Day 23: Back on the Road Again!

Today is our first day on the bikes since Wednesday, July 13^th.  To hit our targets on the way back to Pittsburgh, our next two days on the road are longer then average.  Today we ride over 500 miles to Quesnel, BC.

The ferry was scheduled to dock in Prince Ruppert at 6:30 am Saturday morning.  However, we discovered it was 6:30 am Canadian time, which is 5:30 am Alaska time.  Lost an hour of sleep on that one.

No one is allowed to enter the car deck until the Ferry has completed docking. 

These people are lined up in the hall way wanting to be the first to their cars. 

Fog around the ferry as it arrived in Prince Ruppert

We managed to un-strap the bikes and load up in about ½ hour. 

Then we waited in line to get through customs for another ½ hour.

We may have made it through customs a bit quicker, but the guy directly ahead admitted to have a bear repellant spray, and the officer wanted to see it to be sure it was for bears and not for people.  He had to unload his entire pack on the back of the bike to reach the spray.

There was plenty of fog after we left the ferry.  Its hard to see when it condensed on your face shield.

The fog gradually lifted as we got further away from Prince Ruppert.

Road out of Prince Rupert is called The Yellowhead - follows a trail through the mountains discovered by a blonde trapper who was named by the Indians "Yellowhead". The Yellowhead is the western part of the Trans Canadian Highway.

The water is currently high in this area. 

We have heard recent reports of flooding from Prince Ruppert down to Prince George.

North to Alaska Sign at the start of the Cassiar Hwy.

Hyder Alaska is at the southern tip of the Alaskan panhandle. It was the final destination of our first trip to Alaska 6 years ago. 

Hyder is just north on the Cassiar 100 miles and then 50 miles west on the Hyder road.

Highway 37, better known as the notorious Cassiar is 500 miles long, 350 miles of it dirt.

This trip we bypassed this nasty dirt road by taking the ferry from Haines to Prince Rupert

Picture from 2005.

Notice the 25 year old bikes.

In 2005.

Six years later!  

We haven’t changed a bit.

But the bikes have.


Bikes in 2005:
Both four cylinder Hondas 750s and both weigh about 550lbs.

Mick's bike - 1980 Silver in-line four

Mine - 1983 purple V-four

Bikes are newer and bigger in 2011.

Mine - 2009 Victory Vision
1800cc V twin still purple, (not quite, "Midnight Cherry") and about 900 lbs.

Mick's - 2001 BMW K1200RS
1200cc flat four - 630 lbs.








Further down the Yellowhead.

Why they only allow native Australians to use fish traps is beyond us.

Turned into a beautiful day

Nice reverse shot.

Construction sign does not strike fear into the heart like the ones in AK and the Yukon.

In construction in AK, it would have been a 100kph sign instead of 30kph.

And all that warning for 50 feet of dirt with good transition sections.

Thanks for the squirt bottle, Bud!

Found the world’s largest fly rod again, in Houston, BC

Here’s a different point of view

No nice day lasts forever.  This one looks to be in danger.

There it is!   Quick stop for rain gear.  Problem was, it was moving our way and engulfed us before we were ready.

And at the end of the Day . . .

           

. . . Riding through the raindrops.

Today’s Stats:

Arrival in Quesnel, BC:  9:09 pm

Riding Time:  9 Hrs. 49 Mins.

Today’s Miles:  522

Total Miles:  8152

Today’s MPG:  48.4

Today’s MPH:  55.6

Tomorrow’s Destination:   Seattle, Washington

505 Miles

Sorry, I skrewed up the map, so this only shows small part of route.








Mc