It's a wrap.

Distance traveled: 451.4
Cumulative (total) distance: 3218
Maximum speed: 137 kph
Average speed: 99 kph
Temperature range: 14.4 - 28.2

We were up early and fresher, so were on the road in less than an hour. We were a little stunned at the amount of traffic at 8:20 a.m., particularly heading west but then remembered that west bound travelers were likely to have an hour on us given we were only a short distance west of the time change.

Jasper was a zoo and when we went into the Bearspaw Cafe, it was also a zoo. However, we did get something to eat and managed a place to sit in there.  As good as it is, it is no Brambles. Or Blackbird. However, in all fairness, we didn't order what they do best, which would be cinnamon buns or cake.

We were home in pretty good time, all things considered. However, 500 metres from home, we saw a Telus fibre optic cable truck going the opposite direction and since this is something I have been coveting (this update it coming to you via the "hotspot" setting on my cell phone) I immediately wanted to turn around but Nan said "don't chase it". (editor's note: this happened once before, on theUtah trip six years ago. I didn't repeat the error today.) However, I knew that she wanted to get home so I told her I was going to drop her at the gate and then see if I could find the truck. No luck (again). Plus, I missed out on the big greeting from the dogs because by the time I got to the house, about ten minutes after Nan, we were chopped liver and the celebrating was over.

Rock climbing east of Jasper.

That's pretty much a wrap. Thanks for keeping us company on the trip. Nan told me she had fun camping from the motorcycle, which I pretty much expected, so we are game on for camping on the eclipse trip. The fact that we didn't have to deal with any rain on this trip is probably a contributing factor as that has a tendency to take a lot of the fun out of camping.

Thanks to Nan's sister Betty for  once again hosting us at their summer retreat. Thanks to Tim for capturing us on his video chase drone and uploading it to YouTube and thanks to Windy and Len for riding all the way to Tofino from Vancouver to spend a too-short amount of time together. And thanks to my brother Dan for preparing a nice meal for us and driving three hours in order to serve it. Also, for the numerous tips of guidance on where to eat and also, for helping us monitor the safe passage routes through the fire zone. And of course, thanks to Nan for being my favvourite partner in crime and chief photographer. We always have lots of fun together on these trips and hopefully, as long as we are able, there will be many more. There are always hijnks and as badly as I want to put them all in the blog, some stories are better left untold. But on more than one occasion, including on this trip, I have heard from other travelers how lucky I am to have such an adventurous wife.

Howi
July 15, 2017
Avalon Acreage

Into the maw of the dragon

Distance travelled: 571.7 km

Cumulative distance: 2767 km

Maximum speed: 157 kph (I DO remember that!)

Moving average: 90 kph

Temperature range: 18.8 – 32.6

We didn’t set an alarm for this morning, and we woke up around 7:30. It was 11:00 pm last night when I shut off the light and at that point, Nan had been asleep for and hour and half. It’s deceptive; motorcycling is surprisingly strenuous, even when the riding is not technical. We are out there in the sun and wind, having to sit in one position for a long time, only occasionally getting breaks by

getting off the bike to stretch, walk around, get gas, get a meal or get a drink. When I got up this morning, I felt like my head was in a fog and it took us an hour and a half to get packed up and get on the road. At first, I was enjoying not rushing too much but after awhile, I realized it was really because, well, my head was in a fog. I have a complicated arrangement to tie one of the dry bags onto the bike to keep it from flopping around and I just couldn’t get it this morning, and Nan ended up strapping it on, though it flopped around.

 Despite the fact that it was a brilliant morning, warm and not a cloud in the sky, my head just wouldn’t clear and I said to Nan it was like I had a hangover. We came to the conclusion that we (I) must be dehydrated, so today, I have made a point of drinking a lot more water and I feel better for it. We rolled into a campground today at 5:00 p.m. and though tired, I was feeling pretty good. Yesterday, we didn’t land till 7:00 and I could barely function.

OK, so I am happy to introduce you to another eating destination. My big brother Dan had suggested a place in Merritt when we were passing through last weekend, but it is closed Sundays, and since we were still being diverted because of the forest fires, we were happy that it was open today. The place is called Brambles and it does not cater to the hoards of traffic speeding by coming from or going to the Coquihalla as it is right down town Merritt. It

took us an hour to get there and it was welcome relief to take that first sip of latte, which I was sure would help me out. It didn’t, but I really enjoyed it. There was also some great baking and Nan and I each sampled some, and as well we each had a breakfast wrap. It seems that our eyes were bigger than our stomachs somewhat, though I managed.

The décor is simple but inspired. On the walls (and the door handle on the front door) were baking implements, like rolling pins, whisks and beaters and on the tables, pages torn from old cookbooks were shellacked in place so that you could just make out some of the old recipes or tips for (invariably) house wives. They had clearly never heard the old saying “A man’s place is in the kitchen.” Nonetheless, it was very charming, as were the staff. You should stop there for breakfast or lunch your next time on the way to Vancouver.

While eating breakfast, we made a decision about the next leg of the route. Last weekend, we had bypassed the Coquihalla in favour of route 5A from Kamloops to Merritt. Given that we are on the last legs of the trip, I wondered how Nan would feel about the direction home: on the Coquihalla, the route is very fast but not so interesting and 5A is beautiful, twisty and entertaining. She asked me for my estimate of incremental time and I said 15 minutes, so she

was keen to go back the opposite way. Virgin roads are always a treat for us and we had been on 5A north to south now twice but to go south to north was almost like an entirely new road as we would see and experience everything from the opposite direction. Once we got going, the GPS estimated an additional 20 minutes but it turned out to be only ten. I think we drove like we were on the

Merritt mural art. There were numerous country singers immortalized.

Coquihalla.

Once we were north of Kamloops, we were getting back into the smoky terrain. My high school buddy Daryl, who lives in Toronto, loves to ride a famous motorcycle road called The Tail of the Dragon, which is down in the U.S. He loves to talk about how there are 2,384 turns in the span of 11 miles. Or something like that. We have been riding twists and turns, maybe not quite like that but pretty good nonetheless and I figure that given we are heading into the fire and smoke, it might be like the mouth of the dragon.

Around Little Fort, which had been evacuated for a time after we passed through last week, the smoke was not hanging in the valley as much, though we could see dozens of small hot spots on either side of the valley – little fires burning off by themselves, probably to join eventually into one,

huge raging inferno. Further up the valley, in the Clearwater, we saw numerous more small fires and some larger ones, and we could see the flames from the highway. Helicopters carrying water flew back and forth over us; hopefully, they will be able to stop the progress.

We were finding it pretty warm and when we passed by the North Thomson River Campground, we decided on a break and rode down to the edge of the river. However, unlike the last time we rode to Tofino when, on a hot day we wore our bathing suits under our riding gear, today we just went into the water wearing our clothes. Soaking a t-shirt has long been the motorcycler’s air conditioning and Nan borrowed a cotton shirt from me to soak in the water and wear once we got going again. It is really quite amazing how much relief it provides, not just because

Cooled off... warming up.

the evaporation of the water is cooling, but it canj cool down your core temperature, so even though it was still 31 degrees when we came out of the water, we were both way more comfortable for a couple of hours.

We had as our day’s objective to make at least 500 km so that our day tomorrow would be guaranteed to be less than today. I knew the only provincial campground was at Mt Robson but I still watched for an opportunity to camp somewhere, like a provincial recreation site, which are not generally well marked. So, we ended up pushing through to Robson, and got here at 5:00 pm. I have ever really thought too much about it because we have never camped here but even though I have seen a second campground sign in the past, went straight to the campground on the west (river) side of the road. It was full save one site marked for handicapped patrons which left us wondering, at one point does that camp site become fair game? I recognize that it is meant for people who are handicapped but how likely is it that there would be handicapped people there every single night? Eventually, that tent site would fall to a non-handicapped user but does being handicapped guarantee you a spot much later than anybody else?

I dropped Nan off at that spot and went to look for another. This took me down by the gas station and

Nan contemplating a feast.

tourist centre, at which point, I was reminded that there is another campground. I zoomed across the highway and pulled in and saw a lot of campers, trailers, tents etc and I pulled into the first loop and the first spot was opened.  I went a little further on and saw two more but I also saw about three spots where people had “claimed” them by dropping a bunch of gear there. We don’t really have superfluous gear that we can use to claim spots so I raced back to the other campground to collect Nan. When I get there, she has stripped off her helmet and riding gear, is relaxing on the table and trying to get a cell signal and I race up and scream at her to hurry and get on the bike. Then she is yelling at me “just go” and

The Robson shot. Again.

she’ll walk but I say it is too far, so she is jumping on the bike and trying to dress as I ride down the service road.

That first spot was still open, as were two more but there were a lot of large trailers and motorhomes driving in, I presume looking for a site. Why they passed by the three in this loop is beyond me because a lot of them were pulling out shortly after, maybe thinking they were going to get a “better” spot but I think they would be hard pressed. We immediately set up our tent, Nan went to register and then we rode the three or four hundred metres down to the gas station to fill up for tomorrow morning, and to buy some “groceries” for dinner and maybe, a few beers.

It seems like there is not much grocery shopping at Mr. Robson. While I was filling the tank, they tell Nan that the nearest beer store is Valemount (about 60 km) and as for “groceries”, Nan comes out with a bag of popped popcorn, a can of beans and two packages of “Mr Noodle”. We don’t have a can opener with us.

We are also told that the cafeteria next door is probably open for another hour and that they sell beer. Nan announces she wants a salad, so I run the bike back to the campground and then we go next door, get small, pre-made salads out of the help-yourself coolers and four beers. It seems the beers are not too cold because it has been very hot today and they have sold a lot of beer, so there has been a lot of turnover in the cooler. I say we will take the two and to put the other two into the freezer. The fact is that, while maybe not the coldest beers we have ever consumed, they were still pretty darn good.

Editor's note: no cell service last night at Mt Robson and so I have posted this from The Bear's Paw in Jasper. We have some good pictures from yesterday, so I will post those a little later today.

I'm thirsty, hungry and tired. In that order.

Total distance: 510.5 km
Cumulative distance: 2195 km
Maximum speed:141 kph (I don't remember that!)
Average speed: 78 kph
Temperature range: 12.0 - 30.6
Maximum elevation differential: 1290 metres

Left Tofino this morning at 7:45 en route to Qualicum to have brunch with my high school buddy Tim and his girlfriend Carol. We heard details about how Tim's drone crashed after filming us Monday - full speed into the bush at the end of his driveway. Four broken propellers and a bent gizmo - the apparatus that holds the camera.  Fortunately, the camera will intuitively level the image, so all is saved. Except for Tim's dignity. And mine.

The ride to the ferry was crisp, but fine. Fresh rain had fallen at various points on the road but none on us; so far, we haven't had too many hardships or challenges on this trip, save for deviating our route. We have two more nights; we'll see what happens (not that I am expecting anything).


Nan snoozed on the ferry and I wandered around the vessel, checking out the view, the naturalist who was giving a talk on how the salmon fertilize the forest up to 80 metres from the river's edge and other stuff, like trying not to get blown off the deck and have Nan wait for me at the bike, first cursing and then eventually, wondering how I could get off the boat. Up on deck six, it was a hurricane.

It is always great seeing the houses from the ferry. I am sure for the most part, they are generally worth a lot of money, and as the ferry approaches Horseshoe Bay terminal, she announces she wants one. I say "OK, I have one picked out for you". Don't mind the graffiti.

"Handyman's special". I love that; like, they are doing you a big favour to sell you this place.

Lots of traffic up as far as Whistler and still a fair amount to Pemberton. In fact, the Whistler traffic is gross. However, not insurmountable and we make good time to Pemberton and get gas, even though we have lots; we still don't know what roads may have been closed or opened since earlier in the week.

Rock graffiti

Our objective, as a minimum, is the last one or two campgrounds on Hwy 99 before Lillooet, though there is a campground we passed on the way out passed Lillooet which would be worthy. I think it is about 25 km passed Lillooet. Nan can't remember it. But by Lillooet, I'm thinking I'm getting tired. About 40 km passed Lillooet, we agree that if we had known it was this far, we might have considered the alternative.

Lupins along Hwy 99

Turns out, the camground is 70 km passed Lillooet. We roll in and there is hardly a soul but it is a very nice provincial campground with level, gravelled tent pads and running water in the restrooms.We have no neighbours, though there are some other people camping. It's all good. We are tired, hungry and thirsty. As it happens, Nan has yet another trick up her sleeve: she has a split of red wine which she has been dragging all around western Canada. In addition, this is going to be our first meal cooked on the road, too. Gruel. With some nice, caramelized onion cheese with roasted almonds to start.

Family and Food

Total distance: 1.5 km
Cumulative distance: 1684 km
Maximum speed: 7.8 kph
Average speed: 4.3 kph
Temperature range: N/A but it was about 18 today and sunny

You might have guessed that we didn't spend much time on the bike today. We are at Chesterman Beach with Nan's sister Betty and her family and their friends. This is our third time joining for their annual family vacation; Betty and Roger rent a big house on the beach near Tofino, and their two boys Justin and Field with their own respective entourages - they have families of their own now, and many of their friends, also some with families, come spend the week. It is always a social and amiable week.

Unlike in the OLDEN days, when Betty did a lot of the cooking, that chore is generally done by the group. It is always a lot of fun and even I got to step into the fray this morning, making pancakes for 20. The following pictures show what dinner time is like around this place.

             

Great food extends beyond the house as well.  Dinner was organized for a great restaurant in Tofino called The Wolf in the Fog, a worthwhile destination for foodies but also for those that like a creative cocktail. A popular one amongst the group this evening is the Cedar Sour, which has the unusual ingredient of rye infused with cedar chips. There were a number of other creative and fancy cocktails, none of which we tried because we were determined to be fresh for tomorrow morning. But the food was also very creative and beautifully presented, as these pictires will attest: 

In today's small world story. I happened to spot a colleague of mine be seated near to our table, so I promptly went to present myself and say hello. Jim was a whiley veteran when I started in the business in 1990 and remains one of the great thinkers in the industry and, as one of the chief architects of strategy for the firm, bears considerable influence on my own practice. Jim and his wife were visiting Tofino on their annual summer pilgrimage, coming over from Vancouver;  they also come over on an annual Christmas pilgrimage as well as an annual "one other time" annual pilgrimage. To give you an example of Jim's amazing intellect and foresight, saw that our group of about 20 were lovers of great company and revelry and generously bought our table a round. Now Jim, I'm not sure if you meant to be buying just Nan and me a drink or if it was really meant to be for the entire group but I can tell you that I personally got a great deal of mileage with Nan's family, so once again, thank-you very much.

We are back on the road early tomorrow morning, our goal being to make it to near Lillooet. We will have a good, long break on the ferry and we will be fresh from having had a day off the bike. We have been anxiously watching the forest fires and planning our route but at this point, it looks like we will be retracing our steps, though there are two fires just outside of Little Fort.

Frank Island, off Chesterman Beach

This is me with my GREAT nephew Finlay and my little buddy Toma.

Amphitrite Lighthouse

Distance traveled: 93 km
Cumulative distance: 1683 km
Maximum speed: 141 kph
Average speed: 56 kph
Temperature range: 15.8 - 19.6

Len and Windy met us at the Chesterman Beach House and we ride down to Ucluelete and have a snack - not even close to our 4,000 calorie allotment but still great. It is a little warmer than yesterday though the air remains fresh. That's the norm here.

 Amphitrite Lighthouse is the first lighthouse on the BC coast, dating back to 1905. The original lantern, a kerosene lamp, was placed on a bowl of mercury and two mirrors revolved around the lamp by a spring-wound timer that lasted for eight hours. At each interval, the lighthouse keeper would have to re-wind the spring, a system that remained in use till the arrival of electricity to the lighthouse in 1961.

While we were wandering around the lighthouse area, we heard a persistent hollow, blowing sound, not unlike the sound when a person is blows across the top of a beer bottle.  The four of us speculated what might be causing it and I walked down nearly to the water's edge thinking I would find the source, such as the wind blowing in a hollow tube in the rocks. The closer I got the water's edge ("risking life and limb" in Len's words), with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, the harder it was to determine from what direction the sound was coming and thus, the mystery remained. At least until we were leaving and came across a descriptive sign that we hadn't bothered to stop and read when we arrived.

It turns out that the sound was a "whistle buoy" and is a navigation beacon for mariners. There is also a "bell buoy", the idea being that in the fog or darkness, mariners should navigate between the two and avoid the shore or reefs that might be under the water.  This system has also been in use here since 1905.

Surfing is popular here in Tofino and this is not a unique sight. We also saw a motorcycle rider with his board strapped to the side of his bike, moving considerably faster than this fellow.

It smells here

Distance traveled: 404 km
Cumulative distance: 1590 km
Maximum speed: 135 kph
Average speed: 65 kph
Temperature range: 13.6 - 24.8

After lattes and fresh baking at the Blackbird

Bakery in Pemberton, and bidding farewell to Dan, we rode to the ferry for our first leg, about an hour and a half. Fortunately for us, motorcycles are given priority because it is possible to squeeze on many without taking any space away from larger vehicles, as they are all wedged along the edge of the car deck. This is fortunate today because we would have been waiting for two or three sailings if we had to wait in line.

Disembarking at Nanaimo, we met up with our friends Windy and Len, immortalized on the Mexican Motorcycle Manoeuvres blog from last year. They live in the Vancouver area and so we had a great

opportunity to link with friends we don't get to see too often, the last time being when we all met on our motorcycles in Nelson for the August 2016 long weekend. They were staying at Windy's parent's place in Nanaimo and when we rode up, they were sitting on the front porch in anticipation of our arrival. I wasn't surprised because I had just assumed that they were following the blog and were tracking our movements. Turns out that that was not the case and they were just simply anxiously awaiting us. Great to arrive SOMEplace and have a great greeting.

So we rode up the highway all the way to Parksville, about 20 km. There awaiting us was my HIGH SCHOOL buddy Tim. We're talking 44 years of friendship. Tim and I went to the same reform school on Vancouver Island, near Mill Bay and as it happens, we had just had the good fortune to get together two weeks ago for our 40th anniversary high school reunion. In our graduating class of '77, there were nine of us guys that would hang around together and despite the enormous distances separating us all now - literally continents apart -  it was the first time in 40 years that all nine of us were reunited together. These are all class guys: kind, hard working, thoughtful, respectful, you could not hope to meet a better group of individuals.

Tim has a photography business and he occasionally uses a drone to chase things, like motorcycles. We role up and Tim is in his yard. He has been tracking our movements.  We have a walk around the yard, the house and the workshop and then Tim pulls out the drone. We get on our bikes and, despite the temptation to rip around the neighbourhood doing wheelies, donuts and break stands, which we have being practicing in earnest,Tim is mindful of his neighbours so we ride at a leisurely pace around the block and the drone follows us.  You can see the video on this YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08qsxVHM4XU&feature=youtu.be  I see it's up to 14 views, so pretty much going viral.

Motorcycling offers some great treasures. There

are obvious things, such as riding through twisty-turns; even a non-rider can imagine what it must be like to handle the bike through sharp turns, swinging the momentum back and forth. A little less obvious is discovering the hidden gems on the dusty trail, like the Blackbird Bakery this morning, with fresh-made croissants and lattes, both of which I was missing. However, one of our great pleasures is smelling the surroundings as we are riding.  On a bike, it is all about the

exposure and one of the five senses most exposed is the sense of smell. We are being filled with the smell of salt water, kelp, tidal pools, cedar forests and it goes on, many things we don't identify but think are wildflowers. I'm riding with my face shield open so that I can take it all in, riding as hard as we can around tight turns, the late afternoon sun streaming through the trees causing intermittent shadows and light on the road. The temperature is dropping rapidly the closer to Tofino we get, even though the sky is clear, as the all the weather of the Pacific is flowing over us and it is akin to a fall day.