Not another Brit touring the Colonies.

At the other end of the bridge, is this small fort. I believe there's another one on the Astoria side and they were manned in the war to protect the river from Japanese attack.



On the hill above Astoria, you get some big views. There's a tiny dot, way in the distance, which is one of the houses that Brian's built. He works with his Brother and another chap, and they practically build the whole house themselves. A typical large, one story house in the US takes them around seven months.



Trying to get arty with this photography lark, but i only got the camera a short while before the trip.



Big, evening scenery



There's a tower on top which has been fully restored. Brian did mention what it was all about, but i've not remembered. It's a long and windy spiral staircase to the top, but well worth it for the view.

 
So the big trip really begins and we've got to rack some miles up now., so photo's and blogging may take a while. I had a loop of Mt St Helens sorted, but The Windy Ridge Viewpoint was closed, so we had to make the best of it and I came up with a couple of shots.



Here's one not spoilt by us being in it.



Glen, in Roy, had recommended stopping at this spot for lunch.



The best we could get from the lower section of Windy Ridge.



and back onto the road North



We're somewhere, but I can't remember where I took this one.



Glen Comeaux. Top Cajun y'all. We were his first tent spacers, hopefully we won't be his last. We went out for a bite at his local Italian, which was very nice indeed. We then got all the maps out and he showed us a few routes to do on the way up. Now the trip's really coming together.

 
So the big trip really begins and we've got to rack some miles up now., so photo's and blogging may take a while. I had a loop of Mt St Helens sorted, but The Windy Ridge Viewpoint was closed, so we had to make the best of it and I came up with a couple of shots.



Here's one not spoilt by us being in it.



Glen, in Roy, had recommended stopping at this spot for lunch.



The best we could get from the lower section of Windy Ridge.



and back onto the road North



We're somewhere, but I can't remember where I took this one.



Glen Comeaux. Top Cajun y'all. We were his first tent spacers, hopefully we won't be his last. We went out for a bite at his local Italian, which was very nice indeed. We then got all the maps out and he showed us a few routes to do on the way up. Now the trip's really coming together.

 
Looks a great trip Rich, have a good ride, the 1150 still looking good .,,,not jealous!
 
Almost a month and my first cloudy day. We're heading up to Ferndale, up the coast West of Seattle, to avoid the traffic craziness...



and found this place for a spot of lunch.



Really nice inside and they smoke/cure a lot of their own meats.



Complete with friendly owners.



A grey ride up to the Port Townsend ferry ensued, so not a lot of photos today, then on to our first boat trip. Which won't be our last.



Over this bridge at Deception Pass, with a grand view. We did stop and I took some pictures with the other camera, but not had chance to sort them yet. The road's been taking up a fair chunk of time.



Did a selfe outside this restaurant which, as the name suggests, is right next to the railroad.



and then onto our stay with Dave and Leah at their Blueberry Fram. They've got a passion for the farm and their biking, so were full of helpful hints and advice on where to go on our route.



Where we saw this strange contarption at work...



picking the blueberries.



This one then sifts/sorts them. You can programme it to filter out colours, sizes and densities, all by shooting air jets at the stuff you don't want. It processes the berries by an astronomical amount every hour, so it's all clever stuff.



Dave had some berries in their kitchen and I asked if he'd bought them from the local supermarket, which did make him smile.

 
Apologies for the double post, wifi's been sketchy, so wasn't sure if it had gone through or not.

Anyhow...

On the way to the Blueberry Farm, I also took a few photo's with my other camera, so here they are. Still gloomy at Port Townsend.



This older rig was parked up at the ferry terminal. We got chatting to the driver who said he had around 3 million km on it, but he may have been bragging. What he didn't brag about was the fuel, at 6 mpg and the ferry bill of $650. How anyone's making money on anything with those kind of delivery costs is beyond me.



Our ferry appeareth.



Which took us to the bridge over Deception Pass.



Quite a piece of engineering. You really have to be there to see how high the thing is!



And it gives you some magnificent views



and zoomed in a bit.



Mark got chatting to some locals from the nearby airforce base.



After riding miles, we kept seeing this big bugger, which never seemed to get any bigger or smaller from our perspective.



But it did get us to our next ferry, which was going to take us to Vancouver Island. With Mark and I meeting up earlier than expected, as well as major problems with wild fires in BC, we decided to add this extra loop onto our trip.



Ports are technical marvels of engineering.



But once away, the natural scenery takes over.



Top ferry trip through the Islands.



Which most people seemed to be enjoying out on deck.



Even this chap. I really must remember to add the flash when shooting shady characters. ;-)

 
Back with the little snappy and getting up to date again.
Once back on the mainland, the sunshine returned and we had to get through Canadian Customs for our Victoria Ferry Crossing.



Which looked a little like this and some of the previous photos on my big camera.



Which got us into Victoria, where the lovely Jim and Brenda had offered to put us up at very short notice. A comfy bed each, a top piece of BBQing from Jim and some beer, saw the evening off a treat. We had a steadyish start the next day and Jim had kindly recommended a few routes and things to do, which we were looking forward to.

 
Given Jims advice on some off road routes, we decided to ride up to Comox and get the next ferry over to the mainland again. The man feature of this route are the ferry trips across superb scenery.
On arrival in Courtenay, we spotted this nice spot for lunch.



A few others' were also enjoying the courtyard.



Following lunch, we headed up into the ski areas and found a little warm up gravel track for Mark.



Which had a nice view.



Then we rode back down and had just enough time to head into The Black Fin for a spot of dinner before the last ferry came in.



and were duly served by this lovely lass.Food was superb and it's the No1 eatery in Comox.



The Black Fin overlooks the harbour, so we headed down down for a couple of photo's



Comox is a rather smart place.



Where we also spotted this old fella, looking absoulutely mint.



and we sailed off into the sunset for a night in Kent's Campground.

 
In the morning we were going to have a relaxed start, but then I found out the only two ferries that morning, were 0925 and 1145. I infomed Mark, who'd only just started packing at 0850 and we went for a quick pack to see if we could make the earlier ferry.
See the chap on the left? I spoke to him at the check in office and i'll be mentioning him later.



The check in officer said we had three minutes to pay, so I kept him talking for around 6, then Mark appeared and we, literally, just made it onto the ferry, which turned out to be a good omen.



The ferries that run along the coast, North of Vancouver, are a msut do.



Lovely.



Big mountains, big water



Whilst I was taking photo's, Mark found the chap I had spoken to at the office. He's an ex Brit, now living in North Vancouver, named Adam Christian.



This was going to be the start of am impromptu day.

 
So, this Adam chap, who we didn't know from Adam (pardon the pun) convnce us to go for a 'little' walk in the countryside



to look at the raging tidal rapids at Sechelt



where the sunshine had a fair few out enjoying the day.



But there's only so long you can enjoy surfing in one spot



Everyone was silently wishing for this poseur to fall in.



It was a 4km (not 400m as Adam sold it to us) walk, but was worth the views.



Adam's penalty for the lousy sales pitch of a short stroll, was to buy the beer!



Good ol' local knowledge.



The man redeems himself.



Our last ferry, back to the mainland again, where these hills seem to remind me of something. Can't think what though.

 
When were were down at the rapids, these fellow bikers also turned up and we had a chat with them.



We didn't see them the rest of the day, but then they turned up on the same last ferry as us, so we said hello again



and swap the photographer over.



and our final port of the day.

 
So, I forgot to mention, we ended up being invited to stay over at Adam's place, as his wife and kids were over on the Island for the weekend. We arrived at his place and cleaned up, then went into the local pub for a pint, and to meet one of Adam's friends, Andrew. Andrew recommended we go down the road for a bite to eat at Browns, which turned out to be a great idea, so we ate, drank and chatted the evening away, before calling it a night. Next morning, we were up and away early, on the road to Whsitler and beyond.



Not long though, and we stopped at this coffee house, as it had been recommended by a chap who came up and spoke to us in Canada Tire. We're glad he did, t was a great cup of coffee!



Then up to Whistler, which was oozing money and niceness.



Plenty of visitors.



and nice buildings.



Before leaving, we barged in fornt of this little sculpture and traded photo taking with some other tourists.



Mark's coffee soon worked it's way through.



and then we got to the start of the Highline Highway, which had been recommended to us by Glen and Jim. Before the start, you arrive at this rather run down reservation town. Have you noticed the hazy photo? It's the smoke from the wild fires way further up the road.



and the gravel begins...



as well as wooden bridges, which would likely be very slippery in the wet.



We passed this little pipe, but I was unsure if it was for water or oil.



then, shortly after, things went slightly uphill.



This was a glorious ride and Mark really enjoyed his introduction to big trail bike riding. The only shae was the smoke haze, as it took away so many panorama's.



Almost got his gravel feet now.



After reaching the top, the road then takes a long, steady, decent down the valley



and along the river



through the gorge



and back on to the tarmac. I'm sure the smoke's getting thicker.



We passed this garage workshop



which looked the business.



and arrived in Kamloops, where we met with our new buddy Greg LeFlufy. We went out for dinner, but most places were closed, though the local Chinese buffet soon sorted us out. It was a shame about the smoke haze, as you really couldn't see Kamloops.



Greg's also got a well used outfit, bought so he could take his dog, Juno, out for rides with him. Juno's rather spoilt, as he's got more pairs of doggles than most people have sunglasses! Note the Alpha Male has his other half in the bitch seat.

 
Blimey Rich, that air quality is awful. If it's any consolation, the smoke from the fires in BC is affecting the USA as far south as Oregon (Jorgé reported his visibility in Portland as 5nm).

On current showing, I'd stow my big camera and exclusively use the point & shoot - the picture and colour quality is far better...

Stay safe and keep posting... :thumb2
 
Leaving Kamloop's we headed Northwards again, but along a route recommended by Greg, which took us up the river



to a little ferry



that had an interesting approach to the ramp



but it swings round as it gets closer



and slots into place. Now all we've got to do is get the bikes on.... camera ready!



Oh well, safe and sound is better than a wet dunk.



Our ferryman.



Mark prepares for an exit stage left...



into the tricky bit...



and the venerable GS see's him through.



Half an hour North of Kamloops and the skies started to clear.



and farming in the valley was visisble



Although the river looks quite calm, it obviously gets going when the snow melts. The result is the road falling into the river.



We passed this viewpoint, which looked interesting, so stopped.



Nice scenery



and a little history.



Then onwards to Prince George, where we arrived at Kelly's place



where we pitched in his front garden.



Kelly's folks were a visiting'



along with a few other Alaskan Explorers. Chris from Switzerland, Shahab (Iranian/Canadian/Swiss) Aidan from San Diego and, to continue the Swiss theme, we all met on Swiss National Day.

 
Blimey Rich, that air quality is awful. If it's any consolation, the smoke from the fires in BC is affecting the USA as far south as Oregon (Jorgé reported his visibility in Portland as 5nm).

On current showing, I'd stow my big camera and exclusively use the point & shoot - the picture and colour quality is far better...

Stay safe and keep posting... :thumb2

The big camera had a filter on, which was perfect for the big blue sky shots, but I should've taken it off for the smokey stuff. However, i'm learning as I go along.
 
The big camera had a filter on, which was perfect for the big blue sky shots, but I should've taken it off for the smokey stuff. However, i'm learning as I go along.

The white balance looks off to me.

Looking like a great trip and write up though.
 
Great stuff Rich :thumb

Keep it coming please ... white balance is the least of your problems :D

:beerjug:
 


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