Date:         Wed, 14 Aug 2002 03:12:55 +0000
Reply-To:     Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Canadian Trip Report - Long
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Volks -

Several people over the years have mentioned that they get more paranoid
about their old vehicles the more they read the Vanagon list.  I have had
the same problem, so it's nice to be able to report that I just put 2700
trouble-free miles on my '87 Westy, driving (mostly) around BC and Alberta.

This year I have had several problems with the electronic engine controls,
but after the fussing and fighting, I think all of the problems were with my
Bosch ecu.  The TA I have in there now ran great, and gas mileage is pretty
reasonable, depending on how fast I drive.

I started from Moscow, ID on 28 July and drove to the air show at Fairchild
AFB, near Spokane.  It was a crowded mess getting out of there, taking
almost two hours to get back on the highway, and headed to Republic.

The next day I drove into BC, through the Danville crossing, just south of
Grand Forks.  No problems at the border, but I did have my passport.  From
there I drove to Nelson, which is supposed to be a really fun town.  Didn't
do anything for me, but there were a lot of Westfalias.  The Canadian models
have the electric connector low on the drivers side, for the permanently
attached power cord.

Drove to the Arrow Lakes, taking the ferry at Needles, toured the Grey Monk
winery near Kelowna, and then on to visit friends in Vancouver.  While there
I dropped in on Wolfgang to look at a Shady Boy Awning, and decided to get
one.

By then it was Friday, so I drove down to Mt Vernon, Washington, for a
Naturist weekend.  Had a good time talking about hot springs, nude beaches
and political activism, and then headed north again.  No problem at the
border either time, just lots of questions, and a desire to see my passport.

I drove up the Fraser Canyon, headed for Barkerville, near Quesnel where
David Marshall lives.  It's an old gold mining town that for a short time
was the biggest city north of San Francisco.  It still has about 125 old
buildings preserved, and some working mining machinery, but the trees have
grown back on the hillside, and the creek flows clean again.

It's up at about 4000 ft, so I was happy to have the Plat Cat propane
heater, and the new awning made it easier to deal with the rain showers.   I
did have an adventure with the propane system.  In March this year, I had
installed a second propane tank.  The new tank ran empty that evening, so I
switched to the old one.  It ran the refrigerator all night, but when I
turned the heater on in the morning, it got hot for five minutes, and went
out.  No gas!  No cup of tea!

So, I drove the hour back to Quesnel, had breakfast, and called David
Marshall for advice on a propane dealer.  His wife told me he was at work,
but recomended the place right across the street from where I was eating!
The dealer said both tanks were empty, but when he refilled them, couldn't
find any leaks.  I hope it was a matter of me screwing up, and not some
subtle problem, but we'll see!  Only $8 C to fill both tanks.

From there it was north to Prince George, and south-east to Jasper National
Park.  There I walked on a glacier, went hiking in the rain, and paid (after
converting) $2.07 per gallon for gas.

At the Glacier Center, I saw a Karmann camper with German plates on a
Mercedes truck chassis.  At the campground that night one neighbor was
driving a '63 split window Doormobile, which was beautifully restored.
Another had a Get Away camper, a hard-topped '87 Syncro (with a Transporter
badge).  It was built by a company in Vancouver which is no longer in
business, but looked very nice.  There were also a couple of standard
Westy's.  Seems where ever I went camping in BC or Alberta, there were
always other Vanagon or bus campers of various sorts, all driven by people
who were happy to be there, and happy to wave back.

I worked my way south along the chain of parks, Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, and
then on Friday drove south towards Cranbrook, planning on looking into a
couple of hot springs near Canal Flats.  Had several close encounters with
logging trucks, saw some beautiful country, and punctured my left rear tire
on a sharp rock.  :-(

The spare worked fine, but I decided to have the tire patched before I went
on down the road.  Everyone I asked said that Rubber Doug was the man to
see, but we couldn't reach him by phone.  Fortunately when I found his house
near Wasa, he was there, and got me back on the road in short order after
charging $15 C.

A look in at the neat railway museum in Cranbrook, another border crossing
into Idaho where they didn't need to see my passport, and then to home.

Total mileage over 14 days - 2669.
Total gas used - 144.69 Gallons
Average mileage - 18.45
Lowest mileage - 16.1   (sitting in the parking lot, waiting to get out of the
air show)
Highest mileage - 20.7 (driving from Republic to Nelson on twisty roads)
Average gas price - 1.67
Lowest gas price - 1.35 at Lynden, in Washington north of Bellingham
Highest gas price - 2.07 at Saskatchewan River Crossing in the park.
Oil used - about 1.4 Qts (that's roughly 1900 miles per quart, not as good
as I would like)

Maybe I had the right weight of spare parts on board, but Darlin' ran just
fine.  Lots of beautiful country up there, places I want to get back to see
more of.  If any of you have questions about camping in the area, drop me a
note!



Mike Finkbiner
'87 Westy
Moscow, ID

mike_l_f@hotmail.com


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