Sunday 9 August 2015

Hyder back to Dawson Creek and on to Billings

Having left Stewart and Hyder behind I headed back to Dawson Creek and the rally. I had my next bear encounter. As I neared Burns Lake there was a truck towing a U-Haul trailer ahead of me when suddenly a black bear came out of the ditch right in front of the truck. I was back aways and saw the whole thing. The truck piled on the brakes and the bear wheeled and headed back to the ditch. When I stopped for fuel in Burns Lake the gentleman came over and said..DID YOU SEE THAT BEAR...He was far more excited than I had been. Seems he had been laid off his job in Kitimat and was headed home to Nova Scotia. That evening I stayed in a motel in Prince George. I then pulled into a place Mackenzie Crossing wanting to get a bite to eat. As I walked in Mark and Willi Prior from Grand Forks walked out. So good to see them again. Mark was one of the ones I had traveled with on the 3 Flags last year. So now I had travelling companions.For the most part the roads were good. Some road construction between Fort St John and Watson Lake. What really got me was east of Mackenzie crossing they turned a perfectly good paved road into a perfectly awful gravel road for 30 kms. Chipsealing. ARGH! We stopped in Chetwynd for a little break and I was delighted to see all the chain saw carvings. It seems they have a competition every year and people come from all over the world to display their skills and the carvings are everywhere. This praying mantis is in front of Tim Hortons. There were many along main street but I did not get back to take more photos as I had hoped.
Arrived back at the campground and put up my tent by Mary Norby and her brother Ben and Steve. Rick and Irene Evens were set up with their motorhome and Dick and Joyce were there also. Then others started arriving. By Saturday we were getting a full contingent and the rally did not even start til Monday. I was delighted as I was going to have to leave early and this way was able to enjoy the camaderie of friends before I left. This was the sunset from our campsite on Friday night.
 
This was the view from the campground. Lovely yellow canola fields in every direction.
My campsite near Tonni and his brother Jim and a million miles from the bathroom.
This lovely couple from Hemit California were camped with us on Friday night but they moved on on Saturday and Gerry and Annie moved into that spot.
 
Then on Sunday I led a ride up to Tumbler Ridge. Peter and Nelly, Ann and Gerry, myself and Mary and Ben and Steve. We thought we would get to see the beautiful waterfall that is on all the brochures but alas it is another 50 kms on unmaintained gravel road. So we had pie and ice cream in Tumbler Ridge next to the new tourist information place and decided to go to a smaller waterfall and dinosaur tracks.
 
 
When we arrived at the place where the waterfall was supposed to be we hiked aways and if you look at the picture it was way down near the water you see. Some of us turned back and some forged on only to return. It was hot and way to far.
A highlight of the trip however was that we saw a mother moose and her 2 calves in the ditch and we saw a deer loping beside the road. I did not want to pass as they can change their minds in an instant and sure enough she popped out in front of me, stopped, took a look and back down in the ditch running in the opposite direction. Back at the campsite more had arrived and we frequented the Mile 1 Café' for several meals. Here is Gary Shearer our former International Rep from Oregon and Gerry from Clive.
 
Tuesday I packed up and headed for Calgary as I wanted to be in Billings Montana on Thursday in Billings Montana in good time Thursday. So rode from Dawson Creek to Calgary. I ran into the tail end of a hailstorm around Didsbury. Cars parked with their 4 ways going and me on the motorcycle riding on through. I had no shelter so if I stopped would only end up wetter than I was. Got home and slept in my own bed and the next day headed out and made it to Billings that evening. Sorry no pictures. No time.
I arrived at the rally very late and was greeted by no less than 10 people I know. There were 5,872 in attendance for the weekend. I found a spot to put my tent a few feet from  a very busy thoroughfare in Billings Every square foot was covered with tents. I call it the rally of the lines. Line up for food, Line up for a shower. Line up to check in. Not all bad however as I met many friends and made new friends standing in line. I had to thread my way through this mess to the bathroom. I was camped behind that rounded blue tarp that I thought resembled a UFO.
This beautiful rock cliff was across the road. One of the joys of the rally was the pond by the beer garden where a mother duck had her 8 little ducklings. Then swam and swam and 1 of them was the wayward child. When she called them in he just kept on swimming around and around. At one point for no reason she brought them from the pond to where the food trucks were. Not a good spot.
When they noticed we were all taking pictures of them they all huddled under mom except the wayward child.
 
This was Airhead Central out in the infield.
Just a mass of tents and bikes everywhere. I did not take near enough pictures but the following is my friend Gord from Vancouver. I met him on the 3 Flags also. I had gone to the seminar put on by Gregory Frazier and Gord asked me to take a picture with him. The BMW National has some great seminars on all kinds of topics.
Greg has circumnavigated the world 5 times on a motorcycle. He is a Crow Indian living just a few miles from Billings in the Bighorn mountains.
One of the statues on the grounds.
Looking across the parking lot to the back of the grandstand. Sometimes this lot was solid motorcycles and further along were the food trucks. They were overwhelmed and ran out of food on occasion. The Subway truck proved to be the most consistent feeding us breakfast, lunch and dinner at a reasonable price. Some chose to go of site and on Saturday night the Western Montana BMW bunch invited me to go with them. Unknowingly it turned out I was the designated driver and entertainment for 6 guys who had had a few too many in the beer gardens before we left. We went to The Fieldhouse in Billings. I had meatloaf with an excellent Blueberry BBQ sauce and broccolini and potatoes. A great meal. I did not mind at all. It did however take an hour from the time we ordered until our order came.
After the rally was over on Sunday I packed up and headed home. Whoops. Seems I went in the wrong direction. I went to Red Lodge, over the Beartooth Pass again, up the Chief Joseph Highway and into Cody Wyoming again. I will save that for the next episode.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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