A Weeklong Loop on the Harley

Took a little ride on the Harley last week up into Canada. We've made the trip before and it never disappoints. Lots of wonderfully beautiful country between here and there. Lightly traveled back roads, campgrounds with some great people and a couple of interesting places to eat along the way. Lots of paintings to do and stories to write.

Our route took us out through northwestern Colorado, into eastern Utah, eastern Idaho, a short run through part of northwestern Wyoming, up through the middle of Montana and into Canada. From there we crossed part of southwestern Alberta, over Crows Nest Pass and into southeastern BC. We then dropped back into Montana, Idaho, Utah and finally back into Colorado. We intentionally didn't want to go through Jackson Hole, Teton and Yellowstone National Parks largely because of traffic congestion. As beautiful and magical as those places are, it is very slow going and a bit hazardous on motorcycles especially since we were going to be just passing through.

This was our camp the first night, just outside of Montpelier, ID. A very nice KOA and a great spot to rest and have a cold one. From Montpelier on north the country was just spectacular. We rode along Swan Lake in Idaho for a good many pleasant miles. What a beautiful lake. The lake was on our left and the road turned and dipped making for a great ride. On the right side were high power poles with nests on the tops for the Osprey Falcons. We saw several of those special birds.

At Swan Lake Junction, where the road forks, is a really great gas station, convenience store, ice cream shop combo. We stopped here before and again enjoyed some Huckleberry ice cream on the bench out front. It's a popular stopping point and a other bikers joined us to discuss the roads and motorcycles.

We took the right fork in the road which leads to Victor, Driggs, and Ashton, idaho along the western side of the Teton Range. This route offers some spectacularly uncommon views of the Tetons from their "backside". This part of the ride was a definite favorite.

A slight miscalculation (a missed turn) gave us the opportunity to run into a little of the local traffic outside of Ashton, ID.  Once we got onto the correct route we rolled into West Yellowstone and through the northwest corner of Yellowstone, NP. Despite the traffic and congestion, Yellowstone is still a very magical place. Out through Gardiner, MT we spent the second night at a KOA 10 miles from Livingston, MT. Generally we eat breakfast and lunch out of the coolers we take in our little cargo trailers and eat an evening meal in town, but since it was 10 miles into Livingston we opted to cook some brauts over an open fire and wash them down with a couple of cold beers. Wow, were those good. A great end to a great day.

Our third day would take us deeper into Montana, through Great Falls on the way to Glacier NP before we entered into Canada. Time did not allow us to take in the Charlie Russel Museum in Great Falls. Fortunately, we stopped there on a previous trip however. It wasn't until we got back and I was looking through the latest issue of Watercolor Magazine that I saw an ad for a show at the museum featuring 100 of Charlie Russel original watercolors. It runs through September, 15 so I may just have to go back. I'd really like to see it.

This is taken from the bridge over the Saint Mary River form the back of the motorcycle as we arrived that evening. This serene and beautiful evening was just a calm before the storm unfortunately.

The next morning we awoke to a soggy day in Saint Mary, MT at the eastern entrance to Glacier NP. Nothing worse than rolling up a wet tent, but the road was calling and on we went. High winds and more rain were forecast so our ride over "The Going To The Sun Road" in Glacier NP, was abandoned. This was the second time we missed doing that ride. The first time, a couple of years ago, was put off because of snow. The road hadn't been opened yet and it was the middle of June.

This was the weather that morning looking into Glacier from the KOA we camped at the previous night (See photo before this one). What is hard to tell from the photo is the the winds were very brisk with gusts forecast to 60 mph in the passes. We spent an hour in the office with a coffee and a map to see what our options were. Without much choice we decided to press on into Canada, to Waterton NP in Alberta, which is an extension of our Glacier NP. The border was a mere 30 miles or so away.

This was our welcoming committee near the Canadian Border. It's actually a couple of sculptures of Blackfeet Indians, whose home ground we were on. Their native lands know no boundaries and are a part of Canada as well as the US. The skies were clearing here but the wind was stiff as you can see by the flags.

This is Chief Mountain, sacred to the Blackfeet. The US, Canadian Border is not far away. As you can see, threatening clouds began to build and by the time we reached the small border crossing, another 5 miles down the road, it was drizzling.

There were four of us on three motorcycles. Kathy and I were on our Ultra Classic and her brother Tim, on his Ultra Classic, and his wife Donna on her Heritage Soft Tail Classic. All Harleys, for those who don't know.

Kathy and I were in the lead coming up to the Canadian Border check station. There was a line so we waited in the rain. Apparently one of the border guards thought we looked suspicious. Stay tuned to find out what happened next. To be continued...

Tomorrow, Thursday, July 11, I'm headed to Hardin, MT for the Will James Roundup, a ranch rodeo some friends put on each year. Should make for some great photography for future paintings. I'm going to try something a little different and "blog" my way along, giving daily updates as I go. I'll be riding the Harley, traveling by myself, light and fast, so we'll see how it goes. If as planned, I should be back in the shop/studio on Monday sometime.

Until tomorrow...