End of Trip Synopsis

Main intent of this trip was to travel Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, CA. Since I then had to get back home, I headed up the west coast to BC before heading back to Orleans (Ottawa) Ontario across Canada.

Have been asked many times about making this trip alone and by motorcycle but have made shorter trips alone & enjoyed the experience. Always nice to have someone with you to share the sights and experiences but traveling alone has it's advantages such as: following your own agenda, or in many cases, no particular agenda and taking in what the day presents; meeting people since they tend to approach a single individual traveling by motorcycle easier than a group. On this trip a motorcycle had several advantages over a car since I was able to stop in places to view & photograph the sites where a car would have been unable to stop.

My Garmin GPS and Rte 66 maps downloaded for it from the internet were invaluable since Rte 66 marking is not always easy to follow, especially since some layouts changed over the years.
My main purpose was to travel the original Rte 66, so for most of the trip I didn't stray too far from the road and concentrated on sights that were nearby. Perhaps I'll make another trip in the future and stray a little further to see more of the sights in the states that Rte 66 passes through.

My 2003 Yamaha FJR1300 and Monogo trailer performed fantastically. One oil change of synthetic oil and no overheating problems, even though I have a radiator guard and experienced temps as high as 49C/120F. The only problems that I had were with tires and consisted of a puncture in the rear tire of my motorcycle in Needles, CA and a valve leak on the trailer on my way from California to the Grand Canyon. A tubeless repair kit, spare valves and electric pump that I carried saved the day in both instances. Replaced the rear tire in Rancho Cucamonga, CA and the front tire (Metzeler ME6) now has about over 25,000 km/15,000+mi on it and is due for a change soon, but still doesn't look too bad.

If you're a motorcycle rider, I definitely recommend a trip such as this. If not, I still recommend a trip like this to see some of what North America has to see and experience.

Route 66 is a big part of American highway history and has many sites, in restored or original format, to see thanks to the many volunteers in the various State Route 66 organizations.

Enjoyed visiting and staying with many friends & relatives on this trip and thank you all for your hospitality.

Day 74 - Fri, August 15, 2008 - Owen Sound to Home (Orleans, ON) - 581.6 km/363.5 mi - Total 19,586.5 km/12,241.6 mi

We were invited to visit Mike's sister on the way home but since we were less than 600 km from home and rain was forecast, decided to head home on the shortest and most scenic route via Hwys 26, 11, 118, 28 and 132 to Hwy 17. Passed a large bicycle tour on the way and enjoyed the roads and scenery. Rode through a few showers and on some wet roads and decided to stop in Renfrew to wait out the impending storm since the sky was very black in the direction of Ottawa. Waited for over an hour for the rains to subside and heard about heavy rain and hail in Ottawa. Our decision to wait here was a good one. Left Renfrew after 20:00 and waved goodbye to Mike at the Carling exit off Hwy 417 and arrived home shortly after 21:00.

Enjoyed having Mike as a riding companion for the trip home from St Joe`s Island.

I`m home, I`m home! Let the bells ring out, let the banners fly, I know it`s too good to be true but I`m home!

Photo: Bikes and Rainbow at Tims in Renfrew.

Day 73 - Thur, August 14, 2008 - St. Joseph Island to Owen Sound, ON - 450.8 km/281.8 mi - Total 19,004.9 km/11,878.1 mi

Mike and I thanked Miquel (Mike) and Tarja for their hospitality and headed east.

Decide to go via Manitoulin Island so that Mike would see a different part of the country than Hwy 17 that he followed on Monday. Underestimated our travel time and were unable to get to the 13:30 ferry to Tobermory so we stopped in Little Current. Went to have an ice cream cone but I was disappointed when finding out that hawberry ice cream had been discontinued. We parked the bikes and took a walking tour of Little Current Marina area and waited out a short shower. Made our way across the island to South Baymouth to catch the 17:50 ferry and have a snack. Another shower while we waited so we avoided riding in the rain again.

Boarded the Chi-Cheemaun (Big Canoe) and had straps to tie down my bike on the ferry but was told that the weather would provide a smooth ride so one strap should be sufficient.

After leaving the ferry and heading south, a Harley Rider pulled a stupid move by passing Mike on the right. Obviously not a real motorcycle rider as anyone with half a brain wouldn`t pull a move like this.

Rode to Owen Sound where we got a room for the night and ordered a Pizza for dinner.

Photos: Little Current Marina and Bridge to Manitoulin Island; Door Opening on Ferry; Bikes secured below deck; Lighthouse approaching Tobermory.

Day 72 - Wed, August 13 2008 - St. Joseph Island - 0 km/0 mi - Total 18,554.1 km/11,596.3 mi

After a good breakfast, Miquel, Mike, Tarja and I met Clyde and his wife Nadine at the Hilton Beach Marina. Since the water was very calm the decision was made to go to the Soo. Tarja and Nadine sat up front and Mike and I were given a tour, complete with comentary, of the north channel between St. Joe's Island and The Soo. Saw lots of great scenery and homes/camps on the water and also some freighters, including a 1000 footer, before arriving at the Roberta Bodnar Marina . Had lunch at Dock's Riverfront Grill and the guys played a few games of pool while the women went shopping. Miquel, the pool shark, gave us all a few lessons on how to clear the table as we were definitely not in his league.

Waited out a short rain before heading back and outran some rain on the way back. A very enjoyable and relaxing way to spend a day. Mike and I thank Clyde and Nadine for having us along.

Photos: Mike and Capt. Clyde; 1,000 footer; At Roberta Bodnar Marina; Mike the Pool Shark; Tarja and Nadine.

Day 71 - Tues, August 12, 2008 - St. Joseph Island - 0 km/0 mi - Total 18,554.1 km/11,596.3 mi

Mike had to clean a few chimneys in the morning so we spent the morning with Tarja before she had to leave for a meeting in The Soo.

I went for a swim off the end of the dock and the water was refreshing. Miquel`s interpretation of refreshing is cold but it wasn`t that bad.

Mike gave us a tour of the immediate area near his place on St. Joe's island and we ended up at the Tilt'n Hilton for a few beer and met Mike's friend Clyde. They had been planning to do a boat trip in Clyde's boat around St Joe's Island and invited us to join them the next day.

Day 70 - Mon, August 11, 2008 - Sault Ste. Marie to St. Joseph Island, ON - 68.4 km/42.8 mi - Total 18,554.1 km/11,596.3 mi

Gave Stuart a little help carrying a few fence sections to repair his fence.

Mike, a friend and fellow motorcyclist from Ottawa, was going to meet me at St. Joseph Island to escort me back to Ottawa so I sent a text msg. to mikeonabike to find out whether he would be arriving on Mon. or Tues. Received reply that he was making good time so should arrive around 19:00.

Left Deb and Stu's in time to arrive at Michael (Miquel) and Tarja's on St. Joe's Island before Mike.

My quiet Yamaha allowed me to arrrive at Mike and Tarja's without them hearing me and we went out on the deck overlooking Lake Huron to have a beer and wait for mikeonabike. Mike thought he heard an ATV and I thought it could be Mike so went out to check and it was. Mike arrived closer to 20:00 than 19:00. Seems he took a tour of the island and spoke to a few of the locals before finding the place. GPS let him down as he couldn't locate Miquel's place, even following my instructions.

Miquel BBQ'd some great steaks and Tarja did a great job on the rest of the meal. Mike stole my cabin as his sleeping quarters so I slept in the house.

Day 69 - Sun, August 10, 2008 - Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie, ON - 739.2 km/462.0 mi - Total 18,485.7 km/11,553.6 mi

Nice day for a ride with temp in lower 20'sC/lower 70'sF.

Lots of rivers, lakes and views of Lake Superior but not much else other than fishing and hunting camps.

Went through White River which is considered the home of Winnie the Pooh. This character was inspired by an orphaned bear cub that was purchased from a trapper in White River.

Arrived at Debbie and Stuarts place where Millie, my aunt & godmother, joined us for dinner and brought a peach pie with her. Enjoyed dinner with them on the deck and gave Millie her birthday present from Susan & Betty-Ann and a 1/3 Litre bottle of single malt that had made the trip with me. We talked until Stuart told Millie that she should go home and let us younger people go to bed.

Photos: Sleeping Giant, Thunder Bay; Winnie`s Home; Goose, Wawa.

Day 68 - Sat, August. 9, 2008 - Steinbach to Thunder Bay, ON - 717.4 km/448.4 mi - Total 17,746.5 km/11,091.6 mi

Watched Paul strap all of his stuff to his Harley, then said goodbye and gave him my email address and blog name.

Learned that Steinbach had it's first car dealership brought there in 1903 and it is called "The Automobile City" of Canada because it has more car dealers per capita than anywhere else. This is symbolized by a giant, antique Rolls Royce.

Nice sunny day with comfortable temps from 20-24C/68-75F.
Good to get back to Ontario and get some roads with turns after driving across the prairies. Not much more than boating, fishing and hunting areas from the MB-ON border to Thunder Bay. Wish they would raise the speed limit from 90 kph to at least 100 kph since Ontario has the lowest speed limit that I've seen on the Trans Canada Hwy on the way east.

Photos: Paul and the bikes; Giant Rolls

Day 67 - Fri, August 8, 2008 - Moose Jaw to Steinbach, MB - 786.8 km/491.6 mi - Total 17,029.1 km/10,643.2 mi

Made a detour to Rouleau, SK (aka Dog River) to visit the set of Corner Gas and see some of the buildings used in the series. Was met by a security guard and she asked me to sign a guest book and gave me a postcard. Took a few pics of the set, the vehicles used on the show and some of the local buildings that appear on the show.

Beautiful day for a ride with day turning mostly sunny and temp in upper 20'sC/low to mid 80'sF.
Took Hwy 1/Trans-Canada Hwy through downtown Winnipeg rather than bypass it since I had never been there before.

East of Wpg. I passed the Longitudinal Center of Canada. What is Wpg doing in the Eastern CFL?

Realized that being east of Wpg. and getting late it may be hard to find somewhere to stay for the night. Little showed up on my GPS. Saw signs indicating some rooms in Steinbach so I headed there and got a room for the night.

When going out for dinner I met a motorcyclist taking his luggage to his room. He rode from Alberta today and was looking for a beer and food also but was told by the clerk that Steinbach had been dry until recently and there were few places licensed. Found an Irish pub where I joined Paul for a few beer with dinner. Paul is from Harrisburg, PA and had been at Sturgis with some friends. Told me someone had tried to steal his Harley previously so he parked outside my window and beside my bike. My perimeter alarm should cover his bike.

Photos: Is SK flat?; Lots of these in SK; Corner Gas; Longitudinal Centre of Canada

Day 66 - Thur, August 7, 2008 - Drumheller,AB to Moose Jaw, SK - 751.9 km/469.9 mi - Total 15,490.4 km/9,681.5 mi

A late start east from Drumheller as I had to pack up at my campsite and visit the hoodoos on the way.

After leaving Drumheller and the coulees the landscapes in Alberta and Saskatchewan were very similar. Rolling with views that seemed to go on forever. Cattle, pumpjacks, horses and large fields without farm buildings in sight.

In most cases heavily traveled roads, such as the Trans-Canada, resulted in varying degrees of ruts caused by large trucks. This caused the bike and trailer to sway a bit at times. Conversations with car drivers revealed that these roads affected them too.

Photos: Coulees from campsite; Hoodoo site; Hoodoo size; Coulees leaving Drumheller area.

Day 65 - Wed, August 6, 2008 - Red Deer to Drumheller, AB - 751.9 km/469.9 mi - Total 15,490.4 km/9,681.5 mi.

Got an early start and headed east on Hwy 11 to go back to the Icefields Pkwy/Hwy 93 to head south to Lake Louise and Banff.

Saw my first pumpjack since I've been in Alberta on Hwy 11. First part of trip was through rolling farmland but as I approached the foothills of the Rockies the scenery got more interesting. Started going through the mountain pass and was in sight of the Saskatchewan River most of the way. Beautiful scenery with the blue-green river in the foreground and the mountains behind.

Entered the park and saw scenery from the reverse side for the first part of the ride down the Icefields Pkwy/Hwy 93. However, the temperature in this part of the ride was from 18C/64F to 22C/72F, way above what it was when I went north here last week.

Saw the Bow and Crowsfoot glaciers as I continued south to new areas for me. Stopped in at Lake Louise and walked around before continuing on to Banff. Tried to take mikeonabike's advice to have a beer at the lounge in the Banff Hotel but it was closed when I arrived and wouldn't open for a few hours.

Temp rose to 30C/86F by the time I reached Banff.

Went around the west side of Calgary on my way to Drumheller and there's lots of construction and new communities. Looks like all of the new places being built around Ottawa area with houses close together and strip malls.

Headed north from Calgary on Hwy 2 and at 16:30 I was approximately 100 km. from where I started out in the morning. Headed east towards Drumheller on Hwy 72 and then Hwy 9. Thought I was in Saskatchewan already as the land was very flat and the road very straight almost all of the way. Just before Drumheller the land started to take on a new character and then changed drastically when I descended a steep hill into Drumheller. To quote a website on Drumheller, "Rolling fields suddenly give way to steep, dry coulees ridged with the strata of hundreds of years of erosion by time, wind and water".

Got a campsite for the night and will see the hoodoos tomorrow before heading east towards The Soo.

Photos:  Saskatchewan River from Hwy 11; What Bear?; Hwy 11 entrance to Icefields Pkwy; Bow Glacier; Lake Louise; Alternate road between Lake Louise and Banff; Mountain Goats: Cooulees at Drumheller.

Day 64 - Tue, August 5, 2008 - Red Deer - 28.3 km/17.7 mi - Total 14,738.5 km/9,211.6 mi.

Established my route from here to Sault Ste. Marie and downloaded it to my GPS. 3,423 km. to The Soo. Going via Lake Louise and Banff since I headed north after coming through Rogers Pass last week and did not get to these places.

Went for a ride around town and did my laundry in preparation for the trip east.

Went for a late dinner with Crystal and Anthony at Moxie's after they finished work. Said goodbye to them before going to bed since I hoped to get an early start and be gone before they wake up.

Day 63 - Mon, August. 4, 2008 - Edmonton to Red Deer, AB - 177.5 km/110.9 mi - Total 14,710.2 km/9,193.9 mi.

Headed straight south from Paul's place to eventually get on Queen Elizabeth II/Hwy 2 to Red Deer. Passed Rexall Place, home of the Oilers, located on Wayne Gretzky Drive which is very close to Paul's apartment.

Met Crystal at Princess Auto where we went for lunch and she gave me directions to her place (not on my GPS maps) where Anthony was at home.

Crystal and I went to Tony Roma's for dinner and Anthony met us there after work.

Photo: Rexall Place

Day 62 - Sun, August 3, 2008 - Edmonton - 53.3 km/33.3 mi - Total 14,532.7 km/9,082.9 mi.

Rode around Edmonton while Paul was at work and found a wi-fi cafe to do a little research and update my blog.

After Paul returned from work we went to the Newcastle Pub to eat and I tried their Newcastle Lager. Met Tom, a friend and former room-mate of Paul in the Soo, and he invited us over to his place. We had a shot of Tequila with him and it was very smooth. Wrote the name down somewhere so will update when, or if, I find it.

Day 61 - Sat, August 2, 2008 - Hinton to Edmonton, AB - 299.2 km/187.0 mi - Total 14,479.4 km/9,049.6 mi.

Wet when I woke up so went for breakfast and read the newspaper. Roads had dried when I left at 11:50 but I dressed for rain anyway and ended up riding in overcast but dry 18-20C/64-68F weather. Speed limit on Yellowhead is 110kph in most places and since there wasn't much to see I rode at 120 kph/75 mph and arrived in Edmonton in about 2.5 hrs. Roads caused trailer & bike to sway a little bit in some places. The highways have groves in them caused by all of the traffic so tried to remain in the center of the road as much as possible. Starting to think Ontario roads are pretty good when compared to highways in Alberta and streets in Edmonton.

Jim had told me that Betty Webber was living with her daughter Wendy here so I paid them a visit. Betty was my adopted Montreal mother when I visited Montreal in the late 60s or early '70s with either Jim or Rick.

My cousin Paul said he would home from work by 18:00 so headed to his place where I will stay until Mon. a.m.

Day 60 - Fri, August 1, 2008 - Revelstoke to Hinton, AB - 543.5 km/339.7 mi - Total 14,180.2 km/8,862.6 mi

Rained all night but stopped by time I woke up and remained stopped while I ate and packed up. Rain started again shortly after I left and continued for the first 80 km.

Followed Hwy 1 to the intersection with Icefields Pkwy/Hwy 93. Temp was 14C/57F when I left Revelstoke and that was about the maximum until I reached Jasper where it rose to 18C/64F at 18:00. Went through Rogers Pass (altitude 1330 m/4364 ft) and observed a temp of 9C/48F. Passed through Glacier and Yoho Nat'l Parks on Hwy 1 and saw some mountain goats just east of Golden. Was unable to stop and get a picture.
Crossed over the Continental Divide which corresponds with the BC/AB border. Temp was 12C/54F which I'm sure is a lot colder than when I crossed it earlier in my trip in New Mexico.
Turned north onto the Icefields Pkwy/Hwy 93 and passed through Banff and Glacier Nat'l Parks on the way to Jasper. Experienced a few short showers on the way. Thought I'd seen my lowest temp near Rogers Pass but outdid it near Bow Summit where I saw 8C/46F. Good thing I had my polarfleece as a liner under my jacket, my motorcycle pants and lined waterproof gloves. Saw many sights along the way such as deer, elk, waterfalls and icefields.

Have driven or rode on many highways through mountainous areas but believe that the Icefields Parkway is the most spectacular of all and well worth the $9.80 price to enter the parks. Mounted my video camera when it wasn't raining so should be able to give an idea of the terrain and great scenery when I get it edited.
Rode through Jasper and then headed toward Edmonton on the Yellowhead Route/Trans Canada Highway/Hwy 16. The high mountains ended shortly after leaving Jasper.

Arrived at Hinton, where I expected to camp for the night, but there's a rodeo in town and campsites I checked were full. Found a room in town for the night and will proceed to Edmonton in the morning. They let me park right outside the office so didn't have to remove everything from the bike.

Today's beer, one I had left over from BC, and was Dude from Pacific Western Brewing Co. in Prince George, BC

Photos: Rogers Pass; Lots of these; Ski hills at Golden; Snow on the mountains; The road just taken; Waterfall; Ice field; Wildlife; What a rack.