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Motorcycle Trip - August 30th - September 2nd, 2004
Spanaway, WA - Kamloops, BC - Castlegar, BC -
Leavenworth, WA - Spanaway, WA

Day 2 - Kamloops, BC - Castlegar, BC - 310 Miles

Although we didn't know it at the time, Day 2 would turn out to be our favorite of the trip. We ended up doing no less than 5 DH rides, and one of them would be worth going back and doing again!

We both woke up and crawled out of our respective tents around 7:30AM. I fired up the stove (without lighting the table on fire this time) and began cooking my breakfast of cheese and onion brats left over from the night before. Can I just say the MSR Whisperlight stove is one rockin piece of camping equipment? I love that thing. As I was cooking breakfast, Brandon and I heard this WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH sound above. We looked up to see one of the largest birds I think I've ever seen flying. This thing was huge, and the WHOOSHing was it flaping it's wings. Still have no idea what it was, but it was really large and really black. WAY too large to be a crow or raven. If anyone from BC is ever reading this, drop me a line if you think you know what it was. It scared the crap out of me!

After breakfast, we cleaned up the campsite and took down the tents. This was my first challenge. Getting everything back in the bags it came out of. It took a little doing, but I eventually got it all packed. We fired up the bikes and headed out again around 9:30AM.

We found our way back to TC-1 heading east and shortly came upon our first DH of the day, DH-68. We headed south east on Barnhartvale Road off the TC-1. While this ride has a higher overall rating than the ride we did the previous day, this one was more enjoyable for me. I think there were a few more twisties, but the scenery wasn't nearly what the previous ride had provided. Maybe that was good because I was able to concentrate more on the line and speed I was taking through the corners. Again we averaged about 70 - 80 MPH through this whole ride. I was beginning to notice a theme. Also, when taking these rides, note that the BC natives are fond of their double yellow lines, so you may have to pass someone in an area that isn't necessarily designated as a passing zone. Don't worry though, there are plenty of sections where visibility is good for 1/2 mile or more and a quick twist of the throttle will have you by them in seconds. Traffic was fortunately very light on this road, and few passes were necessary.

DH-68 took us to DH-77 and Highway 97 south. This is more of a direct route and as such the pavement and engineering of the road were better than DH-68, however the turns were straightened out quite a bit over the previous ride. It was a nice leisurely ride that took us further south east to a lovely little town called Vernon and our first stop and re-fuel of the day. It was a great time to stop, because little did we know we were about to enter a Motorcyclist's paradise.

Heading out of Vernon on Highway 6 east put us on DH-2. Yes 2, as in the 2nd highest rating of any ride listed in the Destination Highways book. And let me tell you this ride did not disappoint in the LEAST! The twistieness rating was a 27.1 out of a possible 30 and the road was 80 MILES LONG. I have never before been on a ride so enjoyable in my life. Even highway 25 in Washington doesn't compare to this beauty. Average speed through this bad boy was about 70MPH, and after throwing the bike through the corners for 80 miles, we were WIPED. I'm sure there was lots of nice scenery too, but I didn't really notice. About all I was concerned with was the yellow line in the middle and the white one on the side and making sure I was well between them. Towards the end of this ride where the road narrows, there are a few decreasing radius turns that caught me off guard and I ended up in oncoming traffic for a couple seconds. Fortunately traffic was REALLY light on this road too, so no head-on collisions to report. One bit of caution, after you come to the re-engineered section at the end (you'll know it when you get there) and you're dropping down the hill, the ferry terminal comes up REALLY quick, so keep to the speed limit or you might find yourself smacking into a Nova. If this is the 2nd best road in BC, I can't wait to come back and ride the 1st!

The ferries in BC are free, which is cool. And bikes are a protected class, so we had first on and first off privledges, which was nice for getting up to speed on the other side of the lake at Fauquier.

The rest of the slog down Highway 6 was less than spectacular except for the scenery. We were riding along Arrow lake and there were occasional views of a glacier in the distance. It was nice to again relax after the workout we got on DH-2. This final stretch took us to Nakusp and our luncheon destination for the day. We filled up at the seemingly only gas station in town, and had a great lunch at the local cafe. After about an hour of rest, we were back at it again.

Highway 6 south from Nakusp took us on our next DH ride, DH-56. Again, being a 56, it was fairly mild from DH-2 that we had done earlier in the day. However, the ride along Slocan lake was tremendous. There were a few spots where we were overlooking the lake from quite an altitude. Fortunately the guard rails were intact cause that would be a long fall for someone. This area is an area I'd like to come back and visit later when I had more time to explore. Lots of neat scenery. DH-56 lead us right into DH-25. Some nice twisties heading down into Crescent Valley and on into our final destination of the day, Castlegar.

The decision was made in Nakusp to forego camping this evening and get a cheap hotel room. After the miles we had put on the last couple of days, the Super 8 in Castlegar was a welcome sight, and not just because it had a liquor store attached! A couple of four packs of Mike's hard cranberry and Mike's hard lime, and it was time to find some dinner. (NOTE: In Canada, Mike's is not a malt beverage, it's made with Vodka! MUCH better! Wish there were someplace in the states to get it!). The desk clerk recommended Gabriel's for steaks that evening, so that's where we headed. It was only a 10 minute walk. Pretty damn decent food too. I was pretty hungry when we got there, but completely satisfied when I left. We stopped by the pub on the way back, but it was pretty dead and after 1 Mike's we headed back to the hotel. Slept damn good that night!

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Overall Route - 1,177 Miles