3562 MILES

12 DAYS

WESTERN U.S. AND CANADA TRIP

Saturday July 3

It was 107 degrees at home in Chico, California the day before we left so I made the decision that we should get up extra early to beat the heat. Lauren, Talena, Lynny, and I got up at 4:00 am Saturday morning to discover the temp had dropped down into the high 40's. After unpacking all of our cold weather gear and repacking all of our T-shirts we finally got on the road.

You can imagine how popular I was.

Lauren is riding her 96 Harley Davidson Dyna Convertible she just purchased last week from Guidera's Harley Davidson in Yuba City, California. Lynny is on his 98 Harley Davidson Softtail Custom, and my 11 year old daughter, Talena, is riding behind me on my 94 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide.

After having breakfast in Red Bluff, California we headed north on I-5 into the Oregon mountains and a rain storm that stayed with us for 2 days. The temp zoomed up to 55 degrees and that was the high for the day. After 420 miles of nasty weather we called it a day and stayed in Albany, OR at the Pony Soldier Best Western. Nice rooms, good price, and a seafood restaurant next door that served a great dinner.

Sunday July 4

Rode the rest of the way thru Oregon and Washington on I-5. More rain, more cold, but we did get into Vancouver, B.C. Because of the heavy traffc it took almost 30 minutes to cross the border on I-5, we suggest using a different crossing point if you have the option. Coming back we used Hwy 2 out of Calgary, Alberta, and crossed in 2 minutes. Also be advised that you can get almost all the G.S.T.(Goods and Service Tax) you pay while you are in Canada refunded when you come back across the border. You just present your reciepts to the Duty Free Store. Make sure all your receipts are marked paid. There are a number of services exempt (gas, air, train, and bus fares, as well as food). The average refund is about $70. Also not every crossing has a Duty Free store big enough to handle the rebates, but they will supply you a form to submit thru the mail and you will get your refund. If you cross at a location that is so small that it cannot do an on the spot refund be sure to get your receipts stamped by customs so they are valid when you mail them in. We are mailing ours in and will let you all know how it went.

UPDATE

Today we received our GST REFUND, $87.47. It took about 45 days but it came!!

Monday July 5

The weather broke and although it didn't get real warm we had mostly clear skies. Lynny headed back to California (he could only get 4 days off work). We took the B.C. Ferry out of Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

CONTINUE