July 24, 2006 – Day 14 267 Miles Cochrane, Alb, Can - Jasper, Alb, Can

Cochrane, Alb, Can - Jasper, Alb, Can

Woke up early again…Surprise Me! Broke the code, though, turned over and went back to sleep. Got another hour in. Simple answers. Ol’ Occam’s Razor holds true every time

Question: When do you know you’re not starting off in the best possible mode when traveling on a motorcycle?
Answer: When you have to don the raingear before leaving the hotel.

Yep, light rain this morning in the Calgary area. Sort of anticlimactic given the hail and tornado warnings issued for the area during the night. But I was sleeping during the night. I didn’t give a ferret’s fundament.

Arose, packed up the bike, and hit the road to Banff, 95 Kilometers away. Yep, we’re on the metric system here. (I barely have the other one down.) Anyway, I figure Km times .6 yields the approximate number of miles giving me the opportunity to miscalculate distances in two systems. Who could ask for more?

My ex-father-in-law, Ken, used to have a golf rain suit with mystical properties. Whenever it rained Ken would put on his rain suit and, magically, it would stop raining and we would finish our game. I’m starting to believe my Frog Togs have some of that magic in them as well. I get a few sprinkles, but, wearing the togs, the rain, rain, goes away, one supposes, to come another…well, you get it.



Gateway into Banff area










Had breakfast in Banff. Use all the usual superlatives here. Typical, high mountain, resort area. Beautiful if you have the price of admission. Pulled out of Banff into the amazing Canadian Rockies. Let me tell you something. I love the mountains of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming. I love the good ol’ U. S. of A., but folks, our Rockies, aren’t as majestic as theirs. “Theirs” are really something. My favorite ride? No. I guess I’ll have to stick with the Going to the Sun ride in Glacier as the most spectacular…but I’ll guarantee you, this is a close second, and it’s 150 miles of it. I wish you all could be here to see this with me. I was right to make this trip. It’s reset my clock to zero.

Speaking of “them,” the Canadian folks have all been wonderful, friendly people.
Hwy 93 between Banff and Lake Louise











Hwy 93 looking back south from one of the big "ups"









Hwy 93 at the Icefields. This is the Athabasco Glacier. Because of its location on the continental divide, water from this glacier goes to the Artic, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans





Pulled into Jasper around 3:00 p.m.. This is a little early but I don’t want to get caught out in the forest/mountains when the animals really start moving. Plus, I felt like a little down time. So…I pulled into the Whispering campground, got a site (they are really set up nice here), and am now sitting in a bar called the Dead Dog working on my third Labatt’s Blue. Why so many? Hopefully it’s bottled courage. After, Repeat AFTER, getting my campsite I was informed by my neighbor there were eight (8), count ‘em, eight (8) bears in the campground yesterday. And that was during the daytime; it appears no one was around to count them at night. Evidently the “buffalo” berries are in full bloom and the bears like them. What? Me worry? Damn right. I’ve explained the bear vs. bare issue already (see Planning). I can’t get on the internet to post this tonight so, if it’s ever posted it’ll mean I wasn’t eaten by bears and have lived through my camping experience. Not to mention riding back to the camp after three (or more?) Labatt Blues?????