Day 10 – 6/27/09 (Part 2) --- 187 Miles (Invermere, British Columbia to Banff, Alberta)
41 at 6:00 AM --- 74 at 4:30 PM
We stopped in Fields at the Parks Canada Visitor center and got passes. As usual, we were approached by people who wanted to know about the Valkyrie. We went to the Truffle Pigs Restaurant for lunch and sat outside with our French onion soup and baguette. We rode to Takakkaw Falls (2nd highest in Canada). It had a very bad, double switchback, where a small RV was stuck for about 15 minutes. I was nervous going through it at the necessary slow speed after two complete stops. It was two, very sharp, 180-degree turns at very steep angles. As was normal for our trips through different climates, we weighed between 1200 and 1210 pounds, just shy of the 1,217 maximum GVW recommended by Honda. The Takakkaw Falls is the second highest in Canada and it reminded us of Yosemite Falls. Next we rode to Lake Louise. We turned off on the Bow Valley Parkway (Canada 1A), but because it was cloudy and getting late, we rode only part of it and got back on Trans-Canada 1. We continued on to Banff and arrived at the Mount Royal Hotel at 4 PM. Banff looked like Gatlinburg. As is our tradition, we purchased some “local” wine to celebrate another safe day on the road. The wine, pictured below, was from the Okanagon Valley in British Columbia.
Valk Admirers at the Visitor Center, Field, British Columbia
Lunch at Truffle Pigs
Turn-off to Yoho Valley Road
Yoho Valley Road
Approaching Takakkaw Falls
Takakkaw Falls
Yoho Valley Road Return
Entering the Double Switchback - 1
Entering the Double Switchback - 2
First Part of the Double Switchback
Second Part of Switchback
Yoho Valley River
Bow Valley Parkway, Alberta, Canada
Wine Time With Really Good Okanagon Valley Wines
