The Highlight Reel

I wanted to spend a bit of time to highlight some of best parts of this summer's adventure. As I started to look at the list, I realized this was going to be easier said than done. That is because I loved the entire trip so much - that it is going to be hard to pick the highlights - SO - I am going to see if I can put the highlights in categories. Within each category -things are listed - but they are not in a ranked list.

The Best of the Best

• Newfoundland was just fantastic. The entire island deserves another visit. I want to keep this summary short - but - the northern peninsula, Gros Morne, The Tablelands, and St. John's were just fantastic. So were both ferry rides. Oh - and Cape Saint Mary's. I will for sure be back.
• North of Superior. This is fantastically pretty country. I enjoyed this country in both directions. I think it would be fun to spend some more time in this country. 
• Yellowknife is a neat place to visit. The road to and from Peace River is OK, the Legislative Assembly is really cool, and the town is very interesting. Loved it. Plus, we got some great beer and some great local fish. The trip to Yellowknife is for sure worth doing.
• From the time we left Dawson Creek headed north - to the time we finally crossed back into BC southbound from our loop through the Yukon, the Arctic Ocean, and Alaska - Wow - just amazing - a huge highlight. I will end up calling out certain highlights within that loop. But the entire loop was fantastic
• On the ALCAN from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake through the Northern Rockies is  really pretty. I got to ride a motorbike through a herd of buffalo - very strange.
• Whitehorse is a great town. I really like Whitehorse. We ended up using Whitehorse as a hub - so actually stayed in town about 5 nights over 3 different visits. Lots to see and do. The best hotel we found was the  Coast High Country Inn. The best cocktails - the Woodcutters Blanket. The best beers, sports, and fun people - the place to be is the Dirty Northern Public House - known by many of the locals as the "Dirty Northern Bastard". By far the best meal we had was at an Italian place called Giorgios Cuccina - try the Arctic Char - it is perfect
• The flight from Dawson City to Inuvik and the boat ride to Tuktoyaktuk up the MacKenzie River was just fantastic. This is a great trip. Give Kylik at Tundra North Tours a ring - and set this up - ya gotta do this. Fantastic trip.
• The Top of the World Highway from Dawson City to Tok Alaska is just fantastic. Some gravel, but very well maintained. This is another must do.
• The drive from Tok to Anchorage, and then from Anchorage to Anchor Point is just incredible. A bunch of this is really great riding - not just pretty - fun to ride - fast sweepers, twisties - the occasional surprise gravel - everything - great fun.
• The drive past the border of Kluane National Park - followed by the flyover was a huge highlight - what amazing country
• The Klondike Highway South Through the Chilkoot Pass to Skagway and back to Whitehorse is a fantastic loop. Skagway is a great tourist town and was fun to see.
• The drive down 37A to Stewart BC is incredible. The road is amazing.You see the Bear Glacier on the drive down into Stewart. Then, you pop back into Alaska to get to the Salmon Glacier. Wow - just WOW - well worth the trip.
• I loved Vancouver Island. Be careful - make sure you are not stupid enough to get way back in the boondocks on bad logging roads. Otherwise, enjoy - the entire island. As with the north loop, look for some details below
•  I loved Victoria. Make sure you have a couple of beers and a meal at the  The Four Mile House Restaurant. 
• The loop from Courtenay to Tofino is not optional- do this - it is fricking amazing! Ohhh - bike road big time - have fun. Be careful - a bunch of these corners - the signs mean it (as far as the recommended speed) - these are exciting corners!
• The other special mention is the loop out to Port Renfrew and Lake  Cowichan deserves special mention - it is fantastic - like the loop to Tofino - all about the fantastic views as well as the technically challenging ride.
• The run from Gibsons up to Whistler and then Lillooet, followed by the run down the Fraser Canyon to the Hope Slide. This was just amazing. It is too bad that the smoke from the fires was so bad. As it was, it was just incredibly pretty - if it had been clearer - I bet it would have been even more amazing. And - from a ridding point of view - these are truly fantastic roads. On the Whistler to Lillooet leg - traffic was a problem. This is a good place to remember - just pull over and wait for the traffic to go away. 
• We loved Vancouver. This is a great city and deserves an extended visit. We had all been there before - but this time we spent a full week and really got to see and appreciate the city
• The Kootenay country is fantastic. I regret not spending a couple of days here. Oh well, next time.
• Kananaskis is just amazing. This highway deserves to be driven again. Very very pretty.
• The badlands up at Drumheller are really something. Well worth the trip

The Best

• The south shore of the St. Lawrence is  very pretty - well worth the trip - get off the slab and follow 132
• In Quebec, on the south shore near Saint-André - grab Quebec Hw289 to NB Hw120 to Edmundston. Nice - hills, rivers, curves, forest,  churches - some protestant, some catholic - just a great ride.
• When I got back to Caribou NS from PEI, I took  Hw 347 and Hw 7 to Dartmouth.  Just a great bike road - lots of fantastic views, tons of curves, elevation changes, and the occasional road snake :-). Since I was riding by myself, I kept it down to a touring pace - but it would have been a lot of fun to pick it up to the brisker pace that I used to ride at with two different groups (with some overlap) of friends.  This road was so great, to get back to Antigonish, I went back up 7 with a loop up 316 and 16. Just fantastic
• The Cabot Trail -  we did a clockwise journey around the Cabot Trail. I would love to do this loop again - and I would like to go the other direction - I bet it is a different look and feel. In fact, I think it would be fun to do it in both directions!
• The coastal route from Moncton to Rivière-du-Loup is very very pretty.
• The loop through Quebec backroads was really nice. Hmmm - should this be on the best of the best list? Maybe.... if the weather had been better - I think it would have made the best of the best list for sure.
• The Peace River Country is really pretty. Contrasts between valley hills and high prairie was pretty. 
• Whitehorse to Dawson City is very pretty. If the weather had been better - and if we had done the trip earlier in the day so we had better light - this might have been on the best of best list.
• Dawson City is a great little tourist trap for a day or 2 visit. I liked it a lot
• HW 37 ("The Stewart-Cassiar Hwy")is really good. Parts of it are fantastic.
• Hw 16 from Kitimat to Prince Rupert is very very nice. I am right on the edge to putting this on the best of the best list
• Same for the Ferry ride from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy. Very nice - but shitty weather - if it had been a gorgeous sunny day - I bet this would have made the best of the best list
• The Sunshine Coast is so so pretty. This deserves another look.
• Grasslands National Park down in south Saskatchewan deserves another visit - but with a 4 wheel drive - or at least an SUV - so you can really explore. Looks like a great place to camp - plus supposed to be a very dark sky - so a great place to take a telescope I bet.

Worth a Mention

• The ride along the shore of Lake Ontario and the North shore of the St. Lawrence through Ontario is always worth it. One of the things I like about this is I know it well enough to pick the back roads
• Hw105 in New Brunswick from Fredericton along the Saint John River
• The bridge to PEI is pretty cool. The wind was a bit spooky on the bike!

Things I Know I Missed

I am sure that there is stuff I missed that I do not know I missed. But - these are the ones I missed that I know about

• Montreal and Quebec are two great cities where I have had a lot of fun in the past. Quebec City in particular - too bad I did not spend more time there
• Should have had a better look at both Fredericton and Charlottetown. I gave Charlottetown a bit more time than Fredericton. It looks to me like it might be a really good place for a few days of seeing the town and having a couple of nice meals
• I wanted to do the interior of BC drive - but with the fires - we took the ferry instead.
• Glacier National Park, Banff, Lake Louise, The Columbia Icefields Parkway, Jasper - the entie trip up and down the BC - Alberta boarder.Next time maybe.