Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 12:51:37 -0700
Reply-To: Alistair Bell <albell@UVIC.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alistair Bell <albell@UVIC.CA>
Subject: trip report, long
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Trip report.
3 week holiday through Southern B.C. then on to Dinosaur Prov. Park in
Alberta.
Tech Summary
1982 Westy, I4 conversion in 94, 193k miles on van, 110k miles on engine.
Estimated avg cruising speed (not including steep mtn. passes): 90kph
distance travelled: 4085 km/2538 miles
gas consumption: 442.4 liters, 97 imp gal, 117 us gal
average ³gas consumption rate²: 10.8 l/100 km, 26mpg imp, 22mpg US
best ³gas consumption rate²: 31mpg imp, 26mpg US
worst ³gas consumption rate²: 26mpg imp, 22mpg US
oil consumption: approx 0.4 l, 0.47 US qt
Max observed oil temp: 120C (long climbs in 3rd gear)
Avg oil temp (at 100kph, external air temp 30C): 110C
(Mobil 1, 15W-50)
No coolant overheating.
Fridge stay lit during all of the driving.
Breakdowns:
2 plastic spoke hubcaps, one lost, one recovered but broken.
Cooling fin fan on fridge didn¹t come on, thermo switch sticky i think
(works with a lit match heating it!).
Plastic debris in pick-up tube of windshield washer pump, disassembled and
cleaned out, better squirting!
One elbow.
Van performed like a champ!
Caught the 9 am ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawassen on Monday, 6 Aug. Van
fully laden, (wife & husband & 6 year old son), canoe on top, too much Lego
inside.
Arrived in Manning Provincial Park (over the Cascade mtns), that afternoon.
Good place to decompress and start the holidays. Big park, lots to do,
didn¹t do much this year, just relaxed and canoed.
Two days in Manning then on to Princeton for supplies and up hwy 5A to
Kentucky-Allenye lake Provincial park. Its another popular park, but has a
really nice lake for swimming. Lots of fun there, hot, hot weather, cool
nights (alt. Approx 1000 m), and this year was great fishing. Usually in
August the fishing is slow, but due to a cool summer the season was delayed
a bit and I was lucky enough to hit a couple of hatches. Got a real lesson
in flyfishing from a neighbour camper, we went out together during a ³hatch²
of moths (!), used the same fly, he hooked around 20, I hooked 2. His
technique was flawless, amazing to watch. That morning I paddled back to
camp first, he followed and preceded to ³stalk² and finally hook a 5#
³football² on the edge of the shallows in front of our campsite.
After a few days there we headed east on the Okanagan connector, then north
up the Okanagan valley through Kelowna (urban planning? We don¹t got no
urban planning, we don¹t need no steenking urban planning), and on to Vernon
where we hung a right and headed east again, along hwy 6 through Lumby,
Cherryville (old hippy timewarp).
Hot, hot weather (36 C in the van) as we lumbered up over the Monashee mtns
and down to Needles where you caught the cable ferry across lower Arrow lake
(Columbia river) to Faquier. North to McDonald lake Provincial Campsite,
just south of Nakusp. Arrow lake is an ³artificial² lake formed by the
damming of the Columbia, and this year the lake level is quite low. The
exposed sandy shores have been planted with barley/rye giving it an unusual
appearance. But my god the mountains looming almost overhead, with the sun
shining obliquely on them were magnificent.
Caught a leach (using my leg) in the lake.
Next day on to Nakusp, then SE to New Denver where we left hwy 6 and struck
out east on 31A over the Selkirk mtns to Kaslo. En route we stopped a
Sandon, a mining ghost town. Interesting, but honestly had more fun
scrabbling through the shale on the roadside, Mineral rich region. Kaslo is
a very nice, ³gentrified² town.
From Kaslo we went south, on the western shore of Kootenay lake to Balfour,
where we caught a ferry that crossed to the eastern shore, landing at
Kootenay Bay. South on hwy 3A, alongside Kootenay lake to Creston, then east
on hwy 3-95 to Yahk where we spent the night at Yahk Provincial Campsite.
Next morning continued north east through the Purcell mtns to Cranbrook,
side trip to Fort Steele, n the Rocky mtn. trench, can look down the
Kootenay river, hot dry day, spectacular.
Drove south on hwy 201 to Elko, then north east again on hwy 3 to Fernie
where we spent the night at Fernie Provincial Campsite. Grizzly bear alert,
3 yr old spotted that day by the creek, great excitement, no show despite me
lying in the shallow creek to cool off.
Next day from fernie to Sparwood (stopped to take pictures of the giant dump
truck ³Titan², uses Yokohama tires!). East now over the Rockies through the
Crowsnest Pass into Alberta. Again the scenery was magnificent, amazing.
Originally we had planned on heading south to Glacier National Park, but we
decided to head on to dinosaur land strait away.
East on hwy 3, leaving the mtns behind, now rolling prairie, wheat, barley,
hot, dry...hot, dry. Stopped at Fort Macleod. Had a walk around. Main street
is small but amazing, stone buildings, appearance not much changed from the
40¹s-50¹s. Movie theatre very original.
Back into the van and further east to Lethbridge. Supplies, and then on
eastward to Taber. Now we turned north on hwy36. Again, through dry prairie
and wheat fields. Stopped at a crossroads to take a picture of the
loneliness. A bit reminiscent (minus the cornfields) of t place where Cary
Grant was attacked by the crop duster in ³North by Northwest².
We were heading north to Kinsbrook Island Prov. Park. Its a large shallow
lake on the bald prairie, a source of irrigation water and a home to many
wildfowl and mosquitoes. Just before reaching the park we spied a pair of
Pronghorn Antelope running alongside the road.
Did I mention how hot it was?
To escape the mossies for a while, we paddled out into the lake. Strange to
be in a lake where the water seems to meet the sky, no bordering forest or
mtns.
Packed up the next morning and north to Brooks, then on to Dinosaur Prov.
Park...our destination!
Weird landscape in the Badlands, and hot, hot, hot (38C in the shade).
Almost African Savannah in appearance. Set up camp and lay down in the
little creek behind us to cool off slightly.
Margaret caught a nice leech using her calf.
Then its off to Drumheller (mostly west) to the Tyrell Museum. Its about a 2
hour drive from the park...hot 2 hr. drive.
Seems like everyone in Alberta drives a big pickup. They must be
compensating for something!
The museum is first rate. Very good, very impressive. Go to the website for
info!
(The food however is lousy).
Back in the town of Drumheller we stopped a the tourist info/gift shop where
there is a rather tacky 5X life size T. Rex that you can go inside, climb up
and stand in its open mouth. My son insisted.
Travelled back to our campsite by secondary roads, first along the Red Deer
River (which runs through the badlands, the ancient course of a much large
eroding flood!), then back up on top of the prairie as dusk changed to
night.
The flatness of the landscape allowed you to see semi-trailers approaching
(they were using hwy 36 as a northern conduit) from a long way off, almost
felt like one was flying.
We spent a very enjoyable few days in the park, hiking around the badlands
and swimming in the Red Deer River. On our last night we were entertained by
an impressive thunderstorm that passed right over us, lightning,
downdraughts and some rain.
Next morning was sunny and hot again!
Caught another leech in the creek, this time using an ankle.
We packed up and headed west on hwy 1 to Calgary (supplies) then on to Banff
National Park where we spent the night at a minor campsite. From there on
westward through Golden, and camped south of Revelstoke on Upper Arrow lake
(actually more of a river than a lake at this point...Columbia river) at
Blanket Creek Prov. Park.
Next day on to Armstrong at the head the Okanagan Valley, to spend a couple
of days with friends. My son broke his elbow on his Birthday! Got excellent
treatment at Vernon hospital.
Then we headed south through the Okanagan Valley, through appalling Kelowna
again, and west on the Okanagan connector to stay for a few days a
Kentucky-Allenye park. The weather had changed, rained in Armstrong, but
beginning to clear up at the park, nice way to finish our trip.
Then home, via hwy 5 (Coquihalla), hwy 1, and beautiful sunny evening on the
6 pm ferry back to Swartz Bay, August 26.
Alistair
albell@uvic.ca
'82 Westy, diesel=>I4 gas
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