We talk about karma and hope our good deeds will be rewarded. About 10 kilometres south of Chain Lakes on Highway 22 we came across four Harley riders in trouble, one with a blown front tire. The two-inch slit in the sidewall was unpluggable, so we helped push the trike to the northbound shoulder where they waited for a tow truck. Was it a karmic event?

We had left Calgary that morning encouraged that, in July of 2023, it was safe in our post-Covid world to make the U.S. a travel destination once more. Having heard about the roads around Mount St. Helens, we made the area a focal point of the trip. Kyle Gwilliam, John Ritz, Keith Tully and I met at a local gas station, where we admired John’s new tires. The last two years left us searching for a bike shop to replace John’s worn-out rear with close to 1,000 km to go before home. John was not going to make it three times. 

We planned to spend the first night in Colville, WA, which was a little more than 600 km away. A 9 a.m. start gave us plenty of time to make the planned border crossing at Nelway on Highway 6 west of Creston, B.C., before the 8 p.m. closure stated on the web. 

Border Woes

Highway 3 west of Creston goes through the Kootenay pass. Our plan to slip between the few dark clouds was only partially successful as we caught a few light showers. At the turn to the U.S. border at Nelway, we noticed a sign saying it closes at 4 p.m.; the local time was 3:52 with 10 km to go. Picking up the pace, we arrived at 4:01 to find barricades across the road. The Canadian side was still open and processing vehicles, but not a U.S. officer was in sight. 

Suffice it to say that, on a Friday afternoon, the U.S. crossing may close earlier than 4 o’clock. To get all the barriers in place and close up shop would have taken a lot longer than a couple of minutes. Even if we had not played the good Samaritans with the Harley riders, I am not sure we would have made it. Karma must have had a different event in mind 

Our option was to travel west to cross the border south of Rossland and into Northport, WA. My GPS told me to take the Onion Creek Road to get to Colville. I usually argue with it but decided this might be a good time to follow directions. Finally, we found our karma at Onion Creek Road. While only having a 50-mph speed limit, it had a lot of tight turns for the next 40 km where it popped us out onto Hwy 395 only three kilometres from Colville…