RTTMS June 20, 2011 Rain Part 2

Once again the rain was part of our riding day. Since we seemed to handle the rain OK yesterday, today the weather gods added fog and lots of it. About 100 miles of fog. Cold, wet, thick, chunky fog. This made for very slow going at the beginning of the day but that is part of motorcycle riding.

I am pointing at my clothes drying system that is being used since my clothes did not make it to me before I left Alaska. I wash the clothes at night and then put them in this net bag and then they get air dried while riding.....except when it rains like today.
The ride south from Fort Nelson, BC., went well considering the fog with some rain mixed in for good measure. We had to cut our road speed to ensure being safe so progress was somewhat slow but we continued onward.
To add more fun to the ride, the road has a lot of mud, gravel and dirt from the vehicles entering from the side roads so when we passed an oncoming vehicle, especially a large semi (and these up here have up to 8 axles ) there is a huge cloud of brown spray with stones added for excitement that we have to contend with. More fun in Canada.

I noticed that beginning just south of Fort St. John, farms started to appear. There are large areas of crops being grown and the soil tilled for planting. I guess that the permafrost and soil conditions are more favorable here then just a few miles north. Also, the fog disappeared and the rain just about quit so we could see more of our surroundings instead of concentrating on the road.
Just south of Fort St. John we had to cross another steel grate bridge....I just love these things.
Just south of the bridge is part of the original Alaska Highway including the a wooden curved bridge. This has been saved as a historical site. It is pretty neat and you can drive across the bridge.
We then passed through Dawson Creek, BC., the beginning of the Alaska Highway. To the south and east we saw more rain clouds but we missed the rain.
We then quickly arrived at our destination in Grande Prairie, Alberta, for the evening.

A short 364 miles today in spite of the weather.

Tomorrow we are going to Banff and Jasper National Park while heading to the USA. From there, we are going to Great Falls, MT., and then head east. Me to my brother's home in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Jeff, getting on I-29 South toward the Tennessee area and then home to Florida.

The ride continues. Hopefully without rain or fog....but more scenery.

Mike