Burning rubber in Canada - Part -3 , Revelstoke to Canmore

Hi There

     I woke up early,only to feel, as if one is in dream land ,it was cold and misty.I decided to go for a walk around the town,and behold I got treated to a stunning view. Revelstoke is a small town,in British Columbia.The town itself is very beautiful it has all the amenities,there is a beautiful walking trail around the river front which almost circumvents the town.As it was early morning I hardly met any walker but did see plenty of birds and small animals.

     After breakfast it was move again ,today's halt was in Canmore in Banff National park at the base of Canadian Rockies. Before this we decided to visit  the beautiful Revelstoke mountain park.

     After reaching the park entrance the volunteers told us about the fee and suggested that we go for a one year pass. Accordingly one year pass was brought for the whole family,which over the time was correct decision as it saved a lot of money.The park is very well laid out ,having all the amenities without any disturbance to the natural beauty.There was free shuttle from parking lot to top of the Revelstoke mountain as well as a hiking trail.

     We decided to hike the small distance of 2 kms to the top. Deepak being a pro hiker was leading. The route of the hike was well maintained and even had benches along to rest,the whole route was photographic.

Stunning misty morning in Revelstoke

Revelstoke park entrance

Well maintained trail to top of the mountain

          The top of the mountain had a beautiful view of the town of Revelstoke,there were other small trails on the top too .Also there were warning signs of the bear ,since a bear had visited the area a day prior.However there were a large number of tourist and park rangers  assured everyone there will be no danger from the bear.

Revelstoke town from top

Malhar and me

    Surprisingly there was still snow on the top of the mountain in spite of summer months .It was a great play ground for both Malhar and Shunak ,however Netrali had a tough time  to forcing them out of the snow.One of the trail walk we did was to visit the Fire house, it is more than century old and still being used.

Shaunak and Malhar

Fire house on the mountain

Articles used by park wardens

Park warden

Surrounding mountains seen from the top

      It was time to move ahead to our next stop the Emerald lake.As we were cruising suddenly Deepak stopped the vehicle and turned around,we kept on asking what happened ,he just told us to keep quite ,after about 600 mt we saw his reason of coming back on the road,there was a small cub of black bear walking leisurely  crossing the road and vanished in the woods.It was our first bear sitting and we  were  thrilled.

      After having lunch at Tim Hortans which was awful ,we reached Emerald Lake in Yoho national park. I cant tell you much one  has to visit it to believe it ,the water actually looks like emerald,it is so  beautiful . Again the area is very well kept and has all the facilities. After photoshoot we decided to take the 5 km trail around the lake . Even though it was   0530h in the evening but it was still bright . As we walked we were treated to magnificent image of the lake from all angles it was fun to walk as it started drizzling and the trail became muddy , it was very  refreshing walk.

Emerald Lake

Emerald lake

Emerald Water

Lake from the farthest side

      By the time we finished our visit to Emerald lake it was well past 0730 , almost every one was sleepy and tired , however Deepak suggested that we see this small historical bridge which was on our way to Canmore . Netrali and kids slept while me and Deepak  went to see  the bridge . It was actually a natural bridge used by the original people ,with new roads coming up it is no longer used but now converted into tourist attraction.

Deepak trying a selfie

The natural path to the bridge

The stone bridge

Water gushing under the bridge

     The next halt was the beautiful lake Louise located in the  Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies . It is  known for its turquoise, glacier-fed lake ringed by high peaks. Hiking trails wind up to the Lake Agnes Tea House for bird's eye view . It was pretty late in the evening but due to bright light this place had a lot of tourist,in fact the parking was full at the first parking lot and we had to park in second parking lot.

    The sight of the lake is so mesmerizing that we sat down and forgot about our tiredness , however pangs of hunger woke us out of the state . It was time to  head for our hotel in Canmore. 

Lake Louise

Turquoise water of Lake Louise 

        We had a dinner in an Indian restaurant being run by a young couple from Mumbai. After reaching our hotel we decided to call it a day .

Ride Safe Firm Saddle

Burning rubber in Canada - Part - 2 ,Vancouver to Revelstoke

Hi There

     It was a bright day full of excitement for all of us ,we rushed through a hearty breakfast .After loading up it was time to get on the road!!The first step was to go to the rental agency located at Vancouver airport to endorse me as additional driver, and also Deepak wanted to exchange our present car with ford explorer.It was a very easy drive with help of GPS
 as places were conveniently marked  on the road,speaks very high of Canadian highway dept.

    We reached the dealership ,he took my drivers licenses went through it and Viola!!! I was added as extra driver on the car.There after he told us that if we want to change the car than firstly we have to wait for 2 days and than shell out extra few hundred dollars.We discussed amongs't ourselves  and upon Netrali's suggestion decided to continue to use the Vehicle,which in days to come was going to be the best decision.

   

                                  Our home for next 12750kms

      We immediately proceeded for our next destination ,it was already noon by the time we hit the road. The drive was wonderful ,with lovely weather .As we went away from the city the landscape drastically changed and many times I felt is it real,or a fairy tale? it was so beautiful.Few of the road snaps are as under,

      By the time we thought about halting for some snacks it was well past lunch time and we had just covered the half distance.On insisting of Shaunak and Malhar we decided to grab a bite at the Macd.

      The staff and service of the Macd was superb even though it was located in a very small place and the best part was  the burger,it tasted superb it had locally sourced fresh veggies and surprisingly,they understood what veggie burger is ,otherwise in days to come I had tough time explaining what veggie burger I want either I got it or flatly refused .

Netrali,Malhar,Deepak and Shaunak

First row me and Deepak.Second row Netrali,Shaunak and Malhar.

    Our next stop was at the rest stop along the highway.The rest stop along the Canadian highways at places are superb  and very clean ,they will beat a good hotel washroom too.Hats off to govt of Canada, for these rest stops, many of them located in isolated places are maintained so well.
 Below all images clicked when we halted at a rest stop.

   After a long drive we finally reached our hotel for the night .It was a nice motel ,after taking some rest it was time to explore the town of Revelstoke and also to have dinner.

   By the time we entered the down town it was pretty late and most of the shops were closing down,however it was still bright outside.Luckily we found an excellent Indian restaurant,it was a kind of fusion place with Indo-Canadian menu.The best part was we found Chai, me and Netrali were super exited we both were Chai persons.

Motel in Revelstoke

 History connected with city of Revelstoke

 Down town Revelstoke

Paramjit's Kitchen in downtown Revelstoke

Paramjit's Kitchen in downtown Revelstoke

Town square 

Beautiful town center

      After reaching the motel we discussed the plan for the next day ,by this time I was feeling very sleepy as also jetlag was getting on to me so I called it a day.

Ride safe firm saddle

Burning rubber in Canada - Part I

Hi There

   It has been a long time in fact almost 8 months that I have blogged ,the main reason is due to change in job and location,this  restricted my time on Thunderbird.

   Before I rode Route 66 ,I had thought about doing a trans Canada ride starting from Toronto to Dawson city,however I was not able to find a single firm which could lend me a motorcycle for such a long ride.After sometime I shelved the idea and told myself that I will one day do a ride in Canada.In the mean time Route 66 happened and it opened my eyes to the wonderful world of motorcycling  in North America.

   So this year again I started my search for a motorcycle to ride in Canada, but I changed my start point from Vancouver to Dawson city. Eagle rider were very prompt in response and offered me a motorcycle at very good rate .I was almost going to put the booking amount and behold!!!Canadian visa got delayed in fact it got so delayed that I thought I would not be able to ride this summer and will ride next season.Finally I send a regret note to eagle rider ,and after few days I got a email from the embassy that you have got the visa please send passport for stamping!! I  was very happy, on cloud nine and within 15 days I got my passport back duly stamped .

   However  I had not booked a motorcycle and was contemplating how to go about the tour .In the meantime I spoke to  Deepak and Netrali they were also planning a tour of Canada and we  decided to do the journey in an SUV.This will not only allow us to travel and stop as we want but could at times act as a home too in case we got stuck in some eventualities.

   I had already planned the route and shared with them ,we were to  start from Vancouver go to Banff-Jasper  than to Whitehorse and lastly to Dawson city and back to Vancouver via Liard hot spring.

   My journey started from Mumbai International Airport in Cathay Pacific to Vancouver with change of flight in Hong Kong.

 Beautiful Mumbai International Airport

 Beautiful Mumbai International Airport

My Cathy flight to Hong Kong

Transfer area in Hong Kong Airport

Mini India on Vancouver flight

   I landed in Vancouver on 09 July 19. The weather was lovely and it was good airport.The immigration process was smooth but had a long line .Once out of baggage area ,I faced with my first problem to reach the hotel. Deepak had chosen the hotel in such a way that it had a free pickup from the airport.After collecting my baggage I straight away went to information center which was manned by two Indian origin ladies not just they were  helpful but infact they came out and showed me the place were hotel shuttle will arrive.

   I tried to contact the hotel via wifi but was not able to do so ,in meantime I asked another hotel shuttle driver about my hotel shuttle ,he told me it will come in next 20mins ,however I waited for almost one hour with no shuttle I decided to walk back to the information center and ask for there help.

   I explained my plight to both the ladies they promptly contacted the hotel and assured that shuttle will come in 20 mins .I again walked out and got the shuttle in 20 mins,upon reaching the hotel ,the reception was very apologetic regarding delay in shuttle .

  

Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver International Airport

   After  completed my check in formalities I crashed in and woke up after about 5 hours of sleep. Went outside to explore nearby areas as well as a Walmart.

\

Lovely weather 

Live crabs for sale in Walmart

Live fish for sale 

     I came back only to meet  Deepak,Netrali and wonderful kids-Shaunak and Malhar. They were super exited to meet me. I pinched myself that my dream is coming true of  going to Dawson city.

First Hotel in Vancouver

    After a dinner of pizza I again went to sleep super exited, for the adventure began's tomorrow.

     Ride Safe Firm Saddle.