Yellow Head Trail - Rosetown Part 8 of 8

Yellow Head Trail - Rosetown Part 8 of 8

The Way Home

Revelstoke and Mary Poppins

Never Never Again

The Way Home

I flew back to Calgary from Ottawa on July 23rd to pick up my Harley. To my way of thinking, it would be a two-day trip back to Burnaby (about 1000 kms) which I could handle quite easily as long as I wasn't foolish enough to do anything stupid. The way home brought me through downtown Calgary along Trans Canada HWY 1; past the town of Chochrane and on towards the foothills. Things were exactly the way I wanted them. There was a lot of traffic; camper-wagons; trucks and buses and lots of gas stations and the way home was very clearly signposted. I also noticed a surprisingly high number of motorcycles but most were high speed sport bikes much faster than mine. But, when it comes to speed over comfort I choose comfort every time. Its a long way from Calgary through to Golden, BC, and then the mountains begin. When riding long distances on a motorcycle you have a lot of time to think. I decided that my best approach to getting home would be to stay over for a night in Revelstoke, BC, and make the last day of my trip a very long day covering Sicamous; Kamloops; Merritt; Hope and then cover the last 80 Kms through to Burnaby. Then the rains came so I stopped to put on my rain gear including my new knee-high rain boots that zipped over my safety boots. Revelstoke welcomed me with heavy rain and a very long, slow-moving freight train moving majestically right through the centre of town. What a beautiful sight!

Revelstoke and Mary Poppins

I stopped at a Visitor Information Centre to ask for the name of a motel close by. They confirmed a vacancy for me and provided me with a small map of the downtown streets to help me find it. A good motorcyclist, like myself, doesn't carry an umbrella with him on his bike. Consequently, the small paper map got saturated and it just fell apart in a sudden deluge of rain. I ended up turning around in circles to see if I could just see the place from where I was standing. A young lady carrying an umbrella and a bag full of groceries  took pity on me and asked if she could be of assistance. When I explained that I was trying to find this motel she kindly offered to show me the way. She also offered to share her umbrella with me which I thought was awfully nice of her. She stuck around while I got registered and then offered to walk me back to my Harley. Her name was Mary and she told me that the employees of the Cooperative where she works participate in boosting tourism in the town of Revelstoke. They show visitors around; explain the history of the town and so on. I offered to make a donation because she had been very helpful but she said that this work was purely voluntary and that she would not accept any money. The young lady's name was not Mary Poppins but she was not unlike the real Mary Poppins shown here.

Never Never Again

My motel room was on the second floor and all I did the next morning was watch the heavy and continuous downpouring of rain on an extension to the roof. It began to lighten-up towards noon so I decided to bite the bullet and head home to Burnaby. I laid all of my rain gear carefully on the bed and I dressed for rain. I was particularly pleased to have my brand spanking new knee-high rain boots with me. I loaded Miss Harley; checked all my gear; took a deep breath and I headed towards Kamloops. The small town of Sicamous along the way seemed like a good place to get gas so I filled-up with Shell Premium High Test gasoline. Only the very best and the most expensive for my Harley. It was one of those gas-stations where you pay inside the small store. The toe of my new rain boot on the right side caught the upper ledge of the high concrete step and I went crashing down to the floor severely lacerating the shin of my right leg as I fell.  My head smashed on the concrete floor but fortunately I was still wearing my helmet. Only my visor got cracked. Four big truck drivers lifted me up but I was not able to walk without assistance. "Bloody new boots!" I gasped. "They must be a size too big." I asked everyone to let me just sit on the floor leaning my back against the wall of the store. I needed to catch my breath and get beyond the urge to vomit. One thoughtful guy brought me a handful of paper towels to wrap around my leg. The store owner hosed-away spilled blood. After a while, I began to feel better and the sun came out. I managed to lift my injured leg over the Harley while I kept my balance by holding onto a guy's shoulder. I then moved out slowly and carefully through the towns of Kamloops; Merritt; Hope and finally on to Burnaby after taking a few long rest stops along the way. When this wounded soldier finally got home he left the Harley fully loaded in the garage while he slowly limped upstairs muttering under his breath..."Never, Never, Again."