Radium

Well I had a few days before I went on my next adventure and someone suggested Radium and then backed out. No biggie. It sounded like a good idea so I packed up the bike and headed out. Because I had not been up that way for a very long time I decided to stop and hike Marble Canyon. Beautiful. Here are some of the photos I took.

 

This is the falls at the top of the canyon. It was a great hike and a worthwhile venture.

There is water down there somewhere and these great bridges criss crossing over the canyon.

There was a little chipmunk on this rock. I did not just take a picture of the bridge support?

Look at the layers in this rock beside the trail.

Sure is deep.

Some of the remains of a fire that swept through here a few years ago.

I met a lovely couple from Santa Cruz California wanting to know about my motorcycle.

I then continued on to Radium. It was my intent to camp but on arriving at the campground I found it would be 27.95 to put up my tent and there was a bear in the campground the last 5 nights. I did not want to pay that kind of money so he could have lunch so I opted for a motel. They were very expensive and I drove to Invermere thinking I might find a deal. How foolish . So returned to Radium and found this nice place for 96.00 tax included so opted to stay only 1 night.

That was my room upstairs.

 

Loved this decoration in the front yard. After checking in I went for a dip in the hot springs. I met a lovely couple from Medicine Hat. The pool was lovely. I had not been there in years.

 

After drying off and riding back to the motel I walked up to a BBQ place for a bite to eat. Here I sat and ate with a lovely couple from Texas. Sure enjoyed the company. I returned to my room and the next morning phoned my old boss George Bzeta and went and visited him and Judy. We had a delightful time reminiscing. As I left the Tyrol motel this is the sight that greeted me.

I then went back to Calgary. Great trip. Then I got ready to take the F650GS on my next adventure to Victoria, Boise and Quincy and Palm Springs. Next episode.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nakusp BMW Rally

The following weekend I got out the bike and sidecar and headed for Nakusp to the BC Beemer rally.

I took my friend Steve in the sidecar up to the Nakusp Hot Springs and after having a soak we hiked a short walk up to this gorgeous covered bridge.

The following is the view from the bridge.

 

 

Some of the beautiful flowers at the hot pool.

Nakusp pool

The smoke was very bad and the ash made a mess of the tent as it fell and then rained. Friday it was nice for the seniors rides but I did not get any pictures as I was too busy driving. We got a lovely Thank you from Atsu again. It is wonderful that we are able to do this every year. Deb Guest catered our 3 meals and they were very good as always. We had fewer people this year with only 183 in attendance. It was a good rally but I missed a lot of the people who are usually there.

You can see there was a lot of smoke.

I knew I should write this down. This tree down by the lakefront looks like perhaps it is diseased but I think it is something like a reticulated  chestnut. It is supposed to be warped and twisted like that and the leaves look withered and dying.

Some more of the beautiful flowers on the lakefront.

John Kersh from Arizona. One of the many people I met in St Paul and who was in Panquitch and now Nakusp.

I left Sunday morning and went north to Revelstoke. Took these pictures on the ferry and in Yoho on the way.

 

 

This was where the clutch cable broke a couple of years ago.

Will end here but have some more exciting adventures coming up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ride to Drumheller

For our UMCI rally we did not have anything planned and with so many campgrounds raising their fees Karl Nordin and I decided to have just a ride. So on Saturday we met at MacDonalds and 10 of us started out. 1 left because a crucial bolt had fallen off his bike.

We ate lunch at Dairy Queen in Drumheller and Peter Rodland realized he left his insulin and tester at home so we went to the Drumheller hospital so he could get tested and get a shot. Shortly after we headed for Wayne and Bruce and Sheila left to go home.

 

John Colebank

We went to the swinging bridge and Peter decided maybe he should head home. So now we are 6.

 

When we got to the Chinese food restaurant in Strathmore Dodi and Karen were to meet us but they could not come. However Jon and Lorraine did.

Great dinner as always at this place. Always way too much food. And then as an added bonus when we were leaving our longtime UMCI members whom we had not seen for years showed up.

Dick and Ruby Bruer. So delighted to see them again.

 

 

 

Cody Wyoming and Home

I packed up and headed for Red Lodge. I wanted to go back to Cody and eat at the Irma Hotel. Also I had not done the Chief Joseph Highway when I was there before. So I stopped for breakfast in Red Lodge at the Red Lodge Cafe' again. The waitress greeted me with You again! Bacon and eggs over easy and rye toast. It has been a long time since I found a person with that kind of memory. It was delightful.

This was one of many old cars I saw in my travels. This was in Red Lodge. I know there were several car shows and I saw many beautiful old cars.

I pulled out at a viewpoint on the Beartooth Pass. I parked next to 2 ladies in a car. They were from China but are from San Diego now and the mother was so effusive about meeting me. Oh she said I love your lifestyle and she insisted on taking a picture of me with the motorcycle so I included her daughter in the photo. I find this often happens with the Chinese and Japanese. They seem to be fascinated with a woman riding alone around the country???

At this point one is not even on top yet but it is a looong way down from whence I came.

Lots of bikers and tourists here.

 

 

On top of the world

Very near the top going down the other side is this lovely Lake. I then turned off before reaching Yellowstone and headed down the Chief Joseph Highway. Beautiful views although not as impressive as the heights and switchbacks of the Beartooth but it has a beauty all its own.

Crossed this bridge and stopped at the viewpoint for this canyon.

 

 

 

Gorgeous ground juniper

Gorgeous country

Then on into Cody. I went back to The Ponderosa Campground and as I was putting up my tent a young man on a Harley asked if I needed a hand but I said I was getting pretty proficient at it and then took him my new air mattress to show how it worked. I said I had been there about a month ago but wanted to go eat at the Irma Hotel so he asked if I wanted company. Of course I was delighted and he had talked Roman from Switzerland into coming with us. Roman rented a car in New York and was driving across America.

Who is this woman?

Roman from Switzerland

The Irma Hotel. Irma was one of Buffalo Bill Cody's daughters

Russ. He even paid for our dinner which was excellent.

My tent and Lucky patiently waiting for me to get packed up.

Russ was so nice and we have been exchanging emails since meeting. One day I get this email entitled There she goes.

Pretty sneaky

I travelled back to Red Lodge and then headed north. The correct direction this time. Hoping to get fairly close to home but alas I ran into another of those heavy hail, rainstorms through the pass between Livingston and Bozeman. When I got to Bozeman I took a motel. It was not high end but at least I was able to dry out everything and get a good nights sleep. It rained most of the night but although overcast was not raining in the morning and the further west I road I came out from under the clouds. This is the poor bike sitting out under a tree outside my hotel room.

I had decided to turn off I 90 and head north to Helena on Hwy 278 as I had never done that before. At the motel there was another BMW guy obviously  caught in the same storm but when I asked if he wished to share a meal I had ordered he was rather short and said he was still drying out and had other plans. Oh well. So went I turned on 278 there was a Wheat Montana bakery on the corner and I stopped for breakfast. I met a charming couple who own a ranch in Harrison Montana and we had a great conversation and I have been invited to visit them at their ranch. Sure made up for the curtness of the night before. As I continued on I was impressed with the beauty of this valley as this is where they grow a lot of the wheat for Wheat Montana. Mountains on both sides and a lovely lake and very little traffic.

You come into Helena on the back side and I stopped for fuel and took this picture of the sky I had left behind.

A lot of these metal structure abound in different places made up of old car parts. A pleasant beauty out of old junk.

Then Home. A bit of a let down but I can rest up before my next journey.