David Thompson Highway, Alberta

 I woke the morning of our trip still trying to decide between going to Banff, Radium Hot Springs, or Jasper. Finally I decided that Jasper would win this weeks mini tour. The Icefields Parkway provides amazing views of the Columbia Icefield. We went last year and I was now missing the experience, so I decided that an annual trip will now have to be in our summer plans. Today is the day we will soak up the wonderful and majestic views of mountains, lakes, rivers, and the incredible icefields.

Deciding which bike to ride on this trip was difficult as my normal touring machine was not running due to a belt issue. While I waited for my new cvt belt to be shipped out of Japan my Yamaha TMax would now be resting at the repair shop. So sad as I love that scooter! He makes an awesome travel companion. So now I had the tough decision of taking my Vespa GTV300 or the Suzuki Gladius on this two day 960 km round trip. The Vespa has a comfy seat, top case, and under seat storage, but lacked a gas tank that would hold enough fuel to be compatible with my husband's Kawasaki Concours. When pushed hard the Vespa has to drink quite a lot of fuel and I didn't want to be a huge pain and be constantly stopping at gas stations. The Suzuki Gladius offered a nice size fuel tank, peppy engine, but lacked a comfortable seat for the long distance. After a couple discussions with my husband we decided the Vespa would work and my husband Dave would pack a small Jerry can of fuel in one of his side cases just in case we needed it. Woohoo let the adventure begin!

Our route will take us from Pigeon Lake, Alberta heading west on highway 13 to highway 22 to Rocky Mountain House. Once there we go on #11 David Thompson Highway. This is a nice highway that has light traffic and very nice views, I always love seeing Abraham Lake, the colour is a stunning blue and is so beautiful. A real treat for all the lake lovers out there.

David Thompson Highway. On the right hand side is where a forest fire was last year.

One worrisome issue with the Vespa was it's top speed of 129 kph combined with riding long distances in July with slower tourist traffic, quick passing would not be an option. I was not impressed when soon after starting our journey on highway 13 we got stuck behind a truck pulling a long holiday trailer, and close behind him was a semi pulling a loaded trailer, they were travelling at 90 kph in a 100 zone, and here I am riding a 300cc scooter. The funny part about this situation is my husband's 1400cc Connie would rip by them with no problem and beg for more. So this was going to be the Odd Couple of motorcycling. I knew my TMax would have no problem passing them, but my Vespa, a totally different situation, I would require a long stretch of road to accomplish passing both at the same time. I decided to wait it out as I couldn't pass safely with the high volume of oncoming traffic in the other lane. It was great when both vehicles turned off at Buck Lake and I continued on my travels hoping it didn't happen again, as I was starting to regret my choice of not taking the 650cc Gladius. I knew once I entered the National Parks speed would not be an issue as most posted signs are 90 kph with 50 kph zones in high volume tourist sight seeing areas, this is the ideal environment for the Vespa and it will slowly sip fuel while traveling through the park. Oh well, I made my decision and it's too late to go back and switch them. Hopefully things go well, as holding up traffic is not on my to do list today.

Mountain Sheep can be a road hazard. This one was on the road when we entered a corner. 

We stopped in Nordegg for fuel, drinks, and a snack. While we were fueling up a women on an H-D cruiser pulled in and had a small melt down about the high volume of bugs she was being hit with while she was riding. We were amused with her complaining, as was her husband. We didn't think the bugs were a big problem, yes there was bugs but not enough to wreck our trip. They were heading to Lake Louise and we wished them a great trip. Then a Search and Rescue truck pulled in to fuel up. There was quite a few in the area with lights and sirens going off. My husband asked the driver what was going on and he told us they were trying to find a couple missing hikers. Hopefully they would find them in this tough terrain. We finished our drinks and continued on with the hot sun above us.

 On our way home from Jasper and we are happy to see Abraham Lake one more time.

While travelling on the David Thompson Highway a deer ran out and then decided to stop in the middle of the road. I had enough time to slow down and honk my horn, and it quickly ran across into the other ditch. Later down the road two large black dogs decided to run out in front of me, they also got the horn and we had to do some quick braking. We watched them run into the trees and I was left wondering why dogs were out in the middle of nowhere. I was still pondering about those dogs when we came across another large dog running down the shoulder of the highway towards a couple people walking on a path. Very weird but hopefully the other dogs were just following their owners too (when I returned home I did look for any reports of missing dogs in that area and did not see anything). Later on we also seen a mother deer crossing the road with a little fawn, and that was nice to see. We were not in any danger of hitting them as there was plenty of time to slow down and they did not cross at a slow pace, the mother deer just wanted to get to the safety of the trees with her baby. If you do travel in this area be careful of the wildlife, as there is quite a few deer and it is a remote area. On our way back from Jasper traveling on this highway I was going through a corner and there was a mountain sheep standing in the middle of the road, I had to brake hard as it was a blind corner and I did not see him before entering it. So always be aware of the dangers in these areas, travel at a pace that allows you the opportunity to stop quickly if required.

The views you will experience on the David Thompson Highway, spectacular! 

The David Thompson Highway is in good condition and is a nice road to drive if you are travelling to Banff and also Jasper National Park. If you are hungry while riding make sure you stop at the Miner's Cafe in Nordegg. They offer homemade soup, sandwiches, and a large variety of homemade pies! I recommend it as a nice place to stop and have a really good lunch. It is a small cozy cafe and my husband really liked the crib boards and cards that were put by the tables for customers to use. He thought that was a nice touch and wished his brother Dan was there to have a game with as it is their favourite to play when camping. The staff were friendly and our food arrived quickly. We were impressed by how cold their coca cola cans were. We shared a couple of them, they were so good after traveling in the hot weather, we also drank a couple ice cold waters that were served to us in glass jars, another nice touch we enjoyed that made us thankful that we weren't eating at a boring franchise restaurant. We walked out of the cafe and immediately started planning our return visit before we crossed the parking lot to our bikes.

Abraham lake from a bridge above Cline River at the west end, the colour is amazing.

The huge mountains we are heading towards start to show more detail after passing The David Thompson Resort, this resort offers a gas station and restaurant if you miss Nordegg. The excitement of riding through these giant mountains will start to overwhelm you. Hopefully you experience a strong feeling of closeness to Mother Nature that you just can't feel while sitting in a vehicle. These are the experiences that all riders enjoy that seek adventure and love touring on motorcycles and scooters. I always want to travel more and more after these rides. Many times I will be planning my next adventure while traveling home from the present trip. It is a hunger you feel, that needs constant feeding. Never feeling totally fulfilled, and sometimes having a sadness flood your gut that you can't do this everyday, as you must return home so you can go to work the next day. But then you quickly realize that to be able to travel you need money, so off to work you must go. And then after hours of pondering your sad predicament while riding home you realize how stupid you have been, if only I would have picked being a teacher as a career, the whole summer would be mine! Dang it! Oh well, better keep buying those lottery tickets...sigh