Hubbard Motorcycle Adventures

DAY 33 BABB TO LINCOLN VIA GLACIER NATIONAL PARK. 380km Today it was thru the Glacier National Park which is one of the iconic National Parks of the USA. And it did not fail to deliver. We were treated to magnificent mountain vistas as we wound our way slowly up and over Logan Pass. Because the road thru the National Park is narrow and winding there is a ban on all RV's ( except very small ones). This certainly made it easier although we were amazed at the number of motorcycles on the road All along the road there are tons of photo stop places and it certainly was a photographers paradise From the park it was then down thru a lovely sylvan forest park and out into a delightful town called Lincoln ( no, Abe babe never came from there ). We stayed in an old 100 year plus two story log cabin hotel complete with sloping floors and rustic fittings The hotel corridor OK fella. - show us your gun ! And those spare ribs for dinner. They warned me it ...

DAY 29 RADIUM SPRINGS REVIVAL And a delightful rest day was had by all. That is all really! Coming into Radium Springs township DAY 30 RADIUM SPRING TO KANANASKIS. 230km It was the day of the animals today. We saw elk, deer, mountain sheep and bears all on the side of the road. If that was not enough there was a magnificent eagle nest (complete with resident eagle ) on one of the arches of a old fashioned river bridge . An eagle's eye And mountain sheep And more stunning scenery Then it was down to the flesh pots of Banff. That sounds a little off putting and that is unfair. Banff had a lovely touristy feel to it with lots of happy little tourists all playing at being happy little tourists. Then the penny dropped. Instead of being observers we were being happy little tourists ourselves! After Banff it was up to the ski village come summer resort of Kananaskis. When on the bikes one of the reasons we carry a tent is because all other accom...

DAY 26. PRINCE GEORGE TO JASPER. 380 km Today was a day of coincidences. As we navigated thru Prince George a couple going in the opposite direction also on a BMW GSA gave us a big wave. Somewhat belatedly I realized that it was Brian and Jo, the kiwi dairy farmers we had met in Fairbanks. Then half an hour later we stop for roadworks. Lo and behold another bike pulls up alongside us with a Taranaki sticker on its petrol tank. It was another Kiwi couple who were part of a group on Kiwi riders doing a 60 day tour of the US and Canada . The kiwi line up ! We stop for lunch. Suddenly we find ourselves parked next to another 5 bikes from New Zealand. Then Brian and Jo turn up. It was a lovely little meeting and lunch . Gentlemen, get your molls! Then onwards thru lovely scenery to Jasper, a delightful alpine tourist town. We are really in the heart of the Rockies now. It is now time for a days rest and I have to hole up anyway as I have a call to New Zealand for o...

DAY 24. FORT NELSON TO CHETWYND. 530km And it was a long way with straight roads and " quite a lot of not a lot". However the last bit past the Peace River dam was lovely as we followed the "Power of Peace " high voltage power lines. And lo and behold we saw actual farms for the first time in three weeks! An actual farm! Oh the smell of new hay! We stopped at a road house on the way. Along with the photos of dead animals on the walls was a sign that read thus - " There are two enemies of guns- Rust and Politicians ! " What do you say to that? I have also been musing on the American/Canadian language although Canadians will be highly offended that I put them in the same camp, anyway one American I was talking to made mention of "Ma Pa's". After a while I nutted out the translation as follows Ma Pa's = My Paws. = My Hands Oh and the stuff that comes out of a tap apparently is " Whartah" Quite easy ...

DAY 21. DAWSON CITY TO FARO. 530km It was with a little reluctance we left Dawson City. Just as we were due to leave the heavens opened so we spent an extra hour and a half for the rain to stop. Eventually it did and we were on our way only to cop heavy rain for about an hour on the way. Leaving Dawson city the road follows the Klondike river. For about 30 km both sides of the road for several kilometers are lined with tailings piles from the gold dredges. It is like a ginormous worm has passed thru the landscape leaving its droppings trail. It must look surreal from the air Then it was down the road to Carmack where we turned off the main road and headed to the town of Faro. Faro is a lead mining town in the middle of nowhere. One sixth of the world batteries have lead in them from the Faro mine. Apparently there are 25,000 hectares of land that has been poisoned for the next 200 years as a result of mining practice in the sixties However it had a nice campground and a nic...

DAY 16    FAIRBANKS TO DENALI     210km Last night we had the must have Salmon Bake which is the  "must do" in Fairbanks..Sitting at a table under the trees drinking local beer and eatinf local crabs and salmon was all rather nice as we congratulated ourselves for having not only survivrd but enjoyed the famous Dalton highway. It was also time to remove many many layers of nud from the bikes and it was all rather a relief to acfind bikes under the mud.  Mind you the number plater was totally obsured to any following local constabulary or "state troopers" as they are called here.  Note to self - the state troopers metamorphise to "sheriffs" when back in Canada.   Either way they are always addressed as  "Sir". The trip down to Denali was nice and we were lucky to find a lovely National Park campsite under the trees next to the National Park Entrance .  You are not allowed to drive into the National Park - you ...

  DAY  15  DEADHORSE TO COLDFOOT. 395 km At 8.15 am we went outside and did something highly symbolic. We turned the bikes around from heading North to heading due South. The long long trip to Ushuaia has begun! You never know what is coming! We start by having to hotfoot to Coldfoot ! We left Prudhoe Bay in stunningly fine weather which is now our third day in a row of sunny skies and balmy temperatures. When I look on the map Deadhorse is about 70.5 Degrees North i.e. only about 20 Degrees from the North Pole. In terms of latitude we would be well into Antactica at this longitude South. And of course we have well into the land of the midnight sun and the first sunset for the summer in Prudhoe Bay will be on the 15 th of August. We should get to Coldfoot by nightfall Anyway about journeys south. Perhaps it is the fact we are going South but the journey seemed easier even though it took longer. The big surprise was meeting hugh oversized trucks he...