Uncle Phil - Alaska 2012 Day 03

Alaska 2012

Day 03

July 7

Since the restaurant was too pricey and the service pretty lousy, I do not want to repeat that particular dining experience. I get packed up early and just figure I'll find breakfast somewhere on down the road. I'll be off the Interstate today and Tim from Calgary has given me an interesting route to follow once I get into Canada.

The whole place is still asleep, which suits me just fine as I ease out of the quiet parking lot.

I know there will be plenty of wildlife out so I keep my eyeballs busy scanning both sides of the road as I ease along. Having a deer or other large animal hitching a ride on my handlebars does not appeal to me at all.

There are several encounters but none of the close kind as the deer decide to continue to munch and not cross the road like the chicken reportedly does. The higher the sun gets, the better I like it.

Once it peeks above the horizon, I notice a deer running full tilt over in a field. It is not being pursued or hunting so I wonder if they just like to run for the fun of it. It crosses my mind that I used to like to run when I had my OEM knees.

The temps are really nice this morning and for that I am thankful. I pass by this restored school house that is called the Sunnyside School, used from 1923 to 1966. I can imagine the children bringing in the water from the well and the schoolmaster keeping the wood stove stoked to fend off the bitter winter winds. I don't figure they closed very often for bad weather either like they do today. Education was valued and respected in those days long gone by - and we were better because of it.

Farther along I see this old bridge still standing. It's a bit unusual as they normally tear them down when they put up the new one it. It reminds me a lot of some the old iron bridges where I grew up.

The landscape is as flat as a table top and I guess that's why they can run those long trains that I see as I move along.

This is prime farmland and it still amazes me to see fields that stretch all the way to the horizon. Back home, my granddaddy had a 75 acre farm and there was hardly a flat spot anywhere on the place. We always said that if it had been stretched out flat, there's no telling how many acres he owned.

And every now and then you see wildlife of a different sort. But this kind don't seem apt to be moving since they have a bit of age on them, so I'm not concerned at all.

I like old church buildings, and this one fills the bill. Most have an attached cemetery that reminds the attendees that we all will pass that way one day. As I say, we are all dying, we're just dying at different rates and we'd best be prepared for that eventuality.

As I ease into Malta, Montana I see a place that should do nicely for breakfast. When there are a bunch of work trucks sitting in the parking lot around breakfast time, it is usually the real deal. So I find me a spot and wander on in for little grub.

And I am happy as a mule eatin' sawbriars. The lady waiting on me has been around the farm a time or two and we have quite a good time talking. The food is excellent and I am more than happy ...

to do what my momma taught me to do - 'Clean up your plate!' I just can't quite squeeze in that last bite of taters as breathing has become a bit difficult. I figure it must be the dry air that has made my riding britches shrink. My waitress asks me -

"Was it good?"

"Some of the best" I tell her.

With a grin on her face she says -

"Well, just be that way then" and we both laugh.

But I've still got a pretty good haul today so I get back after it, now that I've had a proper filling of pig meat and hen fruit. I see this building and wonder if it is one of the original missions. But there's not time to find out today as I have people to see and places to be.

I see a lot of hay being put up and figure they really need it up here in the winter. I can't imagine much grazing going on in the snow and the bitter cold.

It's a major farm area, as every little town I come to has elevators for storing their crops and lots of pickup trucks - not the SUVS of the wanna be cowboys in the cities.

This row of elevators catches my eye so they must be running a large herd of livestock. I can't say that I've ever seen that many of them standing like toy soldiers all in a row.

In the far distance, I begin to see across the newly plowed fields the mountains that I will headed to before the day's end.

This is a pretty interesting setup as they appear to be constructing some sort of super storage arrangement. Looks like the feeder will be in the middle and be able to direct the storage to which ever unit it needs to fill.

Shelby is the last fuel stop before I hit the Canadian border.

It's a pretty typical Montana town, replete with small cafes, pickup trucks, and a wide main street. While I am refueling, I dig out my passport and put it in a handy location for when I do reach the border.

On my way out of town, I do appreciate their flag pole. I love the flag and fly one from the back of all of my motorcycles.

I get on I15 for a little short run to the border and see this interesting lake. It does not appear to be salt, but I sure can't figure out what is in the water to make it so white.

Soon enough I am at the Canadian border at Sweetgrass. I am thankful that it does not appear that this will take a long time. It seems these days my border conversation is usually the same -

The agent asks me 'Do you own guns?"

"Yes sir, I live in Tennessee."

The next question comes - "Do you have any of them with you?"

"No sir, you folks don't like them up here so I leave them at the house."

He asks me a few more questions about knives and such and then waves me on through.

I grab a quick shot of the Alberta Province since then I'm off to Longview to meet Tim.

This elevator really grabs my attention as it is built of wood not metal. It is very well kept up which is amazing considering the weather around here. Just keeping it properly painted must be a major maintenance chore.

I notice that a crop duster is doing his work on the fields along the highway. I slow down and time my riding so I can get a good shot of him at his work. Judging by the aerial twists and turns that he executes, he must really enjoy his job.

The route Tim has given me is a lovely delight - from the scenery like this interesting train trestle ...

to the nice lazy sweepers and rolling hills along highway 533.

I make good time as ST1100s were designed for such roads as these.

And every now and then a pretty lake is thrown in for good measure.

I get to Longview early than I thought I would. I had let Tim know last night that I would be pulling out early but I am not sure that he got the message. Alberta is a big beef producing area, and this jerky shop is supposed to have some of the best and freshest around. I wander in, stand in line, and get a couple of packages so I can sample their wares. I like good jerky and this is pretty tasty.

Outside I have the pleasure of meeting Tiki. She has been gracious and allowed her people to come along with her. We strike up an interesting conversation -

"Miss Tiki, would you like some jerky?" I ask her.

In her most melodious voice she replies "Well, if you insist" and she graciously accepts my offered gift. Or at least that what I thought I heard her say.

I strike up a conversation with the sweet lady and daughter that are chauffeuring Tiki. I explain how I love dogs and tell her -

"A dog will love you when nobody else will."

"Yes, my son says that he wishes everybody had someone at home that would love them like Tiki loves us" she tells me.

"Yep, it would make a big difference in this old world" I say and with that Tiki nods her head wisely.

I'm wondering if maybe Tim's plans have changed but my cell phone does not work in Canada. So I figure I'll ease on along the route he gave me and maybe I'll see him along the way. Fortunately, I'm not even out of town when I see an ST1300 coming in. They stop and I turn around and it is Tim and Diana. We head back to the shop so they can get some jerky. Tim tells me -

"I was watching on Spot and figure about when you should be here. Then I noticed you were moving right along."

"Yeah, I was kinda of cooking along to get here" I say with a big grin.

Soon they snag their portion of dead cow and we are headed for Banff.

The scenery gets prettier and prettier as we move along.

We come up behind two Harley riders and lay back for a while. Once we all get around the car, they crank the wick up a bit. Finally the one the rear sort of figures out that we would like to go on and he backs off. But the one in front decides that he has to go into racer mode, only he does not have the chops to pull it off. He starts swinging wide in the turns and we get concerned that he is fixing to see what an asphalt buffing machine feels like. Thankfully he finally figures out that we are keeping up without straining and he backs off and lets us pass. I figured out a long time ago that they are plenty of people that can rider faster than me, and if they want to pass me I am more than happy to wave them on. That way they can commit suicide if they wish but not homicide on me.

A little further up we run into a small herd of mountain goats. Nothing seems to bother them much as they wander across the road, taking their own sweet time.

In several places there are livestock grates but I've never heard them call a 'Texas Gate'. They can be tricky to pass over unless you are straight up when you approach them.

Tim sets a good pace and I'm just sitting back in the saddle enjoying the ride and the magnificent scenery.

And the closer we get to Banff, the prettier it becomes.

I see this sign and as with most of them, I figure it's just another sign.

So I am a bit surprised when we round a couple of bends and lo and behold what is standing in the middle of road ...

I guess they figure it's their playhouse and they can wander wherever they take a notion!

The majestic scenery just gets better and better.

And the lakes get prettier and prettier.

The sun is getting low, but there's still plenty of daylight when we get near Banff. Tim takes me on to the old road which is an unexpected delight.

When we pull into Banff, we stop for fuel as is my custom. The pump is a prepay with no card reader, but the young feller in the store turns it on for me. Once I fill up, I go inside to pay him -

"Thanks for turning on the pump. I really appreciate it" I tell him.

"No problem. Where you riding from?" he asks.

"Left Nashville Tennessee Thursday morning" I say.

"Wow, that's a long way" he exclaims.

I just smile and wish him well. That will not be the last time I hear that on this trip.

Once I get checked into the room, we all freshen up a bit. As we are sorting out our dinner plans, I hear a knock on the door. When I open it, Alain is standing there. I tell him

"Sorry, I already gave at the office" and close the door quickly.

But then I open it so he can come in. They know of a good restaurant in the area call Earls. So we get our laundry sorted and off we go on foot.

Since I've had my knees replaced, I really enjoyed walking again. Although the sidewalks are a bit busy, it's a pleasant evening for being out and about. Over a nice dinner, we have a great time of catching up. Tim and Diana give us some great tips on what to see tomorrow and I really appreciate it.

But it's been a long day so once we get back to the room, I catch up on e-mails and such and pillow my weary head.