Day 8- Dawson Creek, BC to Toad River, Yukon, Canada

11 pm at night

11pm at night

Day 8: The Alaska Highway a.k.a. Coolest ride ever

Dawson Creek has grown so much froom what I remember about 10 years ago. There is a Walmart and several fancy hotels. Wierd, not the north I remember. Just a couple football tosses outside of the town limit sign the rain started. I was thinking to myself, well at least it is not windy. Then the wind started and the temp dropped.... none the less, I was riding the Alaska Highway and it is awesome. We must have stopped every 50 miles, to get gas, duck tape hand warmers to my hands and socks, get the water out of my helmet and so on.

When the sun finially broke, early afternoon, I stopped to get gas because we were right outside of Fort Nelson and it was closed on Sunday. No worries I thought and added gas from the can in the truck. Not enough though, I ran out like a mile away from town. Dang!

Subway for dinner/lunch, about 6:30. I changed my socks and re-applied my special Canadian addition toe warmer and we were off. We tried to get to Liard Hot Springs but came up short at Toad River..... (about 400 miles short of our planned desitnation for the day). Walked in and found an open door so we plopped our stuff down claiming the room. For you Methodist, it is just like the (original) rooms at Beersheba Springs but with a bathroom and a sulfer smell.

This has been in the making for years. I got the bike maybe 3 years ago, the jacket a year ago and the cool travel partner about 5 and a half (the best 5 and a half years ever) and it is all unfolding in front of me.... right now. Hard to absorb all of it. The wildlife, scenes and how enourmous everything seems.

Went over three bridges that were like a grate, you could see through..... It is almost as bad as the groved roads. I was really scared. The roads were kinda bad..... gravel and potholes, for about 10 miles, but the most part really good. Some are even freshly paved for us.


Hopefully Skagway tomorrow. I spent a summer there and loved it.

PS, our room has a painting in it that we have a home. It is meant to be.


Day 8 cont.
Greetings from Toad River.
We got a late start (imagine that) and from the beginning we new we weren't going to make our original destination- turns out twe didn't make our secondary destination either. But that's ok because we're on an adventure!!!
It started raining about 10 mile into our drive today and rained for about the first 120 miles. And it's kinda cold here- even the locals say it's cold so i know i'm not being silly. It's in the low 50's i think. I even had to turn the warm air on in the truck- poor me right.... ha
The best part of the day- besides just being on the Alaska Highway- we saw our first bears- FINALLY!! We saw 2 black bears, one grizzly, 3 moose and a handful of caribou. The bears were all small but still fascinating. We entered the Rockies today and there was one stretch of the road wound round the mountain on one side and on the other there was a giant drop... like the ones in the movies. Aside from the grey overcast, the view was gorgeous.... windy roads, rocky riverbeds, wild animal..... i love it!!!!
We met a really nice guy today who told us we were weird because sam's on the bike and i'm in the truck, and then he also told sam that he wasn't very prepared because sam doesn't have the electric jacket to keep him warm. whateves. we've seen him several times today too- i think he's sam's new BBFF. Poor guy is just lonely.... can't bring me down dude, i'm the adventure of a lifetime!!!
Oh, our room in this little lodge has two twin beds- i'm mary tyler moore and sam is dick van dyke. love it!!
-Jolie

Day Seven- Stettler, Alberta to Dawson Creek, BC, Canada

I used Tennessee weld...... it didn't hold so Jolie used Kentucky weld.

Ran out of gas twice... Jolie told me the next town was closer than it really was.-sam
Actually sam didn't listen, i said about 30 minutes and he heard 30 miles...- jolie

Jolie poses at the BC sign - Sneaky Ninja goes international.

Let the games begin..... I was feeling good about myself and we heard of some one riding from Argentina to Alaska and I did not feel so cool!

Well..... I take that back, I am cool!

Day 7- We made it to the Alaska Highway. Long day trying to make up for our wrong turn yesterday. We got on the road by 8 am and that helped alot. I ran out of gas twice, Jolie told me the next town was closer than it was. The wind was also bad today. Real bad.....

Got to Dawson Creek at about 7pm local time. Still light out at 10pm..... We got frozen dinners at Walmart and Jolie cooked mac and chesse, alfredo and Lasagna. Good meal, full and at our desitination. Jolie says good night!

Day 6 - sam
I didn't write last night because it was one of those days that you wish you could do over. Started out good, but then the wind started. I mean for 50 miles I was riding leaning to the left and actually was run off the road and onto the shoulder. That was real scary. We went over the Medicine Hat (seriously the name) to have lunch /dinner and upon leaving we found out we were about 80 miles (6000 Kilometer - each way). That stinks, but it was part of the country we have never seen. It was nice to have a good A &W meal.

We tried to make our way back on track, but by midnight and literally about 40 degrees. I was frozen. I am smart and put plastic bags on my feet to keep them dry and it turned out to be the opposite and they were frozen... I hopped in the tub and jOlie cooked black beans and rice and I was out.

DAY 6- Great Falls. MT to Stettler, Alberta, Canada

in canada

northern Montana

Sam makes friends everywhere he goes

Day 6-

So, we slept in this morning which was great at the time, but....
We started off with crystal blue skies and a slight chill in the air. Heading north to O'Canada- duty free smokes, then we crossed the border. No problems entering Canada, but they didn't stamp my passport which kind of disappointed me. About 25 miles into Canada, we stop for gas in the town of Werner. There were 3 very nice ladies in the store that make a very good first impression for Canada. One of the ladies told us of a different route to Edmonton, one that didn't involve Calgary (Cal-gary). She referred to Calgary as the "dog's breakfast." We chatted for a bit, then head on our way.

I'm sure the alt rout would have been great, had we not missed our turn and gone about 70 miles in the wrong direction. I think it was all my fault. I was just driving, looking at all the pretty and not the map. I was following, but it's still my job to navigate. I'm sure it all happened for a reason, but at this point, i'm not sure what it is.

On the way back to the right path, i pulled over in a gravel lot to look at the map and sam followed. Sam then decided to go on though the slightly muddy area and the slightly deeper gravel/mud on the other side, and he ended up laying his bike over. Nothing too serious- broke the front blinker, bent a footing and banged up his foot just enough to make it a little sore. He laughed it off and said that he knew it was going to happen so he was glad he got it out the way. Then, a rainbow appeared and sam is convinced that the rainbow and the lay over are connected.

Because of our 2 hour detour, we didn't make it to Edmonton. We're about 90 miles- i think... it's all metrics here- to Edmonton. As the sun started setting, it got chilly fast for me and with Sam on the bike he got really cold. Especially his feet- his boots were still wet from yesterday, so this morning he put his feet in plastic bags before putting his boots on, which made his feet even colder tonight. He held out alot longer than I would have. When I saw steam coming from a cows mouth, i figured Sam was cold. We stopped for the day in Settler around 12:45. Super 8, a hot bath and black beans and rice for dinner. Sam's already snoring.

We've decided that it's probably best to start our days earlier now.

Heading to Dawson Creek (maybe City) tomorrow. Hope to be there early evening:)
Jolie (and Sam in spirit)

Day 5- Yellowstone/Grand Tetons to Great Falls, MT

Grand Tetons

Our first camp

treating the poison ivy with hand sanitizer

What!?!?!?!

a real sign......

scary beast

yet another beautiful sunset

DAY 5

We got into Yellowstone sometime after 3 am. Going past The Grand Tetons, about midnight, lightning was flashing, so I tried to get a few shots. It didn’t really work the way I wanted it to, but I still got a nice shot.

We were thinking hotel, but ended up just finding a camp site that a really nice security guard let us stay in for free. The only catch was that we had to be out by 8am…….. The tent was set up and we were snuggled into the half way blown up air mattress.

Got up a few minutes before 8 and packed the car just enough to get out of there so we did not have to pay the $37 camp fee.

I showered, well shaved in the lodge bathroom. And into the park….. We were heading to Old Faithful. On the way Jolie saw her first caribou and we took lots of pictures. When we pulled in the parking lot we saw hundreds of people walking away. Dang! I told Jo she should see it since we were there. An hour and a half later and a really crapy meal, Jolie was like “Is that all.” Boy howdy. It was less exciting than I remember.

We got out of the park and headed on north. I was so excited to ride again. I still feel weird about not riding yesterday…… Looking back it was the right decision. That would have been a horrible night.

The ride was for sure one of the best. We headed north into Montana. Two separate times the clouds literally parted for us. The were storm clouds as far as the eye could see in both direction… And in the middle, beautiful blue skies…. This happened twice.

We changed our route and went north to Great Falls instead of Glacier Park. This will get us in a good place for the morning and we will be on an interstate instead of a two lane road.

On Interstate 15 N. I ran into the mother of all rainstorms. It rained hard for 20 miles and then the skies opened up and the sun blared…. (SIGH) And 15 minutes later it started hailing and thunder and lightning…… Still beautiful and awesome to be riding. We made great time and the bike is doing awesome.

PS, I used my new biking shorts and they are dreamy. Kinda weird changing in a parking lot.

-Sam

Day 5 cont...

The last thing sam said to me last night before we went to sleep was "if you hear something pawing at the tent, don't slap it." WHAT!!! So, twice during the 4 hours we slept, i said to sam, in a soft whisper, "Sam, did you hear that?" And twice he responded in a low groggy groan, "no." Of course it was just the wind blowing across the tent. We were perfectly safe- the camp ground even had a guy that circled the grounds every thirty minutes- plus he said that all the bears were down the road at the free camp ground. What have we learned from this.... don't stay in the free camp grounds outside of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.
Headed through Yellowstone this morning- looking for animals. Still, no bears. Then we headed to Old Faithful, which i'm sad to report was kind of a let down. At least I can say I saw it... right.?
Drove out of the park, unloaded the bike and comtinued north through Montana- the land of the perfect log home nestled at the bottom of a mighty mountain and sometimes, as an added bonus, it's also on the lake . Going up 15N we got caught in a bit of a storm which turned into a hail storm that made me more than a little nervous- thank God we had already pulled over at an underpass. We waited it out and pushed on to Great Falls.
The best part of out route change is that we had both showered and had dinner by 10:30- glorious.
Now, on to a good night's sleep and a late morning.
-Jolie

DAY 4- Breckenridge, CO to Yellowstone

Day 4

We woke up to a beautiful Colorado morning. Went through my old stomping grounds. Lots of memories! Hit the road about 9 am, early for us. Went to Walmart and ran into Tom from the olds in Breck and caught up. Hit I-70 through the tunnel and I got caught in some gnarly groved pavement and kinda freaked out. I didn’t know what to do so I did what any rookie motorcycle rider would do, I slowed down to about 30 mph on one of the largest interstates in the nation…….I could not get out of the groves because of the 6 inch lip on the other lane but after slowing waaaay down…I got out. WOW!

Off top Boulder and met up with Preston- a good friend from high school. Bought spandex and some fancy lube……… (more to come later) Lunch and then saw Helen and the precious baby boy Ronin Maxwell. Adorable.

This is where it gest kinda lame. I put the bike in the truck. I had to take the day and spend it with my boo. I told her it was because I wanted to spend time with her…. Although, my everything hurts. Left thumb is numb, entire right hand is numb, under areas…… back, neck and I think my tail bone is bruised.

Great to ride in the car! Conversation and phone calls. Long day…. I am writing from the car and it is almost midnight (local time) and we are not there! I feel real weird about riding in the car, but my mom told me it was a good thing.

Really looking for to getting back on the bike. I did not think I would, but maybe I am a real cyclist. Probably not!

Peace and I will catch you from the road tom tomorrow.
- Sam



Day 4 cont.
So I feel asleep last night before I got the chance to write anything…. Thank you sam for including my pics with yours- love you!! So, yesterday was texas, new mexico and Colorado. We ended up in Breckenridge and met up with a couple of Sam’s buddies from when he worked there. Thanks Justin and Brad for taking us in for the night!

We woke this morning to warm sunshine and crisp mountain air. After several tunnels and one long, winding and beautiful canyon, we were in Boulder. We met up with Preston, Helen and the newest addition to their family- baby Ronin…. So cute!!! Greta to see you guys!!! Then on north by northwest- together in the truck. The whole day was filled with miles and miles of beautiful scenery. This is my first time in Wyoming and it’s lovely. The sunset tonight started about 8 or 8:30 and there was light on the horizon until at least 10:30. Glad I got to share the ride wit Sam- ( Sam, you are so far from lame!)
Currently we are in Jackosn, it’s now 1:00 am(MT), and we’re still heading north- me and my boo.
What and awesome adventure this is- a once in a lifetime kind of trip!!! We really are lucky to be able to take a month to travel the US and Canada!!!

Onward north-
Jolie