HIWAYFLYER.COM

ELLENSBURG, WA

WASHINGTON-IDAHO BORDER

CANADA TRIP, EH

It was a dark and stormy night….
          OK, not really, it was actually a little cloudy and about 8 on a Saturday morning in August. Mike and Gig were riding up from Olympia to meet Erin and me in Sumner; they got rained on the first 10 miles or so. Topped off the tanks, and hit the road to Spokane for our first day out.
          The weather was cloudy but mild as we rolled up SR 167, then onto highway 18 over Tiger Mountain and onto I-90 to blast over Snoqualmie Pass. A quick gas-bathroom-snack break in Ellensburg and we rolled into Moses Lake. My friend Craig lives on the lake, and we stopped at his place for a beverage and to look at his new possession—a 1959 Harley Hummer. After taking pictures and telling lies, we hit the road for our last blast into Spokane, getting to the hotel about 3 or so. By now the temp had climbed to about 85, and we got checked in, unpacked the bikes and settled into our rooms. We had reservations at the Wolf Lodge Inn in Coeur d’Alene for dinner (you don’t get a seat without reservations---this place is ALWAYS packed…), so about 430 or so we headed out. The restaurant is 8 miles east of CdA, in a gravel parking lot, and from the outside, does not look like much. I’ll say it right up front. Best. Steaks. Ever. Great service, tons of food, reasonable prices (considering the quality and amount of the servings), and just a fun place to eat. After stuffing ourselves, we rode back to the hotel, drinks and hot tub waiting.
          Our second day plan was to head north out of Spokane on highway 2 toward Newport, and from there along the Pend Oreille River on SR31 through the town of Metaline Falls and up to the border crossing at Nelway. A quick and easy pass through customs and we were in Canada.   As soon as you cross the border, SR31 becomes highway 6 and rolls through the towns of Salmo and Ymir into Nelson, our second stop. Nelson is an old mill and mining town on Kootenay Lake. Our hotel was an old-style motor court, the Alpine Motel. Parking right in front of the rooms, and very biker-friendly. After checking in, we wandered downtown to get a look at the town, but, since we were there on a Sunday afternoon, most everything was closed…except the pub. Cold drinks and appetizers were consumed, and we headed back to our hotel. BY the time we got back, a number of motorcycles were parked around the parking lot, and a couple of people were sitting in the shade at one end of the lot, near our rooms. We scavenged a few more chairs and joined them, sharing stories, road tales, beer, whiskey, and (later) pizza. By the end of the night we had about 10 people all sitting around in a circle---great people and amazing stories! (I highly recommend this motel if you are in Nelson!) We stopped in downtown Nelson the next morning for breakfast, then rode along the lake up to the ferry terminal at Balfour.          The province operates a free ferry crossing from Balfour across the lake to Kootenay Bay, about a 35 minute ride. The ferry ride is absolutely beautiful, with a backdrop of wildlife and mountains to see the entire ride. After leaving the ferry, we traveled down highway 3B along the east side of the lake to Creston, where we stopped for lunch. We asked if there was an ice cream shop in town (thinking Baskin-Robbins or something similar), and someone told about Two Scoop Steve’s, about 20 miles east in Yahk, BC. OK, so that’s ALL there is in Yahk. Really cool little place, on the Moyie River, with a walkway you can stroll down to the river and hang out. After ice cream, pictures and a walk to the river, off we went to Cranbrook. . Not much in Cranbrook, downtown is pretty much empty but there is a little Harley dealer there with great people…very friendly and fun place to visit. We had plans to stay in Kimberley that night, which is about a half hour north of Cranbrook. Kimberley is alleged to be the highest town in BC at about 3600 feet. Kimberley’s “downtown” is done up like a Bavarian village, very cool. A friend had told me about a couple of German restaurants there that have rooms upstairs for rent…I figured a bed, bath and that’s it, as when I called to make reservations the girl told me they were $54 per night. We got into town about 4, and found the Mozart House, where we were staying. Valeria, the hostess (and co-owner) got us checked in and told us the rooms were right at the top of the stairs. Really pleasantly surprised---small rooms, double bed, but a full bath, gas fireplace, TV, and a balcony overlooking the plaza. We did some tourist-y stuff, souvenir shopping, walked around the plaza, and had a drink at the pub. The bartender at the pub told us the best German food was at Mozart House, so it was back there for more libations and food. Food was excellent, drinks were good, dessert was beyond description, and we took drinks back upstairs and spent the rest of the evening sitting on the balcony. This place is definitely on my “to visit again” list!
          The next morning was chilly (we were 3600 ft up) but clear, and we headed out on highway 95A and joined highway 95 just past Ta-Ta Creek (I’m not kidding). From there, with the Rockies in view, we headed north through Canal Flats (source of the Columbia River) and stopped for a few at Fairmont Hot Springs, then back onto the highway to Radium Hot Springs. Radium is a hot springs resort, but there is also a town at the junction of highways 95 and 93. We turned right and entered Kootenay National Park, one of the most scenic and beautiful roads I have ever traveled. The highway threads along the Kootenay River almost all the way to the Alberta border. We made numerous stops along the way, just to look at the scenery: mountains, glaciers, forests, canyons, and more. Crossing the Alberta border, we joined Highway 1 (the Trans-Canada) and rolled into Banff, getting into town about 2:30pm. Banff is the highest town in Canada at 4537 feet altitude. It was about 78 degrees when we got to our hotel, a Red Carpet Inn on the main street into Banff. This was the most expensive hotel we stayed in, but very nice. The rooms were spacious, comfortable bed, seating area, jetted tub in the bathroom, and very quiet. We unpacked and wandered down through the shopping areas in town, Mike and I went for a drink at a pub while Erin and Gig shopped. Dinner that night was at a Chili’s, good food and better drinks!
          We were surprised the next morning when we turned on the TV news and they were reporting a local temperature of 1C (34 degrees F). And, from Banff we were headed back into the mountains to Lake Louise, about another 1100 feet higher. A quick breakfast at McDonald’s, and our bundled up bodies were off to Lake Louise.
           It had warmed quite a bit by the time we got to the lake about a half hour later, probably pushing about 45 degrees. The lake is glacier fed, very clear and cold, with a beautiful park. The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel sits right on the shore of the lake, a magnificent hotel with rooms that I can’t afford! We did, however, go into the coffee shop and get some snacks and warm drinks before heading back out on the road toward Golden, BC. Leaving Lake Louise, you also leave Banff National Park and almost immediately roll into Yoho National Park. The town of Golden sits just outside Yoho National Park at the junction of Highways 1 and 95. A really bad lunch in town (bad food, bad service, not even free refills on our sodas!) and we topped off our fuel, then back onto highway 1 into Glacier National Park and over Rogers Pass. Our destination was Revelstoke, on the southwestern edge of (you guessed it) Revelstoke National Park. Very friendly town, small but nice, and we stayed at a mom-and-pop type hotel, off the beaten path and quite comfortable. Dinner at a sports bar that night and drinks outside our rooms capped off the day.
          Thursday was planned to be one of the longer days we had…a side trip off the Trans-Canada at Sicamous to Salmon Arm to visit my aunt, then down highway 97B into Vernon. Had a great visit with my aunt and cousin, and then got back on the road to Vernon, where we had lunch. Temperature was climbing by now; it was pushing 90 by the time we stopped for lunch. Rolled out of Vernon on down into Kelowna. This is called Lake Country for good reason. The highway sits between Okanogan Lake on the west, and Kalamalka Lake, Wood Lake, and Duck Lake on the east. Amazing scenery, good roads and the town of Kelowna has grown over the years to over 109,000 people. A quick stop at the Harley dealer was unimpressive, and we rolled through downtown Kelowna in heavy traffic and 95 degree heat. We stopped and visited a friend in the hospital there, then went to west Kelowna, crossing over Lake Okanogan to our hotel.
          The sun was up early on Friday morning, and as we headed out about 8:30am, the temp was already pushing 70. We rolled south on 97 through the municipalities of Summerland and Peachland, running parallel to Okanogan Lake all the way into Penticton. We stopped for a quick breakfast at McDonald’s, then went through town and headed toward the US/Canada border. As you come into Penticton from the north, you are alongside Okanogan Lake, as you head out of town on the south, you follow Skaha Lake. Highway 97 rolls through the towns of Okanogan Falls, Oliver, and Osoyoos where the border crossing is. Osoyoos Lake is on your left even into Washington. We made a stop at the duty free store (can’t beat their prices on Crown Royal!) and headed toward Omak.
           The further south we rode into Washington, the hotter it got…we stopped for lunch (and ice cream) in Omak, must have been a sweltering 100 degrees! Ahh, air conditioning, cold drinks, and tasty ice cream! Our plans were to meet some friends in Chelan, and they would ride with us into Wenatchee, where we had a hotel reserved. They had invited us over for dinner that night, and we were eager to accept, after a week of restaurant food. Took the alternate off 97 into Chelan, and waited for about 20 minutes for them to show up. We followed them into Wenatchee, where they directed us to our hotel. We got unpacked, showered, etc and Mark came back and picked us up in his truck, drove us to his house and we had the BEST BBQ…many new friends and great times (killer drinks too!).
          Saturday morning was windy but mild, and we had seen on the news that Western Washington was getting wet…so we hit the road early and headed for home. Our original plan was to take Highway 2 through Leavenworth (Washington, not Kansas) and over Stevens Pass, then home. We changed that last leg due to the weather and Erin and I had a party to attend later that afternoon. A couple of our new friends, Sam and Theresa, wanted to ride with us, so we met up with them on our way out of Wenatchee, and we dropped down into Ellensburg via Satus Pass, stopping for gas then made a quick stop at the produce stand at Thorp. A nice easy run over Snoqualmie Pass and down highways 18 and 167 finished off our journey. Mike and Gig took off at Sumner to head home while Erin and I rolled up 410 to our place. No rain, no mishaps, fantastic scenery, and great friends…it doesn’t get better than that!