Making Tracks Along Route 66

Thursday, June 30th.

I was up and out by 8 and began a long day of riding. It was a warm morning with a cloudless blue sky. I rode through some of the plains of Indiana and Illinois, with fields of young very green corn plants and fields of soybeans. It doesn't look much different than Southern Ontario. I spent the day riding on a series of Interstates, 69, 70 and 44 West from St Louis to Joplin, Missouri. 44 is in fact part of the famous, or infamous, Route 66. Route 66 reduced the distance between Chicago and Los Angeles by more than 200 miles, which made it popular among thousands of motorists who drove west in subsequent decades. The period of historical significance for Route 66 was 1926 to 1985. 

Written by Bobby Troup and recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946, the song Route 66 lists the major cities along the highway. It contains the verse: "If you ever plan to motor west, Travel my way, take the highway that is best. Get your kicks on route sixty-six." In reality it is now a series of interstates used by truckers between east and west. It is not a particularly pleasant ride, however it is expedient. The afternoon became very warm with temperatures into the nineties Fahrenheit or mid thirties Celsius. It was hot on the bike.

I joined Route 66 at St Louis. Prominent on the city skyline  from the highway is the Gateway Arch. It is a 630-foot (192 m) tall stainless steel monument. It is the tallest monument in the US and was built in recognition of all the pioneers and travelers heading to the west. It was completed in 1965 at a cost of 13 million dollars. At this point I crossed the Mississippi River, which seems to symbolically separate east from west.

Frustrated bloggers note: It is impossible to take photos from the bike on the highway and there are no places to stop. I tried to find copyright free jpegs of the Route 66 map and the city skyline of St Louis but with my new Chromebook was unable to download or save them. Thanks to Shayna who helped me from Toronto. 

Driving through Missouri I drove through part of the Ozark Mountains which is a scenic area of forested hills and the highway cuts through the sedimentary rock. After that the land leveled off and I noticed a return to agriculture but also the beginning of some ranching. After almost 13 hours on the bike and a total of 1141 kms, I stopped at Joplin and checked into another Comfort Inn. I went to a local grocery store and bought some fruit and yogurt and collapsed in my room.

Interesting highway billboards:

A Yosemite Sam type holding two six-shooters, which reads: in-laws and out-laws gun shop.

Two holstein cows painting black paint on a white background, that reads: eat more chickin.

And finally, Shackled by lust? Jesus will set you free.....  is there nothing that he cannot or will not do? 

Launching a New Riding Adventure

Let's see how far we go.

The 4th fill up of the day. Thank goodness for American Freedom Energy!

 Wednesday, June 29th.

In 2010 I took a 7 week tour of the American West on my motorcycle. It was the trip of a lifetime in so many ways. The landscapes were gorgeous, the roads were amazing for riding, the National Parks were incredible and the hiking was challenging. I really didn’t want it to end, but that was just the starting leg of a full year of traveling. I had to get home to get ready for the rest of it. (All the details of that year are included in the left column of the blog under Western US Motorcycle Trip and the four tabs above that: South American, Africa, The Middle East and Asia.)

I have always wanted to return to the ‘cowboy’ country of the US and do it on the bike again, but I got distracted by many other destinations, and then everything was on hold for two years due to the pandemic.

So, I made myself two promises for this summer: 1) to visit the Maritime Provinces of Canada, which I just did, and 2) ride west again before I turn 70 and the bike and I are too old. I am riding the same beautiful Yamaha VStar that I did in 2010.

After some planning of things to see and ways to go, and booking three must see destinations that I missed last time (because I didn’t pre-book), I woke up this morning all ready to go. Except it was raining. Not an auspicious start. So, I hung around at home until noon when it finally abated. I saddled up and rode out of Toronto along the 401 West. This is the trucker’s highway, and I rode through canyons of 18 wheelers for 5 hours to the Windsor to Detroit border crossing. On route I saw two separate incidents of trucks on fire. About 30 minutes outside of Windsor I passed dozens of windmills. I was amazed again by their gigantic size and confounded by how they were planted in the farmer’s fields… Entry into the US was easy and I rode out on I75 south to 475 West and then 69 South to Fort Wayne Indiana. I rode for a total of 8 hours, 662 kms and four gas fill ups. Not a great day of riding,  but a necessary day in order to get where I want to go. Tomorrow will be more of the same.

Reflections and Summary of the East Coast Trip

Hotel Frontenac, Quebec City.

Tide differences of Hopewell Rocks in Bay of Fundy.

Beach in PEI.

A cormorant colony.

A Cape Breton 'party'.

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse.

Saturday, June 18^th.

That’s it, tout complet, mission accomplished. Both Shayna and I had never been to the East Coast and on this trip we saw everything on our list of things to see and do in the Maritimes and more. We saw the major highlights of the area, with the exception of Newfoundland, which will be a trip unto itself in the future. We loved Peggy’s Cove, the Cabot Trail, the musicality of the Ceilidh, Lunenburg, Hopewell Rocks, the hike in PEI’s Greenwich PP, the Anne of Green Gables site, the Maud Lewis exhibit at the Nova Scotia Art Gallery, the mystery of the Magnetic Hill and Reversing Falls, and the physical beauty of Canada. We learned or refreshed our memory of Canadian history at places like Louisbourg, the Halifax Citadel and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum (any other museums as well). We stayed in smaller towns and probably didn’t do justice to the major cities, like Charlottetown, Saint John or Moncton, for example. 

I have traveled extensively throughout the world and always knew I wanted to see Eastern Canada as the furthest I had been previously was Tadoussac, east of Quebec City in 2006. I figured I’d see the Maritimes when I got old and retired. Well, here I am. COVID definitely helped too, as we were more comfortable and felt safer traveling within Canada. We drove 6237 kms through two countries, five provinces and three states. Gas in the States was around $5.00 a gallon and in Canada it reached a max of $2.15 a litre, or over $8.00 a gallon! The brief visit of the US was a nice alternate route home. I had never been to Maine before and was glad to see the state that Hawkeye called home. There was a lot of in car driving time and long distances, but that is the nature of the beast in this kind of road trip. We did do a fair bit of walking and took a couple of excellent hikes, the last of which was the Glen Boulder Trail hike that we can still feel in our quads two days later. 

We didn’t book anything in advance as I like the flexibility of changing plans on the go and the thrill of discovery. Because we traveled early in the tourist season, we encountered less crowds, cheaper pre-season rates, and cooler weather. We slept in 18 different very comfortable beds. We met many very friendly people in hotels, restaurants, parks, and shops. We ate lots of excellent, very fresh and expensive seafood: lobster, shrimp, scallops, mussels and fish. I was very surprised and admittedly disappointed by the lack of wildlife. We didn’t have any whale sightings, the only animal we saw was a fox and birds? Where were they? We saw lots of the ubiquitous seagulls and omnipresent crows and sparrows, but precious little else. We had two days of rain that didn’t affect us as we used them for travel days. The trip, sites and destinations were not as exotic as other places I have been fortunate enough to visit, but it re-confirmed that Canada is a truly beautiful country from coast to coast and the best country in the world. All in all, time and money well spent!

From Jackson to Montreal

The rear of Eagle Mountain House.

The Wildcat River Rapids.

Two views along the Kancamagus Scenic Byway.

Motorcycles everywhere... time for a ride?

Friday, June 17th.

We had a relaxing morning at the Inn, sitting on the rocking chairs having a coffee, before driving to a local deli where we bought a takeout breakfast and went to the Wildcat River rapids where we sat on the rocks and ate it. I had an excellent wrap filled with egg, cheese, sweet potato, onion, and ham. We dangled our feet in the cold water and enjoyed the views. Then we got in the car and went back to Mt Washington to see it the weather was clear and if they would give me a discount because of yesterday, but no and no, so we left and drove to the Kancamagus Scenic Byway, a 35-mile route through the mountains. We encountered motorcycles all along the route, in groups and singly. Then we programmed Montreal into the GPS and headed north on I93. When we got to the border, we filled out our ArriveCan app to re-enter Canada. Shayna had no problem with hers, but mine said I needed a test, or I’d be fined. We couldn’t figure it out, so we gave up and drove to the custom agent without completing it. When I showed him the problem, he said I must have the old app and he helped me fill it out. Viola! Then we drove the two hours to Montreal. Ironically, during our almost 6000km drive we were never delayed by an accident until a half hour before Montreal. We were delayed 20 minutes. We arrived at Shayna’s brother Jack’s condo at 6, got our luggage out of the car and it began to chuck down rain… timing. We had a nice pizza dinner with Jack and Rebecca and an evening of good conversation. We ended where we started. All that is left is the drive back to Toronto tomorrow... 

Jackson, New Hampshire & Mt Washington

Two shots of the main street of Ogunquit.

American flags are omnipresent.

Covered bridge leading to Jackson.

The Eagle Mountain House.

Shayna in her happy place... at the top of Glen Boulder Trail.

Admiring the view.

Holding up the boulder.

The top of Mt Washington.

A great place to relax and enjoy the White Mountain view.

The outdoor dinning.

The quaint old lodge.

Thursday, June 16^th.

We left early for our short 2-hour drive to New Hampshire. The weather was good but rain was promised for later in the day and we had a hike to do. We arrived in Jackson, NH by 11 and had word that our room was ready in the Eagle Mountain House, so we drove straight there. This is a beautiful old lodge built in 1879 that has 125 rooms and 100 baths. We checked in and left our stuff and drove to a market to pick up sandwiches and snacks for our hike. Then we drove to the head of the Glen Boulder Trail. This is a five mile there and back again trek straight up the mountain. We started in the typical hardwood forest and climbed above the tree line. The footing was difficult as it was all over rocks. It was hard and there was lots of huffing and puffing going on, but I just practised the ‘pole pole’ (slowly slowly) method I’d learned at Kilimanjaro. Just keep moving. It took over an hour up climbing to reach the alpine line where we had to scramble over a large rock face before climbing some more to reach the goal of the huge balancing boulder. We stayed at the top for a bit before retracing our steps back down to the car. It was difficult going down too, as our legs were tired, and you had to watch your footing all the time. It wouldn’t do to sprain an ankle here… we only saw five people the whole way. It took about three hours to complete, and my legs were like Jell-O by the end. After that we drove to the beginning of Mt Washington Roadway. This is an eight-mile road that climbs to the summit of the highest peak in eastern North America. It took many years and several false starts but after a bankruptcy problem the final Mt Washington Summit Road company formed and completed the construction in two years from 1859-61 (pre civil war!). It is billed as America’s oldest and continuing attraction and is still family owned and operated. It cost $39 US for the car and driver and $15 each for any other passenger. It is a narrow two-lane road that has been used as a way for tourists to reach the top and for every kind of race you can imagine over the years. Shayna has climbed this mountain three times in the past. It is a three hour climb and the same return. When we reached the summit, it was encased in cloud and you couldn’t see anything. I parked the car and climbed the 50 odd stairs to the summit building where I learned a bit about the history. It was so foggy I had a hard time finding the car again. Then we drove back down to the lodge. We made a dinner reservation for the porch and went to the room to get ready. We had a drink on the porch in rocking chairs while we waited for our table. Shayna had scallops and I had salmon. It was a lovely evening to sit our and enjoy the tree covered White Mountains. After dinner we went to the Jackson Hole game room and played ping pong and pool for an hour or so before retiring for the night.

Bar Harbor and Ogunquit, Maine

Margaret Todd

Shore Path in Bar Harbor.

Harbor in Ogunquit.

A delicious lobster late lunch.

Ogunquit Harbor

The huge Ogunquit Beach.

The cold Atlantic Ocean.

Wednesday, June 15th. 

We took our provided breakfast basket down to the Shore Path and had a picnic before walking the entire length in both directions. In town we saw them loading passengers onto the four masted Margaret Todd. We had to leave so I couldn’t wait to see it with all the sails up, so I found this photo on the internet. Then we packed up and headed out towards Ogunquit, Maine about 4 hours south. The route took us via a couple of highways that connected with I-95, which is the highway that goes all the way to Florida. Who knew it started at the New Brunswick – Maine border? On recommendations from two of Shayna’s friends, we went straight to Perkins Cove, parked, and had a late lunch outside on a patio overlooking the harbour at Barnacle Billy's. We each had a 1.5 pound lobster…absolutely DELICIOUS, and shared garlic bread and coleslaw. The entire area of Ogunquit is wall to wall hotels, shops and restaurants...but beautiful. After lunch, we did the Marginal Walk, a path alongside the ocean that lead to town and eventually crossed a little bridge to get to a huge beach! We walked along there for a while wading into the cold Atlantic Ocean, before retracing our steps back to our car. The entire walk took two hours. The we finally drove to the hotel, the Rose Blossom, we booked earlier and checked in. In the evening we went for a walk about town and bought a bit of fruit.

Bar Harbor, Maine & Acadia National Park

Reversing Falls at high tide.

Seacroft, Bar Harbor

Sand Beach

Photo bomb!

Shayna on a Loop Drive viewpoint.

Mainstreet Bar Harbor.

Bar Harbor harbor.

My Irish Seafood Stew.

Tuesday, June 14^th.

After having our included breakfast, I checked our route to Maine and saw that it went right by the Reversing Falls, so I decided we’d go there on the way. We planned to return home via the US for two reasons. One, to not have to drive the same route home and two, Shayna wanted to revisit New Hampshire. The falls were somewhere between the slack tide and high tide. They are not very exciting to look at especially on a grey drizzly morning, but we did see a pleasure craft go from the river over the ‘rapids’, which were now submerged, into the bay. Then we headed out for the American border. It was a very quiet border crossing. The crossing was very easy, and the guard was quite friendly. He was thumbing through our passports asking general questions, when he asked, ‘Do you travel for work’ and I said no for holidays, and he replied, ‘You don’t see many Antarctica stamps.’ We originally were going to drive straight to New Hampshire, but that’s a long way and we have time, so we changed plans and decided to go to Ogunquit, Maine to break it up. Then I proposed we go to Bar Harbor as well, as I had heard lots about it. We arrived at a visitor centre there about 1:30. The information clerk told us about a good B’n’B that had just had a cancellation. It turned out to be a lovely old inn called Seacroft. Our hostess, Bunny, said we could either walk to town or to the seashore… “Serenity one way … the circus the other"… This is a very busy, incredibly touristy area. There are an incredible number of accommodations, because of the beauty of the area and Acadia National Park where there is hiking, swimming, biking, horseback riding and other activities. We bought a pass and drove the scenic loop through the park, which took a couple of hours. It was like a mini-Cabot Trail with very pretty views of the coast and the Atlantic and a lovely beach called appropriately, Sandy Beach. Then we went back to our Inn to change and walk into town. We browsed some of the shops before finding a restaurant for dinner. We had a great seafood dinner at Paddy’s, during which it began to rain. Thankfully it let up so we could walk back to the Inn. We went for a nice walk along the historic Shore Path as it was getting dark and then retired for the night.