July 1 I stayed at the Sandman Inn in McBride, BC. They had super fast Internet but I was too tired to use it much. They had nice rooms and a good cafe. They also had beautiful hanging baskets of flowers around the cafe.
I left about 8AM the next morning headed for Jasper, AB and the Icefield Parkway. This park was still in BC.
It was a very pleasant ride as the weather was perfect today. It was probably in the upper 50's to low 60's as were most days. I paid the $9.80 entrance fee into Jasper National Park with a $10 Canadian bill so received .20 back in change which is a real effort on a motorcycle. They should just charge $10. She asked if I wanted a map and I declined, which I would later regret. One of the attractions I wanted pictures of was the Athabasca Falls and I missed it.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Athabasca_Falls_1.jpg I know I could have taken a much better picture. The last time I went through the Park I was coming from the south and rode right by the falls. I think there was another road I should have taken. I did get some good pictures while in the park but after all that I have been exposed to on this trip it is easier to pass up a shot. Some of the pictures.
If you look close at the above photo you will see people walking. You can see by this photo below how much the glacier has retracted in 100 years. It used to be near where I shot this photo.
I headed out of the park and didn't stop at Lake Louise or Banff as I was there 6 years ago and it is more of a tourist thing. Traffic really moves on Canada 1 even though the speed limit is only 110 kph. I would say some were running 80 mph or 130 kph. I had Lola route me through Calgary and I was glad as I would have missed the road I wanted. Downtown Calgary:
South of Calgary Lola had me heading east on a 2 lane road and I wasn't sure why but since she got me through Calgary I gave her the benefit of doubt and followed her suggestion. So I headed east on 23 highway and as it turned out was a good two lane road. I had a pickup pass me and he was running about 75 mph so I kept up with him for many miles. This country is flat and level and you can see for miles. They raise wheat and Canola which was starting to bloom.
I just about ran out of gas. I had filled up at Canmore and had used what I had in my can while one the Icefield Parkway. I didn't refill it because gas was expensive. Bad decision. I found myself in the middle of nowhere running on empty. I stopped at a small town and they didn't have gas and I asked a guy how far to a station. He said it was about 40 kilometers. I didn't think I could make it as I was showing about 25 miles of gas left. So I rode on at about 60 mph to make better mileage. It was probably a good thing I slowed down anyway since the sheriff officers had two vehicles stopped and issuing tickets. I finally came to a town with fuel and filled up. I still didn't put any in my can. At Lethbridge Lola tried to get me lost and I had to abandon her and make my own decision. I found the correct highway and headed for the border. I crossed into the USA at Sweet Grass, MT.
I headed on to Shelby, MT and arriving at the Crossroads Inn about 9PM. I called Mary to let her know I was okay and made it to a near by Pizza Hut just before they closed. I took the pizza back to the room, ate and went to bed. I had ridden 600 miles, more than I had planned.
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