Canadian Rockies
If you’re into snow-capped peaks, breathtaking mountain passes and twisty roads mixed with the occasional waterfall… riding to the northern Rockies by way of Rogers Pass and the Canadian Glacier National Park should be on your short list.
It was a warm morning departure for our 8 day adventure of ~2000miles. We rushed an obligatory breakfast at Elmer’s and set out leaving the city by way of the Lewis and Clark highway.
Maryville Winery
We headed east on Washington State Hwy14 (SR14) and enjoyed the sweeping views of the Columbia River before heading north on Route 97 (US97). US97 is a 322-mile route through Washington state which traverses from the Oregon state line at the northern end of the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge in Maryhill, north to the Canadian border in Okanogan County near Oroville.
Wenatchee By Moonlight
We tried to stay cool traversing the major cities of Goldendale, Yakima, and Ellensburg through a northwest heat advisory. Our arrival in Wenatchee was greeted with short gasps to get air as the sweltering heat set an all-time high of 107 degrees! The day also recorded Seattle’s hottest day (103) in its history. We’d had enough of the triple digits and elected to cool off before continuing. Note: I had the FXRG Perforated Leather Jacket on all day, but once the temp hit 97 degrees I stripped clothing to a t-shirt. I’ll provide more on how the jacket faired during this trip in another post.
The next morning our early departure was met with temperatures already in the mid-70s. We wanted to get some miles under our feet before high temps set in for the day. We headed north on 97A which runs right along the west side of the Columbia river and then rejoined US97 at Lake Chelan.
VLBA Radio-Telescope
Between Brewster and Monse, WA I was reminded of the movie Contact starring Jodie Foster. Remember the scene where she is sitting atop her car hood under the Very Large Array of satellite antenna’s listening to space? Well on the west side of the river dotted with farm tractors is a Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) station. It looks like a secret “military” base, but is really part of a ten radio-telescope antenna system, each with a dish 82 feet in diameter and weighing 240 tons.
Canada Border Crossing
Others are located from Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The VLBA provides astronomers with the sharpest vision of space compared to any telescope via radio waves! It’s funded by The National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, the NSF budget is $9.5 billion, which includes $3.0 billion provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). A list of “shovel ready” ARRA funded projects at NSF is located HERE if you’d like more info on how the $$ are being spent. But I’ve digressed…
FXRG Jacket Testing
By the time we rolled through Oroville the temps were again in the high 90’s and the air was hazy with smoke. Before heading towards the Alaska Highway at the Yukon border which is known as British Columbia Highway 97 (BC97) we were “processed” by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers. After a long wait due to a large number of RV’s we were subjected to several difficult questions meant to trip up any unsuspecting armed terrorist… “Where you from?”, “Where you going?”, “How Long you gonna be here?”… you get the drill. After a hour long process I couldn’t help but think that if the CBSA ran Apple Computer we’d all be running Apple II’s, having to insert an identity card every time we booted up and required to surf at dial-up speed — yeah, it was that painful!
Kelowna, BC - Bridge
After the “land of poutine” passed us through the international border crossing we made our way through Oliver, Penticton and along the western shore of magnificent Okanagan Lake for many kilometers to finally arrive in Kelowna, BC. A thick haze filled the air as a reminder of the tinder-box conditions of the province and the hundreds of fires. The local newspaper proclaimed “Wildfires Scorch BC” with thousands of evacuee’s and sad tales. In fact, seeing across the street was a challenge and breathing reminiscent of sitting around a camp fire about to extinguish itself.
After a couple of days riding we enjoyed refreshments and some Montana Cookhouse baby-back ribs then headed down to the marina to take in some of the local nightlife and Okanagan Lake experience.
The 107 to 47 Journey – Part Two HERE; Part Three HERE; Part Four HERE
Northwest Harley Blog 