Canada 2016 - Canmore to Cochrane

Thursday - June 23
We didn't know they had a Bike Friendly Business program up here too.

This is our last day with the Rockies for companions.

Highway 1A is now the Bow Valley Trail. It went right in front of our motel so route-finding was very easy again this morning. We will follow it all the way to Calgary.

Doug wonders if they are related.

This is the closest we came to seeing any today.

Lac des Arcs

One of several big plants along this stretch. They process high-grade magnesium oxide at this plant. 

Exshaw was very hard hit by the 2013 flood but it is looking pretty good now.

This part hasn't changed except the sign was hand-written before.

Past the Kananaskis junction there are a lot fewer big trucks and cars too, but there also isn't any shoulder. We also are really out of the mountains now.

We saw a lot of aspen stands along this stretch.

The Bow River near Morley

The historic McDougall Church. We ate a quick lunch here as the clouds were gathering quickly. A van pulled up while we were here and the driver asked us about a bird (it was a magpie). It turned out that he lives in Salem, Oregon.

Made a pit stop at the Ghost Lake Dam recreation site. Bill is from Newcastle, England, cycles a lot, and had plenty of great advice for us should we decide to visit.

We are getting closer to that storm all the time.

We started hearing thunder overhead just before we reached Ghost Station. We pulled off there to wait it out. The delivery truck driver told us to wait for a spot of blue and we would be OK since the storm was moving east. The store also had real ice cream! Another thunderstorm blessing in disguise.

The spot of blue showed up. We kept our speed to 8-10 mph so we wouldn't leave it behind. We saw at least 5 ground strikes in that black spot on the horizon which just happens to be Cochrane.

This one is a World War II memorial commemorating the friendship between the US and Canada and the sacrifice of two local soldiers.

This is a booming place. We saw a lot of new construction on the edge of town.

Wonder what color striping was this crew laying down today?

We had a great view of the Mitford Park pond and the rugby field. And look at all that blue sky!! After dinner, we watched a rugby team practicing for their Saturday game. It was quite interesting. When they finished, the coach came over to talk to us. He confirmed our observations about a fast-growing town and said that traffic congestion has come with the growth, mostly fueled by people that commute to Calgary.

This is the end of Week 1 - the Mountain Stage
319 miles and 11,500 feet of climbing
An almost overwhelming amount of exquisite scenery!