The main highlight of my quick trip through Canada was seeing my mother’s family and finding a bit more about the family history. My grandmother came from a Mennonite (similar to Amish) background and grew up speaking high German. My grandfather was the first school teacher, dairy farmer, used to have the area where the [...]

Because my park pass ran out before I made it down to Banff from Lake Louise I decided to head west on the TransCanada highway and drive through the Okanagan Valley instead. I must admit that I was getting a bit over mountains. The Okanagan Valley is BC and Alberta’s summer holiday destination where my [...]

After leaving my mother and sister with my packed lunch I rode through the Columbia Ice Field is a basin of snow between a circle of eight mountains between Banff and Jasper National Parks (325 square kilometres). I had to miss Lake Louise as my pass (you have to pay $10Can per day just to [...]

Today I stood under a glacier! It was so cool, literally. I spent the day sightseeing with my mother and sister and then we went to the hot pools again in the evening. The next day I headed off and a bear ran out into the road. Unfortunately I couldn’t stop as there was a [...]

After a blistering hot day and a dinner with the relations I set off from Grande Prairie in the pouring rain (riding a fully laden motorbike in the rain is a good way for your family or anyone to think you are nuts and/or adventurous). I had an uneventful ride to Jasper other than being [...]

My grandfather was one of the first pioneers in Grande Prairie. He owned a diary farm on the edge of the town and was the first school teacher. When he started selling sections of his land to people who couldn’t afford to live in Grande Prairie a new mini town sprouted up called Macklinville (present [...]

Grande (big) Prairie (vast stretches of flat land), Alberta (second province inwards from Canadian west coast) was once a glacier valley (when Canada consisted of two huge ice fields) after it had been a subtropical marsh land full of dinosaurs (largest ever cache of dinosaur bones was found in Alberta) and now it is a [...]

I have been getting mileage between 32-40 miles to the gallon US (or 8-10 miles to the litre UK or 13-16 kms to the litre NZ) which I don’t think is that good for a motorbike. Still it is better than the RV (recreational vehicle) owners that I met who are getting 8 miles per [...]

Oh Canada, our home and native land. True patriot love in all our sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise the true north strong and free. From far and wide Oh, Canada we stand on guard for thee (national anthem). Pop 33 million and second largest country in the world. GDP in US [...]

When we stopped to look at the Muskoxen on the Dalton Highway I had been told that the animals think that the noise of a single cylinder bike is a threatening growl. Riding from Haines Junction to Liard Hot Springs I hadn’t seen any animals even though I had been told by Jack to constantly [...]