Motorcycle Trip 1989

Dates of Trip: Friday, July 7, 1989 - Friday, July 14, 1989                         Travelers: Ernie Lenertz and Richard Becker
Transportation: 1985 Honda Aspencade 1200 (Ernie's bike)                    1986 Yamha Venture Royale 1300 (Richard's bike)
Miles Traveled: 2,804                Averaged 42.9 MPG                                   Richard Spent $388 for trip

This trip Ernie and I packed our pistols in our backpacks. They weren't registered and we traveled into Canada. Today if this happened we'd still be in jail.

Our motorcycle trip began Friday, July 7, 1989, around 10 AM on a very sunny 70 degree morning from Minot, ND. The first stop was at Portal, ND, to cross into Canada. Put on gas before crossing, since gas is expensive in Canada. The temp. was around 96 when we arrived in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, at the RCMP headquarters. Stopped here for about an hour then headed North. Put gas in at Bethune, Saskatchewan, where it was 102 degrees. We camped that night at Watrous, Saskatchwan. Tents set up near the wash house and an eating place in walking distance from tents along shoe line. This ended Friday with 365 miles traveled.

Saturday, July 8, 1989 - Richard's air mattress gave out during the night, so will need to look for a new one today. Gassed up at North Battleford, SK, ate some fruit and headed on for Edmonton, SK.  So far this morning has been nice and sunny. Here we took a short cut, which ended up taking us on some gravel. Ernie says, "short cuts = gravel". About 2 hours East of Edmonton, SK, we decided to put on the rain gear and the farther down the road the harder it rained. By the time we got to Edmonton, SK, at 6 PM it was raining in sheets. Took the first motel and unpacked the wet gear. This ended the Saturday ride. It was 409 miles and now we're 774 miles from Minot, ND.

Sunday, July 9, 1989, we woke up early and found a sunny clear day. Packed up the dried out gear and headed for the Edmonton Mall. This is the largest Mall in the world. The Mall didn't open until noon, but you could walk around in it, so we spent about 2 hours just walking around inside. It has around 800 different  shops. Has a large swimming pool with 22 high riding water slides , full size ship, hockey rink, par 46, 18-hole golf course, world's largest indoor, triple-loop roller coaster, many zoo animals, a women's heaven. We went and had breakfast, then returned when it opened and bought an air mattress. Then we found Hwy. 16 and headed for Jasper, Alberta, Canada. Around Edson, Alberta,  we stopped and put on our rain gear, as rain was coming. Here someone told us they had gotten around 9 inches of rain since June, so everything was very green. Arrived at Jasper, Alberta, around 4 PM. Now it turned sunny. Took the hour drive up to Medicine River and on the way down we saw a Ram walking down the highway. This was a very pretty drive. Now for spper at Jasper, Alberta. Here we invited a biker Robert Behrens from Horicon, Wis., to eat with us. Bob told us he works for John Deere in Wis., just bought a new Honda 1500 and was on his way to Alaska. As we finished eating it started to rain. Invited Bob to camp with us. We headed for Whistlers campgrounds a few miles outside (South) of Jasper. Put our tents up in a hard rain. This ended our Sunday ride of 320 miles or 1,018 miles from Minot, ND.

Monday, July 10, 1989, found us up early. Rain had let up, so we showered, put

away the wet gear and back to Jasper, Alberta, for breakfast, wished Bob good luck. At the Columbia Icefields we stopped and talked with three fellows from England. Next stop was Lake Louise, Alberta. Again everything is so green and very pretty area. This is a tourist area, so everything is very costly. We spent about an hour here, then headed for Banff, Alberta.  Lunch at Banff, Al., gassed up and headed South. Bought some hot dogs, bread and spent the night at Radium Hot Springs. Here we cooked the hot dogs over a camp fire. No rain tonight, thank God. Here a six pack of beer costs $9.00, so we only bought one, ha, ha. Smokes are around $4.00 a pack. Glad we don't have the bad habit.  Our tents where pitched a few feet from a stream, so listened to this running during the night. Monday ended riding 283 miles or 1,377 miles now from Minot, ND. Gas was costing around 55 cents a liter.
 
Tuesday, July 11, 1989, started out a sunny day as we headed South. Breakfast at Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada. Stopped at Creston, BC, for some fruit. Then headed for Nelson, BC, for a free ferry ride. This ride on Hwy. 3A to Nelson, BC, was one of the prettiest rides we had ever taken. We would suggest this extra four hours for this ride.  Here we caught the ferry. We were the last ones to load our bikes for this trip. This was a nice ride on a still, sunny day. After the ride we took Hwy. 6 to 31A, then down to 31 and across the line to Porthill, Idaho. This is a very scenic bike ride. We spent the night camping at Bonners Ferry. We drove 455 miles this Tuesday and are now 1,832 miles from Minot, ND.
 
Wednesday, July 12, 1989, found us up at the crack of dawn to sun and no rain. Road construction from Troy, Montana, to Libby, Mt., so we'll take #95 to #200 over to Thompson Falls, Mt. Another lovely ride. Now at Kalispell, Mt. Here we both purchased a new pair of riding gloves. Had supper and then found a campgrounds near entrance to West Glacier. Guess what woke us up during the night? Yes, rain. Ernie was up gathering things during the rain. Wednesday ended driving 268 miles or 2,100 miles from Minot, ND.
 
We slept in Thursday, July 13, 1989, until 8 hoping the rain would go away. But it didn't, so up and showering, putting wet gear away again. Now only misting as we went up West Glacier headed for the top and Logan Pass. By the time we got to the top it was really raining, foggy and low clouds. Temp. is now 48, so we warmed up at the information center and headed down the East side. Was really raining hard, so windshield and glasses are all fogged over making it very hard to see where we are riding. Arrived at St. Marys Lake, Mt. safe for lunch. Didn't even see a bird during this Glacier drive. Suppose to be bear, etc. in this area. Ate at St. Mary's Lake while it continues to rain hard. Drove in the rain to Havre, Mt. We spent the night in a motel here in Havre, MT. The hot shower really felt good. Had pizza at Pizza Hut nearby. Thursday ended up riding 246 miles or 2,346 miles from home base Minot, ND.
 
Friday, July 14, 1989, saw us up early in our rain gear heading out. Ate breakfast in Malta, MT, where we meet two school teachers from Middletown, Pa., and Oil City, Pa. They had been to Alaska and were on their bikes heading home. Made sandwiches at Wolf Point, MT. Took off some rain gear, as the rain seems to be letting up. At Williston, ND, the sun came out, so we shed the rain gear and the long sleeve shirts. Arrived home at around 6 PM, Friday, July 14, 1989. The ride was safe, but a lot of cool rainy riding. The bikes never missed a beat. Looking forward to another trip next year without all the rain.