Day 5 would have us crossing another international border (this time in Canada, the third country of our 2005 Three Flags Classic rally), and it would be yet another grand day. If you haven’t read the first four days, you might want to catch up by reading our prior blog posts here:
The 2005 Three Flags Classic Rally: the Intro!
The Three Flags Classic: Day 1
The Three Flags Classic: Day 2
The Three Flags Classic: Day 3
The Three Flags Classic: Day 4
On to Day 5!
We loaded up early again the next morning and headed north from Whitefish, Montana. Wow, was it ever cold! It was 34 degrees when we rode across the border into Canada, and even though the sun climbed higher into the sky on that fine bright day, it grew even colder as we continued north. I had my electric vest cranked all the way up and I was still freezing.
We stopped for breakfast in Fernie after we crossed the border to warm up a bit. Our route took us through a brief bit of British Columbia, and then we entered Alberta. The route took us into the Kananaskis National Park in Canada on our way to Calgary, our destination that day.
We saw signs warning of mountain sheep crossing the road. I thought it would be great to see one, but I didn’t expect that I would. Then we started spotting the things all over.
The first one was that lone sheep you see in the photo above. We stopped to grab a photo, but I realized I had my Sigma 17-35 wide angle on the camera. I grabbed a quick shot from the motorcycle, but I knew the distance and the wide angle lens would make the animal just a tiny bit in the photo. I didn’t want to get off the bike because I thought I might scare it away. I fumbled to get my longer range 24-120 zoom lens on the camera (it was in my tank bag). The entire time I thought the goat would run away before I could get the lens on my Nikon N70.
Then the sheep looked directly at me and starting slowly walking in my direction.
“Uh oh,” I thought.
I didn’t know if mountain sheep bite or if they are aggressive. Maybe it would come over and try to butt me. I could see, even at a distance, that the thing had horns. I had visions of it knocking me and the Triumph over. My Triumph had never been on its side. The scratches on that beautiful Daytona fairing would be tough to explain. I remember wondering if I would be able to keep the bike upright if the thing butted me.
Little did I know….
The sheep literally walked right up to me. I took this shot while sitting on my Triumph, at a distance of maybe 4 or 5 feet.
I shot up a whole roll of film and the thing was still hanging around. I noticed that as it advanced, it would stop every few feet and lick the road. I’m guessing that it was enjoying the remnants of the road salt the Canadians put down when it snows and the roads ice over. Someone later said they are probably used to being fed. I prefer to think it just wanted a better look at the Daytona. After all, it was the only Triumph in the 2005 Three Flags Classic.
It warmed up after that and it was a glorious day. Our next to last checkpoint was in the Kananaskis National Park at a place called Fortress Junction. Marty and I chatted with the other riders and then we rode the final leg of the Rally into Calgary.
Later that day, we rode along a highway and then into Calgary, the endpoint for the 2005 Three Flags Classic. I would be the turnaround point for Marty and me. We still had a lot of fun in front of us…a couple of days in Calgary, and then the grand ride home. On the ride home, we were on our own (it was not part of the Three Flags Classic, which ended in Calgary. That portion of our ride is coming up in future blogs, so stay tuned!
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