NORTH TO ALASKA - FINAL

The next day we got our usual early morning start and proceeded southeast down Hwy 6 to New Denver. Here a somewhat obscure Hwy 31A runs east to Kaslo. Sam had chosen it because it looked like it might be a fun motorcycle road. We almost didn’t take it because a log on a geocache said it was a “bad and dangerous” road. Fortunately we ignored that advice. It was the best road of the trip, running through a canyon along a stream with lots of challenging turns and NO traffic. I even saw a bull moose in the stream.

Funny cache container

At Kaslo we turned south on Hwy 31 along the western edge of Kootenay Lake down to Balfour. We stopped for a break there at a boat launch parking lot where the Kootenay River dumps into the lake. Here we turned west on Hwy 3A along the river and over to Nelson. What could have been a fun road was dampened because of the traffic, particularly slow moving trailers. At Nelson we took Hwy 6 south through Salmo and down to the border crossing north of Metaline Falls, WA, where the road changes to Hwy 31 in the US. The last 5 or 6 miles of Hwy 6 in Canada and Hwy 31 in the US down to Metaline Falls was some of the best riding of the trip. We stopped in Metaline Falls for another break and to gas up. We continued down Hwy 31 to Hwy 20 which veers south and then west over to Colville, another great road. At Colville we turned south of Hwy 395 for about 20 miles before turning right on Hwy 231. At Reardan we jogged west a short way on Hwy 2 before picking up 231 again all the way down to Hwy 90 where it merges into Hwy 23. Although 231 takes you through unremarkable farm country it was a surprisingly fun riding road that we thoroughly enjoyed. Hwy 23 continues southeast past St. John and all the way down to Steptoe at Hwy 195. At 195 we took the familiar route back down to Lewiston. At the top of the Lewiston hill Sam proceeded on down the regular highway but I turned off on the Old Spiral Highway which was a longer route because I wanted to get 2,700 miles for the trip and I needed to add a few to get that. After reaching the bottom I rode out Hwy 12 to Evans Rd to add a few more miles. When I got home I had 420 miles for the day and 2,701 for the trip.

In spite of the few weather problems and tire problem it was a great trip. I was most impressed by the vast unsettled area and thick woods in Canada and as on previous trips the friendly folks. M/W