This five-day, 1,073 mile ride takes me back to Ainsworth Hot Springs in British Columbia to finish my birthday celebration. I travel along Hwy 20 through the North Cascades, over Sherman Pass and through the Colville National Forest. After crossing the border into British Columbia, I ride adjacent to the Kootenay Mountains and between the Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park and Kootenay Lake. After two days at the hot springs eating wonderful food, I return to Seattle grateful for the experience.

Day 1

Day’s distance – 249 miles

I departed the house about 9:15am and hit I-5 north after the commute. This would be my only stretch of interstate on my way up to Ainsworth. Traffic was light.

Temperatures started in the mid 60s and reached into the mid 80s as I approached Omak.

Instead of turning off I-5 at Arlington, as I have in the past, I waited until reaching Hwy 20. However, the road really only begins to get scenic after Rockport, so cutting off the interstate at Arlington is legitimate if desired.

Hwy 20 follows the Skagit River and I took a short break at a rest area.

Soon after Rockport, you enter the North Cascades National Park

Traffic was light, probably because the road opened a week ahead of schedule. The road surface on this two-lane road was excellent and made for an enjoyable ride.

Diablo Lake was its usual color. Not much snow remained in the mountains.

Winthrop was my planned lunch stop. I chose to grab a light lunch at the Rocking Horse Bakery.

The section of Hwy 20 between Twisp and Okanogan is really nice. The terrain climbs out of the semi-arid countryside and into the Loup Loup State Forest.

The pass was cooler at elevation.

I checked in to my lodging at about 4:15 and as quickly as possible hit the pool. After a swim, I rode into town, about a mile away, for some chicken mole at El Ranchero Chido.

While unloading the bike, I met another rider. Rich had a lot of gear and it turns out he has a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@BIMMERGUYRICH). In speaking to him about his videos, he mentioned it takes about four hours of editing for every minute of video published. That’s a lot of work.

He has ridden over 300,000 miles since 2005, according to his channel. That, too, is a lot of work.

I spent more time in the pool after dinner until ready for bed. A good first day.

Day 2

Day’s distance – 249 miles

I had breakfast with Rich at the hotel. Afterwards, I jumped in the pool for another swim since I didn’t have too far to go and check in at the hot springs was 4pm.

The temperatures were in the 70’s already. I was glad I was heading north. I departed about 9:15 again. Hwy 97 north of Omak is nothing special. East of the turnoff in Tonasket though, it becomes two lanes again and more interesting.

I took a short break in Republic, a small town still west of Sherman Pass. I’ll be driving through forests from here until I reach Ainsworth, with a few exceptions.

The road will climb up to about 5,400 feet at the pass before dropping down again to meet the Columbia River at Kettle Falls. It was here I would fill up with fuel and lunch at the Crandall Coffee Company.

My last break before the border was in Tiger, Washington.

The two ladies running the Tiger Store were sad when I told them I was from Seattle. They were frightened that Seattle was turning socialist. I had to laugh at their misinformed perceptions. My friend’s response was the best – “tell me you’ve never been to Seattle without telling me you’ve never been to Seattle.” My thought was simpler – stop watching Fox.

The border crossing was about 30 minutes north of Tiger. Crossing the border here was quick and within an hour I arrived at Ainsworth Hot Springs.

The last time I stayed here was in 2018 on my way up to Alaska. My room then did not have a view. This time, since it’s my 68th birthday celebration, I reserved the best suite there. 🙂

I took my time unpacking and showering before my dinner reservation at 6pm. I started with a mocktail called The Cranberry Mule, followed by an arugula and beet salad.

The entree was a bone-in Elk Medallion and was superb!

The staff was friendly and my server, Kate, was amazing. She would also be my server the next night (we arranged that to be the case – lol).

Day 3

Day’s distance – 84 miles

While I was staying at Ainsworth for two nights, I did want to go for a scenic ride in the morning while it was still cool.

I traveled north to Kaslo, about 10 miles away, for breakfast.

Like my 2018 trip, I ended up at Bluebelle Bistro for an egg sandwich and a latte. Then it was off to New Denver along Hwy 31A, a superb motorcycle road with scenery so beautiful it’s distracting.

From the map image posted above, you can see glaciers in every direction.

And the truism that two-lane roads following rivers are the best holds firmly in this part of British Columbia.

I spent about three hours out and about. Part of that time talking to two local riders once I returned to Kaslo. But I was itching to jump in the hot springs and enjoy the pools.

From what I could hear, the group of folks in the photo were from Italy.

Before long, it was dinner time again 🙂 Tonight’s mocktail was an orange espresso martini. Quite yummy.

Dinner was an herb-crusted Walleye.

The Ktunaxa Grill and its staff really make stays here special. I will not wait eight years to return!

Day 4

Day’s distance – 249 miles

Temperatures remained warm and I returned to Omak along the same route. I stopped in Salmo to fill up with fuel. Premium was $2.099 CAD per liter.

The border crossing at Nelway was quiet and I arrived about 11:30am. No cars were in front of me and I was through the whole process in just a few minutes.

I didn’t end up taking any pictures this day. Instead I just relaxed and enjoyed the ride, arriving in Omak at about 4:30pm. I stayed at the same place and again enjoyed the pool and hot tub.

Day 5

Day’s distance – 243 miles

Temperatures remained elevated, starting off in the 70s and quickly hitting the mid 80s.

I found myself in the semi-arid part of Washington again, traveling alongside the Columbia River.

Today’s plan was to meet a friend in Leavenworth. He was taking the day off and wanted to ride somewhere.

We did meet in Leavenworth but it was way too busy. You see, Leavenworth’s claim to fame is it is modeled after a Bavarian Village. Tourists flock to this area in the summer. On top of the traffic, the place I wanted to eat was closed.

Unable even to find a place to park, we (or perhaps I alone) decided we should go to Cle Elum for lunch.

Hwy 97 between Leavenworth and Cle Elum crosses Blewett Pass and is somewhat scenic, with some nice high-speed sweepers though there is too much traffic compared to Hwy 20. It didn’t take long and we found ourselves at Señor Bones ordering lunch.

We enjoyed lunch and I filled Michael in on my travels.

I was able to pair my helmet communicator with Michael’s and we chatted while taking I-90 back to Seattle. I arrived home about 4pm.

Reflections

June was a perfect month for motorcycle adventures. My trail ride around the Olympics was a first. That was followed by a fun trials event and just a few days later this ride to Ainsworth Hot Springs.

This trip, like my recent trail ride, I left my laptop at home. This makes traveling a little easier and border crossings potentially easier. The downside is readers don’t get a day by day post that they can follow.

There are many roads in the areas I traveled through that I haven’t yet ridden. I look forward to another trip to explore some of them.

I’m stoked that at 68 I can still enjoy this type of adventure.