Washington Trip - Day 2

After a tiring day yesterday, today started with both Leona and I waking from a long a very restful sleep. We started the day with a relaxing coffee and breakfast, only hitting the road a little before 10. Starting in Hinton was worth a little extra riding last night, we were in the scenery right away. 

I've said it before, but the ride from Hinton to Jasper is as good as any ride I've taken. We took the road up to the Miette Hot Springs for a trip down memory lane (for me anyway). It's a great little ride, lots of curves and great scenery. The beauty of the mountains never ceases to amaze me, rugged yet so intricate at the same time. 

Once we got to Jasper we decided to spend some time walking around and having a snack. It was fun to be a tourist for a while. It was almost 1pm by the time we departed Jasper, with more riding to do than expected. We pulled off for a short stop to take a break and enjoy a stunning view of Mount Robson. 

The temperature kept climbing throughout the morning and afternoon, reaching almost 30 Celsius by Valemont. The ride down highway 5 is more beautiful than I remembered, probably because I've never done it before on a bike. 

About a half hour north of Kamloops we turned east off highway 5, which was supposed to be a shortcut to the Salmon Arm area. After around 30km the pavement ended and the road turned to gravel. After some debate, I decided to turn around, not sure how the road would be. Once we got back to highway 5 we had another 150km to go for the day. The temperature was 95F in Kamloops, hot enough to to fry an egg on our wind burnt faces. 

It was a little after 8pm when we finally arrived at Eric and Marilyn's place, where we are spending the night. She fed us a great supper, and pie for dessert. Thanks for a great visit and the hospitality, it felt so much like home to hang out and relax with you!

Tomorrow it's south, to even warmer weather, and more friends!

Cabins we stayed in back in the day, on family vacations, good times

Kinda fun to not be riding alone this year, love you babe

Walking around Jasper, such a pretty town

Drive by photo of Yellowhead mountain

The color of the lake is so surreal

Mount Robson, highest peak in the Canadian Rockies

Cruising down highway 5 in BC

The pic kind of conveys how warm it was, around 95F here

Reminds me a little of Utah, just east of Kamloops

Again just east of Kamloops, still reminds me of Utah