Craig & Barbara head west

[Red RT-S]

The bags are packed on the :f_spider: and ready for 8:00 AM depature tomorrow. We will head west from Vermont through Quebec, Ontario, Minnesota, N. Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, then back east through Montana, Wyoming, S. Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario and New York, returning to VT about 8/20. Hope to do a running report of the trip in this thread with pictures, but that will depend a lot on the availability of Wi-Fi in Canada. We will ride with friends John and Pat on their Valkyrie Trike and the trip will cover about 6,500 miles. :2thumbs:

[jaherbst]

The bags are packed on the :f_spider: and ready for 8:00 AM depature tomorrow. We will head west from Vermont through Quebec, Ontario, Minnesota, N. Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, then back east through Montana, Wyoming, S. Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario and New York, returning to VT about 8/20. Hope to do a running report of the trip in this thread with pictures, but that will depend a lot on the availability of Wi-Fi in Canada. We will ride with friends John and Pat on their Valkyrie Trike and the trip will cover about 6,500 miles. :2thumbs:

Might as well drop down to Spyders in the Redwoods if your in BC. Sounds like a wonderful trip. Keep us up to date.

Jack

[ARtraveler]

Sounds like a fantastic trip. Will be looking forward to pictures and posts as it progresses. :yes:

[PrairieSpyder]

That sounds like a wonderful trip. I can't wait to see the pics. Ryde safe!!

[M T Pockets]

Wishing you all a safe journey and have fun!!:D


Gary

[Larry rt]

Have a safe ride and enjoy the great outdoors !

[SpyderAnn01]

Safe travels. Sounds like the trip of a lifetime.

[nhoj]

Hope to do a running report of the trip in this thread with pictures, but that will depend a lot on the availability of Wi-Fi in Canada.

WiFi, We're still waiting for flush toilets!!
Have a great trip. Most Tim Hortons, McDonalds and Hotel/Motels have WiFi.

[Chupaca]

sounds like an amazing trip, looking forward to the pictures...be careful be safe and have a great time..!! :2thumbs: :ohyea::ohyea:

[ChasCS]

We will be waiting for you to share your fun while in Alberta...

Happy Trails

Chas

[vided]

wow, that sounds like an outstanding adventure.
PICTURES please :clap:

[Red RT-S]

And we are off like a herd of turtles into a rainy morning here in the Kingdom. Doesn't look like much of a day for pictures. At least there are no lightning strikes showing up on the weather maps.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

The bags packed on the :f_spider: and ready for 8:00 AM depature tomorrow. We will head west from Vermont through Quebec, Ontario, Minnesota, N. Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, then back east through Montana, Wyoming, S. Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario and New York, returning to VT about 8/20. Hope to do a running report of the trip in this thread with pictures, but that will depend a lot on the availability of Wi-Fi in Canada. We will ride with friends John and Pat on their Valkyrie Trike and the trip will cover about 6,500 miles. :2thumbs:
:yes::yes::yes::yes:........Craig ,it was nice of you to stop and say hello the other day and we will hook -up again at Spyderquest this year....PS while you are out that way you should stop and say Hello to our bestest girlfriend Karyl ( Murphy Brown ) and maybe sprinkle some Vermont magic on her poor trailer .........that might fix it ....................Enjoy your trip ,,,wishing you safety and sunshine .....Mike & Dee :thumbup::ohyea:

[murphybrown]

And we are off like a herd of turtles into a rainy morning here in the Kingdom. Doesn't look like much of a day for pictures. At least there are no lightning strikes showing up on the weather maps.

Get close please stop by the bed is made and coffee on!!! Have a safe and awesome trip, each and every mile of it...:thumbup:

[Red RT-S]

Made it to Mont-Laurier, QC. Pretty short day, but we got through Montreal without mishap. Apparently I'm as computer illiterate as BLUEKNIGHT911 , when it comes to uploading pictures. Not a good day for pictures anyway. I've posted pictures from my digital camera but not from my phone. Any help will be appreciated

[billrob71]

Have a great and safe ride. Sounds like a blast:thumbup:

[Red RT-S]

388 miles today. Staying in Cochrane. ON tonight. No rain today. Still can't post pics. To Murphybrown; Thanks for the invite, but we don't have the time to get to your place. We will just touch eastern BC for one night.

[Phyllis]

The bags are packed on the :f_spider: and ready for 8:00 AM depature tomorrow. We will head west from Vermont through Quebec, Ontario, Minnesota, N. Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, then back east through Montana, Wyoming, S. Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario and New York, returning to VT about 8/20. Hope to do a running report of the trip in this thread with pictures, but that will depend a lot on the availability of Wi-Fi in Canada. We will ride with friends John and Pat on their Valkyrie Trike and the trip will cover about 6,500 miles. :2thumbs:


I am so jealous---what a fantastic trip. Enjoy every step of the way. Be safe. See you at the meet up for Spyderquest.:clap::clap:

[Red RT-S]

A poor wi-fi connection at the Super 8 in Thunder Bay, ON last night kept me from posting. 455 miles yesterday ended in Thunder Bay. Not the most interesting country from Cochrane to Thunder Bay, lots of trees. Only a brief shower passing through Hearst. ;) Continued west this morning with a goal of getting to Warroad, MN, but we ended short of there in Beaudette, although we did more miles than needed to get to Warroad. Had a problem finding gas that added 66 miles to the trip. We missed a gas station on 17 & 11 where they split. The map showed another town about 12 miles ahead on 11 where we got stopped at a bridge construction site. The "town" consisted of 3 houses spread out along about a mile of highway, and no gas. Asked one of the workers how far it was to the next gas and he said 45 miles. It was doubtful we could make it than much further so we turned back the 12 miles to the station we had passed. (Actually it was a country store with a single gas pump.) When we got there the storekeeper said he was out of gas and was awaiting a delivery. The next gas was 21 miles further south of our planned route, so we headed there and finally got gas 33 miles from where we turned around. We then had to go back over that 33 miles to continue our trip. Fortunately we crossed a time zone during the day so gained an hour of riding time and logged 369 miles. Lots of construction all along Rt 11 in Ontario and we encountere miles of gravel road awaiting a coat of blacktop. The bike if filthy from where they watered the fresh gravel to keep down the dust, but the :spyder2: has been running great, no problems, knock on wood. Weather was great all day long, but it is getting warmer. Expect it will get warmer as we head out onto the plains tomorrow.

[Red RT-S]

We are now just outside Calgary with 2500 miles behind us. The fields of canola and lavender in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have given way to wheat and cattle with an occasional oil well. Tomorrow we get into the mountains.

[ChasCS]

Well, only three hundred miles North of Calgary, but it's the thought that counts.

Glad you are enjoying your trip. Continued great luck.

Chas

[Red RT-S]

Left Strathmore, AB At 7 onSunday morning heading to The Columbia Icefield And The Athabasca Glacier. It Was Partly Cloudy With Some Lightning Off To Our South. By Banff It Was Starting To Clear, And The Rest Of The TrIp TO The Glacier Was Nice. Encountered A Few Light Showers On The Trip Back To Strathmore Until About 20 Miles West Of Calgary A T–Storm Appeared To Our West. Tried To Out Run It But Didn't Make It. Was Able To Get Off The Highway At A Restaurant, But Getting Off The Bike There Was A Sheet Of Water 2 Inches Deep Flowing Across The Parking Lot. There Was Also Some Hail. Finally Made It Back To The Motel About 9 Pm. I've Never Been Caught Out In The Open In rain Like That. Today We Went Back To Lake Louise But It Was So Crowded We Never Even Saw The Lake. We Then Tried To Go To Moraine Lake And Were Told There Was A 45 Minute Wait Just To Go Up The Road, So Turned Around And Headed To Radium Hot Springs, BC. Sorry About The Wierd Capitalization. This Tablet Seems To Have A Mind Of It's Own.

[ChasCS]

Glad you got to see the Alberta Rocky Mountains, even if it was a little busy. I am sorry, and its
too bad you couldn't have cruised through Canmore Alberta, being you were already so close...

Continued enjoyment, and much more trouble free travel.

Happy Trails

Chas

[Red RT-S]

Glad you got to see the Alberta Rocky Mountains, even if it was a little busy. I am sorry, and its
too bad you couldn't have cruised through Canmore Alberta, being you were already so close...

Continued enjoyment, and much more trouble free travel.

Happy Trails

Chas
We did stop in Canmore so Barbara could go to a quilt shop.

[ChasCS]

That's pretty cool then. I have a real affinity for that land.
Our clan have been living in Canmore so long, we even have a street named after our family.
Olden day Coal miners... Black lung took several of my uncles.

The floods there last sumner were devastating for many residents, sadly some may never recover fully.
I hope the quilt will keep you both warm... ;-) if you have purchased one.


Sounds like you are having great times, even in the foothills storm. Something we get used to here, is the often unpredictability of the weather patterns.

Continued happy and safe travels you two. Pics will be great, once you return home.

Chas

[Red RT-S]

Nice ride from Radium Hot Springs to Waterton Lakes NP and back to Pincher Creek. (The Good) No rooms available at Watertn Lakes village. (The Bad) The dreaded orange screen. (The Ugly) Screen said to check the DPS, then it went into limp mode. Stopped and took the key out and walked away from the bike for a few minutes. Came back and started it, no orange screen and no codes. Drove another 50 miles with no problem. Just a fluke, or should I be concerned?

[Red RT-S]

Left Pincher Creek and headed for Glacier NP. Going-to-the-Sun Rd. is awesome, but very crowded. All of the turnouts for photos were jammed with cars, and you could only stop if someone happen to pull out as you arrived. We did get to stop at Logan Pass and spent some time there, then headed for East Glacier and on to Whitefish for the night. Very good dinner at the Buffalo Cafe in Whjitefish. Next day took us south through Swan Lake and Lake Seeley then ended at Bozeman for the night. Left Bozeman this morning and headed to Gardiner and the North Entrance of Yellowstone. Went through the very northern part of Yellowstone and exited the Northeast Gate to Silver City and Cooke City. Numerous bison in the park along with a few deer. It looked like there had been some snow within the last day or so in one place. From Cooke City we went over the Beartooth Highway and Beartooth Pass at 10,947'. Still a fair amount of snow at the summit. Lots of curves on that road. After the Beartooth it was over the Big Horn Mountains and on to Sheridan for the night. 14A over the Big Horns is quite steep with many switchbacks. Hit some rain at the top but nothing serious. Back down in the valley it was very hot and sunny. Next stop is Deadwood so the wife can gamble.

[Red RT-S]

The to Deadwood was uneventful, just a few showers. Deadwood was mobbed with bikers from Sturgis. It was very loud, but wemanaged to get some sleep. Today started off cloudy but cleared as we got near Mt. Rushmore. Ended the day in Rapid City. The task for tomorrow is to get the oil changed. We've been over 4600 miles since the last change.

[Dragonrider]

Thanks for sharing your trip! I've been on my bike in all the places you have visited in the West, and have experienced some of Calgary's weather... One of the main reasons I never venture east, on a bike...

Enjoy the rest of your trip & stay safe.

[Red RT-S]

A nice ride through the Badlands and much of SD yesterday after getting the oil changed at Rice Honda-Suzuki in the morning. I was waiting when they opened and they got me in and out quickly, including a belt adjustment. Thanks Rice H-S. Weather looks great today to finish crossing SD and head into MN.

[Red RT-S]

Great trip across MN and WI, but getting around Chicago was a disaster. Lots of construction on I-90 west of Chicago. I don't see how they charge a toll on that road considering the condition of it. Will cross MI tomorrow and then into Ontario. 5750 miles so far. Spyder has running great, except for that shot lived orange screen back in Alberta.

[Red RT-S]

6460 miles behind us, 177 miles to go tomorrow. Akwesasne casino in Hogansburg, NY tonight. Wife is throwing money down a rat hole, but that is her choice. It's been a great trip, but it will be good to get home.