See all the photos starting here
In 2000 I read an article in Cycleworld magazine about a motorcycle tour through the Canadian Rocky Mountains conducted by a Vancouver based company. Having never been to British Columbia the pictures and story were very enticing and I knew it was something I wanted to do someday. After riding in the Andes Mountains of Chile and Peru in 2008 I was enthralled with mountains and the desire to see the Rockies grew even stronger. Riding buddy, Don Ferris, often said that if I ever decided to go out west he would go with me.
In the fall of 2009 Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Holidays www.rockymtnmoto.com offered a discount for an early booking for 2010. This was an opportunity not to be missed so we booked early and the adventure started on 2 July 2010.
I have not flown since I had shoulder replacement surgery in 2008 and have often wondered if the steel prosthesis would set off any airport alarms. At the Halifax airport I warned the screener ahead of time that I had steel in my body and sure enough the alarm went off as I stepped through the scanner.
We arrived in Vancouver via Air Canada late in the day and settled in at the Empire Landmark hotel where RMMH had reserved a room for us. As it turned out everyone on the tour was at the hotel, but we didn’t know who they were and didn’t meet them until we were preparing to board the RMMH bus for Whistler at noon the next day. There were two couples from the UK and three couples from the U.S.
On the way to Whistler the bus stopped at Shannon Falls Provincial Picnic Park so we could stretch our legs and see the spectacular 335m (1,099 ft) waterfall that cascaded down the side of a mountain.
In Whistler we stayed at the lovely Aava Hotel with the White Spot Restaurant right on the grounds. Don and I walked into Whistler Village to see the Olympic rings, to walk the auto-free promenade, listen to live music, shop and take pictures. The Village was a hive of activity and the architecture reminded me of buildings in Switzerland.
Before dinner the entire group met with the RMMH staff of guides who went over legal matters, a discussion on safety and then gave us a professionally detailed and bound itinerary with maps. That evening we ate as a group at the White Spot Restaurant and got to know each other better. It was clear that this was going to be a fun group of like-minded riders. Most were well traveled and had many stories to tell.
The next morning we were introduced to our bikes. I had chosen a BMW F650GS and Don had chosen a Suzuki GSX 650F. It was clutches out at 9:15 AM as we headed north east towards the Sun Peaks mountain resort. There were only eight guest riders with a RMMH guide in front and one at the rear followed by the chase truck and trailer with our luggage and a spare bike. There was no requirement to always stay with the group. You were free to ride on your own if you wished with the detailed itinerary as your guide, but most chose to follow the guide.
We stopped at a Lillooet Lake turnout to see how everyone was getting along with their motorcycles and again at stunning Seton Lake Park for a rest and photos followed by a stop at the Bear Claw Lodge for lunch. We crossed the Fraser River and rode through Kamloops before arriving at the ritzy Sun Peaks Delta hotel for the night high up in the mountains. The Sun Peaks complex with its shops and Swiss-like buildings reminded me of a mini Whistler.
The early morning skies in Whistler were threatening and most of us had put on rain gear, but as the day progressed, and since the sun was shining brightly, I took my rain pants off at Seton Lake Park. At about mid afternoon it appeared that we might miss the obvious rain storm ahead, but it hit us hard and sudden and my legs were quickly soaked to the skin. Our guide pulled us over and some riders put rain gear back on. My legs were already soaked so I didn’t bother.
Don was sitting on his bike closing all the zippered air vents in his jacket (forgetting that he hadn’t put the sidestand down) and down he went snapping off the end of his clutch lever. He tried to keep the bike from falling over, but pulled a leg muscle for his efforts. The clutch lever still functioned and Don was able to get back on and continue, but his very sore leg would bother him for the rest of the tour.
The next day dawned sunny and bright as we left Sun Peaks and headed towards Jasper National Park. We passed by the fast flowing North Thompson River and the scenery continued to get better and better. All through the tour we passed by fast flowing turquoise rivers well laced with roaring rapids. We grabbed some lunch at the Saddle Mountain Restaurant and then headed for Mount Robson Park.
At 3954m (12,969 ft), Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Rockies, but on this day it was covered in puffy white clouds. That was a bit of a disappointment, but I was assured there were many beautiful mountains ahead. After a stop for a rest and photos at the Mt. Robson information centre we motored on to the town of Jasper and the quaint Tekarra Lodge. We were soon comfortable in the individual gingerbread cabins and would stay two nights.
The Tekarra Lodge complex is on a bluff overlooking the Athabasca River at a point where the Miette River merges with the Athabasca. The Athabasca River is glacier fed while the Miette is other fresh water and there is a distinct line between the turquoise Athabasca and the darker Miette at the merge point.
After parking the bikes we sat around in chairs on the edge of the bluff while the tour owner broke out bottles of wine and we drank in both the wine and the wonderful scenery. In the far distance below we could see an elk being approached by some people. They appeared to be trying to feed it by hand, but the elk took a run at them and they scattered.
In 1953, a film called “River Of No Return,†starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe, was made in Jasper National Park. According to the lodge brochure, Monroe ate at the highly rated lodge restaurant as did actor, John Trovolta, and other notables over the years. The menu was sumptuous which made our choices difficult, but we ate, drank and partied well into the night. But night arrives late that far north and it’s not dark until about 11:00 PM at that time of the year.
Breakfast and dinner is included in the tour fee and we ate from the regular menus with no restrictions in cost or selections. Gasoline and lunch is not included in the tour package nor are meals on off days, but for me the gasoline bill averaged only about $10.00 a day for the BMW I was riding.
The next day was an off day, but I mounted up early in the morning for a ride with the guides and a couple of others to the Miette Hotsprings up in the mountains. The road up the mountain is very twisty with no traffic that early in the morning, but we saw deer on the hillsides above us. A few of the group went for a dip in the hotsprings then we had breakfast at the restaurant/gift shop before motoring back to the lodge and enjoying the twisty road a second time.
In the afternoon everyone rode up to Maligne Lake to see the awesome scenery. Don and I chowed down on buffalo burgers at the restaurant/information centre then a group of us took a 14 km (8.6 miles) boat tour up the lake with spectacular snow covered mountains towering above us on both sides. At the turn-around point the boat company has docking facilities and we stopped for a 30 minute photo op.
Near the dock is Spirit Island which has been the subject of post cards for decades. I have seen many pictures of it over the years and was thrilled to see and photograph it in person. Fortunately for us the Rockies had experienced a late summer with more snow remaining on the mountains than usual for the time of year. All that snow in brilliant sunshine made the mountains all the more spectacular.
As we were leaving Jasper the next morning we saw a bull elk strolling down the main street. We had already seen bald eagles and photographed a mother black bear with three cubs. Tourists stop to see the wild animals and this is referred to locally as a “bear-jam†due to the traffic tie-up it causes. A short while later we came upon an “elk-jam.†I dismounted to take pictures of the elk and one walked very close to me, but it was only crossing the road through the traffic that was at a standstill. The elk are not the least bit concerned or spooked by all the human presence.
The ride to Lake Louise the next day was along the Icefields Parkway. The snow capped mountains and scenery at every turn and crest in the road is beyond belief. I was awestruck for the entire ride. We passed by Crowfoot Glacier and many named mountains, glaciers, rivers and lakes, but there are so many the names become a blur. Our first rest stop was at the thundering Athabasca Falls with Mount Kerkelsin standing over us. During the ride we also saw deer and were able to photograph some big horned sheep.
When we reached the Columbia Icefields Centre several of us opted to take a tour of the glacier. We were bussed to the edge of the glacier and then taken by a giant six-wheeled bus-like vehicle to a point on the glacier where we could get out and walk on the ice. The bus drivers gave a running commentary about the glaciers and one driver pointed out a large stand of evergreens that was 700 years old.
The next stop was at Lake Louise for a photo op of the emerald coloured lake and Mount Victoria with its beautiful glacier. From there it was on to the luxurious Moraine Lake Lodge with modern individual cabins in the Valley of the Ten Peaks. It’s hard to not use the words “spectacular or majestic†over and over, but this is what met me at every turn. Everywhere I looked the scenery boggled the mind. Moraine Lake was no exception. The ten peaks of the mountain range towering over the emerald lake were spectacular in the afternoon light as well as the morning light. Behind the main lodge a snow covered mountain stood majestically over us.
On the ride from Moraine Lake to Banff National Park the next day we stopped at the Mount Ogden “spiral tunnelsâ€, but there were no trains winding their way through the corkscrew tunnels to get across the Rockies. It was a warm day and the LCD screen on my BMW showed 29C (84F). A couple of days earlier it showed 4C (39F) as we crossed a high mountain pass. Leaving Mt. Ogden, we stopped for gas, bought sandwiches and ate lunch in a picnic park beside a fast flowing river that was icy cold.
At Castle Mountain we stopped for a group photo with the mountain in the background and then took the Bow Valley Road into the town of Banff and the luxurious Fox Hotel & Suites where we would spend two nights. The guides took few direct routes between destinations but rather took the “long way round†which was often less traveled and has amazing scenery.
On our off day in Banff, Don and I took the gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain [2281m (7,486 ft)] to see the fantastic view of the valleys below, the mountains around us and Banff with Cascade Mountain rising above the town. It was another photographers dream and I also took the trek up to a weather observatory station on a nearby peak that looked down on Sulphur Mountain. After lunch I spent the rest of the afternoon sightseeing, shopping and taking pictures.
Around 5:30 PM some of us and the RMMH crew were relaxing in the hotel bar and restaurant before heading out for dinner. I was facing a window across the room and out of nowhere a deer appeared and for a few moments looked in at the two people eating at a table by that window. Needless to say that caused quite a stir. The deer then continued on its way through town. That evening we had a Chinese dinner for 10 then hit an Irish bar for a drink and live music before calling it a day. One day certainly isn’t enough time to see and do all there is in Jasper or Banff.
The last day of the tour was from Banff to Calgary. It’s only a 90 minute ride, but it took us all day to get there using a “long way round†route. Canmore was our first stop for gas and it was there I saw prairie dogs for the first time. At the Peter Lougheed Information Centre in the year around recreation area of Kananaskis (known locally as Kananaskis Country), we had a rest and viewed the information centre exhibits before heading up to Highwood Pass [2206m (7,239 ft)], the highest pass in the Rockies. The scenery was wonderful as we crossed the continental divide, but as we gradually descended, the mountains slipped away to foothills behind us and then gave way to the flat and straight roads of Alberta.
That morning the weather had been threatening, but broke out bright and sunny as we rode. I had my rain pants on, but this time I kept them on in spite of being quite warm. We stopped for lunch at the Longview Steak House and ate outside in brilliant sunshine, but as we were getting ready to saddle up it started to sprinkle rain. From the Longview it was about 70 km (42 miles) to Calgary and it rained hard with thunder and lightning flashing and crashing not far away.
It was Saturday and the start of the Calgary Stampede and the traffic was frantic, but we managed to stay in sight of one another in spite of the wet conditions, traffic lights and pushy car drivers. We were more than pleased when we finally arrived at the palatial Delta Hotel Calgary. I had covered 1,888 km’s (1,171 miles) since leaving Whistler. Other than rain for a couple of hours on the first and last days the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.
That evening we had a farewell dinner at Moxies Restaurant and received some parting souvenirs from RMMH. Don and I were at the Calgary airport bright and early the next morning for the long flight back to Halifax.
This time I didn’t set off any airport metal detector alarms.
In 2000 I read an article in Cycleworld magazine about a motorcycle tour through the Canadian Rocky Mountains conducted by a Vancouver based company. Having never been to British Columbia the pictures and story were very enticing and I knew it was something I wanted to do someday. After riding in the Andes Mountains of Chile and Peru in 2008 I was enthralled with mountains and the desire to see the Rockies grew even stronger. Riding buddy, Don Ferris, often said that if I ever decided to go out west he would go with me.
In the fall of 2009 Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Holidays www.rockymtnmoto.com offered a discount for an early booking for 2010. This was an opportunity not to be missed so we booked early and the adventure started on 2 July 2010.
I have not flown since I had shoulder replacement surgery in 2008 and have often wondered if the steel prosthesis would set off any airport alarms. At the Halifax airport I warned the screener ahead of time that I had steel in my body and sure enough the alarm went off as I stepped through the scanner.
We arrived in Vancouver via Air Canada late in the day and settled in at the Empire Landmark hotel where RMMH had reserved a room for us. As it turned out everyone on the tour was at the hotel, but we didn’t know who they were and didn’t meet them until we were preparing to board the RMMH bus for Whistler at noon the next day. There were two couples from the UK and three couples from the U.S.
On the way to Whistler the bus stopped at Shannon Falls Provincial Picnic Park so we could stretch our legs and see the spectacular 335m (1,099 ft) waterfall that cascaded down the side of a mountain.
In Whistler we stayed at the lovely Aava Hotel with the White Spot Restaurant right on the grounds. Don and I walked into Whistler Village to see the Olympic rings, to walk the auto-free promenade, listen to live music, shop and take pictures. The Village was a hive of activity and the architecture reminded me of buildings in Switzerland.
Before dinner the entire group met with the RMMH staff of guides who went over legal matters, a discussion on safety and then gave us a professionally detailed and bound itinerary with maps. That evening we ate as a group at the White Spot Restaurant and got to know each other better. It was clear that this was going to be a fun group of like-minded riders. Most were well traveled and had many stories to tell.
The next morning we were introduced to our bikes. I had chosen a BMW F650GS and Don had chosen a Suzuki GSX 650F. It was clutches out at 9:15 AM as we headed north east towards the Sun Peaks mountain resort. There were only eight guest riders with a RMMH guide in front and one at the rear followed by the chase truck and trailer with our luggage and a spare bike. There was no requirement to always stay with the group. You were free to ride on your own if you wished with the detailed itinerary as your guide, but most chose to follow the guide.
We stopped at a Lillooet Lake turnout to see how everyone was getting along with their motorcycles and again at stunning Seton Lake Park for a rest and photos followed by a stop at the Bear Claw Lodge for lunch. We crossed the Fraser River and rode through Kamloops before arriving at the ritzy Sun Peaks Delta hotel for the night high up in the mountains. The Sun Peaks complex with its shops and Swiss-like buildings reminded me of a mini Whistler.
The early morning skies in Whistler were threatening and most of us had put on rain gear, but as the day progressed, and since the sun was shining brightly, I took my rain pants off at Seton Lake Park. At about mid afternoon it appeared that we might miss the obvious rain storm ahead, but it hit us hard and sudden and my legs were quickly soaked to the skin. Our guide pulled us over and some riders put rain gear back on. My legs were already soaked so I didn’t bother.
Don was sitting on his bike closing all the zippered air vents in his jacket (forgetting that he hadn’t put the sidestand down) and down he went snapping off the end of his clutch lever. He tried to keep the bike from falling over, but pulled a leg muscle for his efforts. The clutch lever still functioned and Don was able to get back on and continue, but his very sore leg would bother him for the rest of the tour.
The next day dawned sunny and bright as we left Sun Peaks and headed towards Jasper National Park. We passed by the fast flowing North Thompson River and the scenery continued to get better and better. All through the tour we passed by fast flowing turquoise rivers well laced with roaring rapids. We grabbed some lunch at the Saddle Mountain Restaurant and then headed for Mount Robson Park.
At 3954m (12,969 ft), Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Rockies, but on this day it was covered in puffy white clouds. That was a bit of a disappointment, but I was assured there were many beautiful mountains ahead. After a stop for a rest and photos at the Mt. Robson information centre we motored on to the town of Jasper and the quaint Tekarra Lodge. We were soon comfortable in the individual gingerbread cabins and would stay two nights.
The Tekarra Lodge complex is on a bluff overlooking the Athabasca River at a point where the Miette River merges with the Athabasca. The Athabasca River is glacier fed while the Miette is other fresh water and there is a distinct line between the turquoise Athabasca and the darker Miette at the merge point.
After parking the bikes we sat around in chairs on the edge of the bluff while the tour owner broke out bottles of wine and we drank in both the wine and the wonderful scenery. In the far distance below we could see an elk being approached by some people. They appeared to be trying to feed it by hand, but the elk took a run at them and they scattered.
In 1953, a film called “River Of No Return,†starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe, was made in Jasper National Park. According to the lodge brochure, Monroe ate at the highly rated lodge restaurant as did actor, John Trovolta, and other notables over the years. The menu was sumptuous which made our choices difficult, but we ate, drank and partied well into the night. But night arrives late that far north and it’s not dark until about 11:00 PM at that time of the year.
Breakfast and dinner is included in the tour fee and we ate from the regular menus with no restrictions in cost or selections. Gasoline and lunch is not included in the tour package nor are meals on off days, but for me the gasoline bill averaged only about $10.00 a day for the BMW I was riding.
The next day was an off day, but I mounted up early in the morning for a ride with the guides and a couple of others to the Miette Hotsprings up in the mountains. The road up the mountain is very twisty with no traffic that early in the morning, but we saw deer on the hillsides above us. A few of the group went for a dip in the hotsprings then we had breakfast at the restaurant/gift shop before motoring back to the lodge and enjoying the twisty road a second time.
In the afternoon everyone rode up to Maligne Lake to see the awesome scenery. Don and I chowed down on buffalo burgers at the restaurant/information centre then a group of us took a 14 km (8.6 miles) boat tour up the lake with spectacular snow covered mountains towering above us on both sides. At the turn-around point the boat company has docking facilities and we stopped for a 30 minute photo op.
Near the dock is Spirit Island which has been the subject of post cards for decades. I have seen many pictures of it over the years and was thrilled to see and photograph it in person. Fortunately for us the Rockies had experienced a late summer with more snow remaining on the mountains than usual for the time of year. All that snow in brilliant sunshine made the mountains all the more spectacular.
As we were leaving Jasper the next morning we saw a bull elk strolling down the main street. We had already seen bald eagles and photographed a mother black bear with three cubs. Tourists stop to see the wild animals and this is referred to locally as a “bear-jam†due to the traffic tie-up it causes. A short while later we came upon an “elk-jam.†I dismounted to take pictures of the elk and one walked very close to me, but it was only crossing the road through the traffic that was at a standstill. The elk are not the least bit concerned or spooked by all the human presence.
The ride to Lake Louise the next day was along the Icefields Parkway. The snow capped mountains and scenery at every turn and crest in the road is beyond belief. I was awestruck for the entire ride. We passed by Crowfoot Glacier and many named mountains, glaciers, rivers and lakes, but there are so many the names become a blur. Our first rest stop was at the thundering Athabasca Falls with Mount Kerkelsin standing over us. During the ride we also saw deer and were able to photograph some big horned sheep.
When we reached the Columbia Icefields Centre several of us opted to take a tour of the glacier. We were bussed to the edge of the glacier and then taken by a giant six-wheeled bus-like vehicle to a point on the glacier where we could get out and walk on the ice. The bus drivers gave a running commentary about the glaciers and one driver pointed out a large stand of evergreens that was 700 years old.
The next stop was at Lake Louise for a photo op of the emerald coloured lake and Mount Victoria with its beautiful glacier. From there it was on to the luxurious Moraine Lake Lodge with modern individual cabins in the Valley of the Ten Peaks. It’s hard to not use the words “spectacular or majestic†over and over, but this is what met me at every turn. Everywhere I looked the scenery boggled the mind. Moraine Lake was no exception. The ten peaks of the mountain range towering over the emerald lake were spectacular in the afternoon light as well as the morning light. Behind the main lodge a snow covered mountain stood majestically over us.
On the ride from Moraine Lake to Banff National Park the next day we stopped at the Mount Ogden “spiral tunnelsâ€, but there were no trains winding their way through the corkscrew tunnels to get across the Rockies. It was a warm day and the LCD screen on my BMW showed 29C (84F). A couple of days earlier it showed 4C (39F) as we crossed a high mountain pass. Leaving Mt. Ogden, we stopped for gas, bought sandwiches and ate lunch in a picnic park beside a fast flowing river that was icy cold.
At Castle Mountain we stopped for a group photo with the mountain in the background and then took the Bow Valley Road into the town of Banff and the luxurious Fox Hotel & Suites where we would spend two nights. The guides took few direct routes between destinations but rather took the “long way round†which was often less traveled and has amazing scenery.
On our off day in Banff, Don and I took the gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain [2281m (7,486 ft)] to see the fantastic view of the valleys below, the mountains around us and Banff with Cascade Mountain rising above the town. It was another photographers dream and I also took the trek up to a weather observatory station on a nearby peak that looked down on Sulphur Mountain. After lunch I spent the rest of the afternoon sightseeing, shopping and taking pictures.
Around 5:30 PM some of us and the RMMH crew were relaxing in the hotel bar and restaurant before heading out for dinner. I was facing a window across the room and out of nowhere a deer appeared and for a few moments looked in at the two people eating at a table by that window. Needless to say that caused quite a stir. The deer then continued on its way through town. That evening we had a Chinese dinner for 10 then hit an Irish bar for a drink and live music before calling it a day. One day certainly isn’t enough time to see and do all there is in Jasper or Banff.
The last day of the tour was from Banff to Calgary. It’s only a 90 minute ride, but it took us all day to get there using a “long way round†route. Canmore was our first stop for gas and it was there I saw prairie dogs for the first time. At the Peter Lougheed Information Centre in the year around recreation area of Kananaskis (known locally as Kananaskis Country), we had a rest and viewed the information centre exhibits before heading up to Highwood Pass [2206m (7,239 ft)], the highest pass in the Rockies. The scenery was wonderful as we crossed the continental divide, but as we gradually descended, the mountains slipped away to foothills behind us and then gave way to the flat and straight roads of Alberta.
That morning the weather had been threatening, but broke out bright and sunny as we rode. I had my rain pants on, but this time I kept them on in spite of being quite warm. We stopped for lunch at the Longview Steak House and ate outside in brilliant sunshine, but as we were getting ready to saddle up it started to sprinkle rain. From the Longview it was about 70 km (42 miles) to Calgary and it rained hard with thunder and lightning flashing and crashing not far away.
It was Saturday and the start of the Calgary Stampede and the traffic was frantic, but we managed to stay in sight of one another in spite of the wet conditions, traffic lights and pushy car drivers. We were more than pleased when we finally arrived at the palatial Delta Hotel Calgary. I had covered 1,888 km’s (1,171 miles) since leaving Whistler. Other than rain for a couple of hours on the first and last days the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.
That evening we had a farewell dinner at Moxies Restaurant and received some parting souvenirs from RMMH. Don and I were at the Calgary airport bright and early the next morning for the long flight back to Halifax.
This time I didn’t set off any airport metal detector alarms.
:blush: :wink:
could be, but don't hold me to it :wink:
