Yellowstone Ride - Day 1 - Maple Ridge to Penticton. - 360 km

Dale, outside of Princeton, makes a questionable decision...

Time to dust off the blog....

So after I had the 20, 000 service on my BMW C600 as well as new tires and new brake pads (all in, more than $2000!), I was ready for a new challenge. My friend, Dale, and I decided to head out to Yellowstone National Park in the US.

Trip Overview

The scooter was sounding and performing well after throwing all that money at it. We had booked our motels in advance and picked out a probable route. My top case was stuffed with clothes and under my seat were things like my rain gear, tools, and other riding essentials.

I met up with Dale at 8:15am and we headed out on the quieter number 7 highway. It was a hot ride but very enjoyable in terms of scenery. We've done this part a few times before so there weren't any real surprises waiting for us.

Maple Ridge to Penticton - Route 7, 3, 97

At Hope, we got on Highway 3, the Hope-Princeton, and made our way past Manning Park and Doug's Homestead (home of amazing beef jerky and pepperoni). We continued on, finally heading south on Highway 97 and rolled into Penticton in time for dinner.

It was on the Hope-Princeton that Dale made his first questionable decision of the trip. The temperature was well into the 30's - over 100° in the old Fahrenheit scale - and he decided to ride al fresco... well, maybe not quite, but certainly in his t-shirt.

And, I have to admit, after feeling extremely soggy and a bit punchy in the heat, I joined him.

We arrived in Penticton in time for dinner with Dale's mother-in-law (aka Granny).

La Frenz vineyard

First we had an excellent wine tasting at La Frenz winery in Penticton. Instead of the usual stand up at the bar style which is prevalent in most other wineries, we got to sit at a table, like we were going to a wine bar. This was a very comfortable way to try wines! We then went to Hillside for a tasting and despite having to stand up at the bar, we all really enjoyed their wines and each bought a bottle!

Wonderful food at the Hooded Merganser

After that we went to the Hooded Merganser for dinner - one of Penticton's fancier eating venues.  There was a bit of confusion over our table and we were finally seated outside with a beautiful view of the lake. I had the Arctic char which was an absolutely amazing meal. The timing of our meal was French style - unhurried - which I liked but we did feel, at times. that the server had forgotten we existed. View - A, Food - A, Service - C.

Tasty Penticton wines!

Appetite satiated and enough wine in my system, we headed back to Granny's and, after chatting a couple hours, headed to bed, anticipating new adventures the next day.

Rolllin’ Along

It’s that busy time of year. The students at school are working pretty hard, report cards are looming ahead so there’s lots of assessment and projects to mark, and the home front is pretty busy as number one daughter readies herself for graduation from high school and university next year.

Another thing I’ve been involved with is called Humanoes for Hope. It’s a project that our school district is getting involved in which brings wells , food, schools etc. to Malawi. My part has been to make the video for the project. Every spare moment that the computer is free, I’m busy burning DVDs - I’ll need a couple hundred before next month.

Anyway, I’ve been busy doing all these school related things that I haven’t really had or made time for long scooter rides during the past month. The weather’s been variable - some snowy or icy days and other days where the sun actually makes an all-to-brief appearance.

But I have been riding a lot. Most days to school or to Vancouver or to New Westminster - just not anywhere particularly new and exciting.

I haven’t bothered to take a camera lately but I am still enjoying the ride. Sometimes I underestimate and get a bit chilled or overestimate and end up stuffing my pet carrier with sweaters. But I still get that fresh feeling of excitement every time I hop on the scooter, whether it’s the hour long trek in Vancouver or the ten minute ride to school. It’s all good.

As the weather continues to warm and the load from school continues to lessen, I look forward to spending a day here and there just cruising. Until then, though, I will rollin’ along, with a smile on my face.