Cathedral Mountain and Mount Stephen are twin 10,500-foot peaks viewed from Kicking Horse Pass on the edge of Banff National Park. Photos by the author.
“So, what?s in Yellowknife"” asked my doctor while he examined me after I informed him about my upcoming plans.
“Well,” I responded, “it?s an isolated city on the Canadian Shield in the Northwest Territories overlooking the Great Slave Lake. It?s also far enough north for excellent viewing of the aurora borealis.”
“But what else is there"” he emphatically demanded.
Fearing that he was missing the point I responded, “As a touring motorcyclist I look forward to the trek to a distant place at the end of the road,” and let it go at that. And so I set forth to discover what, indeed, there was of note in Yellowknife. My numerous rides west from Albany, New York, follow a familiar itinerary: Albany to Conneaut, Ohio, the first day for 466 miles. Thereafter, I turn north out of Toledo, Ohio, to Bay City, Michigan; then Bemidji, Minnesota; Williston, North Dakota; and Shelby, Montana. From there I head north into the Canadian Rockies.
Sunwapta Pass on the Icefields Parkway marks the boundary between Banff and Jasper national parks.
In Mackinaw City, though, I picked up a riding partner during a lunch stop at a hot dog stand that seemed a convergence for motorcyclists. Gene is from Windsor, Ontario, aboard a Suzuki Bandit bound for Edmonton, Alberta, to visit fami...