04-13JUN15 Fort St John, BC (another busted & really stranded saga!!)

On Thursday morning, 04JUN, we got an earlier than usual start to do a long drive to Fort Nelson, BC.  On the drive we didn’t even stop at the Visitor Centre at Mile “0” of the AlCan Highway located in Dawson Creek, BC.  We had progressed past the giant beaver of Beaverlodge, BC, & stumbled across an extremely rare Canadian Muffler Man lurking in the woods north of Fort St John, BC; when the high water temp went off for the RV.  Dan immediately pulled over as safely as possible; but we could only get 75% of the RV on the shoulder.  We were also located between two blind spots on the road.

Dan’s first call was 911 to the RCMP to explain situation & that we were not safely off the road.  They didn’t seemed too concerned & said they would dispatch a tow truck.  While waiting we started the process of calling our roadside assistance insurance & our after-market breakdown insurance.  Meanwhile Dan checked the engine & found the entire cooling fan disconnected from engine & hanging from the belt!

Interestingly the roadside assistance said they wouldn’t send a tow truck because we were not safely off the road; & RCMP requests go to front of the tow line anyway?  One of the shortcomings of Canadian roads we have noticed is almost no mileage/kilometer markers.  To us this is a real problem when 911 (or your roadside assistance) is asking you where you are?  Thankfully a local stopped to help us & explained we were at mile 76?  Turns out that on the AlCan, locals still use original highway distances even though Canada switched to kilometers decades ago.  But without roadside mile markers, even this doesn’t help non-locals.

Eventually the RV was placed on a flat bed & towed to the Western Star dealer back in Fort St John, BC; & we found a motel for one night because the truck facility will not let “drivers” stay in their vehicles.  First we had to find a motel that allowed dogs; Corrie found two, one at $240 a night, & an EconoLodge at $140.  We opted for the EconoLodge even though the front lobby was flanked by Econo Liquor, & a pub called Burgers & Brew featuring buckets of beer night on Thursdays.  Turns out a large number of contractors will arrive in town Monday & we will need to vacate room by then.

Friday morning back at the Western Star dealer where we learned the bad news.  The fan mount had separated from the engine, allowing the fan to hit the “charge cooler” damaging it also.  Parts are needed from Memphis & total estimated cost is $$$$.  Thankfully they will let us move the RV outside of their compound & drycamp.  We went back to motel & check-out.

Saturday morning, 06JUN, deciding to make lemonade out of lemons (& not be trapped in the RV all day) we took the Toad & went sightseeing.  First stop was the Visitor Centre & the next door market for Fort St John.  The small market is almost all crafts, no fresh food, & two people w/homemade food products.  Dan got a jar of Saskatoon berry jam.

Then we backtracked to Dawson Creek & Mile “0” of the AlCan Highway.  Their Visitor Centre is a wealth of info about the highway, the adjoining roads, & the Provinces & towns you will drive thru on your way to Alaska.  The staff is extremely friendly & helpful.  There are two displays at the Centre – one focused on the railroad, & one focused on life along the highway when it was built; both are average at best.  They do show a one hour film made in 1992 (50 yr anniversary of the AlCan) on the highway construction & its improvement up to 1992.  The film focuses mostly on construction, but also Canadian life & perspective of the event, as well as First Nations perspective, & the large scale civilian contractors involved.  While Dan viewed the film Corrie was next door at the Art Gallery & Craft Store.

Getting back together we had lunch & headed to the Alaskan Highway House.  This is an excellent display totally focused on the US Army Corps of Engineers planning & constructing the Highway.  They also have a one hour film, but it is focused on the Army Corps of Engineers & the unbelievable ten month construction project.  The film is a PBS documentary & has rare color footage; if you only have time for one film, we recommend this one (note – the Highway House has very little information on the present highway & roadside facilities).

http://tourismdawsoncreek.com/alaska_highway_house.php

Next was a real butcher shop (The Butcher Block in business since 1941), before driving the Toad back to the RV over the Kiskatinaw Bridge.  This bridge is off the present rerouted highway; is the largest curved wooden bridge in North America & the last surviving wooden bridge on the highway (this is not the original bridge, having been rebuilt in 1978).

AlCan Highway facts:

-Dawson Creek was picked as the start of the highway because the Northern Alberta RR ended there; the city of 600 had no idea that 10,000 men with 7,000 pieces of equipment & supplies would arrive unannounced

-of the three proposed routes, the worst one was chosen because it was the only route that connected all the existing Northwest Staging Route airports in British Columbia & Yukon Territory

-AlCan name changed quietly in 1943 based on diplomatic letters; apparently Alaskans were not willing to share highway name? (Dan insists on calling it the AlCan anyway)

-another sign of American self-importance was that men & equipment were shipped to Canada & surveying started one month before the Canadian Prime Minister signed the authorization

-Canada waived all permitting, import duties & taxes; & provided the land & raw material (ie lumber & dirt)

-USA built the road (ie money, men & equipment)

-the AlCan was the costliest Army engineering construction project during WWII

-30% of Army enlisted were segregated blacks, often given hardest job w/poorest equipment; in spite of this they accomplished every task given them; once completing largest wooden bridge in record time that lasted the longest of all built

-the project’s completion was major international & national news, because there was so little “good” news at that point in WWII for the USA & allies

-what the Army Corps of Engineers built was the “pioneer” road; after them came the US Public Roads Administration (US government agency that hired Canadian & US civilian contractors) to upgrade it to a two lane, gravel highway

-construction of the pioneer road was so fast, that much of it had begun before the final route was selected

-most bridges were built three times – pontoon bridge, wooden bridge, steel bridge; in some cases old bridges in the USA were disassembled & shipped to Canada

-USA transferred the road to Canadian military six months after WWII; Canada paid the USA about half the USA’s costs for the road & all items of value

-civilians not allowed on the road until 1948

-Canadian Army ran the highway until 1964

-improvements to the highway have shortened it by 35 miles

-Trivia – why was Fort Nelson, BC, originally called mile “0”?  When did Dawson Creek become mile “0”?

Speaking of mileposts, the number one travel aid for those driving on the AlCan is a yearly publication called “The MILEPOST”.  As they advertise –

“The MILEPOST, introduced in 1949, was the first reliable guide to the rugged AlCan Highway, which had opened to civilian traffic in 1948.  Often referred to as the “bible of North Country travel”, The MILEPOST takes its name from the mileage markers found along Northern roads.  Today The MILEPOST is 784 pages and covers all highways in Alaska, Yukon Territory and Western Northwest Territories, as well as major access routes in British Columbia and Alberta, and transportation by ferry system, train, cruise ships and motorcoach.”

The size & amount of detail in this book is almost overwhelming!  It literally goes down to the tenth of a mile when necessary to describe any highway listed.  Although it has all the “tourist info” you could ever need, its primary function is describe the road you will be driving on.  Examples – end passing lane begin 2 lane highway; caution Y intersection; gravel turnout; descends long grades to 8 percent; wooden bridge, slippery when wet; watch for grizzly bears; highway passes under RR overpass; slow for dips in road next six miles; Field Editor Sharon Nault saw a huge moose here last summer; etc; etc.

http://www.milepost.com/

Sunday was another day of sightseeing.  This time we decided to bring Gumbo with us as we drove a “loop” from Fort St John, to Hudson’s Hope, then Chetwynd, before returning to Fort St John.  Hudson’s Hope is a small village that serves as the gateway to the W.A.C. Bennett Dam Visitor Centre (once the largest earth filled dam in the world), which we did not visit.

Next was the town of Chetwynd which has a yearly chainsaw carving contest that draws some of the best in Canada, & a few participants from places like Japan, Australia, etc.  End result is over a hundred sculptures all over town.  The big contest is next weekend & apparently one of the contestants (Ryan Cook, see his website link below) was in town early & demonstrating his craft on the main street.  After lunch at a local food truck it was back to Fort St John.  Unfortunately on the way back to the RV Corrie lost a crown to toffee candy.  After returning to the RV Dan headed to library & their free wifi.

http://www.chetwyndchainsawchampionship.com/

http://sawvalley.com/

Monday morning, 08JUN, Corrie headed out to find a dentist.  Turns out it was not a crown she “lost”, but a filling w/some attached tooth!  Dentist could not do a permanent repair, but could do a temp until we returned to USA.  In fact he was good & he shaped the temp repair so well, that Corrie can still wear her partial (which he first thought wouldn’t work)!

After lunch we headed for starbucks & their free wifi so we could electronically file our towing bill re-imbursement claim.  Back at the truck facility we learned that the air charge cooler was too heavy for air freight & was now being shipped by groundL!  Since we only travel with thirty gallons of fresh water, we were now empty & were looking to have water delivered; but truck facility hooked us up to a hose & we topped off.

Tuesday & Wednesday not much was done other than sitting around & waiting, because not all the parts have arrived.  Thursday, 11JUN, one week after the fan failure, work finally starts but won’t be finished until tomorrow.  Now that the RV is in a repair bay this means another night in a motel.  This time it’s the Super 8.

Friday AM its back to truck repair facility.  The major is repair done, but now we are waiting for the last part.  Yesterday it was learned that the clutch for the AC compressor was also damaged & needed replacing.  We can live without dash AC, but we need it to defrost windows when they fog!  We have tried driving without window defrost before; & it is not safe!  Western Star was assured by the part supplier that the clutch would be on the next bus from Edmonton, AB.  Unfortunately the part was not on the bus, & no one can track itL?  Back to the Super 8.

Saturday AM back to truck repair facility, where we learn the part did not arrive last night.  The AC clutch finally arrives at 10:30; & the repair is done by 2PM.  But now we learn our after market insurance is not open on Saturday & we can’t settle our bill!  So we get copies of everything & give Western Star our credit card number, hoping for the best on Monday since we don’t plan on being in town then.  We depart the Western Star facility, deciding to stay at local RV park tonight & getting on the road tomorrow.

02/03JUN15 - Grande Prairie, AB (via grande cache, ab)

Early Tuesday morning, 02JUN, we awoke to more elk outside the RV; this time young bucks.  After breaking camp, we filled up the RV w/diesel, & headed to Grande Prairie, AB.  We took the scenic Big Horn Highway (AB highway 40), with a stop at the Grande Cache, AB, Interpretive Centre.  It was a very nice Visitor Center with an interesting outdoor display of different fire towers & forestry cabins used over the decades.

We arrived in Grand Prairie, AB, set up camp, & headed to the Visitor Centre.  At the Centre we discovered that the free buffalo barbeque on Wednesday for visitors no longer occurs; but there is a free bus tour of town & surrounding area at 7PM sponsored by The Rotary.  Corrie decided to skip the tour, so after dinner Dan headed back to the Centre & the Rotary tour.  Dan won the prize for furthest visitor from out of town (Dan was the only person on the tour!).

Wednesday morning we headed back to Visitor Center to view the Heritage Discovery Centre in the basement.  This is a small but rather new museum w/interactive exhibits.

We then drove to Muskuseepi Park to see the other half of Grande Prairie Museum.  This facility is the original museum & the displays are the traditional static type, with no interactivity.  Although not as interesting as the new facility, it does have an outdoor display of original “settler” buildings.

http://www.cityofgp.com/index.aspx?page=413

Some of the interesting things we learned between the two facilities:

>the actual settling/homesteading of northern & central Alberta occurred fairly recently, 1910-1930; & the majority of settlers were Canadian & USA farmers looking for better land to homestead and/or escape the Depression

>there was a 1941 film about life in Grande Prairie & you would have thought it was filmed at the turn of the century – land was cleared by ax; cabins were one room & built by hand; farming was done by hand & draft horses; the railroad had only arrived in the 30s; there were many one room schools throughout the area, not because there were few kids, but because kids had to walk to school & the school had to be close to each group of kids

>up to the 1930s many homesteaders traveled to their new homesteads in what were called “cabooses” - wooden wagons w/canvas covers, on wheels in the summer or sleigh runners in the winter; these cabooses often served as their only shelter for the first year

>the local populations of the Yukon Territory, & northern parts of British Columbia & Alberta, were outnumbered by US Army personnel (sometimes ten to one) sent to build the AlCan Highway, the Canol Pipeline, & airfields to ferry tens of thousands of aircraft to Russia, during WWII

>the history of the Sudeten refugees, which no country would accept until Canada said yes

After a pleasant day sightseeing, it was back to the RV to just rest & relax since heavy thunder storms are rolling in.

30MAY-01JUN15 - Jasper, AB (via golden, bc & the icefields parkway)

Saturday AM, 30MAY, we got on the road for Lake Louise, AB, but during the drive Dan decided to shorten the drive to Golden, BC, only.  It was a beautiful drive along Lake Okanagan & then onto the Trans Canada Highway 1.  We soon learned our GPS’s did not have the best info for Canada.  Once we left populated areas, we lost all details & only saw the roadway & train tracks (if any).  Biggest issue is the speed limits shown away from cities are usually wrong (sign will say 90kph but GPS shows 70 or 50kph?).  On the drive we apparently passed thru the Revelstoke National Park & Glacier National Park; but the Canadian Park Service had no signs announcing their presence, or if they had Visitor Centers?

We stayed at the Whispering Spruce RV park (former KOA) in Golden, BC.  Not the best, but OK.  And the manager apparently had been celebrating her birthday long before we go there.  After arrival we learned the Park Service website was crashed & inop; so we could not do any pre-arrival planning.

After sleeping in a little on Sunday morning, we headed to Jasper, AB.  First stop was Lake Louise, AB, & the Fairmont Chateau on Lake Louise.  Although the hotel is almost a century old & supposedly world famous, we were not impressed with the exterior design.  The Fairmont lodges in Banff & Jasper have more visual appeal. (See below BLOG link for our visit to Banff.)  The parking lots are not designed for large RVs w/Toads, the place was overrun with tourists, & there was nothing to do but take pictures.  So we had a snack & got back on the road.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/09/0203sep09-banff-ab.html

http://www.fairmont.com/lake-louise/

We were soon driving on the The Icefields Parkway (Alberta 93) to Jasper.  Immediately we had another GPS issue - the GPS says it is 700 kilometers, but we know it is less than 400?  We soon learn there are hundreds of Canadian rental RVs w/poor, foreign tourist drivers on the roadL  Our next stop was the Icefield Visitor Center to view the Columbia Icefield.  This attraction was also overrun with tourists; & another major disappointment because the Park Service exhibits are closed, the Park Service is not showing the movie, & it is “local” day so locals get in free!!!  The only thing we saw worth doing was riding the special ice busses onto the Columbia Icefields, but that was $50 each & a one hour wait to board.  So once again our visit was short & we got back on the road to Jasper.

In spite of our disappointments the Parkway is a spectacular drive & that part was worth it.  In fact, at Tangle Falls there was a sign that said watch for Sheep & sure enough we saw several Mountain Goats on the side of the road; & several Big Horn Sheep in the meadow.

http://www.icefieldsparkway.ca/

Our next bad news was there was no RV hooks up available at Jasper because the Park Service hasn’t opened all the campgrounds yet.  So we took a dry camp spot for one night & will move to a hook-up spot tomorrow.  We then went into town for info, walkabout, & dinner.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/jasper/index.aspx

Monday morning we headed into Jasper w/Gumbo for a walkabout & fresh baked pastries at one of the many bakeries in town.  Then back to the RV to move it to campsite with electric & water.  After setting up camp again, it was back into the Toad (w/Gumbo) to see a few of the natural wonders of Jasper National Park.

First stop was Athabasca Falls on the Athabasca River.  Dan is not sure but this is the first River he remembers viewing that the waters run north & end up in the Arctic?  Our return drive to the town of Jasper was on the old icefield highway, 93A.

Next stop was the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, where we ate our picnic lunch on their lawn.

http://www.fairmont.com/jasper/

Last stop of the day was to hike portions of Maligne Canyon.  This is an extremely beautiful narrow canyon with water thundering thru it.  We parked at the top & started to hike down (there are six bridges on the hike with spectacular views).  Corrie & Gumbo made it to bridge 2-1/2 & Dan made it to bridge three; before we all started the hike back uphill.  If we had known how trail worked, Corrie could have went back to Toad & picked Dan up when he hiked down to bridge six.  Note – in winter the walls & floor of the canyon ice over & you can hike the canyon floor w/proper ice equipment.

Then it was back to the RV where Corrie & Gumbo decided to take a nap.  Dan headed to the Jasper Tramway for a little high altitude hiking.

After dinner Dan took Gumbo for a walk & ran across two cow elks w/calves (note – more people are injured in the park by getting between a cow & her calf, than bears).  More elk wandered thru our camp area right before sunset.

28/29MAY15 - Leavenworth, WA & Kelowna, BC (visiting friends enroute alaska)

Early Thursday morning, 29MAY, we got up early to try & get everything ready for a noon departure on our Alaska trip.  What Alaska trip you ask?  Those that know our RV adventures, know that we have intended for last several years to visit Alaska for several months during summer in RV.  Due to events (some good – birth of grandkids, some bad – Dan rehab’ing from roof fall) we had to postpone the trip.  But now it looks like everything is go for launch; if we can get everything done for departureJ!!!

Biggest priority for Dan was getting computer issues solved.  Then Dan made a garbage run & finished loading the cargo holds.  Meanwhile Corrie took care of food, wash & the storage of household items.

Finally at 1:30PM we hit the road to our first stop in Leavenworth, WA, to visit Dan’s cousin Sheila & Alan (see below BLOG link for last visit w/them at Sheila’s mom’s house (Aunt Madeline)).  Although it was a later start than we planned & they work; we still managed a great visit, with a tour of the house they are building & dinner at the Wok About Grill.  Of course we encountered rain on the drive there – so much for washing the RV & the Toad.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2014/08/01-31jul14-sultan-wa.html

Friday AM we got an early start toward Kelowna, BC.  At the border Dan’s “criminal past” finally caught up to him; resulting in an almost two hour delay, a lengthy private conversation w/Canadian officials in a windowless room; but thankfully no body searches.  It would take way too much typing to describe the entire history of Dan’s criminal past & what he(we) endured at the border to tell it all in the BLOG.

The short story is – back in late 70s there was another Daniel F Ryan w/exact same birth date who lived in Kirkland, WA (Dan lived 20 miles away in Redmond).  The other Dan was six ft, blue eyes, brown hair; Dan was six ft, blue eyes, blond hair (before baldness).  Other Dan drove an orange Saab, Dan drove an orange Datsun.  The only real differences between the two was place of birth & SSNs.

In the 70s King County Police arrested the other Dan for drug dealing & apparently he missed his court date.  So, King County twice came out to Dan’s parent’s house in Redmond to arrest him!!!  After several tries the matter was resolved & Dan completely forgot about it over the years.  Well apparently the other Dan re-offended in 2009 & the Canadians never got the word about the identity mix-up.  Eventually the RCMP got a recent mug shot from WA, & we were free to go.  We just wonder what awaits us when we cross back into USA?

Later than planned we arrived at Corrie’s High School friend, Faye MacAuley & Dave’s, for another excellent visit on the start of our trip.  Faye & Corrie last visited in June 2013, when Faye visited us in Sultan (see below BLOG).  Note, we have been to Kelowna once before under less pleasant circumstances, when we had a major RV mechanical problem in September 2009.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.ca/2013/07/01-30jun13-sultan-wa-few-visitors-in.html