Day 61 (July 14). Into the Canadian Rockies

From: Prince George, BC

To: Jasper, AB

Miles today: 242

Total miles: 12702

I was able to find a motorcycle shop in Prince George that was willing to work with me to get new tires on the cycle; it was a Yamaha shop, not a Honda shop, but they were great.  While they put them on, I walked down to nearby “Fort George Park,” one of several riverside parks in this town.  Prince George, as is common for these latitudes, was originally founded as a fur trading outpost on the confluence of rivers, where the smaller Nechako flows into the larger Frasier.  It grew when the railroad came through.  Today Prince George is largely a service town for the extended region, meaning it has a big hospital, big storage and hotel facilities, and the like, although it is also a timber town.  Anyway, Fort George Park is just downstream of the confluence of the two rivers, and you can definitely see the difference in the character of the two sources in the pictures below.  (The nearer, clearer water is from the Nechako tributary.)

Fraser River from Fort George Park, Prince George, BC.  Note the different shades of water, closer and farther. 

The cycle was not ready until about 2 in the afternoon, but it rode fine and the new tires alleviated some minor anxiety.  The Yellowhead highway follows the Frasier river valley uphill toward the river’s source in the Rockies.  By following the river (as these roads, as well as the rail lines, usually do), you pass by “waves” of mountains without actually going up and down very much – although the trend is definitely more up than down.  Each wave is a bit higher than the one before; below is a shot of a higher wave past the current one.  The Fraser River itself was not visible most of the time, but as I got higher and the valley became narrower, you could see it roaring by on occasion. The water was this striking shade of turquoise blue; it was beautiful to look at, but I honestly would be hesitant to drink it. 

Roadside view of the Yellowhead Highway, BC, following the Fraser River upstream to the Rockies

The Fraser River, in the Rockies.  This is the real color.

I crossed the BC-Alberta border, losing an hour to the time change, and then I was at the town of Jasper. This is a tourist town that is almost ridiculously scenic.  Here is one picture along the main drag; I will try to take some more tomorrow.  Naturally, it is expensive, and my room is tiny but with a king size bed that I have to use half of as a place to put my luggage.  The people around me are totally international; my fellow tourists are mostly European and Asian, and the two people I talked to who worked there were from Australia and South Korea. 

Street scene of Jasper, Alberta