We woke to partly cloudy skies and a very comfortable 65F. After packing the bike, we walked over to the Brunch Box. It is a small food kiosk that the owners of the Inn run. Michele had a yummy egg sandwich and we sat outside at a table and enjoyed the pleasant weather.
After breakfast, we continued north along WA97 and then made our way to WA20.
After about 60 miles we stopped for fuel and a bathroom break. The towns along this north cascade route are small and few and far between so we did not want to push our luck on fuel.
We continued along WA20 and the scenery became more mountainous and the road more steep and twisty. We went over the Washington Pass and the elevation went from about 1000 feet to around 5400 feet. Along with that the temperatures dropped into the low 50s and we had to stop to add some warmer layers.
Not to long afterwards, we made our first and only scenic viewing stop of the day at Diablo Lake. The emerald colored lake is quite striking in this mountainous setting. The dam that holds the lake back provides power for Seattle.
We made our way to Sedro-Woolley, Wa for our lunch stop at the 3rd Street Station. This small and quirky cafe had very good and LARGE sandwiches.
We topped off with fuel and proceeded towards the CA border crossing at Sumas, Wa. There was no line going North into Canada and the Border Crossing Agent only asked us a few questions before waving us through. It was so quick, we barely had time to remove our helmets before she said “have a great trip”.
While there was no wait to get into Canada, the line to cross south into the USA was miles long. We were glad we were not going that way and hope our crossing into North Dakota does not have similar delays.
Now in Canada, we connected with TCA1 and then to highway 5, the Coquihalla
Highway. This road is familiar to Rob since he watched Highway to Hell. He was excited to see it in person, Michele much less. The road topped out at around 4000 feet and was much less twisty than Rob had expected. The road was engineered to snake its way through the mountains and avoid the avalanche paths. Where the road wasn't able to avoid the avalanche paths, they build sheds that extend over the highway and protect the roadway. The views of the mountains were excellent. We would not want to travel this road in wintery weather. It would not be fun.
Another hour and a half and we made it to Merritt, BC by 5:00pm, our day’s destination. We checked into the hotel and walked across to the Boston Pizza restaurant for dinner. We shared a yummy pizza. Rob and Jerry enjoyed a Belgian beer and Michele enjoyed half of her pineapple sangria (Rob had to finish the other half).
We walked to the nearby Walmart for a few items and called it a night. The wind was blowing about 25mph so Rob skipped covering the bike. With a chance of rain over night, he also skipped cleaning it.
Tomorrow we head for Jasper, AB.
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