Eight hundred fifty kilometres one way in about twelve hours

It would have been less time if I had not missed the ferry by about two minutes.

I had taken March 2 off and created a long weekend. I live just south of Edmonton, Alberta and on February 29 I got up early and drove to Ainsworth Hot Springs in British Columbia. Sometimes you just pick a destination. 

Friday night the local weather forecast said that where I live would be on the edge of a snow front and there might be two centimeters of snow once it started and finished on Saturday. They were wrong. I was on the freeway heading south at 6:40am and it was already snowing. As I got closer to Red Deer there was more snow, less visibility, and one clear lane of the two southbound lanes. I was not able to drive the speed limit due to the weather.

Once I got a bit south of Red Deer it cleared up and there were clear skies and glorious sun. It could not be entirely uneventful though, south of Calgary the snow had almost completely disappeared from the landscape however the wind was brutal. All the way to the British Columbia border from Highway 2 south, then west on Highway 3 it was strong nasty wind.

From the British Columbia border to my destination it was relatively uneventful. Most of the snow was gone, it was sunny, and little traffic. The road from Creston to Crawford Bay is full of wonderful twists and turns that is a great ride on a motorcycle. I got to Crawford Bay to catch the ferry and arrived just in time to see it pulling away from the dock. There was about a ninety minute wait for the next crossing. The crossing itself is about thirty-five minutes. This is a summer area, not much is open in winter. So you wait.

The water was a bit choppy but the ferry ride was smooth enough. When you arrive on the other side it is less than fifteen minutes to Ainsworth where I spent Sunday before driving back on Monday. The hot springs made it worth it.

If you ever go beware of suicidal deer and elk. I had a couple of near misses.