So I had a nice 10 day trip planned this year. We were to head out to Vancouver Island and back all while riding some of BC's best roads.
Some of the guys who went last year suddenly couldn't go this year. The trip was looking like it might not happen, or if it did would only be a couple of us. We had it confirmed to be 2 of us for sure, with maybe a third. We decided to do the trip regardless. We ended up with 3 of us which was good.
I wanted to keep our days nice and easy with lots of spare time in case we wanted to stop for any reason, or in case something happened.
The trip was planned for July 5-14.
Our first night was spent in Chain Lakes campground down south of Calgary towards Crowsnest Pass. Not a very nice campground for motorcycle camping...and we had some rain which is never fun. We left Friday afternoon and got in around 9pm which allowed us to setup before it got dark. Steve met us there just after 11pm as he had to work that day.
We packed up and left Saturday morning and had breakfast in Crowsnest Pass. With our stops and late start we should have rolled into Toad Rock Campground around 6pm which would have been great. However, when we stopped to pick up some beverages I noticed Steve's back tire had a bald strip all the way around in the center...to the point it was basically on the belt. At this point it was 5pm on a Saturday and we were at least an hour from any place we could get bike tires. We called the Honda place in Nelson and they agreed to have someone stay late and help us out. We got into Nelson at about 7, and were back on the road about 8:30 and to the campground at about 9. Little later than we hoped but not too bad. At least Steve had a nice new tire to ride on!
We were really looking forward to Sunday brunch at the Kaslo hotel only to be sorely disappointed as they no longer served brunch. Instead we had to have breakfast at the Treehouse...which was OK but not as good. We were going to stay in Osoyoos that night and I figured we would get in about 6pm. We did but wow what a terrible campground! It was basically an RV park so we had to try and fit 3 tents into a tiny spot. We did make it work and made friends with the neighbors so we had somewhere to hang out as our spot was so small. At least it was right on the lake which was kinda nice...
The following day turned out to be a bit longer with us getting into Victoria for supper at my Aunt's place before heading to the campground. I neglected to factor in the 1.5hr ferry trip so we didn't arrive for supper until 7:30. Then I found out one of the guys was really allergic to dogs so we ended up eating out on the patio instead. The visit was really short as we were losing daylight fast and still had to get to the campground. We managed to get there about 10:15 and setup in the dark by the lights of our bikes. Goldstream campground was quite nice as each spot was large with lots of trees.
Our next leg was to get us to Tofino. We had planned on a quick stop in Parksville as one of the guys wanted to relive his childhood somewhat at a minigolf place. Even with this stop we were to roll into Tofino about 5pm. Steve then arranged a phone interview for 3pm and wanted to ensure we were someplace with cell service. He expected in to be about 30 minutes so we elected to stop in Coombs BC for him to do this...figured it was a good place for lunch too. His phone interview ended up taking 1.5hrs which was really putting us behind schedule. That's why I planned the days this way...just in case. As it was we ended up in Tofino about 7pm. The Bella Pacifica campground was ...ok. We were a 5 minute walk from the ocean which was nice, but the showers were quite expensive. We were going to stay here 2 nights so we could do the tourist thing and do some laundry as well.
The next day we did the whale watching tour and then some souvenir shopping. This was quite fun and we all had a great time. Got some nice gifts for the wife and even some stuff for myself. Then we went for sushi...how could we not? I was the only one who was really excited as both other guys were not big fans. I convinced them and they really enjoyed it. It was fantastic! Fresh crab that was pulled out of the harbor that morning...can't get much fresher than that!
The next day was a travel day and we were to go as far as Whistler. With a stop at Cathedral Grove we BARELY made the ferry at Comox (by 5 minutes) and again I had not counted on the time it would take, and not realizing there were 2 other ferry's that we would have to take from Powell River to West Vancouver, we would not make it to Whistler until after midnight. We decided to find some other campground instead and ended up in Sechelt. For a campsite that was last minute search it wasn't too bad. We made it there for about 8pm and managed to get setup in the daylight.
With the previous day's ride cut short we had some distance to make up so we left a little earlier and had breakfast on the ferry at Gibsons (place they filmed Beachcombers). We hit Pemberton for lunch about 2pm and then had the most amazing ride to Lillooet. Nice twisty road with smooth pavement...what more can you ask for? We made it to Kamloops for supper about 7pm and then hit the campground about 9...again, it was an RV park and they lost our reservation to make matters worse. However, we were all tired and just wanted to sleep so it didn't really matter,
The original plan was to meet up with some friends in Valemount and stay at their relatives...however with Mike's allergies we elected to find a campground to stay at around Valemount. We found a place that turned out to be pretty decent...it was a B&B that had some campsites. They gave us as much space as we wanted for 5 people, a TON of firewood all for $50. The only bad part...train tracks running next to the campground with trains running all night long.
Our last day was from Valemount to Edmonton...the forecast called for thunderstorms the entire way home so we all bundled up. Of course, we didn't get any rain...but at least we were prepared in case we did! LOL
It was a GREAT 10 day trip...one I would do again (just with different campgrounds). It would have been fun with more people, but the more people you have the longer each stop takes...I still think we would have been ok...
Next post will be about my yearly (2nd) solo trip...
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