Our Anniversary: 02August2005

Well, we made it back home -- it took almost 13 hours, and we rode for 400.7 miles from Whistler, and we are home safe and sound, and a wee bit tired.

Yesterday (Monday) was a wonderful sunny day, and a bit cooler in Whistler than it had been, and although we knew we'd be on the bikes for some time Tuesday, we decided we needed additional time sitting on large motorized vehicles that made lots of noise, and decided to take an extended 5 hour ATV tour of Whistler Mountain. We had taken ATVs before in Whistler on a shorter run when we were with our friends Kurt and Roger back when we got married up there in 2003. At that time, we just road around in a large group of about 15, getting very dusty and a bit muddy for a couple of hours, sticking to the lower side of Blackcomb Mountain, and not venturing up very high.

This time, we rode around in a small group of 7 for FIVE hours getting very dusty and muddy, and went from the base of Whistler Creekside all the way up to the top of Whistler peak, had dinner, and then all the way back down. Grand fun, and if we had a bigger garage, we'd be off tomorrow buying two ATVs and a trailer to haul them -- alas we don't have room for the Hummer, the Equinox, and the two bikes now. The picture is me at the top of Whistler Peak with Overload Glacier in the background.

Tuesday morning we got up a bit before 6a and got packed and left the condo at 7a sharp. Rather than turn left like we normally do and head south down BC 99, we turned right, and headed due North. Get out your handy-dandy BC map and follow along... You don't have one you say? What's wrong with you?

First observation of note -- it was %#@#%$#%@ COLD!!!! We had jackets and gloves, and it had been in the high 70s, but at 7am it was probably in the mid 50s, but it was shady and the wind speed made us freeze! It was gorgeous and clear, and the air as fresh as can be -- but I don't think I've ever been that cold, even when skiing. We got to Pemberton, about 23 miles from Whistler and gassed up -- the next town would be Lillooet some 75 miles up the road.

This picture is Tony at the Pemberton Shell, with Mt. Currie in the background. I guess the camera isn't good enough to show the steam of Tony's breath.

We kept going north -- up and over a stunningly gorgeous pass on what is known as the "Duffy Lake Road". We pulled over in a spot of sunshine to warm up and Tony propped the camera up on the back of his bike for the next picture.



By this time we were popsicles internally, and we'd been on the road for a bit over 90 minutes, and I think we passed maybe 5 cars since leaving Pemberton. It was very isolated, and as cold as we were, the bikes were the best way to see it all and breathe it all in -- I don't think I'd ever smelt air that fresh. However, most of the way down the pass I was counting the miles to Lillooet, praying that there was a store -- even a Wall Mart by God if need be -- where I could get an Everest sized down parka to finish the ride in.

At the bottom of the pass, just before we got to Lillooet was Duffy Lake, formed by a dam in the Lillooet river. Tony took this photo of me at the overlook above the dam.

By this time the sun was up, and we were riding into it, so we didn't have to stop for a down jacket, and it was a good thing since even though it "looked" like Lillooet was a fairly large town, and I suppose by interior BC standards it is -- it actually was so small it had only two gas stations, and nothing resembling a Wal Mart.


In Lillooet we crossed the Fraser River -- Western Canada's equivalent of the Columbia -- and turned south-east on BC 11, which runs along the east bank of the river. This was another long deserted stretch of road, where we passed a handful of cars in two hours, cruising along in the now warmer sunshine, and smelling smoke from a spate of distant wildfires. We paused for some pastries at a small town where the Thompson River joins the Fraser called Lytton -- Tony took this one at the overlook where the rivers meet.

At Lytton, BC 12 joins the Trans Canada Highway #1. Despite the impressive name, it has two lanes for most of the trip and very little traffic as well.
We cruised down the Fraser Canyon for another two hours, clinging to the east bank of the river, through a number of tunnels, along green hillsides and sandwiched between both of Canada's transcontinental railways, the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National.

At Hope BC we crossed over to the Fraser's west bank on a very impressive bridge, and the traffic was so sparse that Tony could take this last picture before we stopped at a Dairy Queen for lunch a bit past 1230p. At this point we'd covered well over 180 miles.

The Fraser and us turned West -- the Trans Canada became a freeway on the east/south bank and we picked up BC 7 to head west on the north bank. This ran trough miles and miles of farm land in the Fraser valley, and the bikes and we cruised along at a steady 50 mph. At Mission BC, which is sort of a bedroom community to Vancouver (some 50 miles away still, but served by their commuter train and bus system), we turned South and crossed the border back into the US at Abbottsford. Here we picked up Washington Highway 9 -- the same road we took north on Friday. This road has to be the PERFECT motorcycle road trip road. Enough people/towns/houses to make sure one doesn't feel like they are the last person on earth -- we often felt that those BC highways were the most lonesome stretches of road we'd ever been on
-- and it has gentle curves, no traffic, and lots of sunshine, with gorgeous scenery and wonderful fresh air. I think the best thing about being on a bike out in the country is the fresh air in your face, and the subtle changes in temperature between shade and sun.

We stuck to Highway 9 as far as it went -- mile 0 on Highway 9 is in Woodinville Washington, a suburb just north of Redmond. There we picked up WA 202, and went into Redmond, took the 520 bridge into Seattle, and had dinner at Alki Beach at 8p sharp. After dinner, we cruised the beach road home, pulled into the driveway a tad after 9, and ended with 400.7 miles on my odometer. It's now 1145p, and I'm still feeling the bike under me, the roar in my ears, and my butt hurts -- and while Tony and I both were happy to be home, we were also sad to see our journey come to an end.

We both have to get back to work and the real world. However, the Harley Dealership has free haircuts, if you show up on your bike on Wednesday's, from their licensed stylist. It is part of that Harley "lifestyle" they try to cultivate, and I could use a trim...