Not so Grande Prairie

Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada – Sunday to Friday, September 25 to September 30, 2011

The Element has developed some new problems. The latest, a noise that seems to be tied to road speed, worries Frank the most. We discovered the noise in Dawson Creek as we were running some errands. Frank tried rotating the tires but the noise was still there. Hmmm, bearing, CV Joint, ....transmission? Dawson Creek had no Honda dealers, but the next town,which is about 80 miles away, did. We hoped nothing would fall off or seize up before we got there.

It was a short, but scenic drive to Grande Prairie, Alberta. We and the Element made it safely and headed for the Walmart camp ground.

On Monday morning, Frank showed up at the Honda dealer and they were able to find time to diagnose the Element's problems. They said we had a bad wheel bearing, a failing VTEC oil solenoid valve and an unexpected breach in the air intake system. Plus there is recall on the shift interlock switch. Unfortunately none of the parts needed are available locally. They have to come from Calgary. So we get to come back tomorrow. Back to BG to take EJ to the laundry and Frank goes to wash the car so it’ll nice and clean for the mechanic to work on.

On Tuesday, we decide to leave Walmart because it is way too noisy and busy. They are in the process of turning it into a super center. There was lots of heavy equipment tearing up concrete and storage boxes were scattered all over the parking lot limiting the number of parking spaces. Plus it was interfering with our casual wake up time.

We decided to relocate to the Visitor Centre for the day. About 12:30 Frank went back to the Honda Dealer and left the Element for the day. The parts had come in and they were ready for us. Frank got a ride back to BG and we decided to go for a walk around the reservoir near the Visitor Centre. One thing we've noticed is that Grande Prairie appears to be a young city. By that we mean lots of young adults and lots of kids. On our walk we were passed by many children out running. We guess they were out for Phys Ed or recess.

The reservoir provides the water supply for Grande Prairie and is also used for flood control. Water was flowing down the spillway at a pretty good rate.

Bad news, Frank went to pick up the Element and the noise problem wasn't fixed. They replaced the left front wheel bearing, but it turns out the noise wasn’t coming from that particular bearing. But they’re still sure it’s a wheel bearing. They want to replace the left rear bearing now. Frank had a big discussion with them and they agreed to drop the price, order more parts and promise to get it right next time. This means we'll be here two more days. I wonder what fate has in store for us.

About a quarter mile from the Visitor Centre is an Elks Lodge. We got on the internet and found the phone number of the Lodge Secretary and gave him a call. Sure enough, we get invited to stay in their parking lot and there is even an electric outlet we can plug into. There is also a sani-dump right next door so we can take care of those niceties as well. And as a bonus they have wifi available.

The parking lot here at the Elks Lodge is certainly well used by the community. At one point a fellow was giving the wheeled version of cross country sky lessons.

Wednesday was extremely windy and because of that, it felt really cold. We decide staying inside would be a good idea today so we came up with a plan that allows us to go places and be inside. So it's off to the grocery store where we not only got groceries but picked up lunch as well. Safeway has the best chili which is perfect for a cold, windy day. After lunch it was off to the local mall for some walking exercise and shopping. The Grande Prairie Mall must have had at least 6 electronics stores. But Frank behaved himself. EJ shopped for clothes and ended up buying two pair of socks. Then it was off to the Box Wok for an oriental dinner.

Thursday it’s back to the Honda dealer for what we hope is the final fix for the noise problem. The mechanic is sure it’s the left rear wheel bearing and the parts came in from Calgary so our fingers are crossed. But as it turns out, it wasn’t that bearing either. The noise is still there. They borrowed some tires off a new Honda CRV and put those on thinking maybe there was a tire problem. Didn’t help.

Now they want to replace the right front wheel bearing and maybe the right rear bearing, too. It was too late in the day to order parts from Calgary and have them arrive on Friday. But they called around to everyone they could think of and found another dealer in Edmonton that had wheel bearings for the Element and they promised they would be delivered Friday morning. Frank decides to leave the car at the dealer so they can get started on it as soon as the parts arrive. Another long discussion and they agree to not charge labor for any of the wheel bearing replacements except for the first one.

Friday morning we hang around BG. It is really windy, we estimate about 25 to 30mph. And the Elks Lodge is really busy. It looks like they are getting ready for some kind of gathering. We hope that we won’t be in the way.

Around 1PM Frank calls the dealer for a report. The Element is still in pieces, call back in about an hour. We decide to take another walk around the lake. No more than 10 minutes into the walk, we see a city employee working on the fresh water supply at another sani-dump. Uh-oh we think, tomorrow is October 1, what if they’re shutting down all the sani-dumps for the season? Before we can ask the guy, he disappears. We hurry back to BG and take him to the sani-dump next to the Elks Lodge. Fortunately it was still open. Once that was taken care of we returned to our spot at the Elks Lodge.

We walked back to the Visitor Centre so Frank could call the dealer again. Good news. It’s fixed, no noise, and they’re sending a car over to pick us up. Finally it sounds normal again. Yeah! So after 5 days of going to the dealer, 3 new wheel bearing assemblies, a new VTEC oil solenoid valve assembly, a transmission shift interlock switch and a bunch of bucks, we’re finally good to go.

It seems as though all we talked about this week was the car. We admit it did occupy most of our thoughts. Frank even considered renting a trailer to haul it back to the States. His biggest worry was that a wheel bearing would freeze up and cause major problems. But that is all behind us now. So, after six days in Grande Prairie maybe we can get back to our normal travels. We saw a weather forecast at the visitors center predicting –3 degrees Centigrade next week. Time to go.

Then at about 11PM the fresh water pump in BG failed. So, no showers tonight. And the pump is only 3 weeks old. Stay tuned for the next episode!

BG Miles Today	81	BG Total Miles	8912
Eat Out total $	1314.34	BG Total Fuel $	5156.27
Entertainment total $	1391.63	Total Camping $	1162.03
E Miles Today	85.8	E Total Miles	2849.31
E Total Fuel $	575.82	Day # of Trip	117 to 122

Element Blues

Dawson Creek, BC – Saturday, September 24, 2011

Woke to 41degrees around 8. We want to get an early start to Ft. St. John, BC, they are the closest Honda service, but not sure if they are open on Saturday. Frank went out to check on the Element and it still sounded the same. He looked under the hood and found a disconnected hose on the air manifold. He put it back together and it sounded fine. We hope that fixed the problem.

We headed out and are going by Ft St Johns anyway. We still aren’t sure of our route and need to check weather and road conditions. Went to the Visitors Center and it is now closed on weekends. Decided to try the Royal Canadian Mounted Police station to see what they could tell us about Hwy 97. The building was closed, but a patrol car pulled in as we were leaving and asked if we needed help. They told us that the road was still under construction after the washout and that there were long waits for the one way traffic. They did not recommend we take the RV that way. That convinced us.

Fueled up and headed to Dawson Creek.

We stopped at the Dawson Creek Visitors Center (they were open until 5pm). We came by here on our way to Alaska, but they were closed. We toured the museum and got our “I Traveled the Alaska Highway Certificate”.

Next stop, Walmart parking lot. We took off in the Element in search of possible laundry sites. As we were driving around the Element started making a new noise and the “bucking” problem seems to be back. Great, now what do we do?

BG Miles Today	119	BG Total Miles	8831
Eat Out total $	1266.55	BG Total Fuel $	5156.27
Entertainment total $	1391.63	Total Camping $	1162.03
E Miles Today	19.25	E Total Miles	2763.51
E Total Fuel $	575.82	Day # of Trip	116

Crazy Day

Wonowon, BC – Friday, September 23, 2011

Today was just one of those days. Started out slow, EJ fixed breakfast, Frank cleaned front end, we worked on blogs and went to the Ft. Nelson Visitors Center to post.

The plan was to use the sani-dump across the street, fuel up and head down the road. When we got to the dump area, it was in sad shape. We used it on our way to Alaska a little over 3 months ago and it was nice. This time we were able to dump the tanks, but no flush and the potable water hookup was broken. We went back to the Visitors Center to see if there was anyplace else – no help. So, we went on to the gas station and would ask there. What a zoo, there were people, cars, and trucks every which way. Finally got to a pump and did our biggest fill up of the trip. They didn’t have a dump station, but they had a hose out back we could use to fill up the water tank. At least that was a help. Problem was we couldn’t get to the area to use the hookup because of all of the traffic and bad parking. We left and turned around then waited to get to the area next to the building. OK, finally another simple thing that took way longer than it should have. We had one last stop at the IGA for fresh veggies/fruit. Once again, it was really busy, but EJ got what we needed. Finally we are on the road at 4pm.

Not 5 minutes down the road was a construction area, so we had to stop and wait for the pilot vehicle. There were actually two places we had to wait to use the one lane available. Once we got through that it was a fairly nice road and countryside. Frank was actually able to go 60 mph. Frank decided to take a picture of EJ & Mocha riding down the road. EJ caught him and let him know he should be driving, not taking pictures.

Started getting dark, both tired so we found a rest area and pulled in for the night. When EJ went back to take the Element out of tow mode, the engine light came on, it sounded terrible and the scan gauge had recorded three error codes. OK, I guess we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

BG Miles Today	170	BG Total Miles	8712
Eat Out total $	1258.08	BG Total Fuel $	4994.22
Entertainment total $	1387.63	Total Camping $	1162.03
E Miles Today	0	E Total Miles	2744.26
E Total Fuel $	575.82	Day # of Trip	115

Wildlife Day

Ft. Nelson, BC, CA – September 22, 2011

We’ve become real sleep hogs on this trip. It doesn’t seem to make any difference how early or late we go to bed we still sleep in until 8:30 or 9AM. Then one of us has to be brave enough to jump out of bed and turn up the heat. The cats used to be waiting in the living room for us to get up. Lately they’ve been as lazy as we are and don’t get out of bed until our “home on wheels” is nice and toasty.

We consumed the last Johnson Crossing cinnamon bun this morning. It was still gooood! Attempting to relive another memorable meal we stopped at the Coal River Lodge for a bowl of chili. This didn’t seem to be as good as the first time we stopped here. Or it could have been the fact that it took over half an hour to get the chili after we ordered it. The season is winding down and I think some businesses are getting surprised by having more than a few customers at a time.

Another good weather day and BC is definitely scenic.

Today we saw a lot more wildlife along the road than we’ve seen in almost the whole trip. Sightings included Bison, Stone Sheep (no Pic), Caribou, Elk and bears.

The road along Muncho Lake is barely above water level in places. It is carved right out of the mountain side. One twitch of the steering wheel and you get wet. Sure am glad that was on EJ’s side. Muncho Lake is the biggest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies. It is a beautiful cobalt blue which the picture just can’t capture.

We thought you would appreciate this picture. Apparently the proprietor got tired of people complaining. This translates to $6.37 per gallon. We didn’t even bother to check diesel prices.

We pushed on and made it to Ft. Nelson by 6:50PM. We make our night camp on the street in front of the local Elks Club. Took a nice long walk to get all the kinks out and settled in for the night.

BG Miles Today	231	BG Total Miles	8542
Eat Out total $	1251.98	BG Total Fuel $	4754.32
Entertainment total $	1387.63	Total Camping $	1162.03
E Miles Today	0	E Total Miles	2744.26
E Total Fuel $	575.82	Day # of Trip	114

Road Day to BC

Whirlpool Canyon Rest Area MM 519.5 Near Coal River, BC, CA– Wednesday, September 21, 2011

We rushed over to Johnson’s Crossing Restaurant this morning to see if they too had closed for the season. Lucky us, they were open. They only had 3 cinnamon buns left and we bought two of them. One for now and one for tomorrow. We had coffee and ate todays cinnamon bun and boy was it good. The proprietor told Frank that yesterday he only made one tray of buns and didn’t sell all of them by the end of the day. Today he had already made 3 trays and was almost sold out and it wasn’t even noon yet.

Todays plan is to put some major miles behind us. We’re thinking this is doable since we’ll be less inclined to sightsee since we have already traveled this road. However, that doesn’t mean we won’t get distracted.

This is the first of many times we will cross the Yukon/British Columbia border. The Alaska Highway wanders back and forth between the two like a drunken sailor.

We pull into a filling station at the junction of 37 and the Alaska Highway. Fuel is $1.429 a litre. That’s about $5.42 US per gallon. We’ve been waiting to fill up hoping to find cheaper fuel but it’s not gonna happen. This is also the decision point for heading south or continuing east.

The last prediction we saw indicated rain to the south for the next few days while clear shies are predicted the farther east we go. We’re tired of cold and rain, so it’s east we go. Our next decision point is just before Ft. Nelson where we can once again head south or continue on east. The forecast showed nasty weather to the west of the Rockies and clear weather to the east. If we stay on the Alaska Highway to the end, we’ll end up east of the Roockies and should remain in the clear. However, the forecast will likely change before then.

We did stop in Watson Lake to take a picture of the billboard indicating the latest number of signs in the Sign Post Forest. We were curious as to how many signs were added since we were last through. (Although I wonder how they know how many signs there are to begin with). Since July 16, 450 signs have been added.

Along the way we spot horses, donkeys and buffalo.

The weather cleared up and the sun came out. Temperature got all the way up to 60 degrees! We finally pull into Whirlpool Canyon Rest Area. We remembered it had a small, no longer maintained, campground. Just what we need after a long road day.

BG Miles Today	284	BG Total Miles	8311
Eat Out total $	1241.34	BG Total Fuel $	4754.32
Entertainment total $	1387.63	Total Camping $	1162.03
E Miles Today	0	E Total Miles	2744.26
E Total Fuel $	575.82	Day # of Trip	113

Cinnamon Bun Anticipation

Canol Project Park, Johnson Crossing, YT, CA – Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Woke up to an overcast blustery morning in Whitehorse. The wind was pretty strong all night and even though the outside temperature is in the 50’s, the wind still makes it seem cold. We’re moving a little slow this morning and EJ feels like she may be coming down with my cold. She’s tougher than I am so it’s hard to tell.

We eventually head over to McDonalds to check the internet and do another blog posting. We’ve been real disappointed in not being able to find the elusive fresh baked cinnamon bun so as an alternate we went to Tim Horton’s(similar to Dunkin Donuts) for donuts instead. We actually had to go to two different Horton’s as the first was packed with school kids and it took too long to get waited on.

Then we stopped by the visitors center to check road conditions and weather along BC highway 37, which is the western most north south highway through Canada. It is still being repaired and they are only letting southbound traffic through every other hour. The weather in this area is also predicted to be rainy for the next week. We have until late tomorrow to make up our minds. That’s when we reach the highway 37 – ALCAN intersection just west of Watson Lake.

Nice views along the way. Several places the trees have lost all of their leaves already.

Todays big news is that we finally got hit by a rock that cracked BG’s windshield. There’s another repair job that will have to wait until we get back to Orange Park. I taped it up, but expect that the crack will expand as we travel down the road.

We made it to Johnson’s Crossing where 9 weeks ago we had what we thought were the best cinnamon buns of the whole trip. But they were closed. It was late in the day so we camped about a mile away and will go back in the morning and hope they are open and making baked goods.

We are camped beside the Canol Road. The road was necessary for construction of the Canol Project born in WWII when America was afraid that Japan would disrupt fuel supplies shipped by boat from mainland US to Alaska. A project was started that would bring Canadian Oil (Canol) through a 4 inch pipeline from the Northwest Territories to Whitehorse, Yukon for refining and then transported to Alaska for use by the Armed Forces.

The project, estimated at $32,000,000, took two years to complete and ending up costing $134,000,000. It operated for one year and the cost of fuel per barrel produced was four times what it would cost on the open market. After one year the project was abandoned and all the construction equipment was left in place rather than recovered and shipped back to the US. Fuel shipments resumed by boat from the US to Seward, Alaska.

BG Miles Today	87	BG Total Miles	8027
Eat Out total $	1228.27	BG Total Fuel $	4555.55
Entertainment total $	1387.63	Total Camping $	1162.03
E Miles Today	0	E Total Miles	2744.26
E Total Fuel $	575.82	Day # of Trip	112

Canada Here We Come

Whitehorse, YT, CA – Saturday thru Monday, September 17 thru 19, 2011

It’s Saturday and we realize this is really it, we’re on our way out of Alaska.  We have mixed feelings because we realize this may be the last time we’ll come this way and it’s so beautiful we are reluctant to leave. The flip side is things are closing and the weather is getting too cold for our Florida blood.

Delta Junction marks the official end of the Alaska Highway.  Although the visitor center is closed and we are not able to get a certificate saying we had reached the end of the ALCAN Road we took a picture of the official end of the Alaska Highway. Guess that will have to do.  Hey, only 4,695 miles to Miami!!

And of course a couple of pictures of the Alaska state bird.

We thought this was an unusual sign. Supposedly a bison herd roams freely around here. We didn’t see any though.

For the techno junkies, this is a pig.  It’s used to clean the inside of the Alaska Pipeline.  The oil contains some natural wax and the pig is used every so often to remove any wax build up on the inside of the pipe.

Say, these mountains didn’t have snow on them last time we drove by here.  Hmmm..better drive a little faster.

We stopped in Tok to visit the Three Bears grocery store and pick up some steak and pork.  This grocery store has a very tasty meat selection.  EJ had her eye on some jewelry from the last time we stopped here in Tok and had almost made up her mind to buy it.  But the store was closing up when we got there.  Then we stopped by Fast Eddies Restaurant to sit in the parking lot and post to the blog.  We finally hit the road and made it another few miles to the Tenana River Bridge roadside stop just before Tetlin Junction. This is where we’ll spend the night and cook out the New York Steak we bought at Three Bears.

Sunday morning it was cold in BG.  It had gotten down to 34 degrees outside last night.  As a rule, we don’t leave the heat on at night.  We may have to revisit that policy.

Well, this is it, we’re out of Alaska!  Even though the sign is behind us, we crossed the actually border about 100 feet ago.  From here we travel 20KM of the worst road on the ALCAN to the Canadian Customs check.  It’s all gravel and washboard.  Top speed is about 20mph.

No problem at the crossing.  Didn’t ask about the cats.  They did ask about the liquor this time and we answered only what we were asked.  They did have a special stop set up to inspect your wildlife bounty if you had any.  I’m not sure what they were looking for.  One dressed out moose looks like another as far as I can tell.  Maybe they were checking hunting licenses.

We made a quick stop at Pickhandle Lake for lunch and to feed some of the local wildlife.

For dinner we stopped at Burwash Landing Resort .  The dining room was filled with hunters.  They looked like they had been in the woods for days and eating a big dinner came before shower time.  The restaurant was in the middle of nowhere, run by an oriental couple, and the food was good and hearty.

At the end of the day we stop outside of Destruction Bay to spend the night in another roadside turnout.  We had 2 other RVs and two truckers as company.

Monday we wake up to a hard wind blowing off Kluane Lake.  It is really rocking the RV.  Only got down to 39 degrees last night.  We must be headed in the right direction.

We’ve been watching the clouds and what appears to be a snowstorm in the nearby mountains.

In Haines Junction, we stop at Medley’s General Store hoping to find some delicious baked goods.  Ended up only buying bananas. Then we remembered a bakery over by the visitor center and decide to try it.  Dang. Closed for the season.  This seems to be a recurring theme now that it is past the middle of September.

We drive on to Whitehorse straight to the Walmart parking lot where we spend the night.  We missed this brewery on our way through last time. We got there just before closing and had time to have samples of several of the local brews. Frank decided we needed some supplies for our trip through Canada.

BG Miles Today	507	BG Total Miles	7940
Eat Out total $	1215.20	BG Total Fuel $	4450.71
Entertainment total $	1387.63	Total Camping $	1162.03
E Miles Today	4.35	E Total Miles	2744.26
E Total Fuel $	575.82	Day # of Trip	109 to 111