Day 118 and 119 - 28-29th September, Wenatchee

No biking, spend weekend with Josh and his family (especially they daughter Julia love us), we visited Wenatchee, worked on blog, organized pictures, helped Josh a little with firewood for winter, spoke with my brother (he and his girlfriend just finished 5 weeks long hike through whole Slovakia). Weather is still cold and rainy, hopefully tomorrow will be better. 

Day 117 - 27th September, Chelan - Wenatchee, 46.01 miles

Again rainy, well, we are quite close to the coast now, probably this weather will be very common soon. Today we just biked on the Hwy #97, eating some apples as we passed through orchards. Still biking mostly down hill, only a wind was today against us. Passed Lincoln Rock and in the State Park had lunch. Arrived to Wenatchee and tasted a little of city traffic, but very soon we found out that near the Columbia River is amazing bike trail and escaped there. Our destination for today was Pitcher Canyon, where Cheryl's friend Josh lives. We had to biked on steep hill to get there, but it was very nice place there and Josh with his wife invited us for dinner and were amazing hosts.

Pictures:
Wenatchee and the Saddle Rock

Day 116 - 26th September, Malott - Brewster - Beebe Bridge State Park (near Chelan), 49.41 miles

In the morning I changed that curved handlebar to my old one. I don't understand what advantage of these curved one, it was very uncomfortable, maybe my bike frame is too small for handlebars like this.
From Malott we followed the Old Hwy #97, it was with beautiful views on whole valley with all these industrial orchards. There were parts when it looks like on the old western - yellow desert, hills, rocks, pastures with cows or horses, barb wires, Mexican shops... We took a look into one, it was full of unknown stuff (for us). 
After Brewster the Okanogan River joined the Columbia River and all disappeared in huge dam. Also the Old Hwy #97 joined with the New Hwy. In the evening we left it and biked a little uphill on Apple Acres Rd to Ice Caves State Park. We thought that there will be some place to tent, maybe we will be able to explore some caves. But except of nice huge cliffs and rocks, there was nothing, and as we heard day before, people destroyed these caves by dynamite because they became unstable, so probably nothing left. But it was very beautiful place with really strong atmosphere, spirit...  Suitable place for camp we found in Beebe Bridge Park, near Chelan. There was a campground.

Pictures:
Biked on the wild west...
Ice Caves State Park

Day 115 - 25th September, Tonasket - Omak - Okanogan - Malott, 39.76 miles

Today we had another rest morning, then biking in the Okanogan River Valley, through the orchards, on the Hwy #97. Because now is time to harvest all that apples and pears, all orchards are buzzing with work, everybody is picking an apples. All Trucks on the Hwy are full of apples. In Omak we visited another DQ, (they had excellent deal, two Blizzards of Month for price of one), have a funny conversation with local grandfather. From Omak we got to Okanogan, leaving the Hwy #97 and biking on the Old Hwy #97, it was better, less trucks. Our final destination for today was Malott, met there old woman, trying to get rid of "goat head" weed, invasive plant with very sharp thorny seeds which can pop your bike tires. Our camp was in city park, again, hiding in pavilion, again were flooded in the night with sprinklers, even in pavilion... We called SJ and spoke with her for the rest of evening. 

Pictures:
Ready for harvest...

Day 114 - 24th September, Osoyoos - Oroville (back to USA) - Tonasket, 25.13 miles

After rainy night, it was sunny, nice day. Ranger came to check people in Campground, he said that he didn't see us and went away :-) First task for today was to get to USA, we were quite nervous, how hard will be to get new tourist waiver for another 90 days? How big our surprise was, when officers on the border just asked a few common questions, took our passports and very quickly, without any other questions, did all the paperwork and gave them back to us with new waivers. This was even easier than got to Canada last time. Another surprise was where we were. From the green mountains we came to the desert and everybody around us spoke Spanish. Are we in Mexico already? No, we should be there around Christmas ... So following the Hwy #97 and the Okanogan River, we headed south, mostly downhill and with good wind in our back. Everywhere around the river were orchards with apples, pears, peaches or cherries (without fruit now). We slept in Tonasket in small city park, surprised about two o'clock in the morning with crazy sprinklers watering our tent and bikes.

Pictures:
Last morning in Canada - Osoyoos - Haynes Point Provincial Park
Our first miles in Washington...

Day 113 - 23rd September, Greenwood - Rock Creek - Osoyoos, 57.61 miles

Weather was a little better today than yesterday, but colder (about 10 - 15 degrees Celsius). We enjoyed nice downhill to Midway and then rode to Rock Creek following Kettle River in the valley with many pastures and green lands around. After Rock Creek we had to climbed pretty steep hill, not so steep and high as hill between Castlegar and Christina Lake, though. But this time we had strong and very cold wind. When we reached Anarchist Summit (1233 m), we had to put all our rain gear on us again. From Osoyoos came huge dark clouds full of rain. Very soon we biked down and up hills with freezing cold rain and wind. And than came descent down do Osoyoos. We were glad that we came from the east, the west side was more steeper, with many serpentine. To get down to Osoyoos would be nice rode, but not in the rain. Luckily while we got down it stopped raining and because DQ was on the way we stopped there for something like dinner, spent all our Canadian money. Tomorrow we are leaving Canada and going back to USA. The night we spent in Heynes Point Provincial Park. It was raining again.

Pictures:
Anarchist Summit
Down there is Osoyoos

Day 112 - 22nd September, Grand Forks - Eholt - Greenwood, 23.75 miles

Amazing breakfast with real European style pancakes. Biking in the morning with Martina and her friend Beth on the old railway changed to trail (The Rails to Trails). Without her guidance we wouldn't ever ends up on this trail, because it wasn't very suitable for ours bikes. But it was very nice, totally worthy, leads high through cliffs and steep hillsides above the valley and with nice views to Burrell River valley. We met old couple, artists, who created something like outdoor gallery from old railroads spikes, screws, bolts, rocks... Then biked through two tunnels, before the second one we said goodbye to Martina and Beth. Thanks you very much for everything again, it was amazing visit and coincidence, that we met you. After a second tunnel the heavy clouds started to pour a rain on us. Very soon we were dressed in all our rain gears. After Eholt we left the Rail trail and continued on Hwy #3 to Greenwood. There finally stopped to rain and we camped in Osaka Park, this town have significant Japanese population, forced by Canadian government to move here during the Second World War. We tent in a small pavilion, near was an old bike shop with huge pile of old and broken bikes behind. I found there nice "touring" handlebars, so I spent the whole evening, modifying my bike.

Pictures:
On the Rail to Trail with Martina (on the left) and Beth 
On the Rail to Trail from Grand Forks to Eholt
Biked through tunnel

Day 111 - 21st September, Nancy Greene Lake - Christina Lake - Grand Forks, 45.78 miles

Rain in the morning, hidden in comfortable cabin enjoying that we are dry. About noon sun came out and also we. Biked through Bonanza pass (1535 m), met some senior bikers on they way up, then rode nearly 45 km down to Christina Lake. Hands on breaks all that time...
Met one touring biker on his trip around BC, after two months he seems that had enough. From Christina Lake we went to Grand Forks through nice valley, still following Hwy #3 and border with USA. Learn a little about the Doukhobors from Russia. While I did grocery, Baška met Martina, woman which did Trans-America bike trip by herself, when she was 23, now she lives here in Grand Forks so she invited us to stay at her house (first she saw us on Hwy, so she went home to ask family if it is ok to invited us for dinner and then she returned, hoping that we are still in the town). So we had amazing dinner with streaks prepared by her husband AJ, and then speaked a lot about ours journeys, countries, Martina showed us her photo album from bike trip, maps... 

Pictures:
Bridge on the Hwy #3 between Nancy Greene Lake and Christina Lake

Day 110 - 20th September, Kokanee Creek - Nelson - Castlegar - Nancy Greene Lake Provincial Park, 58.41 miles

Cold day with good wind in our backs, blue sky, following dammed Kootenay River up and down on Hwy #3A rollercoaster, to Castlegar, with steep climb to the Bonanza pass (1535 m) as the evening exercise. Sleeping in the abandoned Nance Greene Lake Provincial Park in the nice cabin with crackling fire in the stove, reading third book of Harry Potter.

Pictures:
City of Nelson 
Evening relax with good book (tablet)

Day 109 - 19th September, Creston - Kootenay Lake - Crawford Bay - Kokanee Creek, 59.79 miles

We woke up to the beautiful morning, cold but clear. Today we decided to left Hwy #3, because it goes straight through the mountains. Instead of spending whole day biking uphill on the busy road, with trucks trying to sweep us down from Hwy, we decided to do "small" detour, quite nice and scenic one, though. So from Creston we headed to the north on Hwy #3A, following east bank of Kootenay Lake (huge water dam, solution how to deal with floods, just flood the whole valley...). The Hwy was like rollercoster, but with nice downhill rides and not very bad uphills. Also the views on the Selkirk Mountains were amazing. During our lunch break, Baska didn't resist and swam in the lake for a while, it was sunny day, but not very warm. Then, when we returned back on the Hwy, we met a Black Bear. First, Baska thought that it is big a big dog, no it wasn't. The Bear stopped about 300 feet in front of us, quite surprised what are we doing there. Maybe he/she never saw people on the bikes, so he/she started to run away. How surprise was, when we followed, trying to get as close as possible. It wasn't very easy to catch up with him/her, a bears are pretty fast. But after a while he/she left Hwy and started to climbed hillside away from lake, so we got right under him/her, maybe to 60 feet. This bear was so fat, shiny, nice and like a huge toy. He/she tried to climb a tree, but was so fat that it was impossible. So for a while we just starred at each other, than he/she walked away from these Slovak nuts :-) Everything happened so fast and we were so surprised that we didn't take any picture, shame... Last part of today's trip was on ferry through Kootenay Lake, but to get on, we had to biked through very steep hill from Crawford Bay to Kootenay Bay and through tourist resort with many art galleries and magic/fairy/Celtic/spiritual shops, typical tourist trap. At least from hill was nice view on Kokanee Glacier. Ferry was operating every two hours, so we had to wait about one hour. Sun set behind a mountains and suddenly was very cold. Finally we used some of our warm clothes, which we were carrying uselessly a whole summer. While we were on the ferry, a full moon came up and enlightened the top of Kianuko Mountain on the east. Last part to Kokanee Creek Provincial Park we biked in the night. It was nice when we found out that bikers can camp there for free.

Pictures:
Kootenay Lake with Selkirk Mountains
Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park
... a little bit of magic...

Day 108 - 18th September, Kitchener - Creston, 16.63 miles

Raining whole morning till afternoon, we were just sleeping in the tent. The bike ride to Creston was cloudy, foggy, cold, with occasional showers. Creston is situated in nice wide valley, with many orchards. In Extra Food grocery shop I did another bulk shopping and than we stayed in local campground (20$/night), owned by nice Asian family. They gave us map of Kootenay Rockies and because they had free wifi, we spend about half night chating with SJ on Skype.

Day 107 - 17th September, Ryan - Yahk - Kitchener, 21.38 miles

- canoeing in the morning, taking a rest, than we say goodbye to Julie and hit the road
- no crazy shortcuts today, we past Ryan Provincial Park, then Yahk and Yahk Provincial Park
- Yahk Provincial Park was good place to take lunch, but it has very rude squirrels which like to dig in bags with food
- biked through hill to Kitchener
- tent at rest area near Kitchener, today was easy day.

Pictures:
Canoeing on the Moyie River
Annoying pest?

Day 106 - 16th September, Kikomun - shortcut through the mountains - Ryan Provincial Park, 38.72 miles

This was an adventure day of crazy shortcut. Instead going back to the Hwy #3, then north to Cranbrook and back south again, I found road which headed straight to the west and based on information from one guy here in Kikomun Creek Campground it was supposed to be paved. Well, it was but only first couple miles, then it changed to very rough gravel. Already been so far we decided for small adventure - let's continue! But it was hard, very hard, the road was bad even for mountains bikes and it was very steep. Basically we spent whole day on the way up looking forward when we will be on the other side of mountain range. But at least we were in the middle of "wilderness", in the middle of grizzly country (later, we met Jim, who told us that there is one, close to the place where we were, but we still didn't have a luck to see one, or is it luck?), with nearly no cars, it was actually a nice break. And we also saw a "dark" side of British Columbia, not only that Potemkin Village which tourist agencies try to sell. Here far away from any tourist industry, were hills scarred  by clear cuts, and covered by spruce mono cultures, barb wires everywhere, but we already got use to it, they are everywhere. 
Weather was a little problem, after noon clouds heavy with rain started to came from the south. Late afternoon we were "saved" by old guy Jim from the fire patrol, who picked us with his truck before the last and steepest hill and also the heaviest rain. So climbing horrible hill on the horrible road we talked about forest fires, he admit that BC is doing too much good job with preventing fires, now they have a lot of problems with bugs and depleted soil. The rode down was also pretty bad, steep, curved, with steep hillsides, it seems that road down would be much harder than up... Luckily that we met that fire guy. Down we finally got back on Hwy #3, biked for a while before the evening come. Huge, tall hills, which we passed through, on our left side.
Near Ryan Provincial Park we stopped in one house to ask for water. Juliet, which lived here with her grandson, gave us water and then offer us that we can stay at their camping place by the river, and use they canoe if we want... So we stayed here, happy that we and our bikes survived my shortcut and looking forward for canoeing in the morning.  

Pictures:
Shortcut

Day 105 - 15th September, Eureka - Rooseville (back to Canada) - Elko - Kikomun Creek Provincial Park, 39.45 miles

Ráno než sme vyrazili, sme museli usušiť skoro všetky naše veci, kvôli postrekovačom schovaným v tráve, ktoré začali zavlažovať trávnik akurát keď sme mali všetko vybalené. Našťastie bolo pekne horúco, tak sme nemuseli dlho čakať. Do Kanady sme pokračovali ďalej po ceste číslo 93, vedúcej cez pekné údolie, v diaľke pred nami sa rysovali krásne hory. Prechod cez hranicu v Rooseville bol prekvapivo jednoduchý, iba sa nás opýtali či so sebou nemáme zbrane a mohli sme ísť, ani pomaranče im nevadili :-) Zvyšok cesty na diaľnicu Č. 3 bol veľmi pekný, cestu lemovali lesy, ranče a hory pred nami boli stále bližšie a vyššie. Navečer sme dorazili do kempu v Kikomun Creek Provincial Park-u. Všetci očakávali, že má prísť nejaká apokalyptická búrka, ale nakoniec spadlo len zopár kvapiek.

Before we left Eureka we had to dry nearly all our stuff because hidden sprinklers in the grass. They started watering right in the moment, when all our sleeping bags, clothes were outside on the sun. Luckily it was really nice, sunny and hot day. Rest of the road (still #93, heading toward Hwy #3) to Canada border was still in the nice valley with views on the tall and rocky mountains ahead in Canada. Crossing the border at Rooseville was very easy this time, border patrol officer even didn't ask if we have some oranges. Continued biking through nice valley with steep hills covered by redwoods, on our right side. Steep downhill and uphill to the one of tributaries of Lake Koocanusa. Enjoying views at the mountains ahead. They look a little like our Alps, grassy with huge limestone cliffs. It was very nice view in the evening sun. We slept in Kikomun Creek Provincial Park Campground, very nice and calm (after kids went to the beds) place. Awaiting storm which never came.

Pictures:
Sprinklers, the enemy of dry stuff 
On the way to Canada border
Mountains in Canada above Hwy #3 near Elko

Day 104 - 14th September, Day off, still in Eureka

Celý deň v Eureke. Robím na Blogu a fotkách, Baška nakupujte v úžasnom obchode so zdravou stravou, kde si môžete všetko sami navážiť, pol dňa strávime na Skype so SJ.

Whole day in Eureka, worked on Blog, pictures, using free wifi in Chamber of Commerce, shopping in amazing healthy food shop and chatting with SJ through Skype for half of the day.

Day 103 - 13th September, Whitefish - Olney - Fortine - Eureka, 54.4 miles

For whole day we followed Hwy #93, heading north with wind mainly in opposite direction. Passed through nice valley with redwoods, ranches, pastured, kettle or horses. Traffic wasn't very heavy. We stopped in Olney to buy a gasoline for our cooker. Now we were in the middle of cell phone dead zone. We passed a few lakes, saw a smoke from a few forest fires, bought nearly two liters of chocolate (not the best idea). Arrived to Eureka in the evening (it's getting dark about 8 pm). With help of Ollie (local civilized homeless guy) we camped in the Riverside Park.

Day 102 - 12th September, Apgar - Columbia Falls - Whitefish, 33.12 miles

Another sunny day, taking a rest, having another ice cream in Apgar. Talking with SJ, finally we had service for our phone. About three a clock we are leaving Apgar and also Glacier NP, following Hwy #2 to Columbia Falls. Passing through places like Martin City or Hungry Horse, everywhere around us are zillions of souvenir shops all offering same things like Indian jewellery (definitely hand made and original), or crazy adventures like drive in zoo with bears or house of horror, everything here is a typical tourist trap, luckily after season majority of shops are closed. Highway is sometimes very narrow, nearly without shoulders, especially after Hungry Horse. We just passed Columbia Falls, leaving Hwy #2 and heading west a little bid on Hwy #40, then switch to the north on Hwy #93 to Whitefish. We did some grocery there and camped in Whitefish Lake State Park Campground. Tried to call SJ again, but we had very bad signal.

Day 101 - 11th September, St.Mary - Logan Pass (2025 m) - Apgar, 52.5 miles

This was an amazing day. Day in the Mountains. Day when you feel sooo alive...
We woke up and were on bikes before sun rise, slowly biked up on Going-To-The-Sun Road, one of the most spectacular and scenic Highways in whole United States. It really is... Mountains slowly changed color from dark blue to red, orange to yellow. St. Mary Lake was like a mirror and sky sooo blue... We saw elk. Slowly another tourist woke up and the road became more busy. The road went steadily up, sometimes literally glued to the cliffs in the valley. There was 17 miles uphill before us, but with the scenery around we barely noticed it. Yes, it was quite steep, but after hills around Chief Mountain on Hwy #6, this was easy, we even didn't use the lowest gear. And we stopped a lot to take pictures, to look around, to breath... It was an amazing feeling to be back in the Mountains again, after more than one year, funny... Even the traffic on the road wasn't problem, because it was after season and because of some construction works on the road. They always stopped whole traffic for couple minutes, so than we had whole road only for us, than we wait while all cars passed (like one huge noisy and stinking caravan) and again we were alone with the mountains around. Many people encouraged us on our way up, we met Linda & Warren again, they passed us on motorbike, taking video of us and yelling our names. It was fun watching again and again how shocked the people were when they saw us, or heard our plan ("Where are you heading? To the west coast... and than down to Mexico...").
We reached Logan Pass, the highest point of Going-To-The-Sun Road (2025 m) by noon. There is a Visitor Center, and it was pretty crowded this place. We took quick lunch, took some pictures of mountains goats. Than there was 12 miles long descent to Lake McDonald with totally unique views of the Mountains shaped by glaciers. The road down was very narrow with many curves, huge cliffs above and under it. And also with many small rest-stops, luckily for us and ours wheel rims - because of braking they were very hot. Again we met with Linda & Warren, this time they were on they way back to St. Mary. They recommended and sponsored us for a Huckleberry Ice Cream in Apgar. We used this sponsorship immediately after we arrived to Apgar. Huckleberry Ice Cream (actually it was frozen yogurt) was delicious, thanks!  In the Loop we saw what left after huge forest fire in 2003. Well, you can still see remnants of old forest, but nice new forest (still small) is growing everywhere (and without help of all mighty foresters - that's something which Slovak's foresters don't want to admit). Also met here another young guy on bike trip from Denver to here and than down to San Diego. After we reached bottom of valley, rest 14 miles were nearly even, with small river on the right side, later with Lake McDonald. And with another nice views.
Our final destination for today was village of Apgar (with Huckleberry Ice Cream), while eating and chating with people around we met another couple (Brad & MaryJo) which invited us to visit them in Kent, Brad, who just finished here his own nine days long bike trip, gave us exact directions how to get there and promised us nice dinner and roof above a head. Well, we will see... Night we spent in Apgar State Campground, which was totally full, even it is after season (mainly because the other campgrounds are closed). This was really good day for biking...

Pictures:
Morning
Morning in the Glacier NP
Going-To-The-Sun
St. Mary Lake
Goose Island
Going-To-The-Sun with a spectacular views
Nearly in the Logan Pass
And this is view from Logan Pass with our road down.
On the way down to Apgar
This road is really on the edge...
Lake McDonald, finally down...

Day 100 - 10th September, Belly River - Babb (back in USA again) - St. Mary, 34.42 miles

Krásne a horsky svieže ráno s neuveriteľnou scenériou okolo nás. Hory, hory, hory. Počas raňajok nás trochu zaskočil ranger-údržbár (prišiel natrieť stoly v prístrešku, kde sme spali, aj keď vyzerali byť nedávno natreté). Ale nerobil problémy, počkal kým doraňajkujeme a pobalíme sa. Na hranicu s USA sme museli prejsť cez ďalší dlhý a strmý kopec, celkom dobrá rozcvička, hneď takto z rána. Do USA sme sa dostali prekvapivo ľahko, náš turistický waiver stále platil takže to nebol problém, jediný problém boli dva pomaranče, ktoré sme dostali od kanaďanov vo Watertone, pomaranče sa do Montany nesmú dovážať. Ale keď sme policajtovi na hranici povedali, že ich zjeme hneď tu (aj tak sme to mali viac-menej v pláne) a sľúbili, že rozhodne neopustia hranice Montany, tak nás pustil ďalej. Takže sme spať v USA aj keď iba na 10 dní, než nám vyprší povolenie. Na hranici sme stretli jedného chalana na bajku, čo odtiaľto štartoval do Panamy. Cesta do “Glacieru“, národného to parku, bola parádna húsenková dráha, dlhé zjazdy a nie veľmi drastické kopce, parádne výhľady, hlavne na Chief Mountain, posvätnej to hore miestnych domorodcov, ale aj na prériu. V jednom priesmyku s obzvlášť vydareným výhľadom na tento kopec sme si dali obed, pozorujúc turistov vyskakujúcic a opäť naskakujúcich do áut, motoriek či autobusov, niektorí z nich sa zastavili na kus reči, tak sme sa napr. zoznámili s Lindou & Warrenom, ktorí tu boli na dovolenke a veľmi sa im páčil náš príbeh. Je to super ako takéto bicyklovanie dokáže ľudí nadchnúť. Potom náš čakal zjazd z kopcov do údolia, celkom šialený zjazd v 50 km/h a na záver s kravou stojacou uprostred cesty. Nepohla sa ani o milimeter. Prešli sme cez malé mestečko Babb, vyzeralo ako z dôb divokého západu. Pomerne nepeknou cestou sme sa dostali do St. Mary, vstupnej to bráne do Glacier National Park. Hory, ktoré tu čneli k oblohe boli nádherné a monumentálne. Prenocovať sme museli s komerčnom kempe za 25$, pretože v štátnom sa pre problémy s medveďmi nemohlo stanovať.

Cold fresh morning, surprised a little by maintenance guy who came to paint tables... Rode through a second long and steep hill to US customs. Guy from border patrol didn't do any troubles, only problem was that we had oranges from that couple yesterday. And you cannot bring oranges to Montana. But when he found out that we have only two oranges and when we promised that they won't leave Montana, actually that we will eat them right now, than he was OK and we could go. So we are back in USA again!! And till our tourist waiver expired we have 10 days. With forecast which promised at least one week of good weather we were more than optimistic. Glacier National Park here we go!! While we were eating oranges on the parking lot, we met one young guy, Dan, who started from here his bike trip to Panama. Good luck Dan, maybe we will see you on 101!
Downhill ride to Babb was crazy steep on some parts, and with many amazing views, especially to Chief Mountain - holy mountain for local aboriginal people. In one pass with spectacular views on land around with dominant Chief Mountain, we spoke with Linda & Warren, they were on vacation here and really liked our story. Than another downhill ride in 30 miles/h with cow standing in the middle of the road. Road to St. Mary was quite crowded, but again with beautiful views to Rockies, this time to Glacier NP. Finally we used our volunteer passes. We tried to stay at St. Mary State Campground (only one which was still open, others are already closed for season), but they had serious troubles with bears and didn't allowed us to stay there in tent (only for RV), so we had to go across valley to private campground and pay 25 $ per night...

Pictures:
Hwy #6 with spectacular views on Chief Mountain
Glacier NP here you are!

Day 99 - 9th September, Waterton NP - Belly River Campground, 19.27 miles

Ráno sa budíne do krásneho dňa. Bicykle nechávame v kempe a po dlhej dobe šliapeme do kopcov. Príjemná zmena opäť byť v naozajstných horách, ešte k tomu v takýchto. Výhľady sú naozaj nádherné. Náš krátky výlet nás zaviedol k malebnému vodopádu ( Bertha Falls). Stretáme starého námorného kapitána, ktorý nám necháva svoju vizitku s tým, že keď budeme v Seattli tak sa máme zastaviť. Než opustíme kemp a vydáme sa opäť na cestu naši susedia nám nabalia mandarínky, banány a melón, oni už idú domov a nechcelo sa im to brať späť. Vyrážame na diaľnicu č. 6, ktorá vedie k hranici s USA. Hneď za hranicou parku náš čaká nekonečne dlhý a strmý kopec, ale za hodinu ho zdoláme a pod sebou máme celý svet, aspoň výhľad tak pôsobí. Prvý naozajstný kopec. Druhý už ani neskúšame, je už večer a prechod do USA je po šiestej zavretý. Na noc ostávame v malebnom údolí s riečkou, v kempe, ktorý je tiež zavretý, ale s bajkami sa doň dalo vliezť, takže ho máme celý pre seba. Spíme obkolesený horami, skoro v totálnej divočine, kde si medvede dávajú dobrú noc, nad hlavou toľko hviezd, koľko ich len je.

After yesterday cloudy and stormy day, today was totally opposite. Windy but very nice, hot day with blue sky. We did one small hike to Bertha Falls. Walking, that was a strange feeling... Met a few tourist, one couple from Seattle invited us to came stay at their house, when we will be in Seattle. Before we left camp, another couple which tent next to us gave us some fruit, because they were leaving back home.
Than we left Waterton and followed Hwy # 6 to US border. Well, US border was only about 20 miles away, but first we had to climbed two very steeeep and high hills. This was probably our steepest and longest biking uphill so far. It took nearly one hour to climb through first hill/mountain, but the view was spectacular, worthy of that hard work. Second hill to US customs we even didn't try, because US custom was open only till 6 pm (it's already after season) and we had about 10 minutes left. So we camped at Belly River Campground, which was already closed for season, but it wasn't Slovak proof closed, so we got in and have whole camp only for us. Slept in small pavilion, cooking on stove, near Belly River, with wolfs, bears and mountain lions and zillions stars above... well, you see, no civilization around to cause light pollution :-)

Pictures:
On hike to Bertha Falls
Bertha Falls
Waterton NP again 
Climbing the hill to US customs 
Belly River

Day 98 - 8th September, Cardston - Mountain View - Waterton National Park, 37.42 miles

Chladné ráno, hmla, že by sa dala krájať. Kemp opúšťame skoro ráno a kým nám otvoria obchod využívame internet v informačnom centre. Po nákupe a raňajkách sa hmla trocha trhá a my vidíme niečo ako naozajstné hory. Čim sme bližšie tým je jasnejšie a hory sa tiahnu od severu na juh a vyplňujú celý horizont pred nami. Hory pred nami, préria za nami. “Rokies“ zo začiatku trocha pripomínajú naše Roháče, ale iba zo začiatku... Keď sme prišli bližšie museli sme skonštatovať, že Skalnaté vrchy sú kategória sama o sebe. Celému horizontu dominovala Chief Mountain (hora Náčelník?), posvätný to kopec pre miestnych domorodcov, vyzeral ako obrovský stĺp. Ako sme sa postupne blížili k Rokies, pribúdalo kopčekov, posledné zbytky prérie a pastvín sme nechávali kdesi dole za sebou. Tesne pred národným parkom Waterton sa cez nás prehnala apokalypticky vyzerajúca búrka, okrem trocha dažďa to však nič moc nebolo. Vstupné do parku bolo riadne drahé (v porovnaní s USA), 7.8$ na osobu za deň. Od brány nás čakala šialene húsenkovitá cyklocesta, do samotného Watertonu to bolo ešte 10 km, kemp bol tiež dosť drahý, najlacnejšia varianta bola za 22.5$, ale zato sme zaspávali medzi ozajstnými horami. Po viac ako roku bez hôr to bol dobrý pocit.

Foggy, cold morning, left camp early, than sitting before visitor center using their internet, speak with my mum for a while, working on blog a little and waiting until grocery store will be open. Finally we found out the magic of buying bulk food. Clouds slowly disappeared and unbelievable we saw something like real mountains... Our first thoughts were something like "Hey, they look same as ours mountains back at home" only difference was that they were from the north horizon to the south. Than we got closer, biking through last pieces of prairie, taking many pictures (especially Chief Mountain was spectacular). Well, Rocky Mountains are not as our mountains, not at all, not as Alps, well, they are Rockies, that's special category...
As we went closer and closer, they grew bigger, steeper, it was hard to not look at them, so majestic, awesome, beautiful. It's hard to describe, you have to see it (at least on our pictures...)
Before we got to Waterton National Park we had to bike through small storm, so our arrival was a little adventure. Entrance fee was 7,8 $ per person/day. We decided to stay here only for one day. From entrance to NP it was 10 km on crazy bike trail (something like roads in Pennsylvania) to Waterton Village. One night in camp was for 22,5 $ per night (the cheapest option). We slept near the Upper Waterton Lake surrounded by real mountains. So finally we did it, we are really in Rocky Mountains :-)

Pictures:
Getting closer
Small storm ahead
Waterton National Park

Day 97 - 7th September, Lethbridge-Magrath-Cardston, 53.62 miles

Ráno je zamračené a daždivé, trávime ho plánovaním našej ďalšej cesty a klábosením s Caroline & Chris o všetkom možnom. Opäť raz prechádzame cez Lethbridge. Obloha je oloveno šedá, polia naokolo hnedé, bezvetrie a pomerne chladno. Vyzerá to každú chvíľu na dážď, ale máme šťastie a ostávame v suchu. V Magrath Baška konečne má možnosť sa porozprávať so svojimi rodičmi cez Skype. Zdolávame zopár kopcov, očakávajúc, že už každú chvíľu musíme uvidieť Skalisté vrchy, ale mraky všetko skrývajú. Spíme v kempe v Cardstone. Blízko je indiánska rezervácia, indiáni vôbec nevyzerajú vznešeno, čo sme tu videli boli skôr alkoholické trosky (väčšina pôvodných obyvateľov má obrovské problémy s drogami a alkoholom).

Morning with Caroline & Chris talking about everything, planning our next steps. It's cloudy, rainy day. Luckily we didn't get any rain when we left Lethbridge, biked While day on Hwy #5  through another farm land, with small hills and canyons. Sky was dark farm fields brown and yellow, no wind...Finally about noon, the clouds slowly disappeared and for a while was sunny again. In Magrath Baška finally had opportunity to speak with her family through Skype. To Cardston we climbed one hill (still no view of Rockies, probably because of clouds) than enjoyed nice downhill. Tent in Cardston, town full of the aboriginal people sneaking around liquor store  :-(

Day 96 - 6th September, Taber - Lethbridge, 44.92 miles

Ráno nakupujeme niečo pod zub, potom raňajkujeme v parku, stretávame Cliffa, učiteľa na dôchodku a celkom dobre si pokecáme. Cestou z Taberu do Lethbridge sa pretekáme s oblakmi a dažďom. V Lethbridge sa motáme hore dole, asi tri krát prechádzame centrom, naháňame cykloobchod a wifi, ale nakoniec zdarne kupujeme nové reťaze na biky, Baške nový stojan, bo jeden to starých sa len tak zničoho nič zlomil. Píšeme email SJ a okukávame najdlhší železničný most na svete (taký ten typicky typ “a lá divoký západ“ s množstvom pilierov) klenúci sa ponad rieku starého muža. Potom, keď už sa konečne chceme vytrepať von z Lethbridge nás zastavujú obchody a potreba ešte niečo dokúpiť a dať si večeru. Pred zúfalým bicyklovaním do tmy nás zachraňujú Caroline & Chris, manželia, ktorí sa zastavujú na kus reči. Takže sa opäť vraciame späť do mesta a spíme na ich záhrade.

Morning shopping, than breakfast in the Taber's city park, good discussion with Cliff, retired teacher which we met in the park. Rode to Lethbridge was a competition with rain. In Lethbridge we were looking for bike shop, after we got in the middle of town we met one outdoor family and they showed us were is some bike shop. Only problem was that it was on the other end of the city. So we returned, bought new chains, I changed chain on Baška's bike, then we saw old style railroad bridge (longest bridge of this type in the word) through the huge Old Man River canyon and wrote some emails to SJ. Than, finally following Scenic Drive S. with nice views into canyon, we got on the Hwy #5 and were on the way out of the town but stopped for some grocery. There we met nice couple (Caroline & Chris), they were very excited about our trip, but also concerned where are we going, now when the night is close. And because they were really awesome after short discussion they invited us to they house. We were really glad, it was dark already and nearest camp miles away. So we returned back to Lethbridge and spent night in Caroline & Chris's backyard.

Day 95 - 5th September, Bow Island-Taber, 38.43 miles

Doobedie je venované očiste našich tiel, šiat a duší. Ja robím menšiu údržbu na taškách (zatiaľ jediné čo s nimi bolo treba spraviť bolo dotiahnuť trochu šróby, inak Ortlieb nemá jedinú chybičku). Kemp v Bow Islande je fajn. Na obed vyrážame do riadnej horúčavy a protivetru. Sledujeme trojku, v mestečku Burdett si varíme pravé falošne čili, čítame Harryho Pottera a schováme sa pred spaľujúcou horúčavou. V ďalšom mestečku/dedine (Grassy Lake) si dávame zmrzlinu v niečom ako amishkej reštaurácii a Baška, keď ide nabrať vodu, zisťuje, že krčmy a ich osadenstvo je všade vo svete rovnaké. Zvyšok cesty do Taberu je proti pravému, nefalšovanému protivetru. Baška nachádza na krajnici Iphone. Má rozmlátený displej, ale stále funguje. Tak námatkovo vyberám nejakých ľudí z kontaktov a na druhý pokus sa mi podarí dovolať chlapíkovi (taxikár Tim), čo pozná majiteľa mobilu. Je z Taberu, takže keď tam za chvíľu (skoro hodinu) dorazíme, dohadujeme si s ním stretnutie pred Safeway a mobil šťastné vraciame. Vraj ho chlapík položil na strechu auta a zabudol naň. Prespávame na záhrade u Timovej známej - Mel. Akurát začína jemne pršať (naozajstný dážď), tak sa to celkom hodí. Mel má veľmi vlezlú mačku, stále nám chce vliať do stanu.

The morning was filled by cleaning our bodies, cloths and souls. I did some maintenance on panniers (only a check screws, we didn't have any problems with Ortlieb so far) and bikes (oiled a chain). It was clear day with very strong wind against us. So very soon we stopped in small village of Burdett, to cooked something like chilly for lunch. Because of very hot weather we got ice cream in another town. Our way to Taber was really challenging because of strong wind. Baška found iPhone,a little bit broken but still functional, so I tried a few contacts and very soon we found guy name Tim which knew owner of that iPhone. We met in Taber and we returned it to it's happy owner. Than Tim's customer (Tim is taxi driver) Mel let us tent in her backyard. It was good timing, when we got there it started to rain. Mel's cat was very interested in our tent, luckily it doesn't have claws.

Day 94 - 4th September, Walsh-Dunmore-Bow Island, 67.38 miles

Dnes sme opustili vyprahlé kanadské badlands, Transkanadskú diaľnicu č.1 a aj posledné zvyšky prérie. Veľmi rýchlo sa chladné zamračené ráno zmenilo na horúci deň s modrou oblohou. Opúšťajúc diaľnici, v mestečku Dunmore, zažili sme menší šok, po pár dňoch vo vysušenej prérii tu zrazu všetci mali okolo domov sýto zelené trávniky, zavlažovanie veselo míňalo hektolitre vody len aby sa niekto potom mohol preháňať po trávniku s kosačkou a nasekanú trávu vyhodiť. Za Dunmore sme vliezli do ďalšej zapolenej agrikultúrnej púšte, sledujúc lesklý asfalt “diaľnice“ č. 3. Kúpili sme si zmrzlinu od miestnej verzie Amish-ov, boli fakt podivný. Navečer sa nekonečné planiny trochu zvlnili, polia na chvíľu vystriedali pasienky, raz sme dokonca videli bizóny. Posledný zjazd do Bow Islandu už bol za tmy, pozorovali sme farmárov ako sa za hviezdnatej noci preháňajú po poliach s kombajnmi.

Cloudy morning, no drinking water in Walsh, this was our last day on Hwy #1 and also last day in the prairie. Very soon was sunny & hot again and in Dunmore we left dry badlands for good. It was shock, a little bit, because everything before Dunmore was dry, yellowish, brownish but then we passed through this town with huge bright green lawns, sprinklers wasting water around tiny houses with big backyards with nothing else than grass... Now we were in the very intensive agriculture land following Hwy #3, farm fields were even more endless than in North Dakota, getting water from vast network of St. Mary River irrigation canals. It was still very hot so we bought ice cream in the restaurant own by strange local religion group (we forgot their name), they were really strange... In the evening plains changed a little to huge waves/hills, after each hill I expected that we have to see Rocky Mountains, but still no luck. Last hill before Bow Island we saw pasture with buffaloes, than the sun hid underground and we rode our last downhill in the dark watching farmers harvesting their crop under stellated sky.

Day 93 - 3rd September, Beverley-Gull Lake-Maple Creek-Walsh, 100.21 miles

Dnes sme sa zobudili do riadne silného vetra, ale keďže nám konečne fúkal do chrbta, dnešný deň bol pre nás jedným z najlepších. Okolitou prériou sme doslova leteli, pred obedom sme mali už vyše 80 km. Krajina bola úchvatná, samá préria, kravy, v diaľke sa zelenali kopce Cypress Hills Interprovincial Parku, fascinujúce pre domácich lebo tam sú lesy. Popoludní a od mesta Maple Creek začala byť préria poriadne vyprahlá, ešte aj vodu na pumpe sme si museli kúpiť... Večer sme dorazili do Welshu a novej provincie - Alberta.

Day when we were faster than lightning :-) Whole day is strong east wind, very strong and it is pushing as forward so fast and biking is so easy today. Now I understood why all people bike from the west to the east, if they have wind like this every second day... Now we were in the best prairie which you can see from Hwy #1. Land was finally too dry for agriculture, so there were mostly pastures around us. Also a couple of lakes, a few really big, most of them salty. And the ocean of grass in every direction. Before the lunch we already had about 50 miles. On our left side we could see the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, quite curious here because they are covered by real pine woods. After Maple Creek we entered to the dry badlands with no water at all. Even at the gas station we had to bought it, one battle/one dollar. So the rest of afternoon we biked on nearly abandoned Hwy#1, ground squirrels looking at us next to the road, groundhogs burrows and many different species of grass everywhere, a few cows, hills, hawks soaring above us, coyote trying to catch a wild goose... Spirit of this place was still strong. After we passed thought small mountain range pass and enjoyed nice and long downhill we came to the flat lands again and to the new province - Alberta. Night we spent in front of closed visitor centre in Walsh, using their free internet.

Day 92 - 2nd September, Morse-Swift Current-Beverley, 49.29 miles

Vyrážame za včas rána, chvíľu pozeráme po operencoch na Reed Lake. Je tam kvantum čajok, nejaké hvizdáky, more bahniakov, kačíc ...
Dnes bolo extra teplo, vietor protivný, skoro všade iba pšenica, ťažko sa šliapalo do pedálov. Videli sme líšku, stretli zopár miestnych cyklistov. Vo Swift Current som spravil gigantický nákup a trochu sme pohovorili s našimi cez skype. Ešte mierne schladenie sa v DQ... A boli sme späť v tej vyhni. Opäť sme zvážili svoje biky. Baškina Rosie má 60 kg a moja Makéta 70 kg... Spíme na malom rest placi kúsok za Swift Currentom. Všetko je vypadnuté, ale aj tak robíme oheň a dorážame nás pancake mix.

Nice fresh morning, doing a little bid of birdwatching, on the Reed Lake are thousands of birds, mostly gulls. Very soon is hot again, clear sky. Wheat fields are more common today, pastures or prairie less. We saw a nice fox, hiding in the grass next to the road. Met some local bikers, Hwy  #1 is probably only usable road for biking here. Wind wasn't so good as yesterday, temperature very high, it was hard to bike on the sun without any shade. We passed through Swift Current, city which somebody accidentally drop in the middle of endless prairie (or as some people said "in the middle of nowhere"). I did huge grocery shopping, chat with my family through Skype and we cool down a little at DQ. After my grocery massacre our bikes are heavier than ever. We found weight station, so Baška's bike is 60 kg again, but my is 70 kg. We camped down at the rest area near Swift Current, everything was totally dry here and in the grass were small cactuses. We did really nice fire in one of stoves and finished pancake mix.

Day 91 - 1st September, Caronport-Chaplin-Morse, 62.18 miles

Zobudili sme sa do zamračeného rána, ale veľmi skoro už bolo opäť jasno a modrá obloha. Krajina okolo, pokiaľ nebola zaplevelená poliami, tak pripomínala naozajstnú prériu. Samozrejme, že pozmenenú na pasienky a namiesto bizónov iba s kravami, ale malo to ešte stále niečo zo svojej zašlej slávy. Len keby ten ostnatý drôt všade nebol... Aj keď sa jednalo o takmer arídny biotop, prekvapivo tu bolo plno jazier, mnoho z nich slaných, niektoré vyzerali ako keby boli zamrznuté. V Chapline zo slanej vody ťažili soľ, všetko tam bolo biele.V jazerách sa potuľovalo (okrem kráv) kopec  vtákov, hlavne bahniaky, videli sme aj nejaké šabliarky, hvizdáky, pelikány, čajky, lysky, kačice... Zopárkrát preletelo niečo ako kršiak, videli sme aj nejaké myšiaky a sokoly. Roviny vystriedala pahorkatina, cesta sa pozvoľna kľukatila raz poliami, inokedy zas pasienkami a prériou. Slnko do nás nemilosrdne pražilo po celý deň, blchy štípali (menší konflikt pri obede), občas nás z pol metra ofúkol kamión, skrátka romantika a pohoda skoro už “divokého“ západu.

It was cloudy morning, but very soon it was nice again. Now we entered to the real prairie, well what left. Even that land became much dryer here, there were endless fields with wheat. But pastures with cows (we didn't see any buffaloes) were huge and also endless and looked like real prairie. And there were lakes too, most of them solty, some looked like that they are frozen, but it was only salt crust. Very soon after we started to bike it was cloudless and very hot day. The flatland disappeared and we were biking through small hills and river valleys, around us were only farms and ranches. In Chaplin we had lunch in abandoned campground and I was attract by fleas, don't they spread something like bubonic plague? Well, I didn't see any groundhogs borrows, so it should be fine. Anyway after this incident they didn't bother me again. In Chaplin was factory which made salt from lake's salty water. There were hills of salt around, if we have skies we could go skying. Before Morse, were we tent in small RV campground, we passed some huge lakes with zillions of birds, we saw nearly the same species as in Slovakia, some really rear, here probably quite common. One huge lake was also near Morse, it was evening when we came so tomorrow will be time for some birdwatching.

Day 90 - 31th August, Grand Coulee-Moose Jaw-Caronport, 53.17 miles

Ráno nás čakali kráľovské raňajky v nemeckom štýle, Tereza je pôvodom z nemecka. Prišli aj Mike a jeho žena, rozlúčiť sa s nami (a tiež na raňajky). Cesta do Losej čeľuste (Moose Jaw) bola náročná, fúkal silný protivietor, obloha bola oloveno šedá, vyzeralo to na dážď. Ale mali sme šťastie, zdalo sa, že prší všade naokolo len nie tam, kde sme boli, kým sme prišli do Moose Jaw bolo už skoro pekne a teplo. Cestou, po pravej strane, esme minuli akúsi hroznú továreň s obrovskou haldou, najvyšší to bod široko ďaleko. Typujem, že dym čo z nej čmudil na kilometre ďaleko, musí miestnemu obiliu dodávať extra príchuť. Našťastie pri Moose Jaw začala krajina viac pripomínať prériu, len indiáni a kovboji chýbali. V Moose Jaw sme si iba dali obed, zmrzlinu (v Dairy Queen) a frčali ďalej. Nezastavili sme sa ani v ich slávnych termálnych kúpeľoch, ani sme nenavštívili Al Caponeho slávne tunely. Poobedňajšie bicyklovanie už bolo o niečo lepšie, jednak vietor povolil a počasie sa zlepšilo (na chvíľu). Zastavili sme sa až v Caronporte, kde hľadajúc miesto na spanie, zostali sme cez noc u jedného z miestnych obyvateľov, ktorý nás nechal prespať na svojej záhrade.

In the morning Theresa prepared for us amazing breakfast, very high nutritional and tasty (and because Theresa has roots in Germany, very German's style). Mike with his wife came too, to say goodbyes to us (and for the breakfast :-)) Theresa was really wonderful, she gave us sausages, cucumbers, tomatoes and good instant tea. Mike biked with us for a while, giving us the last advices. Then was time to say him goodbye and we started to fight against the wind. Sky was grey and clouds heavy with rain. But we were lucky and got to Moose Jaws more dry than wet, actually by the time we got there, sky was nearly clear and blue. Land around started to look more like a prairie. We didn't stay here for famous spa or Al Capone's tunnels, just had lunch and visited DQ. Afternoon biking was a little bit better, landscape around  begun to be more diverse and more interesting than endless farm fields of wheat. Also wind wasn't so bad anymore. And we had nice red sunset. In the evening we ends up in Caronport. There was literally nothing except a few houses and gas station (and very, very big church, and school, and playgrounds, and motel...), but no place to tent. But we were lucky again, when we asked one man where we can tent, he let us stay on his backyard. Canadians are cool.

Day 89 - 30th August, White City-Regina-Grand Coulee, 26.92 miles

Kým sa vymotáme z kempu je skoro poludnie (tesne pred odchodom Baška zistila, že má defekt). Fúka silný protivietor, cesta do Reginy je otrasná, ako všetky cesty do veľkých miest, hustá premávka, hluk, prach a shopping centrá. Skúšali sme nájsť nejaký cyklistický obchod, ale nič vhodné sme nenašli. Moje rukavice sa už pomaly rozpadávajú a potreboval by som nové. Aspoň sme našli free wifi a zavolali si s našimi. Inak kým sme sa vymotali z mesta bol už večer a pred nami nekonečné polia a stále vietor do tváre. Čakali sme, že tu budú kempy, veľmi hojné na výhodnej strane Reginy, ale západ bol úplne pustý. Ako sme si to tak pedálovali v ústrety zapadajúcemu slnku, zrazu sa spoza nás vynoril cyklista a hneď sa začal pýtať na našu cestu a tak, keď sme mu povedali, že asi dnes budeme späť v poli,lebo tu nič nie je (najbližšie mesto bolo tak 20 míľ), len tak mimochodom povedal, že jeho priatelia bývajú, hneď túto cez pole na farme, a že či nechceme prespať u nich. No za chvíľu už sme boli na farme, pani domu Tereza, nám ponúkla niečo ako Radler a výborné tyčinky a chcela nám spraviť aj poriadnu večeru, ale my sme sa celkom napráskali v Regine. Mike, tak sa volal onen cyklista, s nami rozoberal plán ďalšej cesty a spolu s Terezou nám dali kopec typov, hlavne na prechod cez Skalisté Vrchy a opäť raz sme sa rozprávali dlho do noci. Prespali sme v ich super luxusnom rodinnom karavane.

Today we started around noon, partly because of flat tire on Baška's bike. Road to Regina was horrible, strong west wind, dust, shopping malls, crazy traffic, as it is usual around big cities. In Regina we tried to find new cyclogloves for me, that old one what I have are falling slowly apart, but without success. We also tried to get map of Alberta, but with same result as with gloves. Luckily we found free wifi, so we could speak with my family. When we got out from town it was evening. Biking against the wind, we were looking for some campgrounds, but there were only farm fields around us, no town or something. West side of Regina is very different from east side where were campgrounds everywhere... Suddenly one biker appeared from behind and after small conversation, when he found out that we don't have any clue where to stay for night, he mentioned that we could oversleep at his friend's house. And, surprisingly, we were just passing around their farm. So we agreed and very soon we hang out with Mike (biker), his wife Charlotte (who came to pick him up) and Theresa (farmer), drinking good beer and eating pretzels. We were talking about our bike trip and Mike with Theresa were giving us some advices for our next journey. We slept in Theresa's trailer, very comfortable and big.