Nakusp – Balfour – Creston – Grand Forks

I road out of Revelstoke south on 23 towards the ferry at Shelter Bay in good spirits – no thanks to my back but to the weather I was riding towards to the south and the overall forecast for the next several days. Sunny and warm! I also was excited for the loop I was about to ride. I had ridden much of the route last year but it was in the rain for the majority of the day. Wet roads require much slower speeds anyway…plus the overall tension I personally experience riding twisty wet roads – thinking the back end is going to cut loose at any moment, you get the idea.

Last year we had to wait almost 45 minutes to load the ferry at Shelter Bay but this year I pulled up and the lines were already moving forward to load. This ferry station has nothing else there where some of the others have some commercial activity at dock. I remember distinctly the coffee and delicious fruit tart I had at the Balfour ferry station last year and was looking forward to the same treat this year. They bunch up all the motorcycles together on the ferry so there is time to chat it up with fellow riders. Many of the guys on this ferry were going to be doing a short day and staying in Nakusp. We stopped for lunch last year in Nakusp and it is a really cool little town so was planning the same this year. After a 30 minute or so chug across the lake I rode off the ferry south on 23 with blue skies and cool perfect temperature. What a great day to be riding in BC!

Arriving in Nakusp right at lunchtime I parked and walked into Chumley’s for lunch. I knew the food was good having chosen the same lunch spot last year. Several other bikers were there and were camping in the municipal campground and were talking about what a good time they had last night socializing with all the other bikers and travelers. Nakusp is an annual site for a Horizon’s Unlimited meet each year in July and the that campground is taken over by attendees during the long weekend event. This year it was held a little earlier or I would have tried to attend. I have attended Horizon’s meets in Virginia and North Carolina where Ken and I were presenters on our trips around the world and to Ushuaia. After lunch I was convinced to cut my day short and spend the night in Nakusp. I’m glad I did…the campground was packed with bikers and travelers from all over the world. It was a great night socializing and making new friends.

Sunday morning I rolled out of my tent barely able to straighten up. I took a walk to try to loosen up before packing up my camp. After the walk I made coffee and did the daily safety check on the motorcycle. Today I noticed a new oil leak (I have had a permanent leak from a crack in the oil sump for 5 years now) coming from the rear shock. I’ve had that shock rebuilt once already but that was now 16,000 miles ago so appears it is due again. Hopefully it doesn’t get any worse. I may have to avoid off-road for the rest of this trip to preserve it. My camp pack up routine usually takes about 30-40 minutes but now moving as slow as I am it is taking well over an hour. Very frustrating…it’s been 5 days now since I tweaked it. The longest previous back episode lasted about 10 days or so – hoping I will be back to normal soon.

Despite my back misery and the discovery of the rear shock leaking, I was in a great mood because it is sunny, warm and I was going to ride 31A on dry roads! I reached the turnoff and switched from the Coffee Break Spanish podcast I was listening to and went to music. What a blast it was dancing through the turns! I almost turned around and rode it again it was so fun, but instead started thinking about the bakery in Balfour and a fruit tart.

I arrived to the Balfour ferry dock to already crowded lanes, got off the bike and started taking off my Helmut when the cars in front started moving forward. I glanced up at the sign and saw that I had arrived just as the hourly ferry was loading to make the run across the lake. Rats! No fruit tart for me! I couldn’t believe that both ferries this year were blindly timed with a zero wait. I couldn’t justify wasting any of this beautiful day waiting for the next ferry so boarded right away. More riders to chat it up with again on this ferry. I tend to draw the attention of other riders with my not so pretty 25 year old pig of a bike. Most everyone else I run into are on much newer BMW’s, Harley’s, Honda’s, etc. Part of me would love to have a newer bike but honestly this one still does the job and I don’t really have to worry about anyone messing with it once parked for the night. Much more inviting motorcycles are always parked near me so I know thieves will never be drawn to mine.

Rolling off the ferry I headed south on 3A towards Creston. Last year I spent two nights in Creston and remembered a good Indian restaurant in town that I was targeting for lunch. Unfortunately, when I arrived to town and pulled up in the street next to the spot, it is closed for lunch on Sundays. I’m striking out on food today! So instead I gassed up, hit a grocery store and bought a couple of the vegetable curry pastry triangles (I think they are called Samosas) you find in groceries all over Canada. They really are good but probably not as good as lunch at the restaurant would have been.

After Creston I continued east on Highway 3 to Grand Forks. After 3 nights in a row camping my back needed a break so I got a room at Johnny’s Motel on the river at the edge of town. I was blown away when I walked into the room after checking in. It looked like a brand new model room. Later while in town having dinner, I found out why it was so new. The entire town had experienced a 200 year flood in May of 2018 and Johnny’s Motel was under water. It had been completely redone and had just re-opened earlier this summer. I can’t even imagine the amount of water that it took to overflow the banks of the rivers (the Granby and Kettle Rivers confluence in Grand Forks) – the river bank next to Johnny’s is at least 25 feet up from the river at it’s current flow! The motel was opened by Johnny in the 50’s and has changed hands several times over the years but has kept the name. At one time it was owned by an Englishman and the tribute to England is still displayed proudly out front as can be seen in the picture included in this post.

Today I am heading east to Cawston to visit Cynthia, Vanessa and Rosie. I stayed at Cynthia’s last year on the way up and got to meet her friends Vanessa and Rosie. Then met up with them again on the way down and camped out in Creston with them. I originally met Cynthia in Panama on the trip to Ushuaia. She is planning to leave on her own trip to Ushuaia this fall. They are all really good people and I’m looking forward to seeing them again today!