On The Road Again (Again)

Canned Heat:

“Well, I’m so tired of crying
But I’m out on the road again
I’m on the road again
Well, I’m so tired of crying
But I’m out on the road again
I’m on the road again…

…You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow
In the rain and snow
You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow
In the rain and snow

I didn’t have no payroll
Not even no place to go…”

On the road through the majestic Canadian Rockies.

That other On The Road Again tune – this one sung in the 1960’s by Canned Heat, with a distinctive falsetto vocal and echoing harmonica – often floats through my mind as Betty & I drive along North America’s highways and byways. It’s a much sadder song than Willie Nelson’s, but in some ways fitting for our last couple of weeks.

Castle Mountain, between Banff & Lake Louise, Alberta.

Betty captures some of the captivating panoramic scenery.

Of course, it’s all relative. We have been driving through some of the best scenery in the world, with WOWs at every turn. What could be sad about that? Well, without being too much of a Debbie downer (sorry about that phrase Debbie…) we had a few glitches along the way.

This avalanche shed is pictured through the raindrops on our windows. Fortunately, we could still see to drive after our wiper arm disconnected.

Our new windshield wiper arm, replaced just before leaving Winnipeg, came apart at the linkage the first time we used it. (We spent over $4,000. to ensure our coach was ready for this trip.) Canadian Tire in Canmore, Alberta put it back together again (for $80.), and it worked until we needed it.

John & Char Singleton live in Penticton, BC. John & I went to high school together in Ontario. John knows how to fix things much better than I do…

Fortunately, we haven’t seen much rain while driving, but the wiper linkage came apart again, and remained dangling until old friend John Singleton came to the rescue in Penticton, BC. He bored and bolted the linkage so that it should stay connected now…

Despite the stress of having a disabled vehicle, Betty & I were able to relax for a few days in Singleton’s beautiful back yard. Oh ya, Charlie loved it too!!!

John & Char’s backyard water feature includes a rooster that lived in our backyard, before we sold our home in Winnipeg. He looks right at home overlooking an attractive water feature!

In addition to fruit trees, the yard is full of whimsy, like this tree face.

Then the big ouch! We were driving up a steep hill at Kelowna, BC when the “check engine” light came on and we lost most power. We had to put our hazard lights on and limped all the way into Penticton. There John referred us to Midtown RV, who diagnosed our problem as a blown exhaust manifold gasket, and sent us over to Cullen Diesel for repairs.

Our GPS captures the terrain through which we drove – very dramatic, but hard on a vehicle.

In 2015 we had both left & right exhaust manifold gaskets replaced in San Antonio, Texas (for a couple of thousand bucks U.S.) and the right one was replaced again last year at a shop in Winnipeg (for about $1,500.). Unfortunately, according to Cullen’s friendly and capable Branch Manager, Harry Hohmann, the Winnipeg shop had bored out a bolt improperly, and the new bolt they had installed was not a tight enough fit. Cullen’s had to rebore the hole, add a large plug, and then bore the plug to securely attach the bolt. (At least that’s what I think they did. Harry explained it all to me, but I don’t speak mechanic. lol) With the addition of new front brakes, our bill came to just over $3,000., but we were rollin’ on.

The remaining drive down the Okanagan Valley was most pleasant. We passed dozens of wineries, but the driveways and parking areas were too small for us. Too bad!

Driving down Osoyoos Main Street. We thought we might spend a night here, but it was too early in the day to stop.

The Crowsnest Highway, through Princeton, was jaw-droopingly scenic, but we found all the provincial parks along the route were closed. Betty’s arrow points to our road ahead.

We finally stopped for the night at a Flying J Truck Stop in Hope, BC, where we ran into a neighbour from Town & Country. Gordie’s tractor trailer was parked right behind us when he recognized our Smart & CruiseMaster. Small world! BTW, we parked before the fog rolled in.

Just outside Vancouver, in nearby Maple Ridge, we spent a couple of enjoyable days in an unserviced site at Golden Ears Provincial Park’s Gold Creek Campground.

This old stump was almost as wide as our motorhome!

The forest floor in the Gold Creek campground was covered in vibrant green moss.

There was a light rain during the day, but thanks to our granddaughter Isabella’s fire starters, we were still able to enjoy a roaring evening blaze.

Betty & I had planned on taking a series of ferries and driving up the Sunshine Coast to Powell River, then taking a ferry across to Comox for a tour of Vancouver Island before settling into our winter campsite in Nanaimo.

So we weren’t crying on the road again until we entered Vancouver. Going up another steep grade we lost power, the “check engine” light came on, and we limped along at 30 km/hr to a nearby campsite in West Vancouver.

We were happy to be able to limp into the Capilano RV Park in West Vancouver, even though the sites are some of the smallest ever! You had to turn sideways to walk past our picnic table, which was partly under our neighbour’s slide out. The other side was just the same! Of course it is at the foot of Lions Gate Bridge, with world famous Stanley Park on the other side, so it’s easy to see why the RV park is so full & popular.

We were camped near the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, and Harry told us that, if we could make it to Nanaimo, the Cullen shop could either fix us up, or tell us where to go.

Setting sail in a large ferry, from Horseshoe Bay.

Keeping our plans in jello, we took a very scenic ferry to Nanaimo. BTW, we had intended to keep the car attached for the ferry ride, but had left it off from the campground to the terminal, to avoid the ailing motorhome motor pulling extra weight. At the terminal I handed in a “dangerous goods” form, declaring our 1 attached and 2 small detached propane cylinders. Turns out I shouldn’t have bothered, but the staff who came to investigate our “dangerous goods” did say that only one portable propane cylinder could be in the vehicle. The other needed to be moved to the Smart car, which then had to remain detached and loaded on the ferry in a separate line. As it turns out, BC Ferries has a little car rate, so it actually saved us $30. by leaving the car detached. One win for us! Yeah!

Vancouver Island finally comes into view as we reach the end of our ferry ride.

Our next big win came as we approached the Nanaimo Cullen shop. Both Betty & I had images of needing to replace our failing motor. How much would that cost? Yikes!!!

Approaching our destination: Nanaimo, BC.

I informed Joe, Cullen’s service guy, of our crisis, and he came out to have a look. In less than a minute, he had diagnosed the problem as a spark plug wire that had come unplugged. He had a small co-worker crawl underneath on the spot, reattaching it. He then checked and cleared the codes that lead to the “check engine” light warning. Our motor is now humming quietly – and so are we! How much did that cost: “FREE”. Yeah Cullen’s!

Our current site, #113, is in Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park in Parksville, BC. on beautiful (and relatively warm, but wet) Vancouver Island.

“Well, I’m so tired of crying
But I’m out on the road again
I’m on the road again
Well, I’m so tired of crying
But I’m out on the road again
I’m on the road again…

So that’s our story for the past couple of weeks. Any further tears are tears of joy!

Cheers!

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