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A Trip to Canada
Gary Harkins
On a cloudy July 3rd, Tammy Tolbert and I left Portland headed for Vancouver Canada and beyond. We were planning on returning on the 12th. More about that later. We hit a few sprinkles south of Tacoma and endured the hellish traffic jam north of Seattle. After 343 miles, we stayed in Belingham.
The next day crossing over the order was a breeze, well sort of. Tammy was yelled at by U.S. cops when trying to take a picture of the Peace Bridge. After getting out of Vancouver traffic, we cruised up on Hwy 99, past Stawamaus Chief rock formation, sprinkles in Pemberton and a grizzly old guy on a 40’s era BMW with side car doing about 50 on the hills. It was outfitted like it just came off the front lines of WWII. Hwy 99 north of Pemberton to Lilliooet was the first of one of the many great roads we would encounter.
After overnight stays in Cache Creek, Prince George and Valemount, the 5th day saw us entering Jasper. Prior to this, we had observed moose calves running down the road, many deer, bear and a coyote. We spent 2 days touring the Jasper Park area, followed up by a side trip to Lake Louise. The Scenic Parkway was anything but scenic. Overnight forest fire smoke made it almost impossible to see the burnt trees from the last forest fire, let alone the glaciers. Oh, you also won’t get any favorable reviews from us about Banff.
Our next days route about being a good one was confirmed by a log truck driver we met at one of the two ferry crossings on Upper Arrow Lake. Inland ferries are free in Canada. We were riding Hwy 23 down the eastern shore of Upper Arrow Lake switching to Hwy 6 before crossing back over the lake to Needles. The first 40 miles after the 2nd ferry were fantastic. At one point it was 6.2 miles of nothing but tight curves, absolutely no straight stretches, like the short section on Hwy 34 below Mary’s Peak. It is known as THE motorcycle road in the area.
During a stay in Kamloops, we went up to Helmcken Falls. It is only 158 feet shorter than Multnomah Falls but more accessible.
Remember how I said we were planning on being home on the 12th? Well, on the 11th I and a Ninja motorcycle met on the left front corner of my bike. I was doing 10 mph during a u-turn and he was doing 60 up a hilly curve on the highway. He was in my blind spot and I didn’t see him. I think the impact of his front tire on my left leg is what broke it in 3 places. The other guy had only scrapes and bruises.
The care I received in both the first small hospital and then in the larger regional hospital was 1st rate. The constables, the paramedics and the hospital staff went all out to find my glasses when they got lost during the hospital transfers.
The bike is still in Princeton Canada because of the red tape involved if you are not with it trying to get it over the border. Hard to do from a cell phone in a hospital bed. Alaska airline would not accept the 3x5 passport card, only the full size passport. Alaska also would not allow my Helite jacket on the plane so a stranger kindly shipped it home for me. I have a policy with Sky Med and they flew me home on the 19th. I am still waiting on a decision from the insurance company on the bike.
Finally, I want to give a big THANK YOU and hug to Tammy. She was my liaison with my wife, the doctors and nurses, the tow yard and constables. She helped me get my stuff off of the bike and get it back home. She stayed an extra 5 days until I was stable and we knew there was a solid discharge plan for me. She also saved me from the bad vegan hospital food. So this is one motorcycle adventure I’ll always remember.
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