Small Thoughts: Day 2 - Lethbridge, Alberta

Day 2 started off very nicely. The rain stopped overnight and I was able to walk around a little while I waited for the only breakfast place in town to open. I successfully positioned all of my wet clothing near the heater and it was ready to go. I was the only person at the restaurant that early in the morning until a group of motorcycle riders came in to eat. We were able to chat some and I found out that they were out riding off-road trails and lived in Calgary. After talking to them a while, I learned the first important fact of the day:

- The Canadian police can confiscate your bike if they catch you exceeding the posted speed limit by more than 40 km/h! I don't generally speed, but it is not hard to hit 40 over if you are passing a slowpoke. Good to know.

Breakfast was good (blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs), and conversation with the owner was also good. With my belly filled up, off I went.

I decided to backtrack a few miles and cross the border into Washington to pick up a quick bonus picture. That is when I learned the second important lesson of the day:

- Many of the small border checkpoints do not open until 8 am. If you arrive at 7:30 am, expect to wait for 30 minutes. At least it wasn't raining!

I had very good success with border crossings today until my final return into Canada. I guess I somehow flagged their system, or possibly it was just a random inspection, but the last crossing stopped just short of a cavity search. They even had me remove my seats to check for contraband. Now I admit, after a full day of riding, my wild hair and smushed up face makes me look suspicious, and I wouldn't have been surprised to have the US agents do an inspection. But the Canucks? Really?

Highlights of this day of riding included Libby Dam in western Montana, the ride north into Canada and over the Crowsnest Pass, and a brief stop at what the Canadians claim is the world's biggest truck. I can't argue their claim, but my truck is pretty big, too :)

On my way back into Canada, I learned important lesson number 3 for the day:

- My tank has about a gallon left when the fuel light thingy comes on. That is about 45-ish miles. The nearest gas was close enough, thank goodness.

Finally, in the middle of nowhere outside Lethbridge, I encountered what I think the Canadians could fairly claim was the longest train in the world. I got to the crossing in time to see the locomotives go past, and then waited for almost 20 minutes to see the last car go by. And it was moving at a pretty decent clip, too.

After all that excitement, I arrived in Lethbridge uneventfully a little after 9, even after losing an hour due to a time-zone change that I had forgotten about. It was a very good day! Tomorrow I head south back into Montana and loop around Glacier National Park into Kalispell, MT.

Stats:

577 Miles Today, 1026 Miles Total