de Tocqueville Tour

The Alaskan Capitol in Juneau is atypical of state capitols. Most are mini-replicas of the Capitol in Washington. Juneau’s attempt involved placement of three Greek columns in front of a Federal office building. Easy to miss.

The House of Representatives is as small as they get (consistent with this Republican states penchant for small government) as was the Senate Chambers. The place was quiet as the session for this year was completed.

The Speaker’s office was – by contrast – quite formidable.

The premises lacked the formal recognition of prominent citizens that other state houses feature, however there was a plaque in honor of “Alaska Women in High Places” which listed Sarah Palin (Vice President Nominee in 2008 Election for the Republican ticket) who served as Alaskan Governor from 2006-2009 and Lisa Murkowski – State Senator since 2002.

Leaving the Statehouse we ventured down to the harbour in Juneau for a quick refreshment and pondered the march of cruise ships into and out of the port.

The ferry trip to Juneau was certainly memorable.  The trip took three days, with stops in Ketchican, Rangle, Petersburg and Sitka before landing in Juneau, with stops beyond at Haines and the final destination Skagway.  So there was a mix of vehicles with different destinations that had to be organized such that each could reach their destination with minimal fuss.

Our vessel was the MV Augusta.  Built in 1974 in Puget Sound it is 418 feet long, 85 feet wide and a gross tonnage of almost 4000 tons.  It is designed to carry 500 passengers, with accommodation in four and two berth cabins for 292.   Our trip accommodated about 300 passengers.  Those not staying in cabins had options to grab some space in the lounge, or under the solarium on the top deck.  Another option was to pitch a tent in aft sections of the upper decks.  Tents were secured to the deck using duct tape.

The days are leisurely as the vessel winds its way through the inland passage, sometimes through narrow passages with tree studded ridges and islands on either side. 

Sometimes we encountered other ferries (e.g. BC Ferries) and the occasional cruise ship (the Queen Elizabeth was moored at Sitka) as well as local fishing boats and other private craft.

Wildlife included bald eagles, herons, and humpback and killer whales.  No bears though, although many probably resident in the surrounding terrain.

The ferry has a dining room, snack room and a bar as well as guest laundry facilities and communal showers (one for the guys; another for the ladies). We made use of the ‘male side’ equipment to do our laundry.

Met a number of fellow travelers. There was a couple from California with their friend heading to Haines and on to Anchorage area to visit a friend’s newly acquired cabin.  He is a general contractor on a mission to inspect the new property.  This group camped on the aft deck.

Another nice couple was from Oregon.  Past patrons of the Sturgis rally, they traded in their Harley’s a few years ago, so were quite interested in our travels.  There was a retired serviceman who was – in his spare time – a sometimes vocalist for the Mighty Manatees, a band from Philadelphia.  Their plans in Alaska include some serious off-roading in side-by-sides.

There were several other motorcycles besides ours.  One chap is a self-described ‘nomad’ driving on a Yamaha Tenere, who is taking each day as it comes.  He will depart at Haines. The other is a software engineer from Burlington Ontario, aboard a 1250 GSA.  He has been knocking off BDR (Backroads Discovery Routes) across north America, having recently completed the Colorado BDR.

Along the way we acquired additional riders at Sitka (a vintage BMW boxer and a Spyder with trailer) headed back to Bellingham but did not meet up with the drivers themselves.

Getting a meal on the ferry proved more challenging than it should have been.  Dinner can take an hour wait before being seated and then another hour before getting our meals.  There was a palpable discontent among the kitchen staff, and it affected production. Apparently there is only a half crew given the number of passengers on this trip.

Otherwise the berth was comfortable and warm. A pleasant refuge when the other amenities on the boat proved to exciting to handle.

We finally landed in Juneau Auk Bay terminal at around 6:00 pm, bid our farewells to our fellow travelers and drove through pelting rain to our hotel in Juneau.

A short trip today as we only had to cover the few kilometers from the hotel to the Fairhaven Ferry Terminal where we were booked onto the MV Columbia for 5:00  to take us to Juneau but we were instructed to arrive at the terminal three hours prior to departure.  Even so we had some time to kill and found a delightful sidewalk café for espresso, as well as banana bread and clam chowder.  While there we met  a couple from South Dakota who recognized us from the border crossing and the investigated whether we were in fact the group they had seen.

A quick trip to the grocery store for some ‘onboard provisions’ and then it was on to the terminal. Experience with BC Ferries – where motorcycles are prioritized – left us hopeful that Alaska Ferry’s would treat motorcycles with the same deference.  Turned out not to be so.  We waited in the hot sun for three hours. Almost the last to board we ended up being placed in a forward section just behind pallets of goods that were to be offloaded at Ketchican.  We were told we had to move our bikes when in port at Ketchican so that the forklift could access the pallets.  Not so great as it arrives at 5:00 am. What was galling is that there was that we could have been parked much sooner as we had no other vehicles in place ahead of us.

Our indignation quickly dissipated upon meeting Anthony the cook. He gave us excellent tips on life aboard the MV Columbia and later provided us with a custom pasta dish when we visited the restaurant for dinner.  Our four man berth had plenty of room and served us well when we hunkered down.

Today’s route took us west to Kamloops and then south along Hwy 5A, which proved to be a very nice alternative to the Coquihalla to Merrit. The traffic was light, no cops in sight and the road was mostly scenic sweepers.

Arriving in Merritt we popped into a local café for the usual espresso.  The café was run by aboriginals and featured various baked goods based on Bannock.  Some tasty offerings.

Leaving Merritt we blasted south on the Coquihalla to Hope for a (not so ) quick refueling at the local Chevron.  The weather cleared nicely as we travelled on to Harrison Hot Springs for a visit with Carlo (one of our past travel companions).  Carlo had grown up in Harrison as his parents worked at the local hotel, and so he returned after his career with BC Hydro.  He was hoping to join us afterward for the run south to the border, but his Stelvio was still in the shop, so he had to stay put.

Passing through the border at Sumas we weaved through a series of picturesque backroads on our way to Bellingham.  Another helpful gent met us at the Coachman’s Inn where we stopped for the night.  Fortunately, there were several promising restaurants within walking distance.  We settled on a local Thai restaurant and were not disappointed.

We met up at my place before heading out of Calgary along hwy 1 to Banff.  The weather was a bit cool and cloudy.  North of Banff we had a short bio-break before Castle Junction where we veered onto Hwy 1A to Lake Louise.  There we had a quick stop and our first double-espresso’s of the trip.  Loading up with rain gear we climbed Kicking Horse Pass into BC and entered Yoho national park.  Rain was sporadic through Golden and into Glacier National Park.  Traffic was heavier in this stretch so, notwithstanding regular passing lanes, we were following dutifully for most of the trip.  Signage warned of smoke and visibility issues due to fires in the area, however the intermittent rain seemed to clear any smoke we might have encountered.

Passing through Mount Revelstoke park we stopped in Revelstoke in search of expresso #2 we were spurned by a café that was closing in a few minutes, but found a more obliging establishment a few blocks away.  After our coffee break it was a quick trip further west to Salmon Arm where we stopped for the evening.  Bill – the hotel proprietor – was most helpful.   A past employee of WestJet and a sometimes tour operator, he pointed us towards a good steakhouse next door where we grabbed dinner before retiring. But not before a quick trip to the beer store for some “boot beer”.

The last day of this segment of the de Tocqueville Tour started out from Great Falls under clear blue skies with a chilly wind from the southwest. After a short run on I-15 we picked up US-89 north. US-89 is a great road. It runs from the Canadian Border all the way down to Flagstaff Arizona – with a short interruption at Yellowstone Park. It has many segments great for motorcycling.

As we angled up through Browning, the winds became stronger and our ‘incident angle’ became worse, at times heading into 60 mph headwinds. At one point I got a false “low oil level” alarm which later cleared, ostensibly due to the persistent and steady lean I had on the bike due to the cross wind. At times my helmet was almost ripped off, at other times it was ‘locked’ into a position where I couldn’t move it. Not exactly fun.

Offsetting the wind was the otherwise clear blue skies and spectacular scenery as we drove up the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. (You might add that we were blown away by the scenery as well).

At Browning we took MT-464 to Babb (as an alternative to US-89) This route was quicker and ran more to the North so the winds were not as bad. At times we ran with the wind and found it refreshingly and eerily silent. But the last stretch was into the wind again and we paid the price.

Rejoining US-89 for a short section, we veered off on MT-17 to approach the US/ Canada Border Crossing at Chief Mountain (which had only been re-opened after it’s extended closure due to COVID). This route was more sheltered from the wind and offered up great views of Chief Mountain and the other Rockies. We entered Glacier National Park (which together with Waterton National Park on the Canadian side makes the ‘international peace park’.)

MT-17 morphs into Hwy 6 on the Alberta side; a beautiful road with great asphalt, speedy sweepers and great views of the mountains in Waterton National Park. Following Hwy 6 north we had great views of the prairie butting up against the foothills of the Rockies with the Rockies rising on our left.

Back in Alberta

After a refuel at Pincher Creek we detoured around on RR-507 through Beaver Mines before rejoining Hwy-22 at Lundbreck The ‘Cowboy Trail’ up to Longview is one of the more beautiful rides in Alberta, winding its way through ranchlands with the ridge of Rockies always in view on the left. At Black Diamond we stopped for our last coffee break and then finished the trip with a final run through backroads west of Okotoks. A light drizzle greeted us as we arrived back in Calgary – phase 2 of the de Tocqueville tour was at an end.

The distance between Red Lodge and Great Falls is approximately 303 km (as the bird flies), but the fastest route between these two locales is 457 km (at least that is what we drove between them). Which is to say, Montana roads zigzag a wee bit.

Leaving Red Lodge on US-212 we veered northwest along MT-421 to Columbus, a nice stretch of undulating road offering views of the mountains that rim Yellowstone Park. A short segment of !-90 to Big Timber. Heading north on US-191 brought us to Harlowton where our thirty days of no rain ended in a grim windy downpour that assailed us all the way to White Sulphur Springs where we stopped to refuel (and to warm up a bit)

Leaving White Sulphur Springs we continued on US-89 North winding through local mountains amidst the receding rain and mist. By the time we left Monarch the skies cleared and rolling cumulus clouds filled the horizon. U-87 was a blustery stretch with strong crosswinds that buffeted us but otherwise dried us out before our arrival in Great Falls.

Wyoming has a number of beautiful motorcycle roads. Yellowstone and Grand Teton have great roads – but too many tourists in the summer mar their enjoyment. There are some great approaches to Jackson Hole from the Idaho side. But the best three roads in the state – the Wyoming Triple Crown – are arguably US-14/14A (from Dayton to Lovell), WY-296 (Chief Joseph Scenic Byway) and US-212 (Beartooth Highway). And today we drove all three.

Leaving Sheridan required a short stint on I-90 before taking U-14 at Ranchester. The road wound gradually up the eastern slope of the Bighorn Mountains. These landforms are unusual in that the rock at lower altitude is younger than the rock up top – as though the strata somehow flipped over time.

At the zenith the views to the west were sweeping, before descending on twisties and switch backs to Burgess Junction where the route switches onto US-14A

After a short climb the road settled out winding through high mountain meadows, before reaching the western edge of the Hunt Mountain Range, exposing another sweeping vista to the west. The descent down to Lovell included another batch of twisties and switchbacks.

At Cody we stopped for a coffee and topped off our fuel before heading north on WY-180 and then onto WT-296 where the Chief Joseph begins. The road is fantastic with winding sweepers cutting through mountains and valleys. At times we could see the road winding up the opposite side of a wide valley. It is a gem.

Switch backs on Chief Joseph

When 296 ends the Beartooth begins by heading east on US-212. This route climbs steadily to a height of 3337 meters (10,947 feet). The top of the pass is rocky with remnants of the winter still evident in 8 foot drifts along the roadside. The temperature dropped from 14 C to 2.5 C at the summit, with winds and dark clouds roiling overhead, but the rains that threatened did not show.

Descending the backside of the pass into Montana and headed to our hotel in Red Lodge for the day. Another great day of riding – and except for a 5 minute light shower coming out of Cody – it was free of rain.

After twenty eight days we had our first encounter with rain. Leaving Rapid City we had to deal with it for …. oh … about an hour. Then it stopped and was replaced by a cloudy chill.

Working our way through the Black Hills via Deadwood and Cheyenne crossing we took 85 north to Belle Fourche. On the way there we noticed signs for the “Center of the States” or more specifically the “geographical center of the United States”. This monument was created after Hawaii and Alaska joined the union, requiring reconsideration of the previous center (for the lower 48 states) that was somewhere in Kansas.

Center of the USA in Butte County VRBO near Huelet?

This, of course, was explained to us by a gentlemen we met at the monument. He went on to quiz us as to the ‘eastern most’ part of the United States (and the ‘western most”). We mistakenly mentioned Maine and Hawaii. Not so. Both points are in Alaska in the Aleutian islands. Semisopochnoi Island is at 179.7734 degrees East and Amatignak Island is at 179.14718 degrees West. These islands are either side of the international dateline. Useful knowledge not doubt for any aspiring Jeopardy contestants.

Leaving Belle Fourche we followed WY-24 to Hulett, taking us through rolling hills and buttes – with the occasional severely rustic fixer upper here and there. After Hulett it was on to Devil’s Tower (the climactic venue from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind).

Rejoining US-14 we took a coffee break at the Phillips station in Moorcroft, where we met two gents on BMW GS’s from Cold Lake Alberta. Both obtained their bikes from Brian Kiely a former member of Canada’s Trophy GS Team. They were travelling together to visit the Badlands National Park, after which they would part ways – one heading towards Quebec and the other reversing towards Washington state. It was refreshing to see fellow Beemer drivers after weeks of nothing but Harleys.

After a short turn on I-90 we continued north on US-14 toward Clearmont. This stretch of road was a pleasant surprise. We expected something akin to western Montana, but found a great road winding its way through buttes and valleys, rolling hills and ranchlands – as well as a massive mine.

Arrived without incident in Sheridan and checked into our hotel for the evening. No ‘restaurants’ were within walking distance, however there was a deli down the hill at the Conoco station that met our needs (and provided a bit of entertainment vis-a-vis the other patrons.)

Departing Pierre, we took a quick loop around to the Oahe dam and power plant, which is north of the city. It utilizes the largest earthen dam in the world, to hold back the waters of the Missouri River. The installation generates 112 MW of power and creates recreational options on Lake Oahe in addition to those normally available along the Missouri River.

Rejoining US-14 we followed through Midland towards Wall. Another morning of blue skies, mild temperatures and no traffic The time passed agreeably.

Normally we rely upon a hot breakfast at the hotel before starting out, however our options in Pierre were very limited due to a high school rodeo in town at the same time. A quick investigation using Google and we identified the ‘Wakin Bacon” in Wall as an establishment that served breakfast and had a 5.0 rating. When we arrived in Wall we found a food truck where we expected a restaurant, but there were picnic tables under an party tent so we gave it a shot. The eggs and sausage were passable but not really deserving of a 5 rating. Still it met our needs.

Food and shopping in Wall

Following SD-240 south we quickly came to the entrance to Badlands National Park (with a herd of bison there to great us. We paid the hefty fee ($25 per bike) and continued on. The next 40 km were great – nice twisty road with gorgeous scenery.

Dangerous wildlife kept us off the hiking trails

At Interior we left the park and picked up SD-44 towards Rapid City. The wind had picked up considerably and we were subject to extreme buffeting, particularly as we passed other vehicles. We were on the lookout for a Starbucks before continuing on our loop through the black hills via Mount Rushmore. However, checking weather reports over coffee it looked like thunderstorms were poised to move through our intended route. Driving in heavy rains and high winds is not the best way to enjoy the Black Hills, so we called it a day and headed to the hotel early. Just as well – just as we finished unpacking the bikes we felt a drop – so our record of ‘rain free’ ride days remained intact and continuing.