And then came the rains… given the soggy forecast, we bolted early from Fernie in hopes of catching a calm morning on Surveyor’s Lake, a recommended favorite of local paddle boarders.

We timed it perfectly, just enough patchy morning sun to illuminate this crystal clear shallow mountain lake and reveal its underwater inhabitants – Western Painted Turtles and Largemouth Bass.

Soon the predicted rains came, so we reluctantly packed up the boards and headed south to the border.

The rain followed us into the US and to our destination for the night, Rexford Montana. We took shelter in a pre-rented 39 ft luxury RV, mere steps away from the Frontier Bar and an entertaining guitarist named Todd who tours in his own RV between Arizona and Montana.

As Todd was uncannily nailing Neil Young songs, the skies began to clear and nearby Rexford Beach began calling to us.

Lake Koocanusa snakes 90 miles from Montana to Canada in the Kootenay valley. The water on this long winding lake was incredibly calm on this late summer evening.

We enjoyed an absolutely beautiful and memorable sunset paddle under the big Montana sky.

An enjoyable early morning spin to the top of the continental divide, which also marks the provincial border between Alberta and British Columbia. Our journey could conceivably stop right here, given that we’ve found ‘The Best Place on Earth’.

From the top of the pass, it’s a downhill ride thru coal mining country (the best Coal on Earth?) to the town of Sparwood, which claims to have the world’s largest truck.

There are plenty of trucks rumbling down Canada’s Crowsnest highway, but thankfully I’ve not encountered one this size. Experiencing a sudden fear of large motorized vehicles, I left the highway in Sparwood and traversed down the picturesque Elk Valley Trail.

While I unfortunately didn’t see Pixie the missing cat, I did see plenty of Elk… confirming that this single-track trail is well named. Oh, and I also found Sasquatch.

Fernie, our destination town this day, is a bustling ski village in winter and a mountain biking mecca in the summer. Good to see more bikes than cars in the quaint downtown streets.

We’ve got a well-deserved rest day in Fernie, then we head for the US border into Montana.

EFI (Every eFFin’ Inch) was the mantra for the coast-to-coast ride. A regimented approach to completely crossing North America on two wheel, from a rear-wheel dip in the Pacific to a front-wheel victory in the Atlantic. In contrast, the motto for this ride is WIFFLI (Whenever I eFFin’ Feel Like It). Busy highways? Windy thunderstorms? Meh. Secluded park trails? Off-road bike paths? I’m in!

So rather than slog down Alberta Highway 22 for 50 miles, we instead loaded the bikes on the car rack and drove together to Chain Lakes Provincial Park for a peaceful morning paddle.

Working out the arms feels great, and giving the legs a break feels even better. We worked our way down Alberta 22 (aka the Cowboy Highway), over lush green rolling foothills, to a hidden gem suggested by our BnB hosts in Longview… Lundbreck Falls:

Then, some biking! The Crowsnest Community Trail is a sweet paved path that connects several small communities along the pass and river of the same name. Quite a bit of mining history in the area, with once-thriving towns trying to survive changing times.

A great day of water and wheels. Tomorrow we say goodbye to Alberta and cross the continental divide into British Columbia.