Rocky Mountain House
August 2006
August 2006
It was a beautiful day, and decided to take a ride from Edmonton to Rocky Mountain House, a gateway town to the Canadian Rockies. I headed south out of Edmonton to Leduc, and then Hwy 39 west. It was a perfect day with lost of sunshine, wispy clouds, and temps in the high 70's F (mid 20's C).
The riding is through typical Alberta plains, and lots of farmland. Just past Tamarack Valley, I took Hwy 20 towards Lodgepole, and the road changes from pavement to gravel. I stopped at the Brazeau Reservoir to stretch my legs. I continue south towards Hwy 11, and it's a fun ride on a fairly well-maintained dirt and gravel road, where hitting 85-90 mph is pretty easy on the big GS.
I finally reach Hwy 11, and head towards Rocky Mountain House for lunch and gas. After lunch, I headed west on Hwy 11 towards Abraham Lake, which is visually stunning. It's a huge lake formed by the Bighorn Hydroelectric Dam, and a glacial sheen from the mountain runoff. I continued west towards the Kootenay Plains area, bordering the North Saskatchewan River that feeds Abraham Lake. This is a very scenic area in the foothills of the Rockies. Much of the area is preserved as the Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve, and serves as a grazing range for elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and other animals. I finally returned back to Edmonton with another 500 miles under the saddle...
The riding is through typical Alberta plains, and lots of farmland. Just past Tamarack Valley, I took Hwy 20 towards Lodgepole, and the road changes from pavement to gravel. I stopped at the Brazeau Reservoir to stretch my legs. I continue south towards Hwy 11, and it's a fun ride on a fairly well-maintained dirt and gravel road, where hitting 85-90 mph is pretty easy on the big GS.
I finally reach Hwy 11, and head towards Rocky Mountain House for lunch and gas. After lunch, I headed west on Hwy 11 towards Abraham Lake, which is visually stunning. It's a huge lake formed by the Bighorn Hydroelectric Dam, and a glacial sheen from the mountain runoff. I continued west towards the Kootenay Plains area, bordering the North Saskatchewan River that feeds Abraham Lake. This is a very scenic area in the foothills of the Rockies. Much of the area is preserved as the Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve, and serves as a grazing range for elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and other animals. I finally returned back to Edmonton with another 500 miles under the saddle...
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