bicyclebeekA half day west of North Battleford Saskatchewan, and I was back in somewhat familiar territory. I crossed into Alberta through treacherous Lloydminster in a frogger-like manner, and furtively celebrated my victory over Saskatchewan. Through anticipative eyes I imagined the dramatic spires of the rocky mountains looming in the distance like ravenous wolf fangs. But for now I remained in farm country.
My first stop was in Vermilion Alberta, another home of my past travels with the Katimavik program three years ago. Here I planned to enjoy my first day off since Thessalon, near Sault Ste. Marie. My first order of business was to seek out shelter for a couple of nights. The town’s campground would be the most obvious choice, but it seemed far too conventional. And I’m not one to dish out thirty dollars for a seven foot patch of dirt for the night. I cruised the streets, examining all possibilities. Vermilion proved to be the most difficult town to find free camp spots, surprising, since I had already spent three months there and knew where to look. I settled for a rather dodgy site on the town baseball field, behind the storage shed. A spot in the heart of suburban Vermilion, and nearly surrounded by houses. But the tent was out of sight, so on to my second order of business, I needed a beer.
Back downtown, The Zoo was a tavern that lived up to its name. I was immediately greeted by a man who had seen me cycling around town earlier, and what started as a brief stop for a drink, turned into an all night affair. The booze appeared magically before me, and all I did was talk, for hours, to the group of people gathered around me. I made some friends that night, and had a great time reminiscing about the good ol’ days of Katimavik.
The following day my plans to visit the public pool and hot tub were foiled due to the labor day long weekend.
I set out west the next day, bush camping near Vegreville, and arriving in Edmonton the following afternoon where I met up with my cousin for yet another day off. Wahoo! I accomplished a few menial chores, relaxed, and did some catching up with my cousin. We took a trip to a public pool as well, but alas! The hot tub was closed. All the same, we enjoyed a few laps and cooked in the sauna until refreshed.
Again, westward. I bush camped in Erwistle…? I found an excellent spot near the train tracks. I’ve noticed that I have a nonsensical issue with sleeping near train tracks. It seems that whenever a train passes by during the night, usually two or three times, I awake in a state of panic, fearing that I’ve absent mindedly pitched my tent directly on the tracks. Splat! This happens repeatedly, with every passing train.
Still in one piece, I blasted into Hinton, where I camped in a patch of trees directly beside a Days Inn. And from Hinton I crossed into Jasper National Park. I made it back to the mountains! I cycled the Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Lake Louise. Upon entering the Rockies, I suddenly felt very small. But what a spectacular ride! I even scored an amazing camp spot , lakefront across from the Bow Glacier. The past few mornings have been extremely cold, below freezing, and I’ve had to knock ice off my tent before packing it up. But in the afternoon, the temperature climbs to thirty degrees!
I’m now back in B.C.! hanging out in Golden for the night. Now it’s just a matter of days.
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Derek when will you get close to the Lower Mainland?
Comment by Uncle Tim September 15, 2009 @ 10:31 pmWould love to have you stop by. We still haven’t finished the Tequilla from Mexico (Same bottle as you had). If I know when you will be here I will make sure there is some White Russians available.
Congratulations on nearly completeing this leg of your Great Life Adventure.
Hey Uncle Tim,
Thanks!
Comment by bicyclebeek September 17, 2009 @ 3:35 amI’m in Vernon now, and I’ll be spending a few days here. I’ll be stopping to see the grandparents as well. If I were to make a guess I’d say I’ll be stopping by in one week. Lookin’ forward to seeing you again soon
wow, didn’t realize it’s that cold up there already. Safe travels, and keep in touch.
Comment by rob September 17, 2009 @ 2:49 amThanks Rob,
Yeah it’s getting cold. The worst of it’s over now, I was riding at about 7000 feet of elevation, but I’m slowly descending to the coast now. One of my Power Grips snapped today, I thought those things were invincible, but I guess they couldn’t handle the pressure.
Comment by bicyclebeek September 17, 2009 @ 3:40 amHow’s the east coast livin’?
never heard of a powergrip snapping. at least it waited to the end. I did a 3 day tour up in the catskill mountains, it was a lot of fun. Going to a swap meet in oct. I’ve been having fun tackling the traffic of the east coast. I got someone else into bicycle touring. He is going to do his first overnight next spring. I wonder how those two kids we met did? Did your brother leave Mexico yet? So how do you plan to celebrate the finish of your big tour? talk to you later.
Comment by rob September 17, 2009 @ 11:30 pmHey derek! At long last your back in bc! Can’t wait to see ya, hope you’re ready to celebrate!
Comment by Scott t September 19, 2009 @ 6:38 amHi Derek, welcome back to, as the bc car plates say ,”the Best Place On Earth”.Enjoy the rest of the ride and if you need a few nights lodging let us know.It is not near the railway!!SAfe travels and see you soon.
Comment by Uncle ray auntie bee September 21, 2009 @ 4:12 pmWay to go, Derek! What an adventure. The prairies seemed like it was boring compared to some areas you travelled. How does B.C. look to you now that you have been away for so long?
Comment by Chris Gytenbeek September 23, 2009 @ 4:01 pmHi Derek good going I knew you could do it did you stop and see dave in Edmonton thinking of you all the best Tony
Comment by Tony Roach September 23, 2009 @ 10:36 pm