We had a relaxing day in the log cabin and Rex turned up later that day. Dell had been into town and bought some food including a roast that we decided to cook on the weber. Compared with weather conditions the previous day it was heaven. We headed north to Helena the next morning to meet Keith a friend of Rex's who owned several BMW motorcycles and who had toured with Rex on a number of occasions. He was a cartographer/GIS guru so we had lots to talk about. That afternoon we rode high into the mountains on some unbelievably good motorcycle roads across Rogers Pass and Lincoln. Montana is either rolling grasslands or steep timbered moutains and the combination is extremely picturesque. That night we stayed with Micah Bogage at Arlee located north of Missoula en route to Glacier/Waterton NP. He too has a BMW (R100GSPD) and lived in a beautiful house on a small farmlet that he and his partner Jenny had renovated using all sorts of timber. He was a carpenter by trade and had done a real tasteful job. They had all sorts of pets including pigs, chooks, horses, humming birds, foxes and dogs.

Afetr a relaxing afternoon trying to find elk skin gloves and gaiters to keep the rain out of our boots in Missoula we headed north to Kalispell and Glacier/Waterton NP. Not wanting to avoid cooking all together we often ate at roadside cafe's that were simply everywhere. Lunch consisted of round steak, mash and veges, drinks and a desert for $25. Dell had purchased a pair of motorcycle trousers and had them sent to the UPS office in Kalispell. She was a little disappointed as they did not fit her that well. But it was cool and wet and these items were essential.

That night we camped with two guys from Georgia who had ridden all the way to Whitehorse en route to Alaska but had been stopped by a flooded river and had to return empty handed. They had a BMW R1200RT and a Victory and it was obvious that the guy on the Victory was a lot happier with his bike than the BMW which had numerous problems including badly warped brake rotors and a failed ABS system all with 30K miles. We enoyed our camp with the boys and had a good laugh. The NP camp host continued to visit the boys as they did not seem to be able to do anything right in his eyes. The rule book was huge in NP mostly full of things not to do!!

Canada had arrived and we zipped over the border and into Waterton NP. The campground was huge and resident ground squirrels were aplenty. In fact it was hard to find a spot that didn't have one of the critters poking their little heads up from their burrows. Cute and very noisey was the verdict. The wind picked up that afternoon and by nightfall at 11:00pm it was blowing a gale off the lake whose head waters were covered in snowy mountains. I was very impressed with the North Face tent we had bought for it hardly moved in the gale force winds. Our neighbours (Terry and Rika) at the camp were from Calgary. Terry offered me a lesson in fishing techniques and what lures to use in lakes and rivers. I had brought with me a fishing rod and reel along with a few lures. But this guy really knew his stuff and proudly displayed his collection for me to learn from.

That afternoon, we rode up to Cameron Lake and along with the other 200 tourists in giant RV/Campervans oggled over the massive precipitous bluff and headwall that was the backdrop to the lake. Icebergs still floated in the lake that was frozen for most of the winter. We had become very wary about how much gear to put on as the weather was so changeable. Too much insulation meant that activities like walking and God forbid hiking, was just out of the question. Today I had tossed my jeans with the kevlar inserts and wore my motorcycle trousers with liners because of the impending snowy conditions. Well it was a bad decision as I overheated quickly. Sometimes ya get it right and others its wrong. We finally saw a brown bear much to Dells pleasure and some mountain sheep who all appeared to be quite obvious to the passing traffic. With their malting coats dragging along behind they looked way over-dressed.

Because we had ended up chatting for most of the morning, our plan to head NW to Pincher Creek was way behind. Our first taste of Canadian supermarkets was very pleasing. Much like Australia with a huge variety of breads, cereals and freshly prepared salads. We stoked up the bikes with a feast of fresh food. That night we ended up camping next to Gavin and Victoria a couple who had been living together for 3 years but never been camping. Without having any gear they simply strolled into Walmart and bought the lot (tent, separate sitting tent, chairs, sleeping bags etc) for a staggering $100. And it was packed in a travel suitcase with wheels. How's that for cheap camping!! After several hours with help of another couple they really opened up and began trying to sing....very loud... and very out of tune! And it was raining. However that did not seem to deter Vicki from emptying her lungs for 3 more hours. Oh it was all very entertaining.

Although it rained again the next day we were getting used to it and treated the showers as a minor inconvenience. We camped at Golden and then at Lake Louise the following night with a brief visit to Ross' Pass in Glacier Pass NP. Constructing a railroad through these moutains caused some considerable expense in $ and lives. A staggering feat when one remembers that it was completed by the very early 1900's. Lake Louise and the Icefield Parkway were always going to be one of the most spectacular views on this trip. We spent a day at L Louise walking past and up to the snowline beyond the 1000's of tourists that milled around the resort town. In all we strolled for more than 11kms on a return trip. A previous visit to this lake in 1986 has caused me some considerable stress as I got lost (or failed to read the maps correctly) and ended up walking more than 27 kms arriving back at camp at 11:30pm feeling like I had just returned from the North Pole. Towering snow-capped peaks, thundering waterfalls, huge receding glaciers and an endless chain of tectonic activity for more than 200 kms. It is impossible to ride for more than 15kms without stopping to admire the grandeur of the sights. Glassy pine-clad lakes mirrored in the towering backdrop of the Rockies and the great Continental Divide. So far we had maintained close contact with the Continental Divide throughout our trip. We had now seen 100's of ground squirrels, several grizzly bears, one black and one brown bear. Once we leave Jasper, the traffic thins out and the road gets longer and narrower and I expect that we will see a lot more activity on the side of the road.

We decided on a rest day in Jasper to catch up with some washing, ride the chair lift and generally slow down for a rest. From here north, distances between stops would increase dramatically. It was 1000kms to Prince Rupert and another 1000kms to Watsons Lake in the Yukon.