Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 06:38:54 -0700
Reply-To: Malcolm Stebbins <mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Malcolm Stebbins <mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Yet another trip report 12,000 kms Long-ish
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I'll try to focus on the highlights and the vanagon
parts of the story but its still LONG:
If you think pictures are worth 1,000 words try:
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/mwstebbins/ Its
called the "trip west". If you want then in order
"list" them rather than Thumbnails.
Trips stats: About 12,000 Kms., 34 days 4 van items
broke: Odometer, Wheel bearing, Alternator, Propane
part of the fridge.
Spent CDN $3,146 (not including van repairs) for 34
days or CDN$92.52/day We free camped (with friends or
stealth) 11 nights of the 34 days. about 18 mpg
(12L/100KM) with my new Weber carb. Halifax, Calgary,
Hot Springs, and back to Halifax.
April 26 we took off for the official start of our
trip.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, up through New Brunswick, over
into Maine and north up highway 11 to the top of
Maine, North to to Riviere-du-Loup (loo) where we
crossed to the north side of the St. Laurence River
and then northwest on Highway 170 towards Lac St Jean
where we stealth camped in a field. Then we headed
southwest on Highway 155 to Park National de la
Mauricie. Rural Quebec French is not what we learned
in school.
Then we took every back road we could find on our way
to Ottawa. In Ottawa we split up, I took off across
the transcanada highway for Harbor Springs Mi while
Pat attended a conference & returned to Halifax till
June.
Here we have a 2 month break in the trip.
July 1, the trip resumes with the odometer broken and
just on the north side of the Mackinaw bridge, as we
turned west, I could hear a roar from the right front
wheel. I get out the vanagon.com list of recommended
repair shops and found Winnipeg, as that is where we
plan to spend a few days. I called them and they
order the part and book me in July 3. We spend a few
days with Pat's friends and visit her 'home town'. We
then went across to Saskatoon (more friends).
Then off to Saskatoon & the Dinosaur Provincial Park.
Interesting park, worth a stop. Next day we enter
Rockies through Kananaskis highway 40 - Fantastic and
made all the better after 5 or so days on the flat
prairies.
July 8 Pat stays in Kananaskis while I drive north
west up through Banff and Lake Louise to Jasper. One
of the most Scenic drives I have EVER been on (and
I've 3 times driven through Switzerland!). My son &
we spend the next day on an 8 hour hike.
My son is driving and says "Dad the read battery light
just came on". we stop, I look, use the volt meter
and its either a bad regulator or a bad alternator -
I'm not sure which.
We drive back to Jasper on the battery, and I call my
mechanic back in Halifax (remember he once made a
house call to me in Michigan). Upon his instructions
yes, bad alternator, So I get the part number and call
NAPA and they can get the part for tomorrow at 11.
Trouble is I was to be back in Kananaskis that night,
so call Pat and talk about Plan B.
Plan B: I camp in my son's apt. driveway, next day
go to NAPA and pull the bad alternator and wait for
the Alternator - It's Saturday. Alternator arrives
but WITHOUT the pulley, so I have to hunt up a
mechanic to R&R the alternator pulley - he does not
charge me for the 5 minutes of work. I reinstall the
alt. and off I go back Southeast through some of the
most beautiful mountain scenery I have ever seen (did
I mention Switzerland??), and off to Medicine Hat
Alberta where Pat's with her friends.
July 13 we leave for Writing-on-Stone Prov. Park in SE
Alberta. Interesting and worth a visit. Then on to
Waterton Lakes National Park, International Park for 2
nights & a hike up to Crypt lake. Be sure to treat
your spouse to High Tea at the Prince of Wales Lodge
overlooking Waterton Lake - beautiful.
July 16 we drive out and down into the USA a through
Glacier Nat'l Park and on to Sully Lake then on
southeast on back roads (83, 141, 69, etc.) If you
can find Pony, Montana - be sure to have a beer at the
Pony Bar - as authentic as it gets.
On to the obligatory stop in Yellowstone, we spend 3
days here driving around and sight-seeing. Elk,
Moose, Bison (there are no Buffalo in north
america!!), bear, bald eagles, mudpots, sulfur pools,
and Yellowstone's Grand Canyon. We included a day
trip down to the Grand Tetons - disappointing after
the Canadian Rockies.
July 19 We officially began our return trip and headed
east out of Yellowstone on Highway 14 not Interstate
90).
We got as far as 9022 ft Granite Pass Wyo. (Hwy 14) a
bit west of Sheridan Wyo. and found a dirt road just!
east of the road's summit that went north and after
about 2 miles we camped for the night in the BEST
campsite of the trip. No one within 50 miles.
Beautiful.
We headed for the Black Hills area in S Dakota.
Devils Tower, Rushmore, Crazyhorse, Jewel Cave, and of
course, Wall, SD. Off through Hot Springs & Wind Cave
Nat'l Park, Custer State Park, and drove through the
Badlands towards Mitchell to see the Corn(y) Palace.
Here the trip was really finished, but we still had
3,000 kms to Halifax. We drive like crazy on I-90 up
through Green Bay and back to our place in Northern
Michigan for a few nights stay with friends and then
off to Toronto for some shopping (Hiking boots and a
Nikon Coolpix 5400).
July 31 off to Ottawa for a Canadian Football game.
The fridge stopped working on Propane, but since it
was the last few days we just put some ice in there
and ran it on 12 V while driving.
August 1, we drove up along the southern edge of the
St Lawrence sea-way (highway 132, quaint) and back to
Halifax.
I have a lot of work to do on the van and to get ready
for classes in September. Thanks for reading this
far. Malcolm & Pat
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