Jasper, Alberta, to Bellingham, Washington, USA (Thursday, August 26th, 2010)

Day 34 - 511 miles

NOTE: Low bandwidth. Better photos to follow.

Today was a very difficult day driving. It was hands-down the worst weather I've ever driven in. I've said that before on this trip, and I don't like using superlatives, for fear of tempting fate. "Oh! You thought that was bad? You wanna see what I've really got in store for you?!!" Or something along those lines.

Suffice to say, it was both the worst rain, and the worst wind I've ever been in on a bike, probably a car too. It seemed to get worse and worse. There were also signs warning, "Winterlike Weather Conditions - Expect Snow and Ice." I didn't stop to take pictures, as the visibility was so poor, I was afraid I'd get run over by a truck.

Speaking of...there are a lot of trucks on the highways in Canada. Some of them are even bigger than the ones in the States. They seem to allow - perhaps only in rural areas, I don't know - trucks with THREE trailers. Also, you see many with two, but they are two BIG trailers, not the smaller ones you see in double rigs in the States. These guys are pulling full-size trailers behind them.

It is no fun passing out these bastards. Nor is it fun when they are coming the other way. The "blast" from them is phenomenal. It is much, much worse when the weather is windy and gusty. The trucks and rigs amplify the gusts. It's terrible. When you add torrential rain into the mix, your visibility goes right down, especially when the trucks are throwing up mountains of water behind them.

At one point, I was getting kind of scared, coming over a very high pass in British Columbia (BC). I'd read the warning signs mentioned earlier, and now, alongside the torrential rain, I was starting to see snow on the nearby ledges, only a few hundred feet above.

Today was also one of my biggest drives. Over 500 miles.

We finally got out of the mountains, and down onto the flat for the run into Vancouver. I would be turning off before then, to cross the border around Abbotsford/Sumas. I was headed for my friend Lurene's house, in Bellingham, in the good ol' US of A.

I took a few pictures at the border crossing (I'll post later), and my bike parked in "no man's land" raised the ire of the US border guard. However, he was a nice enough fellow, and chatted a bit, as he went through the normal procedures. He was a welcome change from the Gestapo going into Canada a few days previous. It was good to be back across the border, although I've left a bit of my heart in Canada, I think.

The weather had cleared up nicely, and it was a cautious but enjoyable ride along a fairly remote country road into the town of Bellingham.

I'll rest up here for a day or two, then it'll be the final push down the coast for home.

Onwards!