As with every motorcycle trip we have done to date, the weather on our last day of riding was wet and cold.  The “Going to the Sun” highway through Glacier National Park was closed for construction, so we did not have to make the decision on whether we should risk that road today.   Our other two options was to head straight North to Eureka and cross the border at Roosville or head east and take Highway 2, the lower elevation way around the most southern portion of Glacier National Park.  Either of these options would involve a mountain or high elevation pass at some point with the risk of snow, the first option in Canada through Crow’s Nest Pass and the other in Montana through unfamiliar roads.  We decided to try the Highway 2 option through some portions of Glacier National Park.  If we were going to be cold and miserable, we might as well have some new scenery to look at to distract us from our discomfort.

Highway 2 was beautiful despite the weather and the construction and the aches and pains.  We will definitely have to come back and ride this highway again in warmer, dryer weather.  The mountains and glaciers were very impressive and there were a lot of fall colours to admire.  Just no reds.  All yellows and oranges.  I can see why the Ottawa Valley attracts “leafers” in the fall.  The red leaves are definitely noticeably missing in the West.  And, although the weather got very close to being cold enough to snow through the higher elevation passes, the precipitation continued to be rain until we reached East Glacier.  The sun actually came out a little for us here, but it was still too cold to turn off the heated gear until we got to a slightly lower elevation.

Before we knew it, we were at the Port of Peigan border crossing.  With only one lane open, there was a bit of a lineup at the crossing.  Koira was very indignant in her Pet Palace because we did not let her out.  The bike was stopped, so she fully expected to get out and explore.  She was barking when we pulled up to the border agent.  I could tell he was confused about where the dog was on our bike.  He was looking at the front of Jeremy’s jacket and then my jacket, like we might be trying to hide a dog in our bulky rain and motorcycle gear.  When he realized she was in the bag in the back, you could tell he was trying not to laugh.  He did not ask about meat products or pet food, so we did not mention the tiny bit of dog food we were still carrying.  He did ask for Koira’s vaccination paperwork.  So, making sure we had all that paperwork with us was not a waste.  It went very smoothly and they let us and our cranky little white dog back into the country.  I was happy we did not have to go through the bike search again this year.  It is not the search of the bike that is the pain really, as we have nothing to hide, it is having to re-pack everything again before we can head out.

It is nice to go on holidays, but it always nice to come again.  We stopped for a quick lunch in Cardston, but, now that we were in Alberta, we just wanted to get home.  Calgary greeted us with gray skies, wind, and cold.  Ottawa used to greet us with the exact same weather.  We had to turn our heated gear back on again for that last stretch.  It did not matter to us, though.  We were just so happy to be home safe and sound.  Happy Thanksgiving!

We managed to get out the door much earlier this morning and it made all the difference for our ride today.  I made sure Koira’s leash was in my back pocket this morning, so nothing stopped our progress out of town.  On a bit of a whim, we decided to stop at the scenic overlook just outside of town to take a picture of the valley and the twin cities of Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington along the Snake River.  We were on the Lewis and Clark trail, so it seemed fitting that we should stop and reflect on this fact.  Lewis and Clark have left there mark on this entire region.  Everything seems to be named after them here and probably for just cause.

Well, when we were at the scenic overlook, what do we see below us but Lewiston’s “Old Spiral Highway”.  Now, Jeremy could not resist this one.  It is not often we get to take a photo of a road that we are about to do before we ride it either.  Jeremy got out the helmet cam for the road too.  We knew it was going to be a good one… and it was!  It was so good, we had to do it twice.  Down and then up!  After finding this unexpected treasure of a road, the rest of the day could suck and we would still have had a good day! Continue reading

Well, we were all slow pokes getting up and out the door today.  I don’t know what happened but we did not get going until 11:00 AM this morning.  We even had the maid knocking on the door to see if we had checked out yet.  That is the first time that has happened to us on this trip.  I think our stay in Sacramento spoiled us a little and broke up our packing routine.  We needed the rest, though, because we have some long days ahead to try and get back to Calgary before the snow hits.

Just when we thought we were finally on our way, about 1 KM down the road from our hotel, just before the on ramp for the interstate, a guy in a car pulled up along side us with his windows down, vigorously circling his hand in the air and pointing at our motorcycle.  Now, he was either warning us that there was speed trap ahead or we had something wrapped around something on our bike.  Oh, yeah!  I had hooked Koira to the passenger peg while we were doing our last minute preparations to ride.  Thankfully, I remembered to put Koira in the bag, though!  I just forgot about the leash on the peg!  I must send out a thank you to that man in Bend who made us aware of my blooper.  I hope he did not think we drove off with a dog attached . . . and then lost it along the way!  Jeremy pulled off safely to the side of the road, I detached the battered dog leash from the peg, got back on the bike, and THEN we were on our way out of Bend.  Someday we will be back to stay longer.  Koira’s leash almost stayed there permanently.  I am sure Jeremy could have fashioned a temporary leash out of aircraft wire if he had to, though. Continue reading

Time to hit the road again.  Sacramento was amazing and so were our hosts.  Thanks again, Chris and Stacey!  And Mico and Sophie too!

We prepared ourselves mentally for a long day of riding.  We had 700 kilometres to cover to make it to our planned stop for the night – Bend, Oregon.  We stopped in Willows, California for a rest and a quick breakfast and then we were off again, driving through miles and miles of olive tree orchards.  The billboards advertising olive-tastings and freshly-pressed olive oil in Corning almost lured us away from our route, but we resisted and told ourselves we would be back someday for an olive orchard tour.  We also saw another kiddy pool on the highway!  Third one of the trip!  This one was just a plain, blue pool.  No cartoon characters.  It did have the built-in slide, though! Continue reading

Today, Chris and Stacey had to work.  Actually, so did Jeremy.  I had a relaxing morning playing with Mico and Sophie and doing a little load of laundry.  Koira sulked.  She does not play when Mico and Sophie are around.  She stayed close to Jeremy while he worked and I chased the little ones around the house.  Ah, it is good for Koira.  She does not always need to be the centre of attention.  I think she got caught up on her sleep too.

We met Chris in Old Sacramento for lunch at a very cool burger joint and pub called Fanny Ann’s Saloon.   We all ordered the Singin’ the Blues Burger – their famous burger topped with a slices of blue cheese.  Excellent burgers . . . and not just because of the generous serving of blue cheese.  The restaurant decorating was eclectic, to say the least.  It was three stories of antiques and collectibles screwed to the walls anywhere there was room.  They also encouraged graffiti and etching contributions from their customers.   We even saw an old Ontario license plate.  Now, was that someone who drove down to California and decided not to go home?  I can see how tempting that might be. Continue reading

Today we got to go on a field trip to Tahoe with Chris and Stacey.  We were up early and enjoyed a couple of Chris’ specialty espresso boosts before all seven of us (4 human, 3 canine) piled into Stacey’s SUV for the ride.  A quick stop at Starbucks for some more caffeine, and we were all ready (and wired) for the scenic, twisty mountain roads through Eldorado to Lake Tahoe.

Last time we came through this way, we were headed from Lee Vining towards Sacramento and Jenny’s motorcycle was unable to idle properly.  She was forced to ride all the way twisting the throttle slightly to keep her bike running, even when heading downhill into a 10mph hairpin turn…  This ride was much more relaxing and even the falling snow was nothing to get too excited about. Continue reading

Breakfast was delivered again bright and early to our door at our inn by the sea.  Today’s surprise was danishes.  Yum!  We were slow getting ready to go.  I don’t think we really want to leave our cozy little room, but it was time to say goodbye to the ocean.

A wrong turn at the lights meant we had another chance to see the Carmel mission and downtown Carmel, and then, it was really time to say goodbye.

It was rainy but we had prepared in advance by starting out in our rain gear.  We drove through Salinas and kept out an eye for Bobby McGee.  No sign of him anywhere . . . still. Continue reading

Breakfast gets delivered right to our door in a little cooler at the Svendsgaard’s Inn.  Isn’t that fantastic!  With a newspaper and dog biscuits for Koira too.  You get to unwrap your breakfast surprise!  The coffee cake was amazing.  I wonder what we will get tomorrow morning!

After our full breakfast and a little caffeine, we were raring to go.  Well, everyone except Koira.  She needed a little convincing to get out of bed this morning, but once we showed her the leash she decided she might like to see a little of Carmel.  Well, explore it with her nose anyway.  After the “Poodle Parade,” every corner was a sign post to be read by her nose.  It was a little slow going trying to drag the dog, but eventually the “news” got old and she walked a little quicker.  She even got to do a little shopping.  Jeremy and I found Carmel t-shirts and Koira (Jenny) found a little sea otter toy. Continue reading

After a warm breakfast of waffles and coffee at the Bodega Bay Inn, we were off again under gray skies and promise of sunshine in the distance.  We enjoyed more of Highway 1 and the beautiful scenery.  We wound our way through Point Reyes and its surrounding protected area.   At one point, we made a wrong turn and found ourselves riding through California cattle country.  It was interesting to see cattle ranches like you might see in the mid-west and then, planted in their front lawn, a palm tree.  Something in this picture does not quite belong . . .

We managed to navigate back to Highway 1 and, in doing so, passed the United States Coast Goard training centre.  Now, that’s an impressive complex and extremely well-protected.  It is now part of the Homeland Security initiative so it is probably a lot more secure that it used to be.  We did not stop and take a picture just in case it made us look suspicious.  The guards did not look like “rent-a-cops.”  These guys were the real deal! Continue reading

We were off this morning fairly early from the Red Lion hotel.  We had a good night’s rest and those football players were as quiet as mice.  Maybe if they win today they will be rowdy tonight.  Good thing we were not sticking around to find out!

Halfway through Eureka downtown proper Jeremy had a eureka moment!  I am probably not using that saying properly but I had to use it somewhere.  Jeremy realized he still had our hotel key cards in his pocket, so we saw downtown Eureka three times today.  And Koira got to bark at people on the street too a little more than usual. Continue reading

Today we had to say goodbye to Lincoln City and our little cabin by the ocean.  Too bad we are not coming back through Lincoln City on the way home.  Apparently, they are having a 50% off their off-season prices deal next week.  That would make it about $30.00 a night for us.  Darn!

We were on the road early this morning for us.  We managed to get the bike loaded by 8:00 AM, including a cranky little dog who wanted to stay in bed.  We headed out under gray skies with a major Oregon winter storm chasing our tail.  It was all about getting through the storm front today and, hopefully, crossing the border into California. Continue reading

No, it is not a typo.  We decided to stay an extra day in Lincoln City to play tourist and rest our weary bones.  The Sea Horse had a cabin available for us but we had to switch to 114.  Very similar to 112 but just no fireplace.  It is too hot right now for a fireplace anyway.  Maybe in another month it might be cool enough to use one.

We wandered around “downtown” Lincoln City for a little while today and checked out the gift shops.  I found a fisherman’s small  glass float at an antique store to remember our trip here.  I took a picture of it just in case it does not make it home in one piece.  I am going to have to protect it well in my sidebag.  We might have to come back to Lincoln City in the winter.  Every year, from mid-October to Memorial Day you can comb the beaches here for glass floats that city volunteers have “planted” on the beaches here.  You find it, its yours!  They are quite pretty.  Jeremy’s treasure find today – homemade caramel popcorn, chocolate-coated “sea foam” toffee,  and bacon-flavoured toothpicks from Candyland. Continue reading

Despite another early wakeup, we did not manage to get going until 9:00 AM.  Once we were close to having the motorcycle packed up, we took a short stroll to the end of the Astoria River Walk.  We did not see anymore “wharf” rats, but I got to see my first banana slug.  I think it must have been Koira’s first experience with any type of slug.  Koira could not care less about it but I was not a fan.  Jeremy showed me how touching the attenae made them retract, but I still was not a fan.  Too much like an earthworm.  Not a fan of them either. Continue reading

Today everyone slept in – even Koira!  We must all have been a little tired from battling the rain and wind yesterday.  We were even late for the complimentary breakfast at the hotel but Jeremy managed to get the hostess to turn the waffle-maker back on for two more sets of waffles.

We decided to start out in our rain suits today as the weather forecasts were predicting rain all the way to the coast.  The ladies at the visitor centre in Yakima had also warned Jeremy that there was a chance of snow through the pass.  At first we thought we were sitting in our portable saunas for nothing, but then the rain caught up to us.  Even despite the drizzle and the cold through the pass, the Old Natches Highway and Gifford Pinchot National Forest was beautiful.  It is right up there with some of the best motorcycling roads we have been on.  It was a nice surprise.   If Jeremy had known how nice it was going to be, he would have worn his helmet cam again. Continue reading

Well, we made it across the border into Washington!  All that worrying about Koira’s wellness report and vaccinations and the border agent did not even ask to see her paperwork.  I was more of a problem at the border than Koira, being too slow taking off my helmet and sunglasses and by getting off the bike when I was not asked to get off.  The only issue crossing the border was Koira’s Canadian made dry dog food – Orijen.  I know this food is sold in the United States as well as it has won “Best Pet Food” awards over the last few years in Canada and the United States, but it would have been a bit of a pain to try and find it for her if they confiscated it at the border.  We had to pull over to the side and wait for a Department of Agriculture officer to “come out and talk to us.”  I think Koira’s cuteness helped us yet again.  When he saw how little we were bringing across the border to feed her for two weeks he said “Ah, that’s nothing.”  Koira was batting her long eyelashes at him and acting all sleepy.  She knows how to play up to people when she has to.  His only concern was whether there was any lamb in the food.  Good thing I cut out the label of ingredients and put it in her portioned out bag of food for him to see.  We did not mention that Koira sleeps on a bought in Canada sheepskin in her Pet Palace.  She has allergic reactions to eating lamb meat but she LOVES sleeping on lambskin.  With a few suggestions of what to see and do on the Oregon coast from the Department of Agriculture office, we were on our way! Continue reading

Well, a dog’s schedule never rests, vacation or not.  Koira was expectantly standing on my chest at 5:30 AM this morning.  Time for a walk and then, her favourite morning routine – breakfast.  Not too many of the Hume Hotel guests are up at 5:30 AM, but thankfully there was a lady in the office to undo the locks on the front door to let us out.  Everyone understands a dog’s schedule, especially other dog owners.  Actually, Nelson is pretty quiet on Sunday morning at 5:30 AM.

Despite our early rise, this morning, we still did not make it on the road much earlier than usual.  By the time we packed up, posted yesterday’s blog, and had our complimentary breakfast of “huevos rancheros” (excellent wrapped in a homemade tortilla) delivered to us in the lobby because Koira was not allowed in the restaurant (which is perfectly understandable), it was already 8:00 AM.  It was raining during this time period anyway, so the delay let the clouds pass over Nelson a little. Continue reading

What a day for a ride! This is the first trip that we’ve started off not in a huge rain storm, and boy was it a nice change!

We were up early and had a leisurely breakfast, packed a few last-minute items, walked the dog and left. We took the easy way out of town through Bragg Creek then headed up to the Trans-Canada as far as Canmore before the first rest stop was ordered. Since we didn’t really need anything we stopped at the visitor information center on the edge of town so Koira could have a sniff and I could try out my favourite ride, then it was back on the bike.

After Canmore, we were riding new territory. Normally, we take the Highway 93 to Radium Hot Springs to visit Jeremy’s Mom but today there was no turning. We kept straight and headed towards Yoho National Park and Golden. I kept an eye out but, unlike my parents, I did not see any wolves running in the ditches. Koira would have loved to smell a wolf . . . from a distance, on a motorcycle, safe in her Pet Palace. Continue reading

We actually did it!  We got out of our hotel and on the road by 7:00 AM this morning . . . in 5 degrees Celsius weather.  Oh, yeah.  That’s why we do not leave so early in the Northern States and Canada.  Petunia had scared us with her route of 800 KM to Ottawa, so we decided to aim for 12 hours of daylight just in case we needed it all.  We had not come close to an 800 KM day this trip, but we had one day last year that ended up being that long, so we knew it was in us to do it.  We were not looking forward to it, though. Continue reading

Well, we intended to get out early this morning, but we dawdled yet again.  We had a leisurely breakfast in the cozy dining room at the Summit Inn.  We really did not want to leave this hotel.  We will definitely have to come back for a visit again some time soon. Continue reading

Today we let Petunia be our guide to get us near Falling Water.  We pretty much expected a day of interstates so we spent a couple of hours at the Natural Bridge Tourist Trap after packing up camp this morning. Continue reading