| Visiting the Canadian Tar Sand Boomtowns this summer | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Mon Mar 15th, 2010 07:44 pm | 1st Post |
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presently planning a trip waaaay north this july or aug. to see real life boomtowns. we'd be leaving from MN, going north to Winnipeg and then west to Cold Lake. looking for help from anyone familiar with the areas that can offer suggestions. thx. in advance for any help.
____________________ 05 FJR1300, 88 GL1500, 98 TL1000R, 03 ZRX1200R, 74 Z1, 78 KZ750, 72 GT380 |
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| Posted: Mon Mar 15th, 2010 08:25 pm | 2nd Post |
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Can I offer a suggestion for you. Go west to Montana and then go north into Alberta. Two reasons for this. 1st is that the roads in Saskatchewan, which you will have to cross, are in TERRIBLE shape. You will have a much smoother ride by running Highway 2 west and then up into Alberta which has great roads. The 2nd reason is that it is much less expensive to run in the states than in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Have a great trip !!! 
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| Posted: Tue Mar 16th, 2010 04:27 am | 3rd Post |
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I would second Big Brown's suggestion - stick to the stateside - up through Montana & Alberta. Saskatchewan has some scenic spots but not on the main highways. Montana offers some great mountain scenery & then on up north through Alberta 4 lane highway - good roads most of the way to Fort Mac.
____________________ Merv 1978 GL1000 1974 CB750 |
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| Posted: Wed Mar 17th, 2010 06:30 am | 4th Post |
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But for christ sakes, don't cross at Couts border crossing Those dude's on the Canadian gates are arrogant idiots! If you go through Montana you get to cruise the continental devide which is awesome. A trip to Peace river is nice, you will find "Mile 0" in Grimshaw just south of Peace river. Im not too much of a fan of Alberta but you could go south from Cow town (calgary) and run through the Rockies!From Winterpeg all the way to Cow town, you are cruising in a strait line in wide open farming country with no hills or trees. Some of the cross winds will push you across 2 lanes of traffic & that road is the main trucking artery. great in a car to make good time but on a bike, you will be busy!
____________________ http://www.veteranbikebuild.webs.com hatchetman@goldwingfacts.com |
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18th, 2010 06:24 am | 5th Post |
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If you are looking to visit the tarsands, then you would be best off to go to Fort McMurray. That is where all the open pit tar sands are---Syncrude and Suncor, and the huge trucks and excavators. There is also a very interesting museum/interpretive center in Fort McMurray. Not sure what they have for tours at the actual tarsands, which are located north of the city. The Athabasca tarsands around Fort McMurray produce a substantial percentage of the worldwide oil production. Total reserves are estimated at 1.7 trillion barrels, with about 170 billion barrels recoverable using today's technology. Canada is the second largest producer of oil in the world and one half of that comes from the tar sands around Fort McMurray. Fort McMurray is about 5 hours north of Edmonton on a busy, but good, two lane blacktop. Edmonton is about 5 hours north of the US border. Cold Lake is a beautiful town and nice place to visit but not much to see in the way of oil recovery. The tar sands are in McMurray. Cold Lake is the site of an air force base and every year hosts Operation Maple Flag where all of the NATO countries compete in Top Gun style air exercises. Great entertainment if you are an aviation enthusiast. Not good if you are looking for a motel room during Maple Flag. Book accomodations in advance for Fort McMurray. It is a boom town and very busy (and expensive) You could come up through the city of Winnipeg, then across the province of Saskatchewan. (The highways are actually very good). My suggestion is Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Cold Lake and Fort McMurray. All first-class highways and never more than 30 minutes from a town or city along the way. Last edited on Thu Mar 18th, 2010 06:34 am by Gofastandfalldown |
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