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Day 26 (has it been 26 days already?)
Relaxing In Banff
Well, today I woke up and had a great breakfast in the hotel resteraunt (where I will be eating dinner shortly) and then it was time for my massage at 11:45. It's oddly getting a little bit too familiar that I can sit down in a resteraunt and eat a meal alone. When you are surrounded by couples, it gets a bit hard, and of course you think, they must be wondering why this man is eating all alone...though in reality , I'm sure they couldnt care less. So I wandered over to the Spa here in the hotel and had a great relaxing, and sometimes hurtful, but in the end AWESOME massage. It's funny how you can spend almost a month being dirty and dealing with motorbike things like tires, chains, gears, oil seapage, and then be sitting in a Spa in a big fluffy robe...I definitely felt a little silly, but the pampering kicked ass! I even hit the hot tubs later on to maximize this relaxing day.
I decided to spend the afternoon walking the town of Banff. Now Banff is about a mile or so long, and FILLED with trendy little shops and resteraunts. Mostly just touristy shops selling junk. Though there was even a McDonalds and a Starbucks, but I guess those two things are pretty much everywhere. Though I did think an Apple store(MAC) was going to pop up as well...but didnt. Speaking of Tourists. They all pretty much suck. Rude. No excuse me's, no smiles, no hello's. You can definitley tell the tourists from the locals. The locals that I've met on this journey have been SO amazingly nice. From Old men who love to tell you about the town you are in,or a little bit of history or even give you un-needed directions, to even this awesome old lady/native american who sat in a rocking chair outside a gas station in Northern BC. (before the treacherous dirt roads and pot holes) She was awesome! She yelled to me when I was pumping gas. "Where ya headed?" I answered her "South...to New Mexico" "where it's warmer." I added. She answered me with an affirming "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Even after I had pumped the gas, paid for it, and hit the bathroom, as I got back on my bike she yelled out to me "Have a great time in New Mexico" I thanked her and went on my way. I would have loved to have sat with her and chatted for hours, but just knew I had to push on to find a place for the night before the crap weather rolled in...which is always seems to lately.
So Yeah...locals are great. Hell...even Sam, the guy who fixed my bike in Smithers invited me over that night for dinner and drinks with him and his wife. "There's even a fishing pole in the back yard if you care to do some fishing." he added, as well as saying to just let myself in and if they werent home yet, to make myself comfortable till they got back. WOW! that frame of mind is SOOO not how it is back east where I'm from. Now maybe Sam is the King of friendlyness and hospitality, but so far on this trip, everyone has been REAL nice everywhere I've gone. Lots of great people I hope I never forget
So...Banff. its beautiful here, surrounded by amazing mtns, and I did want to take this gondola ride up to the top of one of the peaks here, but there was a threat of rain coming, and as a matter of fact...its 5PM here, and been pouring for 2 hours. So glad, I didnt do that. I just walked the town up and back for some exercise and to see what it had to offer.
Tomorrow, I head east to Calgary and then due south right to the US border!!! WOOHOO! I had fun in Canada, but really ready for a change of scenery and will be happy to be back on US soil. I also checked the weather for Banff for tomorrow. 66 and sunny, not bad. Bozeman, Montana 86 and sunny...EVEN BETTER! It will also be nice to have a working Iphone again so I can text, and call, and recieve them as well. I've been pretty much service-less here in BC. I guess it's all the mtns.
The Bike chain is feeling a bit loose again. Not sure why. Sam tightened it up really well back in Smithers, and it shouldnt have this much play in it already, unless maybe the mechanic in Prince George managed to F something up. I'm not really sure, but at least I can adjust it to tighten it up a bit more. It is however not far from its stretched limit to where I will need a new chain, so. Im hoping I can at least make it to New Mex before that happens. Then give the whole bike a big ass tune up and take care of everything it needs.
some useless facts...
I broke 2 pairs of sunglasses already, not from wearing mind you but from being stuffed in packs.
I have camping equipment that hasnt seen the light of day in over a week!
My leather jacket, boots, and snowboard pants will most likely be trash by the end of this trip. the snowboard pants mind you, were a last minute packing item, that I'm SO glad I packed. They keep your legs pretty warm, and also keep the wind from biting. I've worn them every day since I left the great plains. They're not much for being waterproof, but do dry fast.
Though I'm also pretty sure that nothing is very waterproof when you are traveling on motorbike at 60MPH in the pouring rain.
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