1 Grand Coulee: Dam! That was a great ride down from Omak. The dam itself is the most powerful generating facility in North America. Pictures don't do it justice. With names like Electric City and Elmer the local communities are small and pin their hopes on tourism and agriculture. The peaches, cherries and apricots are fine - sweet and cheap. Great breaky.
2, 3 and 4 Grand Coulee to Pateros: Fire and Water. This was probably the most isolated road I have ever driven on. As usual in Washington, with incredibly light use, the surface was immaculate. The road starts curving through some amazing terrain, and ends being like a dead straight ribbon which undulates over light rolling desert hills. You might see a coyote, a vulture or a dust devil, but you likely won't see another vehicle. In our case, we saw one: it was a huge camper I could see heading north miles ahead of us. It took a while to catch him because like us, he realised that speed enforcement was not ever going to be an issue on this road.
Great scenic curves leaving Coulee City.
Wind up your Hyabusa here. Look at the surface and no smoky bear anywhere in sight.
4 Pateros: Back on the SR20. The forest fires you heard about in Washington state, well Pateros was ground zero. We stopped, but with the American Red Cross, exhausted looking fire fighters, and destitute families pulling burned wreckage out of what remained of their homes or melted trucks, taking pictures seemed crass. There were hand painted signs everwhere thanking the firefighters for their gallant effort at saving their towns. Leaving Pateros, ironically, we encountered the biggest thunderstorm I have ever had the "pleasure" to ride though. This was the same one that hit BC some hours later that day (forcing the evacuation of our daughter from her camp in Enderby later that night). The drops were huge - it was a deluge, and just what the forest fire needed to control it. The rain, hail and lightening just added to the surreal sight of smouldering desert: we got soaked and could have been forgiven for thinking we had crashed and gone to hell, such was the wasteland and carnage we passed. Riding through it, you would see a completely burned landscape, with the occasional house, green lawn and perfect fruit trees, the fire having burned a perfect rectangular perimeter around it...Wild.
Before the deluge. Notice the blackened desert on the right. This went on and got worse for hours....
The the rain hit...
It kept coming...surreal with the scorched earth...
5 Twisp: The rain was so bad, we tried stopping at several small communities, but with power poles incinerated there was no power, and everything was closed, with residents forced to leave for food, shelter etc. We saw no one in these towns. Finally, one small store in a place called Twisp was open. The County Sheriff and town police officer had made it their HQ, as it was the only place with a generator (and doughnuts). For us it was a chance to stop, eat (we hadn't eaten since a few pieces of fruit in the morning which seemed like a different era...90F and sunshine, reduced to 60F, heated vest and a deluge...) We grabbed a bowl of soup each and hung our jackets up. When we left, we felt guilty about the lake of water we left under and around our table!
It seemed like the whole of Twisp was gathered in the General Store and Pharmacy.
6 Washington Pass. SR20 is an amazing road, but the crown in the jewel is from Winthrop up and over Washington Pass and down to Diablo Lake. Thunder, lightning, rain, snow, hail and gusts of wind hitting 50mph couldn't take away from the views. Topping out at 5000 feet, the pass is guarded by Silverstar Mountain and the most amazing glacial valley. The road is amazing and speeds of 85mph are easy up until the hairpin switchback section just west of Silverstar mountain where you should take the signage seriously. Then its down down down all the way to Diablo Lake - aptly named, as, just as the signs warn, this area is famous for devilishly extreme side and head gusts. Well with a thunderstorm passing over us, we got the full meal deal. The lake itself reminds me of Payto lake near Banff = it's glacial blue and set among some gorgeous mountains with treed islands. Got to say, the Strom took it all in her stride and tracked really well particularly the winds. Again the trail wings were amazing in the soaking conditions - there was no aquaplaning, those big sipes cleared water well.
Washington Pass may only be half the height of Tioga Pass in Yosemite, but it's every bit as impressive...You ride up that ribbon on the left.
Yes, that's snow to the right of the road...
Snow...Those hand guards are worth their weight in the rain and cold wind. The adjustable Madstad screen is worth the money over the stock crap.
Diablo Lake. I won't wax lyrical - the picture speaks volumes. This is where the rain stopped and the wind started.
From here it was back to more familiar terrain, through Sedro-Wolley (hey, I don't name them) and through to Oak Harbor and my in-laws place to dry the gear out and change the oil. Why not, Mobil 1 4T is 8.97L down there! We took a side trip the next day to Hurricane Ridge via the Coupeville to Port Townsend Ferry and up to Port Angelis. It was impressive, and Hurricane Ridge was spectacular. But that's for another day...
Getting back to the island from Oak Harbor is easy. Take the Anacortes - Sidney ferry for an incredibly scenic (cheap) 2 hour trip through the San Juan's, Souther Gulf Islands. You ride on and off first (no booking needed for bikes). The customs are quick in Sidney - 30 seconds for us. It certainly beats riding up to the Peace Arch, waiting in that lineup, catching the Tsawassen Ferry and paying over the odds for the "pleasure..." We had a great ride back up the island to Nanaimo. 2100km all told.
Would I do this trip again? Yes. I wouldn't change the bike, the packing or the company! I would change the daily destinations though, as mentioned, and there would be few places I'd skip altogether - Whistler, Vernon, Nelson to name three. I'd also take more time to visit places like Winthrop and spend longer in each location. It was a bit of a whirlwind, but it left a great flavour in our mouths.
OK, might as well come clean. You'll notice two routes, one red, and one green. The green was the route we had planned to take. The red was the route I mistakenly took, despite clearly seeing a sign showing me the border was imminent, and my iPhone screaming at me to turn left...I veered right. As it turned out, it was great. We met the Columbia River for the first time this trip. I've crossed the mighty Columbia at its estuary in Astoria, Oregon, but I have never seen the headwaters. Trail was a really interesting ride, and Rossland, wow, what a climb on an excellent twisty four lane highway with a ridiculous speed limit. Needless to say, I decided to ride it as if it was in miles per hour rather than kmh in order to pratice for the upcoming border crossing... 1 Paterson Boarder Crossing: Well that was easy. Basically from Rossland (very cute) you are descending a 7% grade for many clicks... You think this is great and blast along, with no other cars. A few questions pop into your head and one of them is, "Why is this road so deserted? It's an excellent road!" You see a large semi in front, and pull over the double yellows, down hill to pass the truck (which is hauling). As you sweep around the subsequent bend, your question is answered. This is the only road out of Rossland south, with no turn offs and that, right ahead, is the Paterson US Border station. And they're watching you overtake this truck at twice the legal limit. Welcome to the US, son. Is that a graduated slow down series of 70, 50, 30 kmh signs you've just blown through? The truck, it appears is just as surprised at the abrupt border station, and has to pull into the oncoming lane as his brakes are overheated from the 10km of down hill grades and he's not sure he can stop before he smears you into the border guard's bollocks. But the American border guard is standing outside his booth, facing you with one hand on his hip and one palm up, legs apart, daring you and the truck to nudge his tackle. Prepared for the worst, he directed us to remove our helmets. Thank Christ my wife has a nice smile. He held out his hand for our passports and directed his attention to what he referred to as "my little cookie on the back". Works for me. We were waved through in less time than it took to slap our helmets back over our chops and in the land of the free, home of the brave, and more importantly, cheap goods and services. 2 China Bend: There's no reason to stop here, except to change your bike's computer to MPH and MPG (imperial or US). But the Columbia takes a significant turn here, and there is a rest area. We decided to walk out on the huge metal dock next to the boat launch. The signs warn you not eat more than one each kind of fish you catch here per month as the river is contaminated with heavy metals: copper, mercury etc... I thought back to the smelter right on the river in the middle of Trail. No wonder the Americans think we're cheese-heads. Why would you continue to run a smelter mill adjacent to a river that serves as drinking water for hundreds of thousands? Who would build a mill in down-town Port Alberni?...But I digress.
As we walked back to the bike, that same Beemer rider we had seen in Nakusp whisked by with a wave. It must have been the air. Did he know we were only riding a Vstrom?...A 73mpg (imperial) Vstrom that is...
3 Kettle Falls: Whisking along the Columbia for a few miles you get to the small community of Kettle Falls. Gas - yes. Cafe - yes. Cheap, hell yes! Big bowl of soup, large fully loaded sandwich, served with coffee, apple pie and a smile. $4.99. Plan to eat here.
As you see, the rain gear is going on. Too bad we were about to hit one of the big reasons for the whole trip: SR20
4 SR20: It stretches east to west right across Washington State. It is an amazing road - very light traffic, with large sections closed in the Winter due to its altitude and the snow cover. Mostly it is two lane, extremely scenic, curvy, with elevation changes and, remarkably, excellent surfacing. In fact, I have to hand it to the Washingtonians, they know how to pave and engineer their roads. This one is exceptional - banked and smooth. And the signage is amazing. In Canada, we post things seventeen times, caution riders/drivers up the ying-yang, and post yellow signs that seem geared to myopic octogenarians with palsy driving a Model T in a tempest. The contrast, on this road, at least, was refreshing. There's a sign. It tells you there is a sharp left or right hand corner ahead. Not miles ahead, but now. It suggests a speed limit, and you quickly learn that unlike in Canada, you don't triple it, but double it. It's almost as if they realise you're going to push your limits on this road. Unless it rains.
5 Sherman Pass: The rain passed, and by the time we reached Sherman Pass, it was drying nicely. I was surprised that we were basically at the same height as Mount Arrowsmith back on the Island. There was no hint in the bike's performance or the air temperature, perhaps because we were approaching desert...
Ignore the date and time...it's wrong... We chatted with this guy for a while about the local conditions and the forest fires we had been hearing about. He was not going through to Twisp, saying he would stop at Republic. Gassing up in Republic later, I couldn't see the draw, except for the 3 gas stations.
6 Wauconda: We didn't stop. Heck we didn't even notice it really. But it has the curious reputation of being one of the few towns actually sold on Ebay. Sorry no pic...it shot by quicker than Spuzzum going over Niagara Falls. 7 And just like that, you fall into desert heat. The temperature rocketed from 70 ish to, well, very hot.
Wow it looks like the Cache Creek, Lillooet area, only the road surface is perfect.
8 Tonasket and the Bean Trees. I started to wonder if everyone was called Jack around here. The trees are curious - I've never seen them before - large leaves with what look like very long runner beans hanging down. I'm told they not edible. Right though to Grand Coullee, they are everywhere: a desert-tolerant deciduous perhaps. Anyway, it was late afternoon and time for a coffee and apple pie.
9 Desert...hot...: The scale of this land stood out. We ran beside sage brush covered ridge for a while, with oasis like green patches snaking beside some unknown river off to our left. Pictures don't do this landscape justice - it's too big, too grand to be caught and adequately rendered by a micro-lensed camera.
Desert Sampler...Between Tonasket and Omak
10 Omak: If there's a recurring theme of this ride, it's that we would have rather stopped somewhere else. The Royal Motel was excellent - very good value, spic and span, a real mom and pop operation with nice touches and excellent value $49 a night...try that in Canada (no don't - you'll likely wake up with bed bug bites and the clap). The Mexican restaurant was the best we've eaten at bar none (and I include San Diego venues, Mexican venues etc...): Rancho Chico. Wow. The food was excellent, no dross, real Mexicans, serving real Mexican cooking. High quality ingredients with a smile. Again the price was out of this world...The same meal at Gina's would have been three times the cost, and half the quality. But the town itself is fairly devoid of any aesthetic or cultural attractions. Now Winthrop. That's a town!
1 Monashee Pass (3953ft): The #6 is amazing riding here. According to Destination Highways, this is #2 in the province: DH2. You will likely not see another vehicle for much of this road, but if it is a silver Mercedes GLK get his number. The man's a nutter...more on that later. This road winds up initially through very Vancouver Island-like scenery. The road surface too, is similar, in that it is crap in places. But that aside, it's easy to whisk along here keeping your eyes on the road surface and scouting for deer and moose too, but heed the yellow signs and add 20kmh to the limits and you'll be cruising. Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for any future bikers here, the best part of the road (the eastern slopes after the summit) are presently being resurfaced. The ride down from the summit is a delicious blend of grade, curves, s-bends, bridges and views, with a soon to be fabulous surface, to boot. Pity the Province can't find it in them to pave the Alberni to Tofino road on the island the same way (NDP Riding?). Parts of this road are very similar.
(Roadworks! With warning signs for miles before you actually hit them...what a travesty!)
2 and 3 - Needles Ferry to Fauquier (Cable Ferry): Denman Islanders don't want a cable ferry, but from what I could see, Arrow Lake can pipe up, white caps etc, and the ferry was unbelievably smooth and fast. Best of all though, it was free. It must be a Liberal riding. Motorcycles, the many signs state, don't get preferential boarding on these ferries, hence the man in the Merc desperately trying to repeatedly cut me off and pass me on insane corners on the Monashee Pass road. Eventually I acquiesced and he sped off at 150kmh or so. We met him again, on the ferry lineup - two cars ahead, chuckle...The half capacity "vogage" is 10 minutes or so, and the staff are friendly. The locals use these ferries like roads and expect it to be free and regular. And they are- every half hour. Wow. BC Ferries - anyone listening?
Above, approaching Fauquier - which coincidentally echo our feelings towards the Merc driver...
Above: One of the ferries two guide cables which is picked up from the lake bed and dropped back there afterwards.
The lake is a similar size to Baynes Sound near Denman Island.
Preferential treatment to motorcyclists - first off, not an official policy but this guy was great, much to Mr Mercedes' chagrin. After us, he was the second vehicle, but the first Fauquier, off.
3 to 4 - Fauquier to Nakusp: Every tenth power pole seems to have a large Osprey nest perched on it. This road runs on the east side of Arrow Lake and dishes up more gentle curves and elevation changes with the views. Traffic is light and the surface is good.
Above: Info stop about the Ospreys...
Breakfast after a few hours riding. Typical lone Beemer rider didn't deign to converse with us mere mortals on a Suzuki. Funny, we saw him later in the States and he waved, perhaps the boxer was blurring his vision and he thought we were on a GS650?
Nakusp is a beautiful little town, well cared for and upbeat.
A short vid of part of the ride from Needles to Nakusp...I know it was double yellow lines -I'm not blind, but it was VW Bus for Christ's Sake! The video camera is very wide angle, so curves are straightened, hills are flattened etc. Judge a corner by the lean...
5 New Denver: - This is the start of one of the best rides in BC, but before that, some food.
Above and Below: the Nikkei Centre - well worth the visit. This is where some of the Japanese-Canadians were interned during WW2. It's fairly shocking when you see the conditions and documentation conferring them little more than animal like status.
6 Sandon: A side trip to an ex silver mining ghost town with trolley buses, trains, and a dirt road...It's a few clicks down a dirt road, but even 2 up, the VStrom was great.
6 to 8: New Denver to Kaslo - the best road I've ridden in BC (DH5?!). DH1 is said to be the Whistler to Lillooet road. Nope. This IS it. It is mind blowing. Curve after curve after vista after curve, you can see why this is closed periodically in Winter. And with New Denver at one end and Kaslo at the other, this is motorcycling nirvana. Hyperbole? Not a bit. Ride it. You'll see. Pics and Vid below. The vid is 8 minutes long. I cut a lot out... Traffic is light, the road surface is pretty good.
Above and below: It is very hard to stop on this road. It is one of those roads that just gets you into a comfortable rhythm and you get faster and faster. It feels like you've ridden it before, you know the type. But with vistas like this you have to stop and look...That's oil. I assume a Harley was parked in the same spot some moments earlier?
Above the SS Mylo - get in, look around. Parked on Kootenay Lake. Below: Kaslo is full of bikes. Wonder why?! Below: Great cafe's and people to chat to. One guy turned up in a Honda NightHawk 27 years old, with collector plates and it looked new. Great compact little bike. He's a local, and the Kaslo New Denver jaunt is a weekly event for him. Lucky bugger.
Ahh, the ride...Told you...
Caveate...The video camera is very wide angle, so curves are straightened, hills are flattened etc. Judge a corner by the lean...
9 Nelson. What can I say? I was disappointed. So many people had told me how "beautiful" this town was that when we got there, it just didn't hold a candle to our expectations. New Denver, Kaslo, Nakusp...they were beautiful. Nelson...nice setting, great weather, lovely lake, grand view from the bridge on the way in. Worth seeing, but hopefully I brought your expectations down so you'll appreciate it more?!
New Denver to Nelson segment of the track is available here.
Click for a larger view...photographs are referenced by numbers on the map
1 The Brittania Mine - well worth the stop if you've never been into a mine before. We were barely off the ferry, and we stopped to check out the mine. I found it somewhat disappointing as compared to Andy and my previous visit to the Myra Falls Mine, but it was a worthwhile stop if only to adjust our gear!
The train ride is short, but the gold panning lucrative if you persist. Of course, time is of the essence, so 3 flakes had to do.
2 Shannon Falls: Another stop, another gear change. Beautiful falls, and the road to Whistler is great to ride, but the weather seemed to change every few minutes.
3 Whistler: We actually stayed at the Fairmont for the night. What an over-hyped, overpriced joint. They wanted to charge me $35 for parking. Forget it. Your bike won't trigger the automatic sensor, so ride around the gate (you should be used to riding around gates if you're a regular reader of this blog!), find a stall and enjoy a free stay. You won't be asked about parking in the reception/foyer, as you settle up with a machine on the way out, unless you ride around the exit barrier...Use the saved money for some liquid refreshment at the end of the day, or to tip the snooty Valet parkers... So instead of free advertising for Whistler, I'll show you how you get a week's worth of clothes, iPads, iPhones, Kindles, passports, documents, spare keys, sunglasses, glasses, some minor medical paraphernalia and shoes into a Suzuki (Rebranded Trax) 38L Aluminium top box and Suzuki (Rebranded Bags-Connection) Tank Bag...Use a straw, an iron, and some ziplocks!
4 Mount Curry, Lillooet Lake to Duffy Lake: Ok the serious stuff. The roads. The surface strangely degrades substantially after Whistler. Christy is all about image. The weather got wet too, but the much maligned Bridgestone trail wings were amazing, especially considering this was the first rain in a couple of weeks. The road winds after Lillooet lake, up some tasty switchbacks with great elevation changes and views...a feature of much of this route.
That's all the luggage...the tank bag and the top box...
Typical wet coast weather greeted as the elevation climbed, but what a difference in Lillooet.
5 Lillooet: Cross the coastal range and the climate and vegetation changes abruptly. But the road continues to dish up exciting curves and elevation changes at will. There is no end to them. The traffic is very light and the only speed tax collector we saw after Whistler was on a Harley ripping up the blacktop with abandon. Great guy, who pulled over when he saw me adjusting my camera and had a chat.
The Thompson starts to meander its way through this cowboy country...as do the roads :)
It was hot, and another gear change was required. If you're a dirt rider, and you have a ballistic mesh vest, then this is the country for you. Unfortunately we only had one...and you can guess who got that.
6 Cache Creek: Here you have a choice - head south along the 97C through Merritt and along 5 and 97C again to Kelowna and north to Vernon. OR, shorter, head east on 1 through Kamloops, and turn southeast on the very scenic 97 through Falkland to Vernon. This is the route we took. The 97 through Falkland is another great motorcycle road with good surface, great curves and scenery.
Triple digit speed limits, something we don't see much of on Vancouver Island
7 The Falkland Road: Again, light traffic, scenic and flowing curves made for a nice end to the day before Vernon. Vernon was not a place I would choose to stay again...It was a long a ride, and stopping in one of the smaller communities after Kamloops and before Vernon may have been a wiser choice. Nothing against Vernon, but after the scenery we had seen that day, it was...grubby.
