Mel & Trinity

There is no other way to describe British Columbia, Canada, but magnificent!

I summarised my time in Vancouver in my previous post so I’ll start from the day we left Vancouver, which was Saturday, 4th July.

Our first job was to pick Grant’s bike up from the motorbike garage where it was being serviced. In the spirit of trying new things, I asked Grant to ride Trinity. It’s not often I’ll get the chance to be a passenger on my own bike. It’s really comfortable on the back but I realised that a rear pannier is a must with a passenger. This is good to know!

After picking up Grant’s bike, it was time to collect our things and say good bye to his folks. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to get to know such a wonderful family and some of the people in their lives. Darlene, Ted, Jeff, Nicole, baby Aria, Natalie, Josh, Avery, Danielle, Angelo, Connie, and of course Grant, thank you for making my time in Vancouver so memorable!

Before we left Vancouver there was one place I had to visit, a motorbike shop aptly named ‘The Shop’. A fellow motorcycle enthusiast who lives in New York, Chris (@GodSpeedCo) recommended that I pop by and see these guys. I’m glad we did. They have a great little shop and their love for what they do is so apparent. I can see why Chris said this is the heart of everything motorbike in Vancouver.

Now we could hit the road.

When Grant and I were discussing where to go in Canada I had the following requests. I wanted to see mountains (that’s easy in Canada); walk on a glacier in Jasper National Park; do line dancing at the Calgary Stampede; and see Banff National Park. I wanted Grant to see places he hadn’t before (he’s from Vancouver and also did a cross Canada motorbike tour a few years ago so he knows the area fairly well), so I left the route entirely in his hands. He’s done a spectacular job!

Our route from Vancouver took us only 5km from the U.S. border before heading east. It made me very happy thinking that my U.S. friends and family would be celebrating Independent Day (independence from the British Empire which started in 1776) and they were so close by.

Our first stop was Bridal Vale Falls. After a short (rather steep) walk this is what we discovered. How stunning!

Just outside of a town called Hope, we stopped at the Othello Tunnels, an old disused railway line that was built through the mountain in the early 1900s. The railway line was an engineering masterpiece even by today’s standards cutting though the steep gorges with a raging river below. To not scare passengers, services along the line where run at night. The line eventually closed in the 1950’s as it was too expensive to repair each time there was a landslide. Today it’s a 100 kilometre walking/cycling trail. What a great way to preserve the trail. below is the area around the trail.

We spent the evening (4th July) with Grant’s younger sister Nicole in a town called Princeton. It’s a cute little town with a high street that looks like it comes straight out of an old cowboy movie. As it turns out, we were woken up in the morning by Nicole’s husband, Mark and company, herding a cow and calf into a pen. The calf had such a little feisty personality. I fell in love with it instantly! It gave the three guys and a dog the runaround for about 20 minutes before they got it into the pen. It was so funny to watch (from the other side of the fence of course).

Following a leisurely breakfast on Sunday morning we hit the road. My heart completely melted when I went to say goodbye to baby Aria, who just turned 1, and she cuddled into my shoulder and wouldn’t let go. It was too precious! Hopefully I’ll get another cuddle in London sometime (that’s a hint for a visit Nicole).

Sunday’s (5th July) ride was lovely and reminded me so much of driving through the Ceres Valley in the Western Cape, South Africa. Along the side of the road, at the base of the valley, are dozens of old world fruit stalls that are too cute.

Eventually we started to go through the mountain passes and we ended our ride in the City of Nelson.

Nelson is fantastic! If you’re in British Columbia you have to visit it. In the 1970’s the town had a surge of young educated America’s settle in the city to avoid fighting in the Vietnam war. They certainly did a great job at creating, what I would define as a town, with an amazing vibe. I had a spinach salad and a hemp ale in a pub called Jackson’s Hole Grill and both were outstanding. Everything about this town to be honest is outstanding. I have included a few photos to give you a feel of it.

Monday’s (6th July) ride took us from Nelson to Radium. The trip required a ferry crossing over Kootenay Lake but first a stunning drive along the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. It was my first ferry crossing with Trinity and what a pleasure it was.

The closer we got to Radium, the more beautiful the scenery became. As we were camping, the Radium Hot Springs seemed like a great way to soothe our (or at least my) aching muscles while also cleaning up. There were two pools at the facility, one was 30 degrees (Celcius) and other was 39 degrees. The difference in temperature was staggering and was a slightly harsh introduction to the temperatures awaiting me While travelling through the U.S. I have feeling I’ll be going through a lot of water!

Tuesday’s (7th July) ride through the Kootenay National Park was spectacular! Within the first hour of the trip the mountains were becoming more dramatic with the rivers filled with glacier water. Many of these rivers run along the road’s edge, which makes for a magical ride. The water is a milky turquoise colour which seduces you to jump in. Of course, it’s pretty cold so possibly not a great idea.

We made a number of stops, one of which was at the Paint Pots. The start of the walk was nothing exciting but a short walk up the hill revealed the marvel of this sight. The mineral rich soil varies from yellow through orange to a nearly rusty red/brown, which is expelled from mounds which resemble a mini volcano. Much like a Caldera (a volcano filled with water), the mounds had also filled with water which was bright green in colour. It was really quite beautiful!

Our next stop took my breath away for a number of reasons. The stop was Marble Falls. The falls and the gorge that the water cuts through is magnificent!

One of the items in my bucket list was to see at least one waterfall. I had now ticked off this item. I have included a video of the falls for you to enjoy.

To add to the pleasure of this stop, I saw my first chipmunk. They are so cute!

From here we headed towards Calgary and the Alberta border. The border is formed by the Continental Divide, which means that rainwater that falls on the British Columbia side of the mountain drains into the Pacific ocean and water that falls on the Alberta side of the mountian drains into the Atlantic ocean. This is shown below.