than leave the chap on his own I stayed & enjoyed his company while he ate. Now Andrew is another top, top banana. Like Pete he's a very wealthy man, he's highly educated & terribly refined but with a sense of humour drier than a dry thing on a particularly dry day in the droughtiest of droughts.
Then it was back to the hotel to join the others in the common room to 'Bond' & share a glass or two of vino. Well that was the theory. The youngsters were all engrossed in Facelaps or BookNets so the older ones amongst us decided to sit back, relax & share stories of Lincoln Punks & Flat Tops during the early 1980's. It turned out that Paul, Sam & I had a myriad of common friends; what a small world we live in.
Eventually the technology was turned off & the conversation turned to light hearted matters such as 'The power of prayer', 'UberMasons' & how to spot the difference between a Buffalo & a Bison.
We'd left Dean & Birgit behind so she could get some attention to her hideously gammy eyes from a local doctor (£898 bill, ouch).
Now Birgit was on her own bike so this could have represented something of a problem. As luck would have it Paul's wife Sam is a pretty capable bike rider for a girl & agreed to ride Birgits bike to the next hotel which I thought was pretty bloody good of her in the circumstances. I'm not sure she was too keen to do it but typical of Sam if it meant helping out she was happy to do so. They really are a lovely couple, Paul & Sam. I wonder if Birgit's found the scratch on the GS yet Sam?
As I mentioned above Pete was without his buddy today so he had to make do with my company. I like Pete. I shouldn't do, but I do. He's rich. Rich beyond my wildest dreams. He's a raging capitalist, he's into blood sports & worst of all he's a fecking Mason - unforgivable in my world. But I like the lad. A lot.
We poddled along at a steady pace, ambling rather than racing (something of a change compared to his normal pace behind Andrew) & taking in the scenery.
After an hour or so I was in need of a pee, (kidney stones meant I was drinking an awful lot of water) & as luck would have it as we rounded a corner there was a sign at the roadside for 'Cappucino'. Ideal, in we went and found a fabulous little place with a small restaurant & accomodation.
It was owned by a Canadian Italian with a love for AC Milan which allowed us to spend a little time discussing our shared dislike of Juventus.
A few seconds later we were joined by Jo & Chris who had been slightly ahead of us on the road but had seen us turn off & came to join us in a little off-roading.
The lake alongside was crystal clear.
and the cappucino passed the 'sugar test'.
The rest of the day was a steady plod but certainly no hardship with company like this
and scenery like this
.
I wasn't tempted by any of the food on offer though. My dog loves kids.......................... but he couldn't eat a whole one (Boom Tish!)
The promise of things to come
Along came Paul & Sam, though I'm not sure of this is pre or post scratch
Eventually we arrived at the Dream Catcher Inn, Valemount where I was allocated a room with a view.
There were a few Luxury Bungalows at the back of the hotel & romantic old fool that he is Chris had allocated those to some of the couples on the trip.
Glyn was delighted at the prospect of a night of 're-acquaintance'; Sandra perhaps less so.
Whilst for Mark it was clearly a serious matter.
Those of us staying in the main hotel went for some food in the town & ate at a fabulous restaurant. Andrew arrived just as we were finishing, having ridden over from Vancouver. He'd had the good fortune to see a bear along the way, the 1st of our trip. Rather than leave the chap on his own I stayed & enjoyed his company while he ate. Now Andrew is another top, top banana. Like Pete he's a very wealthy man, he's highly educated & terribly refined but with a sense of humour drier than a dry thing on a particularly dry day in the droughtiest of droughts.
Then it was back to the hotel to join the others in the common room to 'Bond' & share a glass or two of vino. Well that was the theory. The youngsters were all engrossed in Facelaps or BookNets so the older ones amongst us decided to sit back, relax & share stories of Lincoln Punks & Flat Tops during the early 1980's. It turned out that Paul, Sam & I had a myriad of common friends; what a small world we live in.
Eventually the technology was turned off & the conversation turned to light hearted matters such as 'The power of prayer', 'UberMasons' & how to spot the difference between a Buffalo & a Bison.
Saturday September 2014
Well, what a rude awakening. The weather so far had been very kind to us. We awoke this morning, however, to minus 4C. It looked like the investment in the new jacket I'd bought in Vancouver was about to pay off.
Pretty soon it warmed up as we headed west to Jasper via Mount Robson
Along more stunning roads which naturally attracted more traffic. Bloody tourists!
Out of British Columbia & into Alberta.
I was so busy enjoying the scenery that I almost binned the bike along the road to Jasper. I wasn't paying proper attention & ran into the soft shoulder on the side of the road.
. How I kept the bike upright I'm not sure, probably the Power of Prayer . The soft shoulder was deep. Having not binned the bike I then almost fried the clutch trying to get out of the predicament I'd got myself into. . But I got out eventually, lesson learnt - for the time being.
Into Jasper where I happened along these bikes
and spent some time talking to this wee girl
Jasper is in a heck of a setting but does attract a lot of motorhomes & fossils.
Onto the Athabsacar Falls, with a proper glacial river.
Tony & Sue, Mark & Jo. Look, can we just take it as read from here on in that anyone in any photographs of people on the trip are fabulous, wonderful, gorgeous people?
It was in this beautiful setting that Chris & I discovered a shared heritage as well. We were discussing muic & it transpired that back in the day Bilco had been in a band called Satans Rats. I have the single. I'm currently listening a lot to Flogging Molly & have seen them live a couple of times. Chris' son's band have supported them. Small world again.
You make me sick!
Tony spotted this in the car park, it could well have applied to me in my earlier attempted binning & frying.
Then it was down the Icefields Parkway towards Banff. This is singularly the best bit road I've ever ridden & the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. I can't do it justice in words & I'm not sure the photos do either but they're the best I can do.
I took hundreds of photos, literally. Lets' just say it's 180 miles of this sort of stuff.
We stopped off to look at a glacier. This is receding very quickly. It's now half a mile or more from the car park. When Bilco started running these trips 50 years ago or so the car park was built at the tip of the glacier.
It's difficult to capture the scale of the scenery here but look closely at this picture & you'll see people standing near the glacier. Look really closely & you might even see Andrew.
More of this. So much more of this.
It really was genuinely humbling & for me, once again potentially life changing. Riding along I realised just how insignificant I am. This is what matters. I vowed to try to remember this place when I'm getting unreasonably angry or self important. It's all irrelevant, all the stuff that I get worked up about really doesn't matter when we have this. When I die, when we all die, this will still be here. Nature is a fantastic thing & we're just a small speck of what she is capable of. Let's not fcuk it up eh?
Well, what a rude awakening. The weather so far had been very kind to us. We awoke this morning, however, to minus 4C. It looked like the investment in the new jacket I'd bought in Vancouver was about to pay off.
Pretty soon it warmed up as we headed west to Jasper via Mount Robson
Along more stunning roads which naturally attracted more traffic. Bloody tourists!
Out of British Columbia & into Alberta.
I was so busy enjoying the scenery that I almost binned the bike along the road to Jasper. I wasn't paying proper attention & ran into the soft shoulder on the side of the road.
. How I kept the bike upright I'm not sure, probably the Power of Prayer . The soft shoulder was deep. Having not binned the bike I then almost fried the clutch trying to get out of the predicament I'd got myself into. . But I got out eventually, lesson learnt - for the time being. Into Jasper where I happened along these bikes
and spent some time talking to this wee girl
Jasper is in a heck of a setting but does attract a lot of motorhomes & fossils.
Onto the Athabsacar Falls, with a proper glacial river.
Tony & Sue, Mark & Jo. Look, can we just take it as read from here on in that anyone in any photographs of people on the trip are fabulous, wonderful, gorgeous people?
It was in this beautiful setting that Chris & I discovered a shared heritage as well. We were discussing muic & it transpired that back in the day Bilco had been in a band called Satans Rats. I have the single. I'm currently listening a lot to Flogging Molly & have seen them live a couple of times. Chris' son's band have supported them. Small world again.
You make me sick!
Tony spotted this in the car park, it could well have applied to me in my earlier attempted binning & frying.
Then it was down the Icefields Parkway towards Banff. This is singularly the best bit road I've ever ridden & the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. I can't do it justice in words & I'm not sure the photos do either but they're the best I can do.
I took hundreds of photos, literally. Lets' just say it's 180 miles of this sort of stuff.
We stopped off to look at a glacier. This is receding very quickly. It's now half a mile or more from the car park. When Bilco started running these trips 50 years ago or so the car park was built at the tip of the glacier.
It's difficult to capture the scale of the scenery here but look closely at this picture & you'll see people standing near the glacier. Look really closely & you might even see Andrew.
More of this. So much more of this.
It really was genuinely humbling & for me, once again potentially life changing. Riding along I realised just how insignificant I am. This is what matters. I vowed to try to remember this place when I'm getting unreasonably angry or self important. It's all irrelevant, all the stuff that I get worked up about really doesn't matter when we have this. When I die, when we all die, this will still be here. Nature is a fantastic thing & we're just a small speck of what she is capable of. Let's not fcuk it up eh?
During one photo stop Sandra & Glyn pulled up alongside me. They suggested heading to Lake Louise, which I'd never heard of but at it was along the way, just outside Banff it seemed daft not to go.
TBH It was no better than what we'd already seen but it had a wonderful looking hotel alongside & it was a very romantic place to bring a loved one.
It was just a short spin from here to Banff, though we opted to go along the old highway (as suggestd by Bilco) and this was just wonderful. It was virtually traffic free & screaming out to be used as a race track. Fortunatley for me I was following Glyn. Fortunately for both of us he had a sensible woman on the back of his bike so we pootled along rather than belted along. Unfortunately for Pete he was once again following Andrew & they both got caught by the fuzz. They were recorded as doing 106 in a 40. Yes, that's One Hundred And Six. In a Forty. Their defence is that this seems worse than it is as Canada uses KPH rather than MPH. 106 kph in a 40 kph zone equates to 66mph in a 25mph limit. So that's okay then. This argument didn't seem to be accepted by Mr. Mountie who was all for chucking the pair of them into chokey, to become friends of Big Bubba, and lobbing away the key. In the end sense prevailed & they got away with a light fine & a slap on the wrist.
I stopped briefly to take another snap or two. Is it just me or should there be a group of Red Indians/Native Americans/First Nationers on the horizon watching Pale Face on his iron horse?
While I was taking the photo I got chatting to a local. I was bemoaning the lack of Wildlife that I'd seen & as luck would have it he was a professional wildlife photographer. He showed me some of his incredible photos which I photographed & decided to claim as my own during the evening meal group get together......
.....but no-one was fooled.
He told me that he drove from Jasper to Banff every day, just taking photos (I could do that. Gizza job.) and suggested that as dusk was falling that, rather than heading straight for the hotel when I arrived in Banff, I go to the local golf course where I was certain to see Elk.
This was excellent advice. It was cold & it was getting dark (hence the crappy, grainy photos) but it was one of the highlights of my trip. Just as I arrived there were a pair of males rutting. It didn't last long & the loser scutched straight off into the woods but the victor stayed on the course 'trumpeting'.
What a bizarre noise that is. After such a manly bout to turn round & start hollering like a seagull seemed most incongruous.
The women seemed singularly unimpressed. It's the same the world over eh chaps?
Banff was looking stunning in the sunset as I finally headed to the hotel.
I arrived at the hotel fairly late & checked into a lovely room before heading down to the bar for some snap.
What a great day. Stunning scenery and wildlife, fantastic roads and superb company. Could it get any better than this?
Well, yes. I arrived in the bar to be told that The Pope's XI had beaten the Sheepshaggers (Dean's team) & just to put the icing on the cake I was given some terrific news from Ulster
TBH It was no better than what we'd already seen but it had a wonderful looking hotel alongside & it was a very romantic place to bring a loved one.
It was just a short spin from here to Banff, though we opted to go along the old highway (as suggestd by Bilco) and this was just wonderful. It was virtually traffic free & screaming out to be used as a race track. Fortunatley for me I was following Glyn. Fortunately for both of us he had a sensible woman on the back of his bike so we pootled along rather than belted along. Unfortunately for Pete he was once again following Andrew & they both got caught by the fuzz. They were recorded as doing 106 in a 40. Yes, that's One Hundred And Six. In a Forty. Their defence is that this seems worse than it is as Canada uses KPH rather than MPH. 106 kph in a 40 kph zone equates to 66mph in a 25mph limit. So that's okay then.
This argument didn't seem to be accepted by Mr. Mountie who was all for chucking the pair of them into chokey, to become friends of Big Bubba, and lobbing away the key. In the end sense prevailed & they got away with a light fine & a slap on the wrist. I stopped briefly to take another snap or two. Is it just me or should there be a group of Red Indians/Native Americans/First Nationers on the horizon watching Pale Face on his iron horse?
While I was taking the photo I got chatting to a local. I was bemoaning the lack of Wildlife that I'd seen & as luck would have it he was a professional wildlife photographer. He showed me some of his incredible photos which I photographed & decided to claim as my own during the evening meal group get together......
.....but no-one was fooled.
He told me that he drove from Jasper to Banff every day, just taking photos (I could do that. Gizza job.) and suggested that as dusk was falling that, rather than heading straight for the hotel when I arrived in Banff, I go to the local golf course where I was certain to see Elk.
This was excellent advice. It was cold & it was getting dark (hence the crappy, grainy photos) but it was one of the highlights of my trip. Just as I arrived there were a pair of males rutting. It didn't last long & the loser scutched straight off into the woods but the victor stayed on the course 'trumpeting'.
What a bizarre noise that is. After such a manly bout to turn round & start hollering like a seagull seemed most incongruous.
The women seemed singularly unimpressed. It's the same the world over eh chaps?
Banff was looking stunning in the sunset as I finally headed to the hotel.
I arrived at the hotel fairly late & checked into a lovely room before heading down to the bar for some snap.
What a great day. Stunning scenery and wildlife, fantastic roads and superb company. Could it get any better than this?
Well, yes. I arrived in the bar to be told that The Pope's XI had beaten the Sheepshaggers (Dean's team) & just to put the icing on the cake I was given some terrific news from Ulster
mcinlb
Registered user
Great story and great photos, that area of Canada is spectacular, must go back one day.................
