North America, First and Second.

The black art of moving from A to B on foreign soil
DavidS
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Re: North America, First and Second.

Post by DavidS »

In California we walked across dunes an hour each way to not see any elephant seals.
Two days later we saw dozens on the beach next to the car park near Hearst Castle. :cry:

Edit. Finally remembered how to spell Hearst.
2023 Husqvarna Norden 901
2014 KTM 690 ENDURO R
OnHellas
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Re: North America, First and Second.

Post by OnHellas »

Time to head east. The 60% chance of rain that had been forecast turned out to be 100% fact that it would rain.
As usual I’m exaggerating the point....it only rained for about 10 minutes and then it was just a few drops. But as a Brit it’s important to keep up the moaning.....especially when it’s weather based moaning.

We stopped at the Glacier in the way out of Stewart for a better look than the glimpse we had in the way by the other day.
Photos taken it was time to go and get some fuel.
The petrol station was at the junction with the beautiful Cassiar Highway.
From there it was south, 100 miles or there about to the next turning and indeed the next village or town.
Turning east on The Yellowhead Highway, Highway 16, we were immediately in amongst more traffic. Not M25 type traffic if course but it felt as if we’d made it back out of ‘The North’ where towns, services and mobile phone coverage are all sparse.

It feels as if we are on a bit of a transition stage now, we stopped a night at a small town called New Hazelton. There was a Chinese restaurant.....we hadn’t had that for ???? since Australia I think.
Tasteless fried pap would some it up. Still, on the positive side it didn’t bother the plumbing....if you follow my drift.

From New Hazelton to Vanderhoof, great name, was yesterday’s section of the journey. There are still some fairly big distances between anything and a few of the towns seem a bit sad and run down.
At a petrol stop a bloke said that he wanted a bike like ours. I suggested that he could buy mine but apparently in his town it’s the done thing to give people things....yeah right.

A tin of Stagg Chilli and a packet of Uncle Bens Rice saw us fully back to food safety last night. The main thing to come out of the last two days though, on top of being 400 miles closer to Halifax, is that we’re very much...

Two happy people, two happy bikes.
OnHellas
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Re: North America, First and Second.

Post by OnHellas »

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OnHellas
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Re: North America, First and Second.

Post by OnHellas »

A ride with a twist and a few anxious moments was in store for us on leaving Vanderhoof. It was raining steadily which wasn’t a twist as the pre reported sequence of weather we seem to have been in lately has been much mentioned in previous reports.
A fuel stop in a brief respite from said rain also wasn’t a twist, nor is the lack of photos from the day.

No, the twist is that we got separated at a set of traffic lights entering Prince George. The heavy rain didn’t help my rearward vision and a lack of a safe place to stop added to my satnav having an interesting idea of a route through the town, which differed from Sarah’s satnav meant that she somehow rode on by as I was waiting in a side street.
I didn’t see her go by so I headed back to the last place we’d been together. I went into a McDonalds for WiFi to check for/send a message. I then headed off across town and out the other side....no sign of her.
There was a very helpful “No services for 200 km” sign as the road passed the last fuel station....I decided to head back in to town to a second Maccy D’s that I’d seen to check if she was there or had replied to my message.
No and no. The messages hadn’t been received so my logic said that she’d headed on to McBride, our goal for the day, so off I went.
The rain was still beating down and I had a sense that on riding the 200km to McBride I’d end up having to turn around and come back....especially if her bike had stopped or she’d got a puncture.
Bit did it rain, persistently, like as in non stop. Thankfully the traffic was light as passing the big trucks wasn’t a great deal of fun.
I slowed to check the one and only cafe, long closed, and various pull ins and lay-bys to no avail. Part of me couldn’t help but think the further I went the further I’d have to go back.
McBride came in to view and still no sign of Sarah. Not at either of the Gas Stations either.
As I rolled in to the carpark of our accommodation it was a real joy to spot an F800GS parked there.
Worry time over....not to mention the need of having to ride the 120 rain lashed miles back to Prince George evaporating.

Smiles all round, key for cabin, heating turned up, riding kit hung up to dry....we both ended up slightly damp.

A walk in the rain to a local eatery for dinner ended the day. Thankfully it was just a twist and the anxious moments.
Yes, we know that our phone setup, or lack of it, isn’t ideal.....we probably won’t change it though as the day ended up as

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OnHellas
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Re: North America, First and Second.

Post by OnHellas »

There is no need to mention what the weather was like when we left McBride for The Icefield Parkway as it was sunny and nice.
We did stop for some photos and even though they cannot begin to do the landscapes justice I’ll post them. For those that have been to this area they may act as a reminder, to those that haven’t and sees of an idea.
Although a lot of Canada isn’t really “motorcycling” roads it’s a truly remarkable place to ride a motorcycle through.

It was another First and Second moment but I don’t remember having to pay $19.60 to enter Jasper National Park.
The town of Jasper was visited just for lunch, a full in tourist central of a town. Having been out in the wide open spaces and seeing mainly small towns it was a bit of a shock.
Still, the lunch was good and we set if south along Highway 93. The Wows! kept on coming. There were a few more Glaciers, some waterfalls and plenty of places to pull in a wonder at it all.

As Jamie Robinson would say in his MotoGeo videos.....Canadaaaa...come on! (You need a northern accent for that bit).

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Re: North America, First and Second.

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Re: North America, First and Second.

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Re: North America, First and Second.

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Re: North America, First and Second.

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Re: North America, First and Second.

Post by OnHellas »

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