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for the Kootenay Bay/Balfour Ferry Schedule |
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| Speed Limits Under Construction |
| From Bigfork,
MT - Under Construction |
Commentary
After the border (Thank you Officer, may I have another?) the road turns north up a broad valley towards Elko where you have the choice of continuing north on HW3 to head towards Banff/Lake Louise or west on the confluence of Highways 3 & 95 in the direction of Cranbrook. Now the ride gets a bit more curvey. Valley floor follows mountain pass follows valley floor as you wind your way to Creston. All of these town have great appeal and it would be easy to while away a day or two in any of them. But we've got more miles to cover just now! In Creston, motor about until you come across Route 3a. This is a fun road. You run along the east shore of Kootenay Lake repleat with little villages, Bed & Breakfasts, Lodges and scenic scenery. Speed limits vary quickly so be on your toes (right hands.) At Kootenay Bay, there is a Ferry Crossing that, in nice weather is a real treat. I nearly wet myself the first time worrying about the fare, if they took US dollars or credit cards as I had left my stash of Canadian cash at home eroneously. But what should I find upon arrival? Wonder of wonders! It was free! Woo hoo! The ferry runs regularly, but not frequently - every 40 to 50 minutes. They lets the bikes on first and there are toilets on the ferries. From Balfour, while it would be quicker to continue on 3a, if you have an extra hour, proceed north to Kaslo and switch to 31a. Route 31a to New Denver is a great detour. No traffic, nice pavement, twisty and remote. It'[s worth the extra 3600 seconds. From New Denver, pick up 6 south (repaved recently) and head to Trail, or Castlegar, or anywhere really. It's all lovely. I had business in Trail so I went there. A good sized town with hotels, restaurants and other amenties amidst the BC Rockies. On my homeward journey, I went south through Rossland just because and headed to Northport Washington. Highway 25 runs along the banks of the Columbia River and is just as cool as it can be. In Collvile I picked up Highway 20 and entered a more populated area. After Kettle Falls (watch for speed traps) the traffic dissapated and the road seemed happy to provide moire and more interesting curves as we headed to Lone Tiger. Shear valleys and piney woods abounded. I happen to go through at the peak of a very bad fire season, so I mostly saw yellow haze with the ever-present smell of camping. (I'm sure it's smells better now.) From Lone Tiger, if you head north a couple miles, there is a convenience store with gas (and snacks!) so if you have a 120 mile range like me, this is a welcome stop. There is also air for the occasional leaky rear bun should the need arise. (As it turned out, I had a valve stem fail on this trip... of all things! I was sure I had a slowly leaking puncture and so was refilling the rear tire every hour while worrying like crazy something very bad was going to happen. I searched and searched but could find no obvious place to plug so on I went.) At Newport I picked up Highway 2 (which meanders across Idaho and back to Kalispell) which passes by some really nice places, but is not itself much more than a main road from town to town. It is certainly more beautiful than many roads, but it gets trafficy, stinky (big trucks) and there are a lot of slow areas with traffic lights. In truth, it's probably better than most highways, but I hgad just come from riding in my own personal Canadian backroad bubble and ANY other traffic or stinkies on the road were unwelcome. In summary, if you get the chance to dawdle around in souther BC, do it. Whether you get to ride 31a, or go to Fernie on 95, or Banff,or Jasper or anywhere really, it's worth it. Try to go no sooner than mid July since June is the rainy season up here. The roads are great. The people are super. The natural splendour is, well, splenderous. Soneday I'm gonna ride up to the Yukon or Alaska just cuz the southern part of BC is so nice, the north has to be better!
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