The day off work and a beautiful summer morning I woke up early with anticipation and pack the KLR.
KLR packed and ready to kit the road
My plan was to stop by my Oma’s (grandma) house for breakfast and to say bye. She spends all summer working in her beautiful yard and thought I should surprise her with a visit. She passed away a few years later and I’m glad I took the opportunities like this day to spend some time with her. Life is busy, but family and friends are truly what is most important, followed by experiences and lastly by the material items we collect along the way.
Oma and her flowers
The day was early and I was feeling great. Most of my friends were sitting in their offices at work and I was glad to be hitting the road early. I met up with Ryan and we fueled up our bikes with gas and bellies with more Coffee at Tim’s. Unlike myself, who shaved his head prior to departure, Ry decided to go with the afro for the trip. To my amazement his head squeezed into his lid, yet left what I referred to as the ‘rats tail’ flapping out the back.
Our first destination was Waterton Park in southern Alberta which connects to Glacier Park in Montana. Ive always seen pictures of the hotel and although I’ve lived most my life a short drive away, had never been there before. We met a German couple out at the lake who was excited to hear about our planned destination. It gave us motivation to pack up and hit the road.
Waterton
View out of the hotel
Our first border crossing was into Montana from Alberta through the US crossing. The border guards were surprisingly pleasant (both sides can be intentionally rude at times).
Our first border crossing
On the US side of Waterton was Glacier National Park, truly one the most visually spectacular places on earth. The road was twisty along the side of a mountain, but was packed with traffic and made for a scenic yet slow ride.
Stunning Road to the Sun
I really love Montana, its littered with quaint towns and cafes. By the time we got in it was late and we started looking for a place to stay for the night.
This year was bad for forest fires and the air was thick with smoke. You could see flames on both sides of the highways and see as the crown of pine trees caught ablaze. We stopped for a quick picture and had a fire crew pull up in a truck and absolutely tear a strip off us with their airhorn. As I thought about it, they were trying to snuff the fire and save lives and properties, and we were gawking and taking pictures. We quickly pack up and sheepishly drove off.
Forrest Fires
We arrive into Kalispell late and exhausted. My ass and back ache from riding all day and I’m totally burnt out. I start to feel disillusioned about being able to physically ride a dualsport bike all the way down to Mexico. My mind starts to make alternative arrangements, maybe we just head down to Vegas and call it quits. I cant image climbing back on my bike another day, let alone another 3 weeks.