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 Jim MacLellan is an adventurer. The 64-year old retired school teacher from Knowlton, Quebec, rode his motorcycle 13,000 miles through 31 states and 7 Canadian provinces this past summer. During his 66-day odyssey he reconnected with friends and marveled at the sights he discovered and the people he met.
MacLellan's trip was a zigzag circumnavigation of the United States as he traveled westward along the Canadian side of the northern border through the cities of Ottawa and Toronto before heading to Chicago. He then swung south and traveled through the corn fields of Iowa and Nebraska then on to Colorado and north again up to Montana and into the Canadian province of Alberta, before heading west for Vancouver, British Columbia. He travelled down the entire western coast of the United States before heading east with stops along the way at Las Vegas, Nevada, the Grand Canyon, San Antonio, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana.  He then hugged the East Coast soaking up as much American history as possible as he traveled through such cities as Savannah, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, Williamsburg, Virginia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Boston, Massachusetts. His last segment of the trip took MacLellan northward along the Maine coast, up through the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and then over to Prince Edward Island before heading home where he completed his journey in the first week of September.
MacLellan has fond memories of his journey. "Wow" is the word that comes to his mind when he thinks back on the motorcycle ride up the 14,130-foot Mount Evan in Colorado including the last 15 miles of switchbacks to the summit. A Pretty damn spectacular sight, was his recollections of Yellowstone National Park, especially Old Faithful. The Canadian Rockies are, "lovely sights". The Pacific Coast Highway is beautiful and Big Sur, California is "spectacular." The highlight of the trip, according to MacLellan, was his trip to the Grand Canyon: "everyone should witness this fantastic natural wonder."  The Cabot Trail on the Island of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia reminded him of the rugged coastline of the Pacific Coast Highway. He vividly remembers that his Cabot Trail ride, "was windy and by far the hardest day of riding on his trip."
MacLellan speaks glowingly about the people he met on his trip--not only his friend and relatives that he visited, but others as well. He talks fondly about the people of Henly, Texas and how friendly they were to him. He said, "I hated to leave those Texas hills, but the trek had to go on."
In one trip Jim MacLellan has seen more of the United States and Canada than most of us. He has shown all of us that with a keen desire for adventure along with proper planning we can all fulfill a dream. |
