Pic Heavy Ride Report - MS to Bella Coola & Back 11,000 Miles Heat, Hail & Bears

[consitter]

Kevin and Mary,

As always the pics and stories are much appreciated. These are sights I most likely will never see with my own eyes for various reasons.

Every night I eagerly await you next posting. I'm most likely one of the few that see them fresh after you have put them on the site, because of my work schedule and access to computer while there.

 

[DK Custom Products]

I am a newer member on the board and have not posted on this thread. I must say this has been one of the most entertaining threads I have ever followed. The work you went through with your commentary and the beautiful pictures have been a highlight for me these last 15 days or so since finding it.



I just wanted you to know there is at least one Minnesotan that applauds your efforts.



Thank You Both!



WS

Agree with previous post concerning Alaska trip. Very good read. Makes you feel like you are along for the ride.

Also enjoying this adventure....

Kevin and Mary,

As always the pics and stories are much appreciated. These are sights I most likely will never see with my own eyes for various reasons.

Every night I eagerly await you next posting. I'm most likely one of the few that see them fresh after you have put them on the site, because of my work schedule and access to computer while there.

Thank you, glad you are enjoying the ride!

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 17 continued.

I thought I would get thru all the pics for Day 17 today. But there was so much we saw, even with cutting out big chunks, it is still going to stretch out thru tomorrow before I am done.

(Trent really sent us on a good detour! )


The TG parked at the end of the road. What a view!

Mary in the parking lot at the end of the road...

...I was still eating lunch.

Looking down the road, back the way we came, and re-traced. You can see the dam in the distance.

We are headed back now. This is a pic taken while crossing over the top of the dam.

Pulled over for this pic...just amazing!

I love this snaking road, following the Snake River!

Another breath-taking view, looking back toward where we just had lunch.

Oh yeah, this road is a dream to ride!

I lost count of how many times we crossed back and forth between Idaho and Oregon. lol

Day 17 Continued in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 17 continued.


As we were going about 40 mph in a straight, this deer crossed the road in front of us...no panic, it was far enough in front of us, I didn't even slow down. By the time Mary got the camera on it, it was up the hill beside us.

Back in Idaho again.

Our plan is to stop in New Meadows for the night, and the road and scenery is fantastic all the way there!

Double barrier for the falling rocks. The barriers are there to protect expensive equipment down below. There is nothing to protect the motorist on the road.

The views on this road, and the fun it is to ride...

...make it one of the most enjoyable days we have ever spent on the TG.

And it just keeps getting better & better. Even though we just traveled this road a few hours ago....

...riding it from the opposite direction, it is like an entirely different road.

The views are...

...incredible!

Tomorrow I will get the last of Day 17 posted up.


Kevin

 

[consitter]

Wow....just awesome.

 

[Trent]

The great riding opportunities here in Idaho are still a pretty well hidden secret. We have a lotta roads kinda comparable to that Dragon Tailed thingy that I have read about and seen photos of. The difference is that the Idaho versions are longer, very remote, and if you happen to unfortunately run off the road, you WILL most likely die. :AGGHH: Sensible riding practices are required. There is a Hells Canyon Motorcycle Festival in June with a few thousand participants and a lotta drunken party time. There are many crashes and 1 or 2 deaths every year. Never been,,, and no thanx,,, never will.

The roads end where K & M stopped is where you can catch Jet Boat rides that take you way down into that River Of No Return {if you are in a canoe} and back out. Reservations required and it is an amazing experience. Starting with this section the river then drops, and I do mean drops, into the Columbia River which flows along the Oregon and Washington borders to the Pacific Ocean. Pacific Ocean Salmon spawn up the Columbia, the Snake, the Salmon River, and various tributaries all the way up to Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains above Lowman where K & M's Idaho ride started. They have to get through 11 or 12 dams, hundreds of Sea Lions, and hundreds of fishing nets and thousands of fisherman.

Amazingly a couple of thousand make it back to that very high up Idaho mountain lake, via a large hatchery close by also. 25 years ago only 1 lone Male made it. They named him Lonesome Larry, took his manly seed, fertilized a few million hatchery produced eggs with it, and sent the babies back down river. It is his studly DNA that help his spawn somehow make it back every year.

If any of you make it thru Idaho on your trips, let me know. If I can swing it, will be happy to ride with you on some interesting 1 day rides within an hour or two of the Boise area that you will not regret.

 

[DK Custom Products]

The great riding opportunities here in Idaho are still a pretty well hidden secret. We have a lotta roads kinda comparable to that Dragon Tailed thingy that I have read about and seen photos of. The difference is that the Idaho versions are longer, very remote, and if you happen to unfortunately run off the road, you WILL most likely die. :AGGHH: Sensible riding practices are required. There is a Hells Canyon Motorcycle Festival in June with a few thousand participants and a lotta drunken party time. There are many crashes and 1 or 2 deaths every year. Never been,,, and no thanx,,, never will.

The roads end where K & M stopped is where you can catch Jet Boat rides that take you way down into that River Of No Return {if you are in a canoe} and back out. Reservations required and it is an amazing experience. Starting with this section the river then drops, and I do mean drops, into the Columbia River which flows along the Oregon and Washington borders to the Pacific Ocean. Pacific Ocean Salmon spawn up the Columbia, the Snake, the Salmon River, and various tributaries all the way up to Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains above Lowman where K & M's Idaho ride started. They have to get through 11 or 12 dams, hundreds of Sea Lions, and hundreds of fishing nets and thousands of fisherman.

Amazingly a couple of thousand make it back to that very high up Idaho mountain lake, via a large hatchery close by also. 25 years ago only 1 lone Male made it. They named him Lonesome Larry, took his manly seed, fertilized a few million hatchery produced eggs with it, and sent the babies back down river. It is his studly DNA that help his spawn somehow make it back every year.

If any of you make it thru Idaho on your trips, let me know. If I can swing it, will be happy to ride with you on some interesting 1 day rides within an hour or two of the Boise area that you will not regret.

We sure hope to be back next year, or year after!

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 17 continued.


A different perspective, and....

...around every curve are more curves!

Someone asked...I think it was Fuzzy... does the fringe on the leather grip covers reach far enough back to hit the passenger.

Nope, but sometimes they get a little wild in the air. lol

We are now past Cambridge, headed toward Council. Looks like some rain ahead...

...Mary is in cloud heaven.

Mary in the mirror, taking a pic of the Chevy!

The Chevy only temporarily distracted Mary....

...from the amazing cloud formations.

Day 17 Continued & concluded in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

The conclusion of Day 17.


Mary took just under 500 pics today...more than her average. And more than the average % of them turned out great. I have picked out just a fraction of them.


Rolling through Council, ID...

...as we pass the town square, there are some OLD Tractors. We rode a circle around so Mary could get pics of them.

Next stop, and where we're spending the night. New Meadows, ID. Looks like we might get wet.

Back into the woods, hills and curves...

Between all the amazing roads, scenery, and cloud formations, this has been a jam-packed day...

...even though it's only been a bit over 300 miles, we are on a bit of sensory overload after 8 hours. Then we see this right before New Meadows.

After the above pic, Marys' camera battery wore out. We were so close we did not stop to change it out.


We found the Roadhouse Java Motel. They had a room open, and gave us a $5 discount for being on a bike. $59.95 Old school motel, great Java.

In fact, it seemed like half the town stopped there for their caffeine. Owner confirmed that the made FAR more selling Java than off the motel rooms.

The end of Day 17!

Day 18, to Missoula is next.


Kevin

 

[Trent]

Looks like a great day...! We have seen Wolves twice in those meadows between Council and New Meadows. They are huge and black and startle you to see them trotting along and gazing at you. Too bad there were none around. Or maybe they were.... Ya never know. :AGGHH: Saw a Mountain Lion stalking some cows out there once also.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Looks like a great day...! We have seen Wolves twice in those meadows between Council and New Meadows. They are huge and black and startle you to see them trotting along and gazing at you. Too bad there were none around. Or maybe they were.... Ya never know. :AGGHH: Saw a Mountain Lion stalking some cows out there once also.

:xzqxz: Next time we'll be on the lookout!



Oh yeah! ThumbUp


Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 18


Today was a short one, mileage wise. Around 250 miles, but the road rivaled yesterdays!

I am not going to get all of it in, in two posts, so it will be continued sometime in the next couple of days.


Getting ready to leave the Motel in New Meadows. The porch sure is comfortable.

We leave the sheepskin seat cover on the bike, and at night just put a plastic bag over it, in case it rains. That's what the monstrosity is in the middle of the seat in this pic.

On the road out of New Meadows...

...it is another great day for riding. Temps were a high of 85* today, clear skies, and we had a little bit of mountain road early on.

Soon we are running along the Salmon River. Lot's of folks out fishing!

Unique bridge crossing the Salmon River...we are in the high desert now....

...when we pass this fellow traveler. We have not been seeing many bikes the last few days.

Continuing to climb on a fun road, we are very fortunate....

...last time we were thru here, the temps were up near 100*. Much nicer today.

Dunno how Mary does it, pretty clear pic for 70 mph in a curve.

We're pretty much at the highest elevation for the day...great view, and great picture taking at 80 mph.

We're almost to the great riding roads for the day. After passing thru Grangeville we'll be getting on the 13....

The 13 is a great little road that we discovered a few years ago. It is curve after curve, up and down hills, with steep drop-offs to the valley below.

Continued in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 18 continued.


I have been looking forward to the 13 since we left home. It does not disappoint. It is one S curve after another, with some tight twistys thrown in. Can't see it too well in this pic, but a 90 turn, well banked and downhill is coming up.

Here's a view from the side of the road (no guardrails) of the valley down below...with a river and a road.

The 13 in Idaho, between Grangeville & Kooskia, a blast to ride if you like the curves!

We're in the middle of a Double S, with Mary reaching out for a better view.

Toward the end of the 13 it gets more picturesque...

...and the road a bit more civilized as we approach Kooskia.

The end of the 13, as we get ready to turn toward Missoula MT. on the 12

The 12 is mostly flat, very scenic, and 99 miles of curve after curve. The first few miles are relatively mild curve-wise, and Mary get some great pics.

It is beautiful country!

Day 18 will be continued and concluded in a couple of days.

Kevin

 

[Trikindan]

Where is Kevin and Mary?

Where is Kevin and Mary???? I need my ride fix!!!!:Meds::Meds:

 

[DK Custom Products]

Where is Kevin and Mary???? I need my ride fix!!!!:Meds::Meds:

Sorry, been a bit short on time. Resuming tonight, and should be pretty regular going forward.

Kevin

 

[consitter]

Sorry, been a bit short on time. Resuming tonight, and should be pretty regular going forward.

Kevin

'Bout time...I was gonna ride to Mississippi to look at the pics personally. :wave4:

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 18 Continued-


Just getting started on the 12. Last time I rode this road I was a bit tired, and it was the first time in my life that I got tired of the curves before the curves ran out.

Today I was fresh and really enjoyed them the entire way.

Absolutely beautiful!

Not only is the scenery stunning, my guess is that out of the 99 miles, 25 of them might be straight, the rest are curves...

...the entire route follows right next to the river. Last time we were on this road we stopped for lunch along the river...

...did the same thing this time. Taking a pic of Mary...

...still up the hill next to the TG.

It was a great spot to have lunch!

Taking a pic of Mary...

...while she was taking one of me.

Another shot of the river we had lunch at, before leaving out.

Day 18 continued & concluded in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 18 Continued-



Was a whole different way of traveling back then!

This is one of my favorite roads...not only is it headed toward our son and grand-daughter, not only is it amazingly scenic, it has hundreds and hundreds (a thousand?) of curves!

Headed up the hill to Lolo Pass....

....we've left the river behind, but there are still lots of curves!

btw, I am totally in my lane here...at least the TG is, but Mary is stretched way out, methinks into the other lane with the camera. lol

At the top we cross into Montana.

Going down from Lolo pass (on 2 wheels or 3) into Missoula is the only road I have ever traveled where the speed limit is faster in some places than I am comfortable traveling!

I know there are some places in Georgia where some corners are marked with a MPH sign that is pretty much at the max...but this road has a speed limit of 70 mph.

You've probably gathered by now, I like to accelerate hard thru the curves, and take them faster than most (and invariably that is faster than the posted limit)....but there are a good many curves on this road out of Lolo pass that I am not comfortable going even the 70 mph speed limit.

No mistaking, it is a fun road, but I ride within mine and the bikes limits!

Down in the basin now, getting close to Missoula, still snow on some mountains.

In Missoula now. Howard Johnson's is where we stay in Missoula. Lydia likes it there, the pool, and it's sorta become our spot.

She is out of town right now, so we won't be seeing her until we pass back thru in a couple of weeks...

...but we spend some time visiting with Craig, catching up, and doing some website brain-storming.

Day 18 of our travels concluded.

Day 19 coming soon!

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Best laid plans....It's Saturday, not Thurs or Fri. Hopefully I will be able to do a report each day for at least the next week.

Day 19

Today we left out of Missoula to go see Glacier National Park!

I had shipped a few items to Craig in Missoula...one of them was my leather jacket, which I switched out with my mesh jacket for our time up in Canada.


Filling up the gas can as we head north to the land of few gas stations. lol

Headed up to Glacier National Park.

Flathead Lake is one BIG lake!

We traveled about 270 miles today, I'm guessing that 20-25% of those miles was along side this lake!

It goes on & on....

....and on. It is a very scenic ride.

We got to Kalispell, stopped in at Glacier HD. Talked with some locals about area riding.

On our way up to the park, out of Kalispell. Great day to be riding...a bit warm for the leather, but I know I'll be happy for it in a few days.

All the times we've been up to Montana, we're finally making it to the National Glacier Park, via West Glacier.

We're Here!

Continued in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 19 continued-


As with most National Parks...

...the road is well maintained, fun to ride, and the scenery is amazing!

This is a pic from the road as we passed by one of the many times the rushing water was right next to the road.

Logans Pass was closed, but we got to ride 16 miles in, to Avalanche Creek...

...we parked the TG and looked around a bit. The river is wide here, emerald green. Beautiful country!

We rode back about a mile, where the river narrowed into deep pools, rapids and small falls...

...parked, walked down about 50 yards from the road with our lunch.

The pictures do not do justice to the amazing power of thousands of gallons per second rushing by us.

It was loud too!

Almost back up the hill to the TG.

Day 19 will be continued and concluded tomorrow, as we stop for the night, 5 miles from the Canadian border in Eureka, MT.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 19 Continued.


After lunch we headed back out of the National park-

99.5% of the time we wear helmets...but it is warm, traffic is light, and being in a National Park, what little traffic there is, it is usually sane...yeah, all excuses...lol...it's just nice to ride without a helmet sometimes.

Great scenery heading out...

...water cascading down the side of the mountain from melted snow.

McDonald Creek - Looking upstream....

...McDonald Creek - looking downstream as it flows into McDonald Lake.

We did a bit of exploring on some of the dirt roads in the park...

...looking at the wood bridge we're about to use to cross McDonald Creek...and the spectacular view!

Plan is to stay in Whitefish tonight.

On the way there we see The Whiskey Barn-Glacier Distillery...

...they do A-Z there, and it is open to the public to see...

Day 19 continued in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 19 Continued.


...and sample. (I did not, but Mary did. We did purchase some whiskey made with Glacier water)

As we are getting closer to Canada, we ran into some road construction...riding on the bumpy dirt/gravel road for a few miles brought back memories of MANY miles of bad road in the Yukon on our trip up to the Arctic Circle. Fortunately, this was only for several miles!

Shadow Pic!

We are enjoying the ride so much...

....we decided to go past Whitefish and stay in Eureka, about 5 miles from the Canadian Border. Entering Tobacco Valley.

There is something so alluring about open country roads! As we enter the Kootenai Forest, we are getting excited about getting back up into British Columbia.

Interesting mountaintops in the distance.

Mary likes her home, but I am very fortunate that she is willing to be away from it for a good trip every year. It seems I never get tired of cruising down a traffic free 2 lane road.

The TG is running great, barely working at 70 mph, cruise control on & it only takes a couple of fingers on the right grip keeps it in its' lane. Check out Mary in the mirror taking the pic.

Eureka! We made it to Eureka, MT. Tomorrow morning we'll be in Canada!

Kevin

 

[consitter]

Kevin--

Clear some space in your inbox...I have a question for you. Thanks.

 

[geezerglide11441]

Kevin--

Clear some space in your inbox...I have a question for you. Thanks.

Kevin, how much actual Road Construction did you experience in Glacier National Park. Did you do the "Road to the Sun" road/ride??

Looks like you two are having a great riding experience, wish we were there!!

Roger

 

[RcSuD]

Northern Washington and southern BC is on fire. Be prepared to ride in a lot of smoke.

 

[consitter]

Northern Washington and southern BC is on fire. Be prepared to ride in a lot of smoke.


View attachment 29712

No worries. They've been home for several weeks.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Kevin--

Clear some space in your inbox...I have a question for you. Thanks.

Done.

Kevin, how much actual Road Construction did you experience in Glacier National Park. Did you do the "Road to the Sun" road/ride??

Looks like you two are having a great riding experience, wish we were there!!

Roger

When we were there, there was no construction. Yes, we were riding on the Going to the Sun Road, but only as far as Avalanche Creek. After that it was closed due to snow.

Northern Washington and southern BC is on fire. Be prepared to ride in a lot of smoke.


View attachment 29712

On this trip, unlike our trip to the Arctic Circle Trip, I kept a written journal each day, downloaded the pictures from the cameras each day, and then have been posting the ride report from my contemporaneous journal. That left much more flexibility each day.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Day 20

This is a day we have been looking forward to for almost 2 years!

On our Alaska trip (see that report HERE), when we passed thru British Columbia, we were absolutely amazed by the beauty, the great roads, and the people we met along the way.

We knew then, we had to get back to spend more time in BC.


10 minutes after leaving the motel in Eureka we are at the border crossing in Rooseville.

Unlike a couple of years ago, they did NOT do an inspection. They asked a few questions, found out I had an apple, was told I could eat it now, or throw it in their deep freeze...but could not bring it into Canada.

I ate it.

They did not say a word about the 2 gallon gas can bungied to the Tour Pak rack.

On our way!!!

Pretty much top speed is 100 kmh, which is 60 mph, but in most places it is 70 or 80 kmh, which is 42-48 mph. In the towns it is far less.

One of the first sights we see after crossing the border.

This is a nice roadside map. We are going to be staying in east BC most of the day, then crossing into Alberta late in the day.

Our first stop will be in Radium Hot Springs, then up to Golden, then turning east to go to Banff (not on the map) via Lake Louise.

The roads in BC are great! Sometimes long and straight, sometimes curves, always interesting!

I've only had two other bikes that came with lowers...and on both of them I removed them the first day.

On the '14 TG I could not remove them, being that they house the radiators for the cooling system.

I have found a second purpose for them...very comfy to rest my legs on them.

Quite a sight!

We stopped for gas in Radium Hot Springs. We've been in Canada about 150 miles now. Even though we've been riding into a pretty strong headwind, generally climbing in elevation, and it's in the high 80's, we still got a bit better than 37 mpg. Most of those 150 miles were traveled at between 50 & 60 mph.

More in next post.