Today’s trip had a special surprise – the ferry! As I mentioned yesterday, some of the lakes in this region can be so long and deep that it’s easier to run a ferry across the lake rather than build a bridge or take the time to drive around the entire body of water. My route was on the Balfour – Crawford Bay ferry crossing Kootenay Lake. I either had to be on the boat at 8:15 AM or 9:50 AM. I continually strive to get on the road “earlier,” so I figured the 8:15 AM ferry was a good forcing function to get me going early.

I’m also learning to be more efficient with packing and unpacking. Rather than bringing everything in every night, the smaller side of the bike contains everything that I need each night. The larger side case on the left of the bike has all of my clothes. Now, I wrap a a day’s clothes consisting of a T-shirt, pants, underwear, and socks into a bundle so that I can just grab one bundle out of the left-hand side and leave everything else in the side case. I’m bringing less stuff into the hotel, making check-in and check-out a much more efficient process, which is really working for me on this trip. I was on the road by 7:45 AM – skipping breakfast, but I figured I’d get food on the other side of the lake.

We all lined up for the ferry, and the harbormaster loaded us on line by line. While this ferry isn’t particularly busy, it’s nice to know that if you have a motorcycle, you can almost always get on, as they can fit a bike “somewhere.” I struck up a conversation with the rider next to me on the KTM. I’d venture to say he’s 10 years my senior, local to Creston, and out for a day ride. Once he learned of my plans, he laughed and said he would be at my lunch destination hours before me. Since I was on pavement, I had to go significantly farther south to get to the other side of the mountain range and then come all the way back up on the other side of the mountain. Mike was taking a more direct route, going over the pass on a dirt road in a straight-ish line. This area reminds me of my time in Colorado, where dirt roads remained supreme for reaching so many places in the backcountry where paved infrastructure was less developed.

Mike could see the tourist in me, and he was clearly a local willing to share information about where he hangs his hat. We talked about the ferry, and he let me know I didn’t need to specially secure my bike, as the water wasn’t rough. We both noticed the smoke rolling in from Washington on the right-hand side of the boat. The smoke hadn’t penetrated much beyond where the boat traveled, as the left side had fairly clear skies. I was glad the smoke had remained hit and miss. The scenery was too beautiful to be clouded in smoke all of time. He suggested we get breakfast at one of his favorite places for a breakfast sandwich in Crawford Bay. Of course, I didn’t have any objection and often love this kind of local knowledge. I had to laugh at the safety boat with its saddle-style seat – it wants to be a motorcycle for the water.

When Mike suggested Red’s Bakery for breakfast, I was a little suspect. The bakery is set inside a campground that looks something out of Yogi Bear’s campground in Jellystone. It definitely had the camping and summer vibes, with tents and cabins all around. As to the bakery, Don’t get me wrong; I generally enjoy a good solid protein meal, as it helps keep my levels better balanced, especially since glucose management is particularly challenging right after breakfast. Doughnuts, pastries, and breads are never good for me, requiring a massive amount of insulin and a very uncertain glucose-managed morning. When I explored the menu, I found the solid breakfast sandwich that Mike was talking about – with a host of protein options that would make even the most finicky Type I Diabetic happy. It had cheese, ham, and bacon in multiple quantities for the customer’s delight. Plus, it’s a bakery, so any diabetic drama caused by the bread will be well worth the sacrifice.

When I bit into this breakfast sandwich, it felt like it was the best breakfast sandwich in all of British Columbia. Maybe it was three days on the road. Maybe I was just hungry for skipping breakfast at the Hot Springs. Maybe it was just that good. Mike seemed to think so, so I’m going to go with that. If you are in the southeast corner of British Columbia, go see Red and buy his or her breakfast sandwich.

Today’s treat was to ride DH1 – the best piece of asphalt in British Columbia, according to the author of Destination Highways. I was curious to follow this piece of beautiful asphalt around Kootenay Lake down to the town of Creston. R has a few colleagues in Creston that I’ve heard about for a number of years, and I wanted to explore the place to learn a bit more about this part of the province. I found a decidedly agrigultural town back in the smoke. Highway 3A didn’t wander through the best part of town so I decided to keep moving. I’d wished I’d spent more time there, but alas, hours are fixed and kilometers are fluid. I can’t see everything, so Creston will be a place to see on a trip down the road.

Reporting back, honestly, I was quite disappointed riding British Columbia Highway 3A. The scenery is outstanding. Kootenay Lake and the surrounding mountains are beautiful. The pavement was pristine. The traffic was nonexistent, which was awesome for a summer day. The speed limit is a draconian 60 km/h. That’s about 35 miles an hour for those of us in the States. It appeared that nobody on this road actually went 60 km/h, but the threat of a very painful ticket still nonetheless remains. I don’t want to commit an outlandish crime as a guest in Canada!

The other part I’m learning about British Columbia road design is that all vehicles have to use the roads: cars, motorcycles, RVs, and transport trucks. Roads tend to be straighter than they are in Northern California, leading to a less athletic motorcycling experience. I’m sure there are some great roads in the area, but with the distances I’m covering, I’ve got to generally stick to larger corridors with the time that I have. Since there is often only one road, it’s usually more sedate from the twistiness perspective.

At this point in the trip, I’m also tracking my distance east. In the States, federal highways start with US 1 in the East and make their way to US 101 in the West. British Columbia picks up that numbering. I’ve seen 99, 97, and now I’m reaching 95. It’s a small milestone in the journey, but it marks progress in my travels around the province.

Highway 95 drops me into Cranbrook, which is right on time for lunch. When I rolled into town, I instantly fell in love. The parks were clean. Flower baskets adorned city corners. A farmer’s market was going on right in the center of town. I walked up and down the strip, looking at all of the different offerings from local farmers. The beef jerky guy was an instant hit (but I didn’t account for the fact that his jerky needed to be refrigerated, oops!). I also stopped by the cherry stand to pick up some British Columbia cherries, which do have a much more focused taste than their California counterparts. Since I had the market right at closing, the cherry farmers were looking for me to take just about anything, and I kept apologizing that I could only take two bags of berries for nine dollars and not three, as I didn’t have any room. They kept trying to throw in things for free, and I kept turning them down. In the end, we both laughed at the irony of the situation.

I lucked out at The Heidout for lunch. The Heidout is Cranbrook’s local brewpub serving awesome food and Coke Zero beer. I ran into a couple who quickly picked up on my out-of-country plates, and we had a fantastic conversation about my trip, life in the town of Cranbrook, and the joys and challenges of being neighbors. Most Canadians feel the pressure from the American administration in some form or fashion. Whether it’s been a change in employment, a real threat to their national sovereignty, or just not liking American politics – there is a guarding here that didn’t exist a year ago, and in many ways, it makes me sad. Our relationship with our best friend is not well, and with each interaction, I tried to make it clear that this American supports Canada, as a strong relationship makes us both stronger. America needs a healthy and sovereign Canada.

As 95 merged into 93, the boldness in the Kootenay Mountains really came to the forefront. Jagged, rocky peaks were on full display, which is one of the geologic features I wanted to see on the ride. The giant yellow wildlife signs definitely keep this rider on his toes. Good on the ministry of transportation to keep motorcyclists honest and hopefully animals alive.

A little further north is Columbia Lake – a beautiful body of water which is actually the headwaters of the Columbia River that flows through Washington and Oregon down in the States. Cranbrook made an appearance on the trashcan, which made me laugh. I used it as an opportunity to test my camera’s aperture and depth of field. In the first photograph, the aperture is wide open at f/4. While not fully in focus, narrowing the aperture down to f/22 made the motorcycle significantly clearer than it was in the first photograph. Aperture is the part of photography I’m the least confident in – especially as it relates to depth of field and what is in focus at any given aperture. Every photographer keeps telling me it’s just seat time – but this one is crazy ephemeral for me.

As the day was winding down, I rolled into Invermere – my destination for the night. Since this trip, in some ways, was last-minute, I didn’t have help booking lodging like I did in New Zealand, and I wasn’t confident I’d be able to find things the day of, given the summer travel season. I lucked out and found a ski lodge with integrated Hot Springs. Score! I also had to laugh with the design team at the toilet choice in the bathroom. I know we use the term porcelain throne, but I’ve never actually seen a toilet that looks like a porcelain throne. Kudos to the design team for that choice! Now it’s time to take my gear off and head off to the hot springs!

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