Texas to Tuktoyaktuk (almost) by Ural.

[URALiNEED]

So I turned 27 this past June and suddenly realized that my days of complete freedom were quickly coming to a close. My wife and I have been quietly discussing having kids, the idea of finding and keeping a career is growing evermore important, and I just feel like there’s not much time left before my life as a lazy vagabond is apprehended by responsibility. So, with that in mind, I talked my wife into driving across North America with me in our 2007 Gear Up.

The Gear:
For the past year, I’ve been planning and preparing. I became obsessed with compiling gear and parts and tools… I’m certain that this site only fed my habit. I bought so much stuff that I soon realized it wouldn’t even fit in my Suburban let alone on my bike. So I somehow condensed my list of stuff and made a pretty good effort in not taking too much stuff. I impressed myself, I must say.

The Essentials:
- riding gear: Rev’it!
- helmets: HJC and Shoei
- heated clothing: Gerbing
- communications system: AutoCom
- GPS: Garmin 478
- duffels: North Face
- security: Pacsafe
- tent and bags: Mountain Hardware
- cots: LuxoryLite
- cameras: GoPro wide, Canon 5D, Canon G9 (my wife is a pro photographer)



The Route:
I’ve read literally hundreds of ride reports and yet over the past year I couldn’t seem to be able to put together a definite route. I decided that I’d rather just hit the road and not worry too much about it. The only thing I needed to know is that we will start in San Antonio, TX, stay off all main highways, and our goal is Tuktoyaktuk, Canada. There are definitely some things we’d like to see but we really just want to be free with this trip.

The Bike:
The bike is a 2007 Ural Gear Up. A few have toured pretty extensively with such a rig, but it will provide quite a different touring experience than most bikes. I haven't made many modifications: an extra gas can to the hack, highway peg (yes, I said peg), electric clothing, comm system, GPS. This thing is ready for the road!

If anyone is interested, we have a more interactive blog at Bugs On My Face

[URALiNEED]

DAY 1

We left our house in San Antonio at about 8 am. We definitely tried to get out earlier because it had been ruthlessly hot in this part of the country and we wanted to enjoy a few cooler moments on the road, but we’ve never been a couple that sticks to our schedule.

Anyway, the first hour of riding was great. Not much traffic. Small country roads – even a little dirt.





Then, all of a sudden, as I’m pulling up a small hill, the bike dies. I pull off to the side of the road and get off to take a look at things. Nothing seems out of the ordinary and it starts up beautifully, so we take off once again. Then, five minutes later, it dies again and I’m barely able to muscle it off the road. We spend the next 4 hours sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere while I try to do everything in my mechanical know-how. I pull the plugs, find that one is black, and begin focusing my energy on the left side. I check the valves. I pull the carb and do a bit of cleaning. I pull the airbox. I do absolutely everything I can think of but the bike refuses to run. Finally, after hours in the sun with no water or food, my wife convinces me to call for help. I am defeated. No pictures were taken during this part of the day - with the amount of curse words being thrown around, my wife doubted that it would be the proper time for a photograph.

Finally, I decide to call some friends to come pick us up with a trailer and as we’re sitting in the tiny bit of shade that we find under a small tree, a man stops and gets out of his car. Much to my chagrin, it is a good friend of my dad. He talks with us for a few minutes, hears that we’re okay and that we have a ride lined up, and leaves us with a chuckle. “All the way to Canada, huh?”, he says before taking off. Minutes later, our phones are choked with the calls of friends and family asking what has happened. Awesome.



Finally, after several more hours of waiting (thankfully a kind woman stopped and gave us water, grapes and cherries), we’re picked up and driven back home. After talking to Ken Storm (our faithful dealer), we decide to drive 5 hours to Dallas to stay with a friend and take our bike into Stormseller Motorcycles. What a day…what a depressing first day…





Day 1 mileage by bike: 60 miles
Day 1 mileage by car: 400 miles

Bugs On My Face

[URALiNEED]

Day 2

We wake up the next morning, after getting into Dallas way too late the night before, and head over to Stormsellers. For those that don't know, Ken Storm is about as standup of a guy as any man walking the earth. I trust him. A lot.

Anyway, we get to the shop and bring the bike in. Ken and I start talking and checking some things: valves, carbs, plugs, airbox, etc.





Finally, after several hours, we realize that the engine has almost no compression. Something is very, very wrong. Ken tells me that he'd like to keep the bike for at least a day to check out some other things - namely, taking the heads off and having a look inside. After wandering around his shop a bit more we take our leave and head to my buddy's house to wait for a phone call.


a '55 Ural in the shop!

Later that night (yes, he worked into the night to get me some information), Ken calls and gives me horrible news. My left head needs to be replaced and he will need to order parts to do the job properly.

This news basically slows our trip to a stall. We only have a month and a half to go across North America, and this type of hold up is not what we were hoping for.

Again, dejected and defeated, we decide to head home the next day.

Day 2 mileage: 0

Bugs On My Face

[URALiNEED]

Day 3 and 4

So we went home, thinking that our bike was destined to sit in the shop for weeks while we waited for parts. I spent the next day pouting and acting generally pretty pissy while we went back to our normal way of life, sans Ural. Then, while sitting on the throne on Friday, I received a call from Ken.

"I have some good news, your bike is ready to go!"

I nearly jumped off the pot without taking care of my business first.

"How is this possible? I thought you had to order parts?"

"Well, let's just say I found a way..."

So Ken was a hero that day. We were both extremely excited and couldn't wait for the next day so that we could finally get our trip underway.

Day 3 and 4 mileage: 0

Bugs On My Face

[URALiNEED]

Day 5

And this brings us to today.

My wife and I woke up this morning, tossed our gear in our car and headed to Dallas, once again.


We saw this bumper sticker on the way. I have to say, I kinda look like a hippie with my long hair and was scared.

We arrived at about 2 and were overjoyed to see our bike eagerly awaiting our return. Ken explained to me that he just happen to have a perfectly good, used head that (after getting it cleared with Ural first) was used to replace my broken parts under warranty. The main culprit had been a busted valve guide that was causing all sorts of problems.

Here's the little trouble maker.


And again.


I had never seen these models in person before - wowee.




Again with the '55.


Before I took off with my bike, however, Ken suggested I take it for a quick ride. I eagerly jumped on and took off down the street. Less than a mile later, the bike died. I coasted to the shoulder and immediately began spouting curse words. I called Ken on the phone and he was on the scene in minutes. He got out of his car, took a few minutes to assess the situation then asked, "Does it have gas?". I am a schmuck.

We returned to the shop, and I got my wallet out to pay. Yet, when I asked how much I owed, Ken told me $20! Twenty-freaking-dollars for hours and hours of work! And really, all I paid for was the extra tube and tube repair I had done by his shop. If that doesn't say something about how Ural takes care of their customers, I don't know what will. Not only that, Ken went out of his way to make my trip possible. I will not forget that...

With the savior of our trip.


Anyway, our trip was finally on! We spent the next 2 hours fighting our way out of the DFW area. Can I say I hate driving in the city? It sucks. We were sweaty and I was tired from all the stop and go but we were happy. It was weird - we were just happy to be on the road after such a strange couple of days.

When we finally got out of town, the ride really started. It was early evening, the roads were small and empty, and all seemed right with the world.







We stopped just outside of Dallas in a town called Mineral Wells for the night and we are stoked for what's coming next!

Day 5 mileage: 127 miles

Bugs On My Face

[URALiNEED]

Day 6:

Today was our first full day on the road and it was... hot. Not just hot, it was frickin' hot! I can't believe how much water we consumed and how dehydrated we still are. We definitely started out way too late (9:00 am) from Mineral Wells, TX and missed some of the cooler weather of the morning. We won't make that mistake again.

Either way, the day was filled with back roads and nearly empty highways. The perfect playground for the Ural.



And you can never complain about those Texas skies.



I believe my favorite moment of the day came when we came back to our bike after having lunch at Buck's in Knox City. A guy with an eye patch (no, i'm not kidding) was standing near our bike, checking her out, and as we walked up he chuckled and nodded,

"Now that is a kick ass bike. I have a heritage classic, but I'm guessing that not even my bike tracks as much stink as this."
"Well, sir", I said trying to hold back a laugh, "I wouldn't be surprised if you were right."
I definitely had never heard that phrase but will be using it soon.

Our seats were so hot after lunch, Kristen tried to cool it down with some water but I swear it immediately boiled off. It was ridiculous.



We then tried a few things to cool off, one involving some undressing in public. It turns out that if you douse your shirt with water, then put your riding jack back on, it cools you off for a short time. Better than nothing, I guess...



One of the more exciting moments of the day involved an unknown insect and the inside of my shorts.



After spending 6, or so, hours on roads like this, getting blasted by the sun we stopped and did some of this.



and this.



Anyway, we made it to Plainview, TX and were tired enough to stop for the evening. By the way, the bike ran beautifully. Honestly better than ever - even in the heat.



Can't wait for tomorrow and for the cooler weather that we must be headed towards.

Day 6 mileage: 300 or so (I need to pay better attention tomorrow)

Click here for our Spot Tracker: SPOT Shared Page

Bugs On My Face

[URALiNEED]

Day 6 and 7

We started off yesterday with burnt hands and kneecaps - for whatever reason, we had neglected to realize that we have a few parts of our bodies that are completely exposed to the sun. Whoops...



Anyway, we had much nicer weather as we entered into New Mexico via RR 1058. The sun was shinning but the breeze was much cooler than the dragons breath that beat us down through Texas.





At some point on our way towards Tucumcari, we came upon this nice, scenic viewpoint and decided to take a quick glamour shot. So we took this -



but immediately afterwards, Kristen leaned against the exhaust pipe, resulting in this:



As you can imagine, she wasn't very happy about that. But she's a trooper and I hardly heard anything about it. After stopping for lunch in Tucumcari and driving for a little ways north, we came upon a pretty threatening sight.



There were dark clouds and rain seemingly all around but instead of turning around and heading back the way we came, we decided to prepare ourselves and continue on through the weather. It took us a moment to get everything put in a few waterproof bags then we moved forward. The wind was incredible. It was impossible to keep the bike up to speed but thankfully there wasn't a heavy downpour. We eventually made it through the weather and began to climb towards Las Vegas, NM.



But as soon as the elevation started to rise, you guessed it, the bike freaked out. It spat and sputtered and complained and moaned as we struggled to keep a steady 30 mph. Thankfully, the scenery wasn't half bad even though I had to do a lot of this:







So we eventually stumbled into town at about 8 pm and decided to stay the night in a Best Western instead of camping. I just left the bike to be dealt with the next day.

So I woke up early after sleeping well and dug into my bike's problems. After consulting a few people, I pulled the plugs and cleaned them, pulled the air filter box and cleaned that, took the shim out of the needle in the carbs and cleaned those. Even with all that done, the bike still ran so horribly that I gave in and phoned for help. As we speak, an extremely kind and generous man named Chuck, who has never met me, is driving 180 miles from Clovis, NM to save our bike from any further damage I might bring upon it. Man, Canada seems a long way away...

[URALiNEED]

Day 8

I have to say that with my last post came a lot of frustration. I'm just learning how to do a lot of this stuff on the go and am never aware if I'm really doing it correctly. But to catch up with pictures, the day started like this - with chores.



Kristen started with the important stuff, like getting us clean underwear, then headed up to complete a entry for our website leaving me to start work on the bike.

My portable workstation:


My beautifully fouled plugs:


A dirty, rotten punk that mocked me throughout all my work in the parking lot:


I finally broke after checking everything I could think of and finding that it still ran like crap. We ended up going to eat at the peak of my frustration across the street at a truck stop which ended up being the worst food I'd had in years. I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture.

After that, I threw my pride out the window, and called a fellow SS member, Chuck, to my aid. Now Chuck lives in Clovis, NM - 3 hours away! And he gladly drove up with a trailer and a ton of experience and wisdom to our rescue. He arrived and we immediately got down to it. First, we started the bike and he noticed that something sounded completely off straight away. It turns out that the washer that seats the spark plug on the right side was completely flat - which caused a leak. The plugs themselves were so fouled that they were pretty much useless anyway, so we chunked them and put new plugs in. Right away, the bike idled nicely. Did I just have Chuck come up to change out my plugs??? Thankfully, he was extremely thorough and we checked my airfilter again and also changed out my pilot jet. After screwing around a bit, my bike really felt like normal.

Chuck showing me a thing or two (or 20):


Chuck then suggested we take the bike - fully loaded - and test it out properly. So, we took a quick drive and found that everything seemed to run quite normal. SUCCESS!

Chuck - you're a super guy and we can't thank you enough for your time. Thanks so much and if you're ever in San Antonio and need anything, be sure to let me know.


After a hard day of work (cough, cough) we spent the last part of our night relaxing. Tomorrow we head up through the mountains!


Day 8 mileage: 23 miles

[URALiNEED]

Day 9 and 10

After getting some much needed help and guidance from Chuck, we headed north towards Angel Fire. But not before Kristen caught up on reading her favorite publication.



Packing up:




Kristen and I had never been in this part of the country and were seriously floored by how unbelievably beautiful it was. I'm not totally sure, but I think it was 38 that took us north and I have to tell you, I've never been on a better ride. It was a two-lane road and we hardly saw any other cars. Unreal.







After having some lunch in Angel Fire, we kept heading north to Eagle Nest and Red River. If you haven't traveled in this area, you should. It is so gorgeous and late August seems to be ideal for the weather.

We then hit 522 in Questa until we connected with 159 - in Colorado! I have to say that we were pretty excited about getting here since we've had a few hiccups in our trip - mainly due to my ignorance in maintenance.



Feeling good, and with the bike running super strong, we kept on to Monte Vista and to South Fork before realizing that the sun was quickly setting behind the mountains. Luckily, we ran into a great little campground that was totally empty except for the manager.



Kristen had some fun with night photography as the sky gleamed with stars.







We slept amazingly good with the sound of the river in the background and the cool, mountain air filling our tent.

We woke early the next morning and prepared for a long day. I don't know if you guys know, but it's cold in the mountains! We, Texans, don't get weather like this very often, so Kristen and I bundled up and headed up through Lake City and on to Gunnison. Again, unbelievable riding and Elga stayed strong even at 13,500 ft (even if we had to go some stretches in 2nd gear)! Again, if you haven't ridden 149 between Creede and Lake City, you should.







We then rode to Gunnison which was actually a pretty cool town. I wish we could have stayed longer. But seeing as it was early afternoon, a decision had to be made - go west towards Montrose or east towards Buena Vista. "What about Aspen?", Kristen asked me. Aspen sounded great, so we plugged it into the GPS and blindly followed the seemingly direct route that it wanted us to go right through Gunnison National Forrest. After 20 minutes or so, we hit dirt. "Awesome", I thought. And it really was, for the first 30 minutes or so.









But after looking at our GPS again, and seeing that we still had 45 miles to go, we decided that it might be midnight by the time we rolled into Aspen at that pace. So, regretfully, we turned around. Making it back to Gunnison, we made the hard decision to bypass the mountains to the east and head west to Montrose. If we were going to make it to Canada, we definitely needed to eat some road.

On the way to Montrose via highway 50:




So we stayed in Montrose last night, but before sleeping I did a quick air filter cleaning, spark plug brushing and added some oil. A great day and a comfortable bed...

[URALiNEED]

Day 11

Today was a bit different than the past couple that we've spent in the mountains. The scenery was so different and it was hot again! I got a bit spoiled riding at 60F. Anyway, we headed north from Montrose up Highway 50 towards Grand Junction, and we hit a milestone for this trip. We broke 75 mph for the first time this trip! Without any gear loaded on the bike, it's not such a big deal, but I was surprised with so much weight on the rig.





We then headed on and rode a particularly nice and mountainous section between Loma and Rangely. Beautiful and much cooler than earlier in the day. It was actually very steep in a few sections and I got stuck going about 20 mph.









We then headed northwest towards Vernal, Utah where we rode past a few places that had more than a few dinosaurs milling about...









While headed to a hotel for the night, we came across a really nice war memorial where we spent a few moments paying our respects. VFW Post 5560.



After checking in, I spotted a sweet ride across the street that begged to have its picture taken with our rig. Beautiful!





A great day! We head through Flaming Gorge tomorrow then onto Grand Tetons.

[URALiNEED]

Day 12

Much to our own surprise, we left Vernal before 9 am - upon realizing so, we gave ourselves a huge pat on the back because we are usually leaving much closer to 10. The climb into Flaming Gorge is subtle but enough to give the Ural a bit of a challenge.







In fact, it's steep enough that not only were trucks passing us but, embarrasingly, a Smart Car even shot past us at one point.



We kept climbing into the park until it became quite apparent that we needed to either change the spark plugs or at least clean them, so I pulled over and did a little work. As I was doing so, Kristen spotted a red sidecar rig going by and we both hoped we would run into them before leaving the park. Unfortunately, we got held up by a very nice (but super talkative) man who only let us out of his grasp after nearly half an hour. We continued on towards the dam and pulled into a parking lot there to find the red sidecar!

A 1989 Moto Guzzi from Switzerland traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles for their Honeymoon. Some of the nicest people we've come across and I wished we had more time with them.





We eventually left them to check out one of the scenic viewpoints (which I can't remember what it was called, but it was the best part of the park).







Before we left Flaming Gorge, we had some more great scenery and even saw some wildlife - they were really, really close and we felt fortunate to have seen them.





After leaving the park and entering Green River, we decided to try and make a run for Jackson, WY, before dark even though it was early afternoon. It was about 200 miles and so we saddled up and got ready for a sprint. Unfortunately, southwest Wyoming is pretty flat and VERY windy. We had a strong headwind nearly the entire way.





Definitely some pretty spots along the way, though.






Then, after hitting La Barge on 189, I suddenly realized that we were in serious danger of getting caught in the dark - which was something I really wanted to avoid. Especially since a man at the gas station there told us the valley before Jackson was filled with wildlife that constantly crossed the road at night.

We hoped on the bike, feeling a bit anxious, when she provided us with a moment of Zen. For the last 115 kms, our Russian steed did not leave 4th gear. She purred forward at 55 and 60 mph through hills that she was no designed to climb at speed. She darted through corners as nimbly as any bike on the road. Her sweet putter was replaced with a roar that we had not heard before. And before we knew it, we were in Jackson while the sun had yet to set.



We spent the night in this cabin and seeing as everything else in town was super expensive (the front desk guy at the Best Western scoffed at my face when I was shocked at the $270 pricetag for one night), it was quite reasonable for a standalone room.



Kristen liked it and Jackson so much that we decided to stay another night which was good cause I needed to do a few things for the bike.

I cleaned out the air filter, replaced the plugs (again) and decided to put my spare on the pusher and my pusher on the hack because of some unusual wear. I never knew the hack tire would wear like this. Is it because of the weight the sidecar is hauling?



Anyway, today we head off for Grand Tetons and Yellowstone - Kristen is feeling inspired!

[URALiNEED]

Day 13 and 14

So several days have passed since our last report, but we were in places where our internet was extremely limited. Time to catch up!

First, it's important that I mention that I had one of the best burgers I've ever eaten in Jackson. I think the place was called Billy's (it's on the square) and basically, it's an open kitchen with a bar around it. A cook makes burgers and dogs on a grill that has probably never been cleaned and it is the greasiest, most unhealthy, beautiful thing I've eaten in a long time.



Anyway, we left Jackson and headed on into the Grand Tetons feeling extremely optimistic. But after about 5 minutes of leaving town, we ran into the mother of all traffic jams because of construction. When considering either Yellowstone or Tetons, know that you will run into other vehicles. Not fun, especially when everyone wants to fly around these mountain roads. Urals are not known for their speed....





Despite the traffic, these parks are gorgeous. Mount Moran and Jenny Lake in the Tetons were spectacular even with the moody weather.







The master at work:


After spending some time there and having a fantastic fish sandwich for a cool $10, we headed into Yellowstone. Immediately upon entering the park, we hit even more traffic. Like the good tourists that we are, we headed directly towards Old Faithful. After making our way through the hordes of cars, we were about to turn left into the main parking lot when a gentlemen in a Suburban swerved in front of us from the right lane and nearly caused an accident. It was the closest we'd had all trip and needless to say, I was a bit annoyed. But even with the frustration, it turns out Old Faithful was worth it. It was an unbelievable display of nature's glory and we felt blessed to have seen such a show.


(I'll throw up some video when I get the chance)

Afterwards, we hopped back on the bike and headed for the nearest campsite.







We slept (or at least I did) like babies but Kristen woke up wondering how I ever talked her into this trip. It turns out it gets cold in the mountains!



Maybe we shouldn't have camped next to the lake...whoops. Anyway, after eating breakfast and packing up, we drove around the park a bit more (Kristen finally tried out her heated gear and is now in love), saw a few elk being eternally pestered by a flock of photographers, then headed out the west exit.



That afternoon was the real treat. Montana is gorgeous. Even Kristen, a beach lover, told me she was ready to move. Hebgen Lake and the surrounding area was beautiful and we had a fantastic day of riding until getting to Butte and highway 90.











We decided to jump on the interstate for a quick jaunt when the skies opened up. We both got drenched as there was no exit in sight and spent decided after another 20 minutes of riding to find a place for the night. We rolled into Deer Lodge and stayed at a motel/casino directly across the street from the local prison. More on that later after Kristen edits the pictures from today. So you know, for now we are resting our heads at my Uncle's place in Bigfork. Until tomorrow...

[URALiNEED]

Day 14

We woke up feeling moderately rested at the classy Sharf’s Motor Inn and headed down for our breakfast. This is worth mentioning because while Kristen had a nice, healthy meal of eggs and toast, I had a cinnamon roll that had been sliced like bread, fried and served like pancakes with syrup and powdered sugar. I could actually hear myself getting fatter. With a belly full of goodness, we walked across the street to take a tour of Old Montana Prison. The woman in charge of the hotel told us to get there early so that we wouldn’t, “get caught up in the crowds”. The crowds? Really? How many people stop in this town, anyway?





It turns out that we were put in our place after being extremely skeptical because there were quite a few people touring the prison. Enough people, in fact, that at several point we actually had to hang back so that we could eventually see the “attraction” after the crowds thinned.



“Why would you ever go to something like this?” you might ask. We honestly went to poke fun at such an odd tourist trap and left feeling completely creeped out. This place was straight out of The Shawshank Redemption! The cells were tiny, there were bars everywhere, the air was thick with a bad history, and the ‘hole’ was horrid (not big enough to stand or lay down).




The creepiest part, however, were the gallows. In a Hitchcockesque setting, they stood in a building where pigeons had taken up residence. The birds cooed in a horribly haunting way. It was just wrong.




Our payment also got us into a car museum, which was actually very impressive…











…and a place called Yesterday’s Playthings. Inside were hundreds of toys, train sets, and dolls. Did I mention that I hate dolls? They are sinister creations and I cannot stand to be around them.



We then packed up and jumped on Elga to drive a beautiful 200 miles to our Aunt and Uncle’s house in Bigfork, Montana.







So, today we did a bit of shopping in town (Kristen found a ring that she adores), cooked lunch and I did Elga’s 10,000 km service. I actually enjoy working on the bike, but today I woke up with the worst back and neck pain I’ve ever had. I'm hunched over like I'm from Notre Dame and doing the service was a bit of chore. Hopefully some rest will do me good.



Tomorrow we leave for Glacier National Park and, finally, CANADA!

[URALiNEED]

Day 15 ... actually that's not even right as our trip actually started on August 19. But anyway...

Kristen and I spent the past few days hanging out in Bigfork, Montana at my Aunt and Uncle's house right on the Swan River. It was fantastic and relaxing and just a great stop for us. I did have one small problem, however. Apparently, my riding position is not very healthy for my body as when I woke up 3 days ago, I could hardly turn my head. i developed a nasty pinch in between my shoulder blades and felt fairly crippled the last couple of days. Nonetheless, I spent a couple hours doing the 10,000 km service on the bike - unfortunately I couldn't do all the things on the list but I did as much as I could. I also had some tires shipped from Heindl Engineering (he's a great guy if you ever need parts or service) and spent $50 a tire getting them changed! I feel so embarrassed but I honestly couldn't do it myself because my back was absolutely killing me.

Anyway, we finally got back on the road a couple of days ago and headed into Glacier National Park.



Following the suggestions of several riders, we headed straight for the 'Going to the Sun Road' and found it to be truly awe inspiring.









The only problem was that halfway up to the summit, we ran into some pretty serious weather. The truth is we got caught in a downpour. Not only that but it was cold and windy and extremely busy with traffic. I think I would like to come back some day and do this again at a different time because the clouds covered much of our view and I really think that this could be a special ride.

Either way, we left the park after finishing the road to find some lunch, but before doing so we gassed up. At the station, an attendant, named Ivan, came up to us and said, 'An Oooral! You 'ave an Oooral!' It turns out Ivan was from somewhere in Eastern Europe and was absolutely in shock to see a Ural in America. 'Zees ees sheet! You need a Harley... Back een my cuuntree, my fazer 'as many Ooorals. But he would trade zem all fer a Harley.' What I thought was most funny about the encounter was that he could not believe that my bike had an electric start. I have a feeling the Urals that he's used to are very different than my 2007.

Anyway, we left the park and headed northwest towards Waterton Lake National Park but before we arrived we achieved a major accomplishment: we made it to Canada!

On the way to the border:






We then crossed the border and spent a good amount of time enjoying Waterton (which is actually connected to Glacier and is absolutely gorgeous).









We'd really like to go back to Waterton and maybe stay at the Prince of Wales Hotel (pictured). It looks like a cool anniversary spot - you can even scuba in the lake!

We then drove a ways farther north to Pincher Creek where we spent the night. It was a fantastic day, despite some moody weather - we'll post more soon!

[URALiNEED]

Entry 13

So I know that the UDF has been discussed quite frequently on this board but I can attest that it is in full force with several large bags strapped onto my rig! We have met so many people on this trip - literally every stop - and more than a few have given us their information to offer housing or a meal or aid if we need it. Pretty spectacular if you ask me.

Before we left Pincher Creek today, we had a nice breakfast with such a family we met (the couple had two young boys who adored the Ural) and then took off across the windy Alberta farmlands towards Banff.







We stopped for gas in Longview and saw a three-wheeled contraption for sale that we should buy for our next big trip.


After getting some advice from a local, we headed west off of 22 towards Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and I can tell you that despite the rain and wind and cold, the views were absolutely worth it. It is definitely a wild looking park and has some serious wild beauty.







While in the park, we also had to laugh at how the cattle guards are named here in Canada:

TEXAS GATE!



We then kept heading north until we ran smack into the superslab that is 1, and headed west to Banff. Upon entering the park, the weather turned sour and seeing as Kristen was threatening physical pain if I made her sleep in the wet and cold outdoors, we headed to the town of Banff to find a hotel room. After I turned around on the highway, we were suddenly being followed by a suspicious red BMW. They followed us for several miles and even into the gas station we stopped at when we arrived in town. It turns out that the owner and his wife almost bought a Ural for their current cross-country trip and were super excited to see one on the road. We ended up having a few s with them and then splitting an overpriced hotel room together.



Good times on the road!