Day 13 - August 10, 2017 - Kalispell, MT to Cranbrook, BC
Day 13 - Thursday, August 10, 2017 - Kalispell, MT to Cranbrook, BC
Distance: 402km, Time: 6:00hrs
Sunny, Hot 30c to 18c
Overnight: Super 8, 2370 Cranbrook Street North, Cranbrook, BC, (***), very clean with a pool and allowing MC to be parked under of the office window, very East end of town - not waking to anything.
Today is a waiting day, I am at the mercy of UPS Air Freight, I was told that Fasttoys gets a delivery at 9am and again around 2pm, I hope my part is the 9am delivery - of course it is not. So I went for lunch at 12noon, and got the call just as I was heading back to the shop, anyway part installed by 2:20pm and I am off, I have to cover 400km before darkness falls over the Kootenay Mountains and have to avoid any closed sections of Hwy#3 because of major forest fires in BC and one or two in Montana as well. BTW the part is about 1/2" thick and the round size of a dime. Oil drip has stopped, but the rear of the bike is dirty, and may stay that way for a while.
So I am now heading West on US#2 via Libby, MT and Bonner's Ferry, ID, there was a shorter route but I would have missed riding in Idaho and I needed that state to complete all 50 (I now only have 8 to go). Hwy2 goes through some high plains territory that is very dry, in fact the signs are reading EXTREME! plus there is not much out here on the road, and little traffic, a bit boring as the scenery is just that. Libby has an Amtrak station and the downtown needs a few million to fix things up, but it is clean and an uneventful visit. Just watch for the 25mph (16kmh) speed limits in these places, not sure why it is not 30mph (50kmh).
This will also be the official turning point, ie: the most Western point in my Journey, where I will start making my way East and home. That point will be in the Exon Gas Station at the Junction of US2 and US95 - Bonner's Ferry, ID. At this point I have travelled 5,544km since I left Niagara-on-the-Lake back on July 29th. But add to the "odd" event book, there is another Vulcan 1600 getting gas next to me, same colour, same everything except he does not have the trunk box, only spoke for a few minutes and we are off, would have loved to have swapped stories and reminded him to replace his fuel pump at 85,000km as I did last year.
The smoke on the road is now intense, and for the first time I can taste it, plus the sun is obscured as well - not a good sign and of course there is construction on US95 with a 4inch thick new layer of asphalt to jump and a delay of 25minutes.
Reach the Canadian Border at 6:30pm, and cross back into Canada with only a few questions. Next stop is Cranbrook, but I will follow a UP/CP Oil Train heading East into town. Not moving to fast on the Boundary Sub-Division, but that is OK, and I get get several shots in different locations.
As darkness closes in I reach Cranbrook about 8:15pm, a long day.
Photos from the day:
Distance: 402km, Time: 6:00hrs
Sunny, Hot 30c to 18c
Overnight: Super 8, 2370 Cranbrook Street North, Cranbrook, BC, (***), very clean with a pool and allowing MC to be parked under of the office window, very East end of town - not waking to anything.
Today is a waiting day, I am at the mercy of UPS Air Freight, I was told that Fasttoys gets a delivery at 9am and again around 2pm, I hope my part is the 9am delivery - of course it is not. So I went for lunch at 12noon, and got the call just as I was heading back to the shop, anyway part installed by 2:20pm and I am off, I have to cover 400km before darkness falls over the Kootenay Mountains and have to avoid any closed sections of Hwy#3 because of major forest fires in BC and one or two in Montana as well. BTW the part is about 1/2" thick and the round size of a dime. Oil drip has stopped, but the rear of the bike is dirty, and may stay that way for a while.
So I am now heading West on US#2 via Libby, MT and Bonner's Ferry, ID, there was a shorter route but I would have missed riding in Idaho and I needed that state to complete all 50 (I now only have 8 to go). Hwy2 goes through some high plains territory that is very dry, in fact the signs are reading EXTREME! plus there is not much out here on the road, and little traffic, a bit boring as the scenery is just that. Libby has an Amtrak station and the downtown needs a few million to fix things up, but it is clean and an uneventful visit. Just watch for the 25mph (16kmh) speed limits in these places, not sure why it is not 30mph (50kmh).
This will also be the official turning point, ie: the most Western point in my Journey, where I will start making my way East and home. That point will be in the Exon Gas Station at the Junction of US2 and US95 - Bonner's Ferry, ID. At this point I have travelled 5,544km since I left Niagara-on-the-Lake back on July 29th. But add to the "odd" event book, there is another Vulcan 1600 getting gas next to me, same colour, same everything except he does not have the trunk box, only spoke for a few minutes and we are off, would have loved to have swapped stories and reminded him to replace his fuel pump at 85,000km as I did last year.
The smoke on the road is now intense, and for the first time I can taste it, plus the sun is obscured as well - not a good sign and of course there is construction on US95 with a 4inch thick new layer of asphalt to jump and a delay of 25minutes.
Reach the Canadian Border at 6:30pm, and cross back into Canada with only a few questions. Next stop is Cranbrook, but I will follow a UP/CP Oil Train heading East into town. Not moving to fast on the Boundary Sub-Division, but that is OK, and I get get several shots in different locations.
As darkness closes in I reach Cranbrook about 8:15pm, a long day.
Photos from the day:
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