Chapter V - Since this chapter of my life with Skippy and the dogs ended, a new one opened. Follow my latest adventures and travels here: https://www.youtube.com/@wolfiunterwegs
The main reason we came to Vancouver Island was that Tarah (from 40BelowFruity) had invited to a raw vegan potluck with extra fun. It was our first ever vegan potluck and the food was delicious and there was plenty of it :) The original idea was to party outside but it was raining a lot and instead we played "cards against humanity" besides the warming fireplace. We all had a great time and laughed until many had tears in their eyes. Thank you very much Tarah - it was great!
Ryan and Tarah
Next morning: Blue sky and warm ... BEAUTIFUL.
Pepsi jumped with joy into the sidecar:D
The next day we rode the enormous distance of 15km to Courtenay where we stayed in a hotel for few days. I was still feeling a bit sick and since we got a room with kitchenette there was a chance to get some goodies made by Skippy. During the evening walk on our first night with girls along the river we saw a bunch of seals sneaking their head out of the water – cute fellows.
Courtenay bay.
Skippy in action.
Happy me - Skippy made me a vegan "Snickers cake"
For the following days it was mostly raining and once the sun came out we took that opportunity to have a walk in the nearby Seal Bay Park. There was a lovely forest and when we were at the beach we even saw a seal lying on a stone :)
Since that whole border crossing went rather smooth we were able to make it to 17:00 ferry to Vancouver Island. Soon I realized that the traffic was a bit heavy and some sense of urgency came up. Unfortunately Skippy did not share that and so we had later on again one of our usual arguments about driving styles. The check-in was already closed for cars but was still open for motorbikes and so we made it in the last minute :)
It was late and dark when we arrived to Nanaimo. The hotel was already pre-booked - one stress item less for that night. As it happened before, the hotel info in booking.com was according to the owner incorrect and (also as it happened before) the owner made it sound like it would be our fault.
Pets were supposed to be for free and after I complained about the high price the lady did not charge for pets. The check-out was at 11AM even though it was supposed to be at noon. Well, we had those kind of troubles earlier, so we knew that we could expect fair treatment from booking.com. However such hick-ups always caused a moment of frustration as they typically happened in the end of long and exhausting riding day.
Nope, we were not picky and we had a good reason to stay in the motel as long as possible. The ride to Tarah on the next day was short and it was raining a lot. Lingering around somewhere just to kill time was not a pleasant option in our mind.
With Skippy feeling ill and our desire to explore Cascades National Park, we headed back east and rode to The Dalles along Columbia River. Those kind of highways are not as boring as in Nebraska, however they are not the Alps either ... somewhere in between with some nice sights and - in this case - an apple orchard with plenty of old apple trees.
Free lunch :)
We spent a few nights in The Dalles and as Skippy got better I got now the cold :( As we were hanging in our room suddenly the phone rang and the reception asked us whether we wanted to see Finnish people. ?????? Confusion ... We said ok and walked over there. So happen there was a bunch of people from Finland visiting farms around USA. I guess once they heard/saw/realized that we were vegans the interest dropped a lot, except of the tour guide who was seriously surprised to meet other Finns here and even see Finnish license plates. Well it made him happy :)
Crossing Columbia River when leaving The Dalles.
After The Dalles we rode north on canyon road/Hwy 97 to Ellensburg. Satu got her own pass: Satus pass :D
Since I was sick and the weatherman promised heavy rain for the night and the next day, camping and testing our new gear was cancelled. We stayed two nights instead of one in a motel, which meant that we would not make it to the NP if we want to be in time for Tarah's fruitluck. I got some Chinese take away food to pamper me ... it was such a cliche with that food in the motel ... like in the movies :D
Skippy was too small to get the good ones ... Wolfi came for help :D
Next day we rode through Leavenworth, the little Bavaria in Washington state with motels called Enzian Inn, Bavarian Lodging, Der Ritterhof Motor Inn and the Bavarian Bakery (Bäckerei). I had a hard time to focus on the street and not laugh my guts out. Hilarious! The best part of the day was the weather: the sunshine and the stunning autumn colors of the tree gave a breath-taking spectacle.
We rode along Hwy 2 also known as Stevens Pass Hwy to Everett. At
Stevens Pass we had some snow at the edge of the road and the sizzling rain was back.
Majestic mountains with fresh snow. Looked better in nature, I guess the moist air caused some blur.
Skippy did not want to go via the Interstate on our way from Everett to Canada neither did I. I found a nice coastal road and we enjoyed the ride as much as possible. The weather was made for biking: sunny, cloudy ... anyway no rain :)
Cool tree growing roots over this gigantic rock.
Pacific Ocean :)
Leaving USA was again such an extreme opposite compared to entering ... seriously NOBODY gave a darn! No check, no stamp into the passport – I really did not understand it ... well who cares as it is what it is. There was a cue to enter Canada, maybe because it was Friday afternoon and we got into the weekend traffic.
The lady at the Canadian border checkpoint was friendly and asked a few questions which I truthfully answered. A few minutes later we got a new stamp and now we could be for 6 month in Canada.
Tarah - here we come :)
Our track 930km
Skippy is back to travelogue business ... enjoy this one and especially those gorgeous autumn colors along the roads.
+
