The Trip

Well the trip started on Sunday instead of Monday, the weather was taking a turn for the worst. It was 29C in Jasper when I went through there. 

People were sitting in a lake, or a slough. 

I stopped in Jasper for lunch, but i had to get a move on. My goal was to hit Calgary that night. So I set off from Jasper, when I got through the park gates for the Icefields Parkway, a sign said last gas for 124 kms. I had 30 kms on my bike by the time I saw the sign. I had been driving around 118 kph all the way from home to Jasper (except in the park). I was getting good mileage, I decided I'd stay close to 90 kph to get the most mileage. When I got to Saskatchewan Crossing (home of the most expensive fuel in Alberta) I only needed 7.5 litres, out of 13 capacity. I had not stuck to the plan though, there is an incredible zig zag from the Glacier down to a valley, it is too much fun on a bike. 

I didn't stop and take a lot of pictures on the way down, I wanted to get to Lake Louise and MorraineLake  and use the fisheye lens. Above is a waterfall just before summit, below is Bow Lake

I got to Lake Louise around 18:30, too late to head out to Morraine Lake so I took my pictures at that lake. 

The fisheye did better than I thought it would. A German guy was there with a Nikon, he had a regular Wide Angle lens. We swapped, he was like a kid in a candy store taking pictures of everything. We had a good time, his friends took off on him. He must have been a camera addict - look at me, bike and camera addict. 

I decided to stay in Canmore for the night, as it was the cheapest place to stay, IMHO. Well it was a joke, the room was $95, it was hot as hell, no air conditioning and it appeared the furnace was on. The thermostat did not work. I was tired after a long trip, I read part of a book on iPad and passed out. 

When I woke the next day, the news was about a shooter in the Navy Yard in Washington. I wanted to watch a bit on TV before heading out. The Shaw cable box and TV were stuck on some Bass + Drum music station and would not move. I headed out, had to go back and take pictures of Morraine Lake. 

Here you go. 

i asked to go on the dock to take a picture, the guy said sure. This is the fisheye lens with an incredible effect. I actually saw a regular lens version and it looks truncated. 

So I walked halfway around the lake taking pictures with fisheye and then regular lenses on the way back. 

I went both ways on Highway 1A from Banff to Lake Louise and back. 

I got into Calgary on Monday afternoon and stayed with friends there. The bike broke down on Tuesday, spent some time at dealer getting it fixed. Fortunately it was not expensive. 

On Wednesday it poured, all day. I basically sat in and watched a British TV show on Netflix. iPads are handy :). Went out for drinks a couple of times with Colin. He managed to get stopped at a Check Stop on the way home. He is a magnet for those things. He is wise calculating his drinking. I was a bit nervous in case his calculations were wrong. We'd be cabbing it, no way I was under .05

Thursday I got up and headed West. It was cold in Calgary, 7C. According to the iPhone it was 4C in lake Louise. I knew from trip down that I had to make tracks to get to Edmonton before bambi time. 

When I got to Lake Louise it was still cold. I stayed there to warm up, I was not prepared. I switched to thinsulate gloves. I have no windshield so my hands tend to get cold. In Calgary I had already put the sleeve inserts in the jacket. I put an outer shell on over the leather jacket and I was glad I did. 

When I got to the South gate of the Icefields Parkway I asked if it was snowing at the summit. The attendant said she had not heard of any snow. 

I decided I would make up my mind on my journey at Saskatchewan Crossing. These are pictures on the way to the summit. 

Bow Lake first. 

I fluked on this one, had to do a u-turn, there was a little clearing on the highway where you could see the lake. 

Saskatchewan River, this is before it splits into the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan. 

This is the glacier at the summit. If you drive towards it there are little signposts marking it's retreat. The highway in the foreground used to be under it. But that was over 150 years ago. 

The highway was down to one lane in the picture above. They are building a glass observation deck. I retrieved camera while I was waiting for the light to change. The drop off there is quite steep. I would think it is similar to the Grand Canyon deck, but this one will be way more accessible. Could you imagine working on that thing?

I managed to get to Edmonton at 21:00, I left Calgary at 09:00 - 12 hours on the road, I was a bit stunned. The bike made good mileage, when I stopped at Sask Crossing on the way North, I only got $5 worth of gas, which is probably one of the lowest totals anyone has paid. 

The temperature was warmer at the summit than it was in Lake Louise. I was warm pretty much for the trip from Jasper to Edmonton except where there were sloughs, riding by them was cool, then I'd go up a hill and be warm. 

I had had incidents before West of Edson, usually people from the North and the South will enter the highway heading East at the same time, and take their time speeding up. This time that didn't happen. An oil rig service vehicle entered and he actually sped up. He was kicking up a lot of dust, so I pulled to left lane. It was a good thing I did. This black thing on the back of his truck went airborne spilling what appeared to be transmission fluid all over the highway. e didn't stop. The black thing went about 10 feet in the air and then flew off to the right. When I spoke to some riggers later they told the thing, which looks like about four bread trays, is about 80-100 lbs and was supposed to be tied down, as they act like cardboard on the back of a truck.  

Today I parked the knapsack and camera at a locker and am zipping around the city before heading home. 

Where did Summer go

I know I haven't been updating this as much as I was before, but life happens. 

I am headed off on a road trip next week, to Jasper, Icefields Parkway, Lake Louise, Morraine Lake and the to Road to the Sun. I plan to go for a week.  I would leave today, but there is a firefighter golf tournament Saturday and overtime on Sunday. Extra money doesn't hurt. 

Bow Lake, last year. It is along Icefields Parkway

Lake Louise

Speaking of which, I worked OT in August and no cheque yet. Which is a pain as house insurance has expired, I want to pay it in one lump sum.  Taking a chance being uninsured, but.....

Speaking of taking chances, last night I left glasses, apple keyboard, and other bike stuff on bike when I went to a bar.  Someone stole a lot of stuff. Who does that?  Trained me for trip, Nikon will be with me at all times. So i went and bought new glasses, non name brand at MEC. I get back to bike and find my Oakley's. i guess it was too dark for the, to see them.  I didn't put them in their case, good thing, case is gone.

Work has been busy, I did my stats and I think my boss is going to ask how I could do the work of three for two months. I'll ask her how she can let 2/3 of unit go on holiday at once. Bad people don't take the Summer off lol

I am going ahead with the plan to dump my existing service providers, and switch to one.  I own my iphone 4s, but i think i will get an iphone 5s, on a plan from Telus as well as tv.  This saves me money, i will get 11gb of data, i am going to try just using phone and tethering for internet. Or i could dump cable and just use the internet. Save me a pile of money. Either way, someone is going to lose. I could save $50 to $90 a month. 

I have become a jock again, i run 4-5 a week and use gym 2-3 times. This has lead to 15 lbs. going away. Plan is another 15. I hang out at the Druid and drink Guinness. This beer is brewed the old way and has lots of stuff your body needs. Believe it on not, i run faster and longer. 

The glasses they didnt take :). Fields of gold

Morning fog

I am glad i have another keyboard at home. I really like those things. I hope the stealer uses it to write.