Roger's Summary
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Roger's Summary
ROGER’S SUMMARY
It is hard to believe the trip is almost over – it was too short. It would have been better to have a few more months, but the money has been gone a long time ago so I’d better get back to work. It is a summer I would not want to give up. I would have to agree with the other’s assessment of the favorite places, and the ones we could have missed such as Branson, MO. The natural beauty was the best. Another month to do the exact same thing with more time to hike and explore would have great, and another month or two to go to Alaska – well I do have some things lined up for after retirement now – the next opportunity I will have to do something like this. It was anticipated for many years and now it is over. I was going to do a list of statistics, but since Travis stole that idea I will simply add to his list.
Number of family arguments: one, two, three, four – well lets not count those
Number of arguments I lost: zero (there is one benefit of doing the web updates and having the last word)
Number of great family times: too many to count (it is nice that those were many, many time greater than the first item on the list)
Length my memories will last: until death or loss of mental capabilities (some would say that is not that far away)
Number of family votes: that would be hard to count, there were many.
Number of TIE family votes: Many (Often the count was a tie and many times when a vote was counted it was zero to zero. Sometimes we were too laid back! For the first vote if one didn’t want to vote they didn’t have to, but the rule was if there was a tie we voted again and that time everybody had to vote. If the vote ended up a tie again then the person “running the vote” could decide how to break it. They could break it anyway they wanted to and some creative methods were devised. The problem was a tie was often purposely made by some members of the family to see how it would be decided. That caused some when running a vote to make everybody close their eyes.)
Number of nights spent in a Wal-Mart parking lot: didn’t count but a frequent stop. (It is amazing how many people use them, since Wal-Mart encourages it. We never camped alone and there were up to 20 campers parked with us sometimes. Sometimes there were even signs posted saying “no overnight camping by order of city ordinance” that they were forced to put up, but it didn’t stop anybody from using it and it was never enforced)
Number of nights we got kicked out of “camping location”: one (we got booted out one time in Vancouver, BC in a grocery store parking lot. I wasn’t surprised since there were signs there saying a 3 hour limit was strictly enforced, but that was the only time. I expected more of those. We went down the street to a Costco parking lot and spent the rest of the night. We slept in store parking lots, motel parking lots, residential streets, or other remote pull-offs right along roads. We got campgrounds when we wanted to stay a few days or use the facilities, but apart from the times we were down for truck maintenance we used very few campgrounds. The ones we did use were normally in National Parks. One can save a lot of money by being completely self-contained.
Number of rainy days: we couldn’t remember any until the last week or two. The weather was great, but very dry in the west.
Things we wasted money on and did not use: TV, except for the times Travis and I were dealing with maintenance on the truck and the others were stuck at the campground. CB radio, hardly ever used and a waste of money. Walkie Talkies.
Things we didn’t use or do as much as we thought we would: games, bikes, VCR – we only saw two movies, (not having the expected rainy days was part of the reason), campgrounds, campfires, eating out, extra tourist-trap activities, listening to books on tape (we have one from home we didn’t even listen to – the time driving was filled with other things), reading (me only)
Things we did or used more than we thought we would: Inverter we installed to keep computers charged while driving, laptop computers, WIFI, MAINTENANCE!!!
Things I will remember: great discussions, fun times
Things we wished we would have done more of: games, hiking, biking – (the time was just too short to get it all in)
All summer Nicole has been telling me what I said at the beginning of the trip about her being more of a home-body was not true. She has convinced me – she did not get homesick, and I guess she is not a homebody. She was not ready to go back anymore than anybody else – so I take that back.
The trip is over – Boo Hoo – now back to the grind.
It is hard to believe the trip is almost over – it was too short. It would have been better to have a few more months, but the money has been gone a long time ago so I’d better get back to work. It is a summer I would not want to give up. I would have to agree with the other’s assessment of the favorite places, and the ones we could have missed such as Branson, MO. The natural beauty was the best. Another month to do the exact same thing with more time to hike and explore would have great, and another month or two to go to Alaska – well I do have some things lined up for after retirement now – the next opportunity I will have to do something like this. It was anticipated for many years and now it is over. I was going to do a list of statistics, but since Travis stole that idea I will simply add to his list.
Number of family arguments: one, two, three, four – well lets not count those
Number of arguments I lost: zero (there is one benefit of doing the web updates and having the last word)
Number of great family times: too many to count (it is nice that those were many, many time greater than the first item on the list)
Length my memories will last: until death or loss of mental capabilities (some would say that is not that far away)
Number of family votes: that would be hard to count, there were many.
Number of TIE family votes: Many (Often the count was a tie and many times when a vote was counted it was zero to zero. Sometimes we were too laid back! For the first vote if one didn’t want to vote they didn’t have to, but the rule was if there was a tie we voted again and that time everybody had to vote. If the vote ended up a tie again then the person “running the vote” could decide how to break it. They could break it anyway they wanted to and some creative methods were devised. The problem was a tie was often purposely made by some members of the family to see how it would be decided. That caused some when running a vote to make everybody close their eyes.)
Number of nights spent in a Wal-Mart parking lot: didn’t count but a frequent stop. (It is amazing how many people use them, since Wal-Mart encourages it. We never camped alone and there were up to 20 campers parked with us sometimes. Sometimes there were even signs posted saying “no overnight camping by order of city ordinance” that they were forced to put up, but it didn’t stop anybody from using it and it was never enforced)
Number of nights we got kicked out of “camping location”: one (we got booted out one time in Vancouver, BC in a grocery store parking lot. I wasn’t surprised since there were signs there saying a 3 hour limit was strictly enforced, but that was the only time. I expected more of those. We went down the street to a Costco parking lot and spent the rest of the night. We slept in store parking lots, motel parking lots, residential streets, or other remote pull-offs right along roads. We got campgrounds when we wanted to stay a few days or use the facilities, but apart from the times we were down for truck maintenance we used very few campgrounds. The ones we did use were normally in National Parks. One can save a lot of money by being completely self-contained.
Number of rainy days: we couldn’t remember any until the last week or two. The weather was great, but very dry in the west.
Things we wasted money on and did not use: TV, except for the times Travis and I were dealing with maintenance on the truck and the others were stuck at the campground. CB radio, hardly ever used and a waste of money. Walkie Talkies.
Things we didn’t use or do as much as we thought we would: games, bikes, VCR – we only saw two movies, (not having the expected rainy days was part of the reason), campgrounds, campfires, eating out, extra tourist-trap activities, listening to books on tape (we have one from home we didn’t even listen to – the time driving was filled with other things), reading (me only)
Things we did or used more than we thought we would: Inverter we installed to keep computers charged while driving, laptop computers, WIFI, MAINTENANCE!!!
Things I will remember: great discussions, fun times
Things we wished we would have done more of: games, hiking, biking – (the time was just too short to get it all in)
All summer Nicole has been telling me what I said at the beginning of the trip about her being more of a home-body was not true. She has convinced me – she did not get homesick, and I guess she is not a homebody. She was not ready to go back anymore than anybody else – so I take that back.
The trip is over – Boo Hoo – now back to the grind.
Jolene's Summary
JOLENE’S SUMMARY
This has been a very interesting summer – to say the least. At the beginning I thought it would be WAY too long and I would be ready to get home long before it was time. But actually that didn’t happen. There was a point on the trip I would have been ready to go home, but after a couple days of thinking that I got over it and just enjoyed it. Now that we’re on the way home, I am ready to get there, although I dread unpacking, going in a house that has been unlived in for 3 weeks (the people that lived there this summer left Aug. 3), the yard that will have lots of sticks to pick up before we can mow the long grass, the weeds to pull, etc, etc. I’ve got mixed feelings about it coming to an end, with Travis heading back to Goshen 3 days after we get home, Roger going off to work & soon the girls heading to school. (not that I don’t like time alone!)
Highlights for me were the same ones the girls said, with Yellowstone topping the list. One of the things that amazed me about many of the places we saw was how the earth is always changing – volcanoes, water wearing away rock creating huge, deep canyons, etc. You wouldn’t think it changes but over many, many years, things slowly change and aren’t like they were yesterday. This country didn’t just come into being a couple hundred years ago when the white man came, but millions & millions of years ago, and the history is pretty incredible, with the many Indian tribes, etc.
So, it was an incredible summer & I got to spend it with my five most favorite people in the world! -posted by Jolene
This has been a very interesting summer – to say the least. At the beginning I thought it would be WAY too long and I would be ready to get home long before it was time. But actually that didn’t happen. There was a point on the trip I would have been ready to go home, but after a couple days of thinking that I got over it and just enjoyed it. Now that we’re on the way home, I am ready to get there, although I dread unpacking, going in a house that has been unlived in for 3 weeks (the people that lived there this summer left Aug. 3), the yard that will have lots of sticks to pick up before we can mow the long grass, the weeds to pull, etc, etc. I’ve got mixed feelings about it coming to an end, with Travis heading back to Goshen 3 days after we get home, Roger going off to work & soon the girls heading to school. (not that I don’t like time alone!)
Highlights for me were the same ones the girls said, with Yellowstone topping the list. One of the things that amazed me about many of the places we saw was how the earth is always changing – volcanoes, water wearing away rock creating huge, deep canyons, etc. You wouldn’t think it changes but over many, many years, things slowly change and aren’t like they were yesterday. This country didn’t just come into being a couple hundred years ago when the white man came, but millions & millions of years ago, and the history is pretty incredible, with the many Indian tribes, etc.
So, it was an incredible summer & I got to spend it with my five most favorite people in the world! -posted by Jolene
Travis' Summary
TRAVIS’ SUMMARY
Well, we’re just about back. The stats: 6 people, 18,000 miles, 74 days, 22 states, 5 provinces, 2 countries, 25 national parks, 3 new or rebuilt transmissions, 3 broken springs, 1 broken generator, 1 rear end problem, and 12 days of mechanical delays. We certainly had more than our share of mechanical troubles, but in light of the fact that we saw all the places we had set out to see and had a great time in the process, I consider the trip a resounding success. I think that for most of the family, 2 ½ months was plenty long to be on the road, but it would have been nice to have a little room in the schedule to spend more time at some of the areas, relaxing and hiking and such. But we saw some amazing scenery and had some good family fun. It’s been exciting, but it will be good to get back home and head back out to Goshen. Hard to believe that the summer has come and gone so quickly. It would be hard to pick out my favorite place we saw in the last several months. Yellowstone, the northern Rockies, southern Utah, and the California and Oregon coasts all rank way up there, but that probably covers more than half the trip. I’ll put a bunch of pictures up on webshots from the last weeks. Take it easy and God bless. -posted by Travis
Well, we’re just about back. The stats: 6 people, 18,000 miles, 74 days, 22 states, 5 provinces, 2 countries, 25 national parks, 3 new or rebuilt transmissions, 3 broken springs, 1 broken generator, 1 rear end problem, and 12 days of mechanical delays. We certainly had more than our share of mechanical troubles, but in light of the fact that we saw all the places we had set out to see and had a great time in the process, I consider the trip a resounding success. I think that for most of the family, 2 ½ months was plenty long to be on the road, but it would have been nice to have a little room in the schedule to spend more time at some of the areas, relaxing and hiking and such. But we saw some amazing scenery and had some good family fun. It’s been exciting, but it will be good to get back home and head back out to Goshen. Hard to believe that the summer has come and gone so quickly. It would be hard to pick out my favorite place we saw in the last several months. Yellowstone, the northern Rockies, southern Utah, and the California and Oregon coasts all rank way up there, but that probably covers more than half the trip. I’ll put a bunch of pictures up on webshots from the last weeks. Take it easy and God bless. -posted by Travis
Nicole's Summary
NICOLE’S SUMMARY
So…this summer has been interesting. At first I wasn’t so excited about it, mostly because I only have one more summer after this before I leave for the big scary land of college. So I was disappointed that I couldn’t spend the summer making lots of much needed money and spending good times with friends I only have another year with. All in all though, it was a really good experience that I’m blessed to have taken part in. The weather was amazingly friendly almost the whole time, and I got to see the incredible beauty of this country. And that totally beats working all summer. Besides, now I have an excuse for the whole next year to stay away from the house as much as possible. Just kidding....-posted by Nicole
So…this summer has been interesting. At first I wasn’t so excited about it, mostly because I only have one more summer after this before I leave for the big scary land of college. So I was disappointed that I couldn’t spend the summer making lots of much needed money and spending good times with friends I only have another year with. All in all though, it was a really good experience that I’m blessed to have taken part in. The weather was amazingly friendly almost the whole time, and I got to see the incredible beauty of this country. And that totally beats working all summer. Besides, now I have an excuse for the whole next year to stay away from the house as much as possible. Just kidding....-posted by Nicole
Lisa's Summary
LISA’S SUMMARY
Well! I survived a whole 10 weeks with the same 5 people in the same vehicle, (well, 3 if you count the couple hours in the rental cars) living & sleeping in the same camper, day after day. Now THAT’S quite an accomplishment. & we still sort of like each other, too. No injuries or anything like that yet. I’d say that’s pretty good!
I would have to say that the highlights on this trip were Yellowstone, Mesa Verde, Banff, & Jasper, just to name a few. Yellowstone would definitely be at the top of my list. I’d never seen anything like the thermal activity there. It was amazing, that mixed with the beautiful scenery & wildlife. Mesa Verde was pretty neat, too, and a great educational experience. And Banff & Jasper had just beautiful scenery. I also enjoyed Bryce & Arches, they were pretty incredible. And the flash flood in Zion was awesome. But definitely the most beautiful & spectacular sites were the natural things. Which is why, if we could have done anything different, I might have chosen not to go to Branson, MO. In the time we were there, we could have done other things elsewhere. And we should have also spent more time on Vancouver Island as well.
All in all, I think it was a great experience for me, as well as the rest of the family. Sure, we argued some, but for the most part we got along pretty well. I learned a lot about my family, maybe a bit more than necessary. J The mechanical problems were definitely a setback & didn’t give us as much time in Canada, but we made it through that. The weather was amazingly compatible, hardly any rain (until Glacier) that really prevented us from doing something. It’s a trip I will never forget, no matter how hard I try. Haha, just kidding…..-posted by Lisa
Well! I survived a whole 10 weeks with the same 5 people in the same vehicle, (well, 3 if you count the couple hours in the rental cars) living & sleeping in the same camper, day after day. Now THAT’S quite an accomplishment. & we still sort of like each other, too. No injuries or anything like that yet. I’d say that’s pretty good!
I would have to say that the highlights on this trip were Yellowstone, Mesa Verde, Banff, & Jasper, just to name a few. Yellowstone would definitely be at the top of my list. I’d never seen anything like the thermal activity there. It was amazing, that mixed with the beautiful scenery & wildlife. Mesa Verde was pretty neat, too, and a great educational experience. And Banff & Jasper had just beautiful scenery. I also enjoyed Bryce & Arches, they were pretty incredible. And the flash flood in Zion was awesome. But definitely the most beautiful & spectacular sites were the natural things. Which is why, if we could have done anything different, I might have chosen not to go to Branson, MO. In the time we were there, we could have done other things elsewhere. And we should have also spent more time on Vancouver Island as well.
All in all, I think it was a great experience for me, as well as the rest of the family. Sure, we argued some, but for the most part we got along pretty well. I learned a lot about my family, maybe a bit more than necessary. J The mechanical problems were definitely a setback & didn’t give us as much time in Canada, but we made it through that. The weather was amazingly compatible, hardly any rain (until Glacier) that really prevented us from doing something. It’s a trip I will never forget, no matter how hard I try. Haha, just kidding…..-posted by Lisa
Renae's Summary
RENAE’S SUMMARY
All in all, I think the trip was a great experience that I will never forget. It was a lot of fun, even though I’m ready to get home.
Yellowstone, Arches, Banff, and Jasper are just a few of my favorites. I really liked Yellowstone especially because of all the wildlife that’s just scattered around, but the bison got a little old after seeing thousands of them. My favorite thing that we did in Jasper was white water rafting, which was a lot of fun. We had been planning it the whole entire trip practically and finally got to do it. Banff and Jasper were amazing and beautiful. I wish we had more time there.
Besides all the maintenance problems, I think it was a lot of fun. I just wish we had more time. We had to rush at the end, especially because of the transmission problems that delayed us for six or seven days. –posted by Renae
All in all, I think the trip was a great experience that I will never forget. It was a lot of fun, even though I’m ready to get home.
Yellowstone, Arches, Banff, and Jasper are just a few of my favorites. I really liked Yellowstone especially because of all the wildlife that’s just scattered around, but the bison got a little old after seeing thousands of them. My favorite thing that we did in Jasper was white water rafting, which was a lot of fun. We had been planning it the whole entire trip practically and finally got to do it. Banff and Jasper were amazing and beautiful. I wish we had more time there.
Besides all the maintenance problems, I think it was a lot of fun. I just wish we had more time. We had to rush at the end, especially because of the transmission problems that delayed us for six or seven days. –posted by Renae
Almost home - tire separated
True to our record we had our last tire problem about 50 miles from home. A tire on the pickup separated - but in about 1/2 hour we had the spare on and were on the way again. What a nice maintenance item to have after all the other more serious ones. posted by Roger
August 10 - August 18
10-August-2004
This morning we got up fairly early and drove our rental car into Banff where we took the gondola up to the top of a mountain, and then walked up there to a look-out where we could see mountains real far in every direction. Very pretty. Then drove on, took a hike of a mile or so to see a water fall which was also very pretty and the force of the water does amazing things to the rocks and shaping the canyon. Roger called the place where the truck was being fixed around noon and he said it should be done in a couple of hours, so we headed back to town (1 ½ hr. drive), where all of us but Roger stayed at the campground and he went to the transmission place. Did laundry, and everyone took showers while Rog took the rental car back and checked on the progress of the truck. It was done when he got there but there was a mix up with the other guys that were to help pay since it was on warranty, so he ended up paying the whole thing and will get the money from them later. Anyway, when he got back we ate supper, hooked up, and left the campground. Drove back to Banff where we plan to spend another day or so before heading up to Jasper Nat’l Park just north of there. Walked the streets of Banff awhile (very much a tourist town) and slept along the street there in a residential area. The truck seems to really be fixed this time. Such a relief. – posted by Jolene
We not have a Ford rebuilt transmission in, and I am happy with it. I finally feel comfortable with this one, and was very impressed with the shop this time. They treated me very fairly, and did an outstanding job of keeping on top of things and delivering what was promised. - posted by Roger
11-August-2004
Spent the day in Banff seeing it’s awesome sights. Saw a black bear along the highway, more waterfalls. The force of the water is amazing – it’s glacial water so it’s a real funny blue-green color, and very cold. Over many, many years it wears away the rocks and gouges deep canyons. They have walkways right up close to them so you can really see them. Drove into the town of Lake Louise, and then saw the lake too. Also very beautiful. Drove outside the park and found a place to sleep on a little side road at a very remote location. – posted by Jolene
Today we also drove through Kootenay and Yoho National Parks in British Columbia. We were going to go to Glacier and Mt. Revelstoke National Parks as well, but decided that is one of the things we would skip because of limited time. – posted by Roger
12-August-2004
The place we stayed at last night was a loop off the side of the road w/a propane tank & these storage places Nicole thought was a place for bombs or where drug dealers met. We found out this morning it was a spring water storage area. Nicole was very disappointed. We went through some canyons & took some short hikes to see this wild rushing water. It’s amazing how powerful those waterfalls are. There’s so much water. We took a tour bus thing made especially to go on ice to the Columbia Ice Fields. That was awesome, just standing on a big sheet of ice with little streams running down here & there that you could drink from. It tasted really good. After our tour was done we stopped somewhere else to eat lunch & take a hike up the side of a glacier. Mom & Renae didn’t come along. It was hard walking up & down the steep hill of ice without falling, but we made it with only a few slips! We saw some more falls & then went to Whistler Campground near the town of Jasper. Sadly, they didn’t have any electric spots open so we had to do without. Had pork chops on the grill, then drove around a loop. Saw even more waterfalls & water. Pretty incredible. When it started to get dark we headed back to the campground. We drove like a mile to the camp’s only showers to shower, then went to bed. –posted by Lisa
13-August-2004
First of all Travis, Dad, Nicole, and Lisa got up pretty early to go up to a lake and see stuff around there. I decided to stay back since I was so tired. When they got back, we went to a white water place where we had gotten tickets the day before. We ate lunch there and then waited for the bus to come and pick us up to go to the river. The rapids were class three and before we got on the boat we had to go over the rules. They sounded like a lot of people fall off into the river, so I was a little nervous. We had gotten a wetsuit to put on and an oar and a helmet. It was in the nineties and we had to wear the whole outfit. It was extremely hot and felt so good to get into the 36 degree water. The water was so cold because it comes from a glacier. There was this one place that you went into a really big dip and got completely soaked. It felt great, though. Our guide was friendly and really nice, too, and no one fell out. It wasn’t near as bad as I thought it might be. Anyway, when we got out and drove back I was scared because the bus driver wasn’t the greatest. He didn’t even know how to start the bus! We did make it back safely, though, and then went shopping a little in Jasper. Dad was hungry and got a sausage thing that he had found last night because Lisa, Nicole, and I wanted to go shopping. He got tired and decided he’d walk around a little and he found that. He’s constantly looking for food. When we had come into Jasper (the town) and parked so that we could shop, he said, “oo, I smell food!” We were also playing taboo and I was talking. The word was skydiving and I said that it was something that Dad always wanted to do. Instantly he answered “eat.” He’s supposedly on a diet that he made up- the easy-does-it diet. It’s not working too well. –posted by Renae
I knew saying “eat” first would get them going – it worked! The white-water rafting was OK, but not as exciting as I was expecting. It was pretty lame compared to the only other time I did white-water rafting - down the Zambezi River right below Victoria Falls. That was a much more exciting ride! That time our raft made it through without being flipped over, but that was not the case with some of the other rafts in our group. I still remember seeing the faces as their raft was standing on edge and coming over the top. They also had some pretty scared expressions when they bobbed up one by one. After we finished rafting we drove to a hot springs pool in the northeast corner of Jasper National Park and soaked for a few hours. It is the hottest springs in Canada, and the water is cooled to 104 degrees F in one large pool and about 100 in a second one. Then there is also a cold plunge pool that is 60 degrees. It was exhilarating to jump from the hot pool into the cold one. We stayed there until 10:30PM when it closed, took showers and then drove outside the park again and found a place to sleep in the town of Hinton, AB along a service road in front of a McDonalds. It was a very long day and we crashed. – posted by Roger
14-August-2004
This morning we all got woken up very early, which was so hard cuz it was after midnight the night before. But I think we’re all ready to get home now, since we’re pretty much done with our touring/sightseeing stuff so we’re ready to move!! We drove a couple hours and got to Edmonton, Alberta around 9:30. Of course, being in Edmonton, we had to check out the mall, which is the 2nd biggest in the world. In has 21 theatres, a water park, an amusement park, an ice hockey rink, a diving show place, mini golf, and about a billion restaurants and stores. It’s crazy. A little bigger than Park City! We spent a little more time there than anticipated. We watched the diving show, ate lunch in the food court, and thought we were out of Edmonton for good, but at the last minute decided to look up some old friends of my parents (Garrett & Karla Vermeer) from Africa who lived close by. We looked their address up in a phone book and saw we were very close to their house. They were quite surprised to see us and took a few seconds to recognize us. From here on out it’s probably basically driving right through. Grumpy, very tired people and close proximities usually don’t match. Should be a fun, family bonding experience. –posted by Nicole
15-August-2004
Woke up fairly early & drove awhile to find a church. Since we didn’t get to very many different churches this summer like we said we would, dad wants to squeeze in all he can at the end. We went to the town of Foam Lake to look for one, but apparently they didn’t have daylight savings time in Saskatchewan, so we were an hour ahead. We kept driving until we got to Springside where we went to a Baptist church. It was pretty big. The sermon seemed too much like a big presentation, he even had a powerpoint thing behind him during the whole sermon, but he was a good speaker. Ate the usual lunch in our camper in a Wal-Mart parking lot & drove. And drove. We stopped at Eric & Kathy Fast’s house in Winnipeg, some more African friends. We brought our supper to their house & ate it on their porch. They provided the dessert, which was really good, we showered, & left around 10:30. We ended up staying a bit longer than planned, but it was fun. Found a 24-hr truck stop soon after midnight for the night. Dad would not stop talking while we were driving & people were trying to sleep. He just talked & talked & wouldn’t shut his mouth. Must be excited about getting home, he usually doesn’t talk this much. –posted by Lisa
Actually I’m not excited about getting home at all – rather sad about it. I just wanted to say a lot because I realized I only had limited time to impart all the wisdom I had planned to do this summer and time was running out!!! Anyway it was a fun time at the Fast’s. We were not planning on stopping in at all, but decided to call them as we came into Winnipeg, MB and they insisted we stop by. Since we already had our dinner in the oven and they had already eaten, they “made” us come by and eat at their place since then we would have more time to visit. It was a fun time catching up – but we sure blew more time than we planned on the way back. Two unplanned stops at friends houses – but a good time catching up, and an unplanned long shower for a bonus. – posted by Roger
16-August-2004
This morning we got to a Tim Horton’s, which is a little like Dunkin Donuts. They have really good donuts and ate breakfast there. That was all we did practically all day besides drive and eat. We did stop at Kekebeka Falls near Thunder Bay, though. It was pretty cool. This evening at eleven or twelve at night when we were driving we noticed a funny noise- another problem. The rear of the truck overheated and oil leaked out. We drove a couple of miles to a big town that was near the border of Michigan and slept. –posted by Renae
17-August
Some of us got to sleep in this morning while Roger figured out where to get oil, and what to do to fix the rear end of the truck. (it was one a.m. when we stopped to sleep) To make a long story short, it was 4 pm before we left Canada and crossed into Michigan – we were hoping to do that first thing this morning. We had decided yesterday we’d go to Mackinac Island – take the ferry & the bikes and spend a couple hours on the island. But with the truck problems, and the fact that it was rainy anyway, that didn’t happen. Now we will have to drive through most of the night to make our deadline of getting home tomorrow evening. We want to stop at the land in western PA on the way home yet. There was a report from someone Roger knows that someone cut down trees on our land that Roger wants to check out. Hopefully that won’t take very long. I think we’re all ready to get home at this point – the faster the better! -posted by Jolene
I’m not really ready to get home, but I am tired of our maintenance problems. It is hard to believe. At the beginning when we were taking the axles off the trailer I was wishing it would have been something simple like a flat tire or something. Now with all the transmission problems etc. I am wishing I would only have to deal with broken springs on the trailer again. I thought it was bad before, but it only got worse each time. Last night when we started hearing the hum I thought it was probably the road or a tire, but thought I’d better check if any wheel bearings were hot etc. It seemed to be coming from the rear of the truck, so I wanted to check the rear end as well. When I did check I found it was very hot and cooked and had very little oil in. The front shaft seal was seeping a bit when the transmission was changed, so I had them put a new seal in while the drive shaft was removed, and I did check that several times, but thought the little oil on the pumpkin was residual oil. I was going to check the level later, but decided it was fine, and when we checked into this last problem it seemed the oil was seeping from the plate over the rear. I kept wiping it there but thought even though it was rusty it sure wouldn’t be leaking there, but was leaking at the seam and being pushed up the back by the airflow. Luckily I had about ¾ of a liter of gear oil with me and we dumped that into the rear and drove about 35 miles an hour into Sault Ste. Marie and parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot next to a truck stop until morning. I wanted to get oil today and fill the rear, but decided since it had been hot etc. I will remove the rear axle cover and drain the oil before I add new oil. That way I could also check for other damage. I found oil in town and bought supplies to repair it (silicone for the gasket etc.) and then drove back to a lot next to the Ford dealer just in case I needed something more or another opinion if I found something amiss inside. It was pouring down rain all morning and Travis and I tired to set up tarps the best we could and went tearing into the rear. We pulled off the cover and drained all the oil and when I cleaned up the parts and held it to the light – sure enough I saw sunlight. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! A 2000 truck that has the rear axle rusted through already! I am thinking about no longer being a Ford pickup man! I went to the Ford dealer and they do not have a cover, and could not get one in until tomorrow – so I patched it up. Yep we are going home with a glued rear end. I cleaned it up good and filed it and went to a store and bought JB weld and patched it up and put it back together. We then went to a grocery store with a Deli and ate lunch while we waited for the glue to cure. Travis and I were soaked and cleaned up and put dry clothes on. While we were working a man came by and gave us each a cup of coffee he bought at Tim Horton’s. He saw us working and said we looked wet and cold and decided to buy us coffee. The world is full of nice people – better to remember those than the few that are not so nice. After the glue was cured we took off and had another family vote – back through Canada or through Michigan. Since it was rainy we didn’t want to go to Mackinaw Island so we could go through Ontario and cross at Niagara Falls. However if the hum did not go away with the rear full of oil Canada was not going to be an option –then Michigan it was. Since I was on most of the roads we traveled this summer before in my life (except for the road from Winnipeg to Sault Ste. Marie), I would have liked to go through the rest of Ontario (part of which I had not driven before) – but when we left the hum was not gone (I wasn’t surprised) and we decided we better go through the USA not knowing if a bearing in the rear end was going to come apart or not. We drove about 50 miles and pulled into a rest area near the Mackinaw Bridge and felt the rear and it felt really hot I thought, although I never checked how hot it normally got. It was not leaking however, which was good news. As we were parked there another Ford F350 pulled in and I decided to see how hot his rear was. One must be careful how to ask permission to feel how hot another’s rear is – but we got the point across. Anyway his felt close to the same temperature, so that was more good news. As I am writing this we are driving down through Michigan hoping the hum is not a bearing that will not make it back, but it is not getting worse so we will continue. The farther we get the better it feels – it is not a loud hum, but it is something that was not there before. So for now we are dry, warm, and happy – the only problem is I get jumpy anytime I hear a noise. – posted by Roger
This morning we got up fairly early and drove our rental car into Banff where we took the gondola up to the top of a mountain, and then walked up there to a look-out where we could see mountains real far in every direction. Very pretty. Then drove on, took a hike of a mile or so to see a water fall which was also very pretty and the force of the water does amazing things to the rocks and shaping the canyon. Roger called the place where the truck was being fixed around noon and he said it should be done in a couple of hours, so we headed back to town (1 ½ hr. drive), where all of us but Roger stayed at the campground and he went to the transmission place. Did laundry, and everyone took showers while Rog took the rental car back and checked on the progress of the truck. It was done when he got there but there was a mix up with the other guys that were to help pay since it was on warranty, so he ended up paying the whole thing and will get the money from them later. Anyway, when he got back we ate supper, hooked up, and left the campground. Drove back to Banff where we plan to spend another day or so before heading up to Jasper Nat’l Park just north of there. Walked the streets of Banff awhile (very much a tourist town) and slept along the street there in a residential area. The truck seems to really be fixed this time. Such a relief. – posted by Jolene
We not have a Ford rebuilt transmission in, and I am happy with it. I finally feel comfortable with this one, and was very impressed with the shop this time. They treated me very fairly, and did an outstanding job of keeping on top of things and delivering what was promised. - posted by Roger
11-August-2004
Spent the day in Banff seeing it’s awesome sights. Saw a black bear along the highway, more waterfalls. The force of the water is amazing – it’s glacial water so it’s a real funny blue-green color, and very cold. Over many, many years it wears away the rocks and gouges deep canyons. They have walkways right up close to them so you can really see them. Drove into the town of Lake Louise, and then saw the lake too. Also very beautiful. Drove outside the park and found a place to sleep on a little side road at a very remote location. – posted by Jolene
Today we also drove through Kootenay and Yoho National Parks in British Columbia. We were going to go to Glacier and Mt. Revelstoke National Parks as well, but decided that is one of the things we would skip because of limited time. – posted by Roger
12-August-2004
The place we stayed at last night was a loop off the side of the road w/a propane tank & these storage places Nicole thought was a place for bombs or where drug dealers met. We found out this morning it was a spring water storage area. Nicole was very disappointed. We went through some canyons & took some short hikes to see this wild rushing water. It’s amazing how powerful those waterfalls are. There’s so much water. We took a tour bus thing made especially to go on ice to the Columbia Ice Fields. That was awesome, just standing on a big sheet of ice with little streams running down here & there that you could drink from. It tasted really good. After our tour was done we stopped somewhere else to eat lunch & take a hike up the side of a glacier. Mom & Renae didn’t come along. It was hard walking up & down the steep hill of ice without falling, but we made it with only a few slips! We saw some more falls & then went to Whistler Campground near the town of Jasper. Sadly, they didn’t have any electric spots open so we had to do without. Had pork chops on the grill, then drove around a loop. Saw even more waterfalls & water. Pretty incredible. When it started to get dark we headed back to the campground. We drove like a mile to the camp’s only showers to shower, then went to bed. –posted by Lisa
13-August-2004
First of all Travis, Dad, Nicole, and Lisa got up pretty early to go up to a lake and see stuff around there. I decided to stay back since I was so tired. When they got back, we went to a white water place where we had gotten tickets the day before. We ate lunch there and then waited for the bus to come and pick us up to go to the river. The rapids were class three and before we got on the boat we had to go over the rules. They sounded like a lot of people fall off into the river, so I was a little nervous. We had gotten a wetsuit to put on and an oar and a helmet. It was in the nineties and we had to wear the whole outfit. It was extremely hot and felt so good to get into the 36 degree water. The water was so cold because it comes from a glacier. There was this one place that you went into a really big dip and got completely soaked. It felt great, though. Our guide was friendly and really nice, too, and no one fell out. It wasn’t near as bad as I thought it might be. Anyway, when we got out and drove back I was scared because the bus driver wasn’t the greatest. He didn’t even know how to start the bus! We did make it back safely, though, and then went shopping a little in Jasper. Dad was hungry and got a sausage thing that he had found last night because Lisa, Nicole, and I wanted to go shopping. He got tired and decided he’d walk around a little and he found that. He’s constantly looking for food. When we had come into Jasper (the town) and parked so that we could shop, he said, “oo, I smell food!” We were also playing taboo and I was talking. The word was skydiving and I said that it was something that Dad always wanted to do. Instantly he answered “eat.” He’s supposedly on a diet that he made up- the easy-does-it diet. It’s not working too well. –posted by Renae
I knew saying “eat” first would get them going – it worked! The white-water rafting was OK, but not as exciting as I was expecting. It was pretty lame compared to the only other time I did white-water rafting - down the Zambezi River right below Victoria Falls. That was a much more exciting ride! That time our raft made it through without being flipped over, but that was not the case with some of the other rafts in our group. I still remember seeing the faces as their raft was standing on edge and coming over the top. They also had some pretty scared expressions when they bobbed up one by one. After we finished rafting we drove to a hot springs pool in the northeast corner of Jasper National Park and soaked for a few hours. It is the hottest springs in Canada, and the water is cooled to 104 degrees F in one large pool and about 100 in a second one. Then there is also a cold plunge pool that is 60 degrees. It was exhilarating to jump from the hot pool into the cold one. We stayed there until 10:30PM when it closed, took showers and then drove outside the park again and found a place to sleep in the town of Hinton, AB along a service road in front of a McDonalds. It was a very long day and we crashed. – posted by Roger
14-August-2004
This morning we all got woken up very early, which was so hard cuz it was after midnight the night before. But I think we’re all ready to get home now, since we’re pretty much done with our touring/sightseeing stuff so we’re ready to move!! We drove a couple hours and got to Edmonton, Alberta around 9:30. Of course, being in Edmonton, we had to check out the mall, which is the 2nd biggest in the world. In has 21 theatres, a water park, an amusement park, an ice hockey rink, a diving show place, mini golf, and about a billion restaurants and stores. It’s crazy. A little bigger than Park City! We spent a little more time there than anticipated. We watched the diving show, ate lunch in the food court, and thought we were out of Edmonton for good, but at the last minute decided to look up some old friends of my parents (Garrett & Karla Vermeer) from Africa who lived close by. We looked their address up in a phone book and saw we were very close to their house. They were quite surprised to see us and took a few seconds to recognize us. From here on out it’s probably basically driving right through. Grumpy, very tired people and close proximities usually don’t match. Should be a fun, family bonding experience. –posted by Nicole
15-August-2004
Woke up fairly early & drove awhile to find a church. Since we didn’t get to very many different churches this summer like we said we would, dad wants to squeeze in all he can at the end. We went to the town of Foam Lake to look for one, but apparently they didn’t have daylight savings time in Saskatchewan, so we were an hour ahead. We kept driving until we got to Springside where we went to a Baptist church. It was pretty big. The sermon seemed too much like a big presentation, he even had a powerpoint thing behind him during the whole sermon, but he was a good speaker. Ate the usual lunch in our camper in a Wal-Mart parking lot & drove. And drove. We stopped at Eric & Kathy Fast’s house in Winnipeg, some more African friends. We brought our supper to their house & ate it on their porch. They provided the dessert, which was really good, we showered, & left around 10:30. We ended up staying a bit longer than planned, but it was fun. Found a 24-hr truck stop soon after midnight for the night. Dad would not stop talking while we were driving & people were trying to sleep. He just talked & talked & wouldn’t shut his mouth. Must be excited about getting home, he usually doesn’t talk this much. –posted by Lisa
Actually I’m not excited about getting home at all – rather sad about it. I just wanted to say a lot because I realized I only had limited time to impart all the wisdom I had planned to do this summer and time was running out!!! Anyway it was a fun time at the Fast’s. We were not planning on stopping in at all, but decided to call them as we came into Winnipeg, MB and they insisted we stop by. Since we already had our dinner in the oven and they had already eaten, they “made” us come by and eat at their place since then we would have more time to visit. It was a fun time catching up – but we sure blew more time than we planned on the way back. Two unplanned stops at friends houses – but a good time catching up, and an unplanned long shower for a bonus. – posted by Roger
16-August-2004
This morning we got to a Tim Horton’s, which is a little like Dunkin Donuts. They have really good donuts and ate breakfast there. That was all we did practically all day besides drive and eat. We did stop at Kekebeka Falls near Thunder Bay, though. It was pretty cool. This evening at eleven or twelve at night when we were driving we noticed a funny noise- another problem. The rear of the truck overheated and oil leaked out. We drove a couple of miles to a big town that was near the border of Michigan and slept. –posted by Renae
17-August
Some of us got to sleep in this morning while Roger figured out where to get oil, and what to do to fix the rear end of the truck. (it was one a.m. when we stopped to sleep) To make a long story short, it was 4 pm before we left Canada and crossed into Michigan – we were hoping to do that first thing this morning. We had decided yesterday we’d go to Mackinac Island – take the ferry & the bikes and spend a couple hours on the island. But with the truck problems, and the fact that it was rainy anyway, that didn’t happen. Now we will have to drive through most of the night to make our deadline of getting home tomorrow evening. We want to stop at the land in western PA on the way home yet. There was a report from someone Roger knows that someone cut down trees on our land that Roger wants to check out. Hopefully that won’t take very long. I think we’re all ready to get home at this point – the faster the better! -posted by Jolene
I’m not really ready to get home, but I am tired of our maintenance problems. It is hard to believe. At the beginning when we were taking the axles off the trailer I was wishing it would have been something simple like a flat tire or something. Now with all the transmission problems etc. I am wishing I would only have to deal with broken springs on the trailer again. I thought it was bad before, but it only got worse each time. Last night when we started hearing the hum I thought it was probably the road or a tire, but thought I’d better check if any wheel bearings were hot etc. It seemed to be coming from the rear of the truck, so I wanted to check the rear end as well. When I did check I found it was very hot and cooked and had very little oil in. The front shaft seal was seeping a bit when the transmission was changed, so I had them put a new seal in while the drive shaft was removed, and I did check that several times, but thought the little oil on the pumpkin was residual oil. I was going to check the level later, but decided it was fine, and when we checked into this last problem it seemed the oil was seeping from the plate over the rear. I kept wiping it there but thought even though it was rusty it sure wouldn’t be leaking there, but was leaking at the seam and being pushed up the back by the airflow. Luckily I had about ¾ of a liter of gear oil with me and we dumped that into the rear and drove about 35 miles an hour into Sault Ste. Marie and parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot next to a truck stop until morning. I wanted to get oil today and fill the rear, but decided since it had been hot etc. I will remove the rear axle cover and drain the oil before I add new oil. That way I could also check for other damage. I found oil in town and bought supplies to repair it (silicone for the gasket etc.) and then drove back to a lot next to the Ford dealer just in case I needed something more or another opinion if I found something amiss inside. It was pouring down rain all morning and Travis and I tired to set up tarps the best we could and went tearing into the rear. We pulled off the cover and drained all the oil and when I cleaned up the parts and held it to the light – sure enough I saw sunlight. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! A 2000 truck that has the rear axle rusted through already! I am thinking about no longer being a Ford pickup man! I went to the Ford dealer and they do not have a cover, and could not get one in until tomorrow – so I patched it up. Yep we are going home with a glued rear end. I cleaned it up good and filed it and went to a store and bought JB weld and patched it up and put it back together. We then went to a grocery store with a Deli and ate lunch while we waited for the glue to cure. Travis and I were soaked and cleaned up and put dry clothes on. While we were working a man came by and gave us each a cup of coffee he bought at Tim Horton’s. He saw us working and said we looked wet and cold and decided to buy us coffee. The world is full of nice people – better to remember those than the few that are not so nice. After the glue was cured we took off and had another family vote – back through Canada or through Michigan. Since it was rainy we didn’t want to go to Mackinaw Island so we could go through Ontario and cross at Niagara Falls. However if the hum did not go away with the rear full of oil Canada was not going to be an option –then Michigan it was. Since I was on most of the roads we traveled this summer before in my life (except for the road from Winnipeg to Sault Ste. Marie), I would have liked to go through the rest of Ontario (part of which I had not driven before) – but when we left the hum was not gone (I wasn’t surprised) and we decided we better go through the USA not knowing if a bearing in the rear end was going to come apart or not. We drove about 50 miles and pulled into a rest area near the Mackinaw Bridge and felt the rear and it felt really hot I thought, although I never checked how hot it normally got. It was not leaking however, which was good news. As we were parked there another Ford F350 pulled in and I decided to see how hot his rear was. One must be careful how to ask permission to feel how hot another’s rear is – but we got the point across. Anyway his felt close to the same temperature, so that was more good news. As I am writing this we are driving down through Michigan hoping the hum is not a bearing that will not make it back, but it is not getting worse so we will continue. The farther we get the better it feels – it is not a loud hum, but it is something that was not there before. So for now we are dry, warm, and happy – the only problem is I get jumpy anytime I hear a noise. – posted by Roger
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Another attempt with another transmission
5th August
The truck was finally finished and Roger (& Travis, Nicole & Lisa) picked it up about 4 pm and brought it back up to pick up the camper and be on our way again. We left the campground about 8 pm after having spent six days there. I did lots of laundry today, cleaned the camper, etc. Renae was the only one there with me so we went out for lunch in town – it’s quite a touristy place & prices are not cheap here. We also got a little TV watching in! The truck is doing some funny things, but the guy who fixed it seems to think the kinks will work out as we drive. We hope so. We drove till we got to Spokane, and slept at the Flying J there – it was midnight till we got there. We’ve got to keep moving now to get in all we want to before we have to head home. We need to be home in two weeks from today – August 19, cause Travis leaves for Goshen on Sunday the 22nd and he needs a couple days at home. –posted by Jolene
I noticed right when I left the shop, before I ever left town something was not quite right on the truck. – posted by Roger
6th August
Yay, I got the easy day. All we did all day today was drive. We haven’t done that all day in forever, so I’m not complaining. We gotta make up for lost time. I was beginning to feel like I lived in Winthrop. –posted
By Nicole
First thing in the morning I called the transmission shop in PA, and they as soon as I could the one in Wenatchee, WA to talk about the things I didn’t like about the transmission. The PA shop was concerned, but the WA shop blew it off and said it might be a sticky valve and will sort itself out. I was convinced something was not right, but they talked me into not worrying about it. -posted by Roger
7th August
Nicole completely missed out on most of the day- we certainly didn’t drive all day. We also went to Glacier National Park and had supper by a lake there and built a campfire and had smores etc, then slept outside the park that evening. We couldn’t go through the park because there was a length limit so we went around it and then decided that the next day we would drop the trailer and go through it. Anyway, she’s too lazy and doesn’t want to blog much, so I have to fill in for her. Today we dropped the camper in the park nd then went down through the park. It was all foggy and we couldn’t see a thing. It would’ve been really pretty if you could’ve been able too see anything, though. Then we headed up to Calgary and had to pass the Canada border. The guy who asked us questions said it was alright to go ahead but first we had to throw out the firewood we had in the back of the pick-up. While we were throwing out the wood some more guys came to us and asked us to get out of the truck so they could search us. Then they had a dog sniff everyone and everything. He jumped up onto the front seat of the truck and when the guys searched the camper they didn’t take their muddy boots off. They also took a long time and tore everything up. Dad said that when he looked back in his closet, it was a mess, and Nicole and Travis said their clothes were everywhere, too. They have no right to go and rip it up and not put it back together again. Anyway, when we finally got into Canada we went to Calgary and ate at an Outback Steakhouse. We had free appetizer coupons and bought three meals we all shared. While we were going there we noticed the truck making weird noises. Travis and dad said it was the transmission that was messed up again and was getting worse.. The meal was really good but we had to sleep in the parking lot because Dad was afraid to move it anywhere for fear it might break down. We also had an excuse if they kicked us out again. –posted by Renae
8 August
Well I must say this pick up is sure disappointing me. We were planning on getting a rental car & driving to Banff b/c we don’t trust the truck that far, but decided it wasn’t worth it cuz of the terrible weather. It was all foggy & rainy & would probably turn out something like Glacier. We tried out a campground in Calgary, but it didn’t have anything & there wasn’t anything to do there so we went to another one that was a little better. It was pretty cold, around the 50’s. We just kinda hung around & watched TV & read all day. After supper we played Taboo & ate ice cream in the heated camper, then went to bed. –posted by Lisa
We are stranded again, and it happens on the weekend as usual. I don’t trust this transmission at all until I get it checked. It was not right from the beginning but is getting worse, and it has less than 1000 miles on it. I noticed today all our inner tubes we had were missing from the back of the pickup. I had about 10 of them for tubing, and we had the firewood stacked on top of them, but when Canada made us unload it at the border they apparently blew out, so there are 10 or more tubes spread between the border and Calgary if you are interested. Last year we lost three lawn chairs in Kansas, apparently they get sucked out from under the fifth wheel. They were at the same place the inner tubes were. So the loss count for this year is as follows: 10+ inner tubes in Alberta, 1 pair glasses in the Methow River in Twisp, WA. – posted by Roger
9 August
Dad & Travis left to take the pick up to some shop & possibly rent a car & go to Banff or Jasper. It’s still pretty foggy & rainy so we’re not sure what we’re gonna do yet. –posted by Lisa
Since the weather was not very good we did not get a rental car on Sunday as we planned. First thing in the morning I got on the phone and called all the warranty approved shops for this transmission, and talked to Landis and Quality Transmission shops. There were 6 approved shops in Calgary and I called all of them to feel them out and see who I could trust, especially regarding whether they would get it in the shop as promised. I did not want a repeat of last week. I found an Indian owned shop that seemed pretty good, but the accent of the owner was hard to understand. Travis and I went there and they started testing and got to the point they pulled the pan off and found metal everywhere. The oil smelled burnt, even though I had a gauge installed and controlled the temperatures very closely. In the end I was very impressed with this shop and the owner. We ended up getting an Explorer from Hertz for a rental car at a very good price through his contacts $24.00 USD per day, unlimited miles. He was in contact with both transmission shops and said he did not want to be responsible to overhaul it if it was just done twice. There is something wrong somewhere, and nobody can explain it. This is the third time the transmission was out in a year, and twice with complete overhauls in the last 2 months. It went through 3 torque converters. He got arranged to have a Ford Remanufactured one to exchange, and they would pay for part of it. It will cost me some more money (I already had towing bills, rental car bills, campground fees etc etc. etc) but this way I know what I have and will have peace of mind going home. It will have 24,000 mile/ 2 year warranty also. I really don’t want anything to do with my old transmission. Landis Transmission in PA was very helpful and did a lot to help me out, but the shop in Washington I was not impressed with. I wish I would not have gone to that shop. – posted by Roger
10 August
Today we left shortly after 6:00 in the rental vehicle to spend some time in Banff. It was foggy for part of the way, but cleared up some by the time we got there. It was hazy, but still very pretty. We took the tram to the top of the mountain at Banff and hiked up to the lookout. It was quite scenic. We then drove to Johnston Canyon and hiked to the lower falls. It was crowded with people, but a pretty falls. After we got back I called the shop and they said the transmission had arrived and they should have it ready in 2 or 3 hours, but it should not be a problem being ready by the end of the day. We decided to head back and get our wheels. We drove back and I dropped everybody at the camper so they could shower etc. and I went for the pickup. When I got there it was finished but there was a mix-up on the warranty from the other two shops, and he was waiting for a call from Landis to finalize that billing. I sat there for about two hours and when he tried to call they had already left. I ended up paying the entire bill with my credit card ($3600.00 Canadian) and was told I will get some back for warranty I hope that gets sorted out yet, but I at least am on the road again. We are getting ready to leave the campground, and I am quickly sending this before I leave. Nothing was shown here, but when I inquired I found I could get access for one week for $10.95 and have WIFI right here in the camper. I haven’t seen much of this yet, but I would certainly install that if I owned a campground. We are on the road again, so if you don’t hear from us in a few weeks try calling all the transmission shops between Calgary and Lancaster – we may be at one of them!!!! – posted by Roger
The truck was finally finished and Roger (& Travis, Nicole & Lisa) picked it up about 4 pm and brought it back up to pick up the camper and be on our way again. We left the campground about 8 pm after having spent six days there. I did lots of laundry today, cleaned the camper, etc. Renae was the only one there with me so we went out for lunch in town – it’s quite a touristy place & prices are not cheap here. We also got a little TV watching in! The truck is doing some funny things, but the guy who fixed it seems to think the kinks will work out as we drive. We hope so. We drove till we got to Spokane, and slept at the Flying J there – it was midnight till we got there. We’ve got to keep moving now to get in all we want to before we have to head home. We need to be home in two weeks from today – August 19, cause Travis leaves for Goshen on Sunday the 22nd and he needs a couple days at home. –posted by Jolene
I noticed right when I left the shop, before I ever left town something was not quite right on the truck. – posted by Roger
6th August
Yay, I got the easy day. All we did all day today was drive. We haven’t done that all day in forever, so I’m not complaining. We gotta make up for lost time. I was beginning to feel like I lived in Winthrop. –posted
By Nicole
First thing in the morning I called the transmission shop in PA, and they as soon as I could the one in Wenatchee, WA to talk about the things I didn’t like about the transmission. The PA shop was concerned, but the WA shop blew it off and said it might be a sticky valve and will sort itself out. I was convinced something was not right, but they talked me into not worrying about it. -posted by Roger
7th August
Nicole completely missed out on most of the day- we certainly didn’t drive all day. We also went to Glacier National Park and had supper by a lake there and built a campfire and had smores etc, then slept outside the park that evening. We couldn’t go through the park because there was a length limit so we went around it and then decided that the next day we would drop the trailer and go through it. Anyway, she’s too lazy and doesn’t want to blog much, so I have to fill in for her. Today we dropped the camper in the park nd then went down through the park. It was all foggy and we couldn’t see a thing. It would’ve been really pretty if you could’ve been able too see anything, though. Then we headed up to Calgary and had to pass the Canada border. The guy who asked us questions said it was alright to go ahead but first we had to throw out the firewood we had in the back of the pick-up. While we were throwing out the wood some more guys came to us and asked us to get out of the truck so they could search us. Then they had a dog sniff everyone and everything. He jumped up onto the front seat of the truck and when the guys searched the camper they didn’t take their muddy boots off. They also took a long time and tore everything up. Dad said that when he looked back in his closet, it was a mess, and Nicole and Travis said their clothes were everywhere, too. They have no right to go and rip it up and not put it back together again. Anyway, when we finally got into Canada we went to Calgary and ate at an Outback Steakhouse. We had free appetizer coupons and bought three meals we all shared. While we were going there we noticed the truck making weird noises. Travis and dad said it was the transmission that was messed up again and was getting worse.. The meal was really good but we had to sleep in the parking lot because Dad was afraid to move it anywhere for fear it might break down. We also had an excuse if they kicked us out again. –posted by Renae
8 August
Well I must say this pick up is sure disappointing me. We were planning on getting a rental car & driving to Banff b/c we don’t trust the truck that far, but decided it wasn’t worth it cuz of the terrible weather. It was all foggy & rainy & would probably turn out something like Glacier. We tried out a campground in Calgary, but it didn’t have anything & there wasn’t anything to do there so we went to another one that was a little better. It was pretty cold, around the 50’s. We just kinda hung around & watched TV & read all day. After supper we played Taboo & ate ice cream in the heated camper, then went to bed. –posted by Lisa
We are stranded again, and it happens on the weekend as usual. I don’t trust this transmission at all until I get it checked. It was not right from the beginning but is getting worse, and it has less than 1000 miles on it. I noticed today all our inner tubes we had were missing from the back of the pickup. I had about 10 of them for tubing, and we had the firewood stacked on top of them, but when Canada made us unload it at the border they apparently blew out, so there are 10 or more tubes spread between the border and Calgary if you are interested. Last year we lost three lawn chairs in Kansas, apparently they get sucked out from under the fifth wheel. They were at the same place the inner tubes were. So the loss count for this year is as follows: 10+ inner tubes in Alberta, 1 pair glasses in the Methow River in Twisp, WA. – posted by Roger
9 August
Dad & Travis left to take the pick up to some shop & possibly rent a car & go to Banff or Jasper. It’s still pretty foggy & rainy so we’re not sure what we’re gonna do yet. –posted by Lisa
Since the weather was not very good we did not get a rental car on Sunday as we planned. First thing in the morning I got on the phone and called all the warranty approved shops for this transmission, and talked to Landis and Quality Transmission shops. There were 6 approved shops in Calgary and I called all of them to feel them out and see who I could trust, especially regarding whether they would get it in the shop as promised. I did not want a repeat of last week. I found an Indian owned shop that seemed pretty good, but the accent of the owner was hard to understand. Travis and I went there and they started testing and got to the point they pulled the pan off and found metal everywhere. The oil smelled burnt, even though I had a gauge installed and controlled the temperatures very closely. In the end I was very impressed with this shop and the owner. We ended up getting an Explorer from Hertz for a rental car at a very good price through his contacts $24.00 USD per day, unlimited miles. He was in contact with both transmission shops and said he did not want to be responsible to overhaul it if it was just done twice. There is something wrong somewhere, and nobody can explain it. This is the third time the transmission was out in a year, and twice with complete overhauls in the last 2 months. It went through 3 torque converters. He got arranged to have a Ford Remanufactured one to exchange, and they would pay for part of it. It will cost me some more money (I already had towing bills, rental car bills, campground fees etc etc. etc) but this way I know what I have and will have peace of mind going home. It will have 24,000 mile/ 2 year warranty also. I really don’t want anything to do with my old transmission. Landis Transmission in PA was very helpful and did a lot to help me out, but the shop in Washington I was not impressed with. I wish I would not have gone to that shop. – posted by Roger
10 August
Today we left shortly after 6:00 in the rental vehicle to spend some time in Banff. It was foggy for part of the way, but cleared up some by the time we got there. It was hazy, but still very pretty. We took the tram to the top of the mountain at Banff and hiked up to the lookout. It was quite scenic. We then drove to Johnston Canyon and hiked to the lower falls. It was crowded with people, but a pretty falls. After we got back I called the shop and they said the transmission had arrived and they should have it ready in 2 or 3 hours, but it should not be a problem being ready by the end of the day. We decided to head back and get our wheels. We drove back and I dropped everybody at the camper so they could shower etc. and I went for the pickup. When I got there it was finished but there was a mix-up on the warranty from the other two shops, and he was waiting for a call from Landis to finalize that billing. I sat there for about two hours and when he tried to call they had already left. I ended up paying the entire bill with my credit card ($3600.00 Canadian) and was told I will get some back for warranty I hope that gets sorted out yet, but I at least am on the road again. We are getting ready to leave the campground, and I am quickly sending this before I leave. Nothing was shown here, but when I inquired I found I could get access for one week for $10.95 and have WIFI right here in the camper. I haven’t seen much of this yet, but I would certainly install that if I owned a campground. We are on the road again, so if you don’t hear from us in a few weeks try calling all the transmission shops between Calgary and Lancaster – we may be at one of them!!!! – posted by Roger
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Are we going to get going today? - Maybe?
August 4, 2004
Today we got up and drove to North Cascades National Park since we had extra time, a rental car, and had driven through it at night. We wanted to see it during the day. When we got back from going there, we filled up some inner tubes that Dad had gotten somewhere free. We were going to go tubing from Twisp to Carlton, 11 miles apart. We had talked to a guy at an information center who said that it would take one and a half to two hours to go there. Dad dropped us off at Twisp and then drove down to Carlton. He then hitched a ride back to where we were so that we could go tubing, too. When we started, it was warm and felt good to go tubing, but soon the sun went behind the clouds and it was cold. Dad also lost his glasses in the very beginning before it hardly even started. We started at some big rapids and he flipped over and he couldn’t find them. It was pretty fun except it got freezing and dark. 11 miles took us 6 hours to do. We stopped at 9 and since it was pretty dark and Dad lost his glasses, he couldn’t see anything. He was pretty close for a while and then he got really far behind. We stopped and waited for him. It was so cold that when we were getting out of the water to wait for him, you could hardly walk because you were shaking so much. You also hurt all over because you were shaking so much that it hurt. It was miserable. Anyway, Dad said that he couldn’t see anything and was going through some rapids that were really rocky. He said that it was really dangerous if he hit his head on a rock and was knocked out, we wouldn’t have known. He got out and at the same time, Travis was getting up on the bank so that he could go and look for him. They met up and some people who were there gave us a lift to where the car was. Dad really told us that we should never let someone out of our sight. He was right there and then all the sudden he was gone, so we didn’t think he was that far behind, but he was. It was lucky that Dad brought his glasses along in the car so that he could drive back to the camper. When we got back, it felt so good to get in some warmth again and we had hot chocolate, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, and took a hot shower. It felt soooo good. Then we went to bed. –posted by Renae
August 5, 2004
This morning dad, Travis, Nicole & I left to pick up the truck in Wanatchee. It was raining when we left, one of the only times we got rain this trip! We hope it’s done when we get there so we can be on our way again. –posted by Lisa
On our way down to pick up the truck in Wenatchee we stopped at the Smoke Jumper base in Winthrop. We got a little tour and learned all about them. It was pretty neat stuff. –posted by Nicole
Today we got up and drove to North Cascades National Park since we had extra time, a rental car, and had driven through it at night. We wanted to see it during the day. When we got back from going there, we filled up some inner tubes that Dad had gotten somewhere free. We were going to go tubing from Twisp to Carlton, 11 miles apart. We had talked to a guy at an information center who said that it would take one and a half to two hours to go there. Dad dropped us off at Twisp and then drove down to Carlton. He then hitched a ride back to where we were so that we could go tubing, too. When we started, it was warm and felt good to go tubing, but soon the sun went behind the clouds and it was cold. Dad also lost his glasses in the very beginning before it hardly even started. We started at some big rapids and he flipped over and he couldn’t find them. It was pretty fun except it got freezing and dark. 11 miles took us 6 hours to do. We stopped at 9 and since it was pretty dark and Dad lost his glasses, he couldn’t see anything. He was pretty close for a while and then he got really far behind. We stopped and waited for him. It was so cold that when we were getting out of the water to wait for him, you could hardly walk because you were shaking so much. You also hurt all over because you were shaking so much that it hurt. It was miserable. Anyway, Dad said that he couldn’t see anything and was going through some rapids that were really rocky. He said that it was really dangerous if he hit his head on a rock and was knocked out, we wouldn’t have known. He got out and at the same time, Travis was getting up on the bank so that he could go and look for him. They met up and some people who were there gave us a lift to where the car was. Dad really told us that we should never let someone out of our sight. He was right there and then all the sudden he was gone, so we didn’t think he was that far behind, but he was. It was lucky that Dad brought his glasses along in the car so that he could drive back to the camper. When we got back, it felt so good to get in some warmth again and we had hot chocolate, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, and took a hot shower. It felt soooo good. Then we went to bed. –posted by Renae
August 5, 2004
This morning dad, Travis, Nicole & I left to pick up the truck in Wanatchee. It was raining when we left, one of the only times we got rain this trip! We hope it’s done when we get there so we can be on our way again. –posted by Lisa
On our way down to pick up the truck in Wenatchee we stopped at the Smoke Jumper base in Winthrop. We got a little tour and learned all about them. It was pretty neat stuff. –posted by Nicole
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
July 28 - August 3
28-July-2004
This morning we went up to the Hurricane Visitors Center in Olympic Nat’l Park where Renae did her Junior Ranger program thing. Then we drove to the Hoh Rainforest, which gets 12 feet of rain a year and did a little hike in there. After a delicious supper of scallops and potatoes on the beach (compliments of my father) we hung out on the beach and watched the sunset before getting a little shopping done at Safeway and finding a place to sleep along the road close to the ferry we’re planning on catching in the morning. – posted by Nicole
29-July-2004
Today we had to get up pretty early because we were taking the first ferry to Victoria in the morning. We had slept right in front of the place so that when it opens he could be the first one in line. We were the first
one in line and had to move up at five or so in the morning, but we were allowed to stay in the camper while we moved. We had gotten to bed really late at 11:30 and I slept through it all. They started boarding at 7:45 even though the ferry left at 8:20. We had to wait about 10 or 15 minutes in the pick-up before we could actually go onto the ferry. Even though we got there first, we were one of the last ones on. The ferry was pretty nice. It wasn’t that big, but it was the biggest one that went to Victoria. It was full and we couldn’t find a table or chair at all. We did eat in the little snack bar thing, but it was so expensive. We made it to Victoria at around 10 or so and had to go through customs to get into Canada. The lady there didn’t check too much our camper and stuff, just asked a couple of questions. They needed to see birth certificates for those of us that were born in Botswana, then we went through Victoria and ate at a Vietnamese place for Nicole, since she had gone one time with her youth group and loved it. I thought it was really good, too, but she didn’t think it was as good as the one she had gone to before. After that we went to a state park close by because our waiter suggested it to us and said it was really neat. It wasn’t that neat, though, and the waiter reminded me of my art teacher at school, Mr. Loercher, because he talked like him and had the same mannerisms. Anyway, then we watched a movie at the IMAX theater called Roar: Lions of the Kalahari. Dad enjoyed it a lot because he had been to all of the places they mentioned in it. In the credits it said people who had helped from Botswana, but he couldn’t read them because everybody was standing up in front of him. Then we drove up Vancouver Island until we made it to Nanaimo and ate at a small beach area and then headed for the ferry to Vancouver, which left at 9. We made it just about 10 minutes before it boarded. It loaded up a whole bunch of cars and we were almost up front when we stopped and the ferry left. We thought we’d have to wait until the morning to take that one, but a guy said that there was another one coming in about 15 minutes and we could get on that one. They must’ve been an hour late or something. On the outside, the ferry looked about as big as the first one we took, but this one had three vehicle decks while the other only had one. It was a lot fancier and bigger, too. The deck was at least twice the size of the other one and had an arcade room, big restaurant, kid’s place, and a lot more chairs that were like airplane seats. It’s not even that long of a ferry, though- only one and a half hours. When we got to Vancouver, we went until we found a place in the parking lot of a store. We got kicked out, though, and had to move somewhere else. Dad was scared before we even went to bed but it was midnight and everyone was tired. He thought that in Canada they might kick us out faster. They did. I slept through it all, though, even though they say they knocked really loudly on the door and yelled through the window. –posted by Renae
30-July-2004
We had some decisions to make this morning – like, do we want to do some things in Vancouver, or just drive & head on down through the Cascades and on to Montana? Some of these decisions become big deals! And lots of votes are taken and of course not everyone is entirely happy, but everyone gets their say, and then we go with what gets the most votes. That’s what democracy is all about, right?! The girls had gotten some brochures with various things to do & the one free one that made the grade, was visiting a salmon hatchery. Since we were in the area where it was anyway, we stopped in. Most options were quite pricey & we weren’t that excited about them. Anyway… Finished there at noon & headed on down to Washington. At the border we all had to get out of the pickup & go in while they searched the camper and ended up taking only 2 apples that were from New Zealand. We were afraid they were going to take most of our food, but luckily everything else had stickers on to prove it was from the US. The people in line in front of us got a lot taken, including meat. Drove on down through the North Cascades Nat’l Park & stopped & b-b-qued hamburgers by the lake which was beautiful. Then kept driving, hoping to find a place to pull over & sleep, but there wasn’t anywhere so we just kept going. There was a guy along the road, stopped with a flare out, so we backed up to him to see if he needed help. He didn’t – someone was coming to help him. But, as we took off again, the truck did not go into gear for a bit & it was pretty weird. What it all came down to was that the transmission is completely messed up. We ended up crippling it to a pull-out place along the road & sleeping there till morning. Apparently there were warning signs earlier that something wasn’t quite right, but we kept going. Ah… will these problems never end?? -posted by Jolene
When we got fuel at a service station Jolene noticed the two axles on the trailer were too close together, and upon closer inspection I noticed the back spring hangar weld had broken off. If only I would have brought a welder along – I told my family I should have brought more tools. It was Friday afternoon, and I knew I had to do something quickly, so I went to this truck hitch facility and they made a call to try and get help, but nobody could do it until Monday. He said he had a welder and could weld, but could not jack it up and position it. I told him if he will weld it I will get it in place. But he then put his floor jack on it and did it himself. He thought the trailer was much heavier and he could not handle it. He welded it up and we were ready to go in under ½ hour. I found out he was a certified welder and used to build trailers. Charged me $20.00 – we ran into a lot of good people on this trip. When we left the shop the transmission sent an error code and started acting up, but I didn’t think it was real serious, however in a short time we discovered it was not a small problem. – posted by Roger
31-July-2004
This morning Roger woke up about 5:30 & started working at the truck, hoping that maybe overnight it fixed itself!! Alas, it didn’t. Turns out we were only a couple miles from this little town of Winthrop, WA, where we went to. The truck would go for a little bit, then lose all power & not go, so he’d have to turn it off and start it again & it would go a little bit again. There was a garage open & he talked to the guy, who said they could help him, but the garage part was closed till Monday morning (this was Sat. morning). He told us about this campground just a couple blocks away, which is where we went to & are now. This will be probably the longest we’ve stayed anywhere on this trip yet – we’ll be here till at least Tuesday. They can get parts in one day, so hopefully Monday they tear into it & see what they need, Tuesday the parts come, they fix it, and we can move on. We’ll see. Roger & Travis have been working on various things with the pickup & camper that have been on Roger’s list the whole trip. The girls have explored the town on their bikes & walking, and everyone went swimming at the river that runs through the town and is very clear, clean water. (reminds me of Waterville). And I’ve enjoyed the air-conditioning (it’s high 90’s today) & reading my book! It’s also great to have showers anytime we want, and laundry needed to be done anyway. So I suppose having this happen wasn’t all bad, and it is good to sit for a couple days. A blessing in disguise you might say. –posted by Jolene
1-August-2004
Wow! I can’t believe it’s August already! The summer’s going by so fast. This morning we walked about a mile to a nondenominational church. It was nice little church. After church we walked to a store nearby and got groceries. We all walked back to the campground with a bag. After lunch we just relaxed and went to the creek since it was over 100 degrees. We had hot dogs & vegetables on the grill for supper. That evening we watched The Hunt for Red October. It was pretty good, a bit hard to follow at times, but it was good. It was a late night –posted by Lisa
2-August-2004
Well today was not my favorite day – but that’s part of the fun of winging it I guess. On Saturday when I was assured I could not get any work done until Monday we got a campground, and then I returned to the shop and inquired with the owner whether I could get it attended to on Monday because it was a small one-man shop and I wasn’t sure about the capabilities. They seemed to be quite knowledgeable and I was told it would be attended to first thing Monday morning (later I found out he was also the owner of the business). In any case I was assured whatever it was the parts could come overnight and I would be on the road on Tuesday. He told me even if the transmission was gone a replacement would be there the next day and it would be a one day job. When I went down in the morning I waited about one hour and they did get the computer codes and checked a few items and decided the transmission would need to be replaced. Before I went to the shop I also had been in contact with Landis Transmissions, who had overhauled the transmission a week or two before I left on this trip, and they assured me it would be covered with warranty. They agreed to pay all my additional expenses up to the amount I paid for the overhaul, which was $1905.00. Anyway when I inquired more about getting an exchange unit I was told they would not be able to do it until Friday, but most likely the following Monday or Tuesday. I was not very happy. I talked to the owner and reminded him what he told me, and he said he’ll talk with his worker and see, but by that time I was pursuing other options, as I was not too impressed with them getting an exchange transmission in anyway. Landis would have rather had an ATRA approved shop involved anyway. Landis gave me numbers of one approved shop in Seattle and two in Wenatchee, and I called the one to get a quote for towing, and they came back with a tow bill of $235.00 which I said if he can get right up I will go ahead. By this time it was 10:00AM and he said he would be there by 11:30 and get me back to the shop and they promised they would get me in right away and check it out so they could order parts and have me back on the road in a couple days. When the tow truck came it was with a new trailer which the newly retired owner had built and pulled by an old pickup that was painted up nice and said Cheap Tow. He jumped out and got me loaded and the truck just so fit on, but we got going and only got a few miles down the road before we noticed smoke coming from the tires and found out the fender was too close to the tire and was rubbing. He had no jacks along or blocks and no spare tire, so we got things from my truck to jack it up part way and dig out under the tire so we could remove it to pound out the newly painted fender so it would not rub. He is building these trailers to sell, and was trying it out. We got it back together and left and I told him I think the back axle was also rubbing, but he was convinced it was not and a mile further down the smoke was rolling off and when we checked the tire was rubbed to the point it was ruined. This on a new tire and no spare tire available. We stopped and pulled that wheel and worked on the fender until we got it fixed and then proceeded again. The transmission was not very sound on his truck and with this heavy load I was not convinced it would even get us there, but I guess that’s what you get with Cheap Tow. He kept telling me the whole way down about what a good deal I am getting and how much money I saved, and he would not even charge for the extra time it took since he had to stop and work on the trailer. He was a real work of art, and a big talker, and I am convinced he had himself believing everything he said. It was an interesting ride, and we talked about many things. I learned all about his life etc. The trailer swayed at any speed over 45 mph so we had to take our time and we finally got to the shop just as they were closing a little after 5:00 PM, which meant another day was shot. When I went to take it off the pickup I saw he left the key on and the battery was completely dead. We then had to jump it to get it started. I was glad I was at least at a shop, and I asked at the small shop if they would be able to get at it first thing in the morning as they said, and they assured me no problem It looked busy there, and I told them I was concerned about it. I did call the other shop in town and found out they would also be able to put me right in and have me out in 2 or 3 days. But since I was assured again and felt good here I decided to stay. The shop owner then took me to the airport to get a rental car which I had arranged, and I left that night after getting a bite to eat. On the way down I noticed a sign for free wireless internet at a roadside fruit stand which I found interesting. It was dark and late when I got back up there (I was 2 hours from the shop), but I pulled in to check and sure enough I could sit outside and get on the internet. Amazing! I spent about two hours there until my battery went dead, working on the internet. It was interesting it was dark late at night but I sat outside the fruit stand on a bench and was connected. Why can’t other places be as good as a fruit stand. I got home around midnight and discovered the kids spent the day playing and riding bike to a state park around three miles away and in the evening the whole family played games. I guess they had a nice relaxing day, something I could not say. That’s the breaks, I guess.
3-August-2004
Today we got up and loafed around camp and checked into white water rafting, but it is not that great now because it is too late and the water is too low. The wild rapids rafting is not available until next spring again. After that we messed around and then I decided to head down to town to see if my truck was being worked on as promised. Travis and Nicole went along, and on the way we stopped at the internet place and worked online a bit. We found a receptacle to hook in to and stayed a bit and then headed to town. When we got there around 3:30 PM and went to the shop I discovered they had not touched my truck yet. I had called a few times earlier and they said they were working on it, but I was not convinced and went down to see. I was very discouraged and told them I was not too happy. They are such a nice couple, and really felt bad and he promised to work that night until he got it out and apart. I felt bad for them, I know how things can go, but I hate it when people promise too much and cannot deliver. They really did feel bad I believe, and I decided to mess around town and see if anything happens that night yet. I didn’t think it would. We did some other running around and right now I am on the phone at a 7-Eleven and writing this and who walks up but the tow truck driver. Small town USA I guess. I did go past the shop around 6:00 and saw that the truck was pulled in, but when I passed again at 7:30, the shop was closed up and nobody was there. Is there no end to delays? I am upset, but don’t want to get too angry with him, or we’ll never get out. We stopped at the internet place again, plugged in and finished our internet stuff. That is where I am now as I am sending this. I don’t know what the others did today, but probably swam, read and took it easy. - posted by Roger
This morning we went up to the Hurricane Visitors Center in Olympic Nat’l Park where Renae did her Junior Ranger program thing. Then we drove to the Hoh Rainforest, which gets 12 feet of rain a year and did a little hike in there. After a delicious supper of scallops and potatoes on the beach (compliments of my father) we hung out on the beach and watched the sunset before getting a little shopping done at Safeway and finding a place to sleep along the road close to the ferry we’re planning on catching in the morning. – posted by Nicole
29-July-2004
Today we had to get up pretty early because we were taking the first ferry to Victoria in the morning. We had slept right in front of the place so that when it opens he could be the first one in line. We were the first
one in line and had to move up at five or so in the morning, but we were allowed to stay in the camper while we moved. We had gotten to bed really late at 11:30 and I slept through it all. They started boarding at 7:45 even though the ferry left at 8:20. We had to wait about 10 or 15 minutes in the pick-up before we could actually go onto the ferry. Even though we got there first, we were one of the last ones on. The ferry was pretty nice. It wasn’t that big, but it was the biggest one that went to Victoria. It was full and we couldn’t find a table or chair at all. We did eat in the little snack bar thing, but it was so expensive. We made it to Victoria at around 10 or so and had to go through customs to get into Canada. The lady there didn’t check too much our camper and stuff, just asked a couple of questions. They needed to see birth certificates for those of us that were born in Botswana, then we went through Victoria and ate at a Vietnamese place for Nicole, since she had gone one time with her youth group and loved it. I thought it was really good, too, but she didn’t think it was as good as the one she had gone to before. After that we went to a state park close by because our waiter suggested it to us and said it was really neat. It wasn’t that neat, though, and the waiter reminded me of my art teacher at school, Mr. Loercher, because he talked like him and had the same mannerisms. Anyway, then we watched a movie at the IMAX theater called Roar: Lions of the Kalahari. Dad enjoyed it a lot because he had been to all of the places they mentioned in it. In the credits it said people who had helped from Botswana, but he couldn’t read them because everybody was standing up in front of him. Then we drove up Vancouver Island until we made it to Nanaimo and ate at a small beach area and then headed for the ferry to Vancouver, which left at 9. We made it just about 10 minutes before it boarded. It loaded up a whole bunch of cars and we were almost up front when we stopped and the ferry left. We thought we’d have to wait until the morning to take that one, but a guy said that there was another one coming in about 15 minutes and we could get on that one. They must’ve been an hour late or something. On the outside, the ferry looked about as big as the first one we took, but this one had three vehicle decks while the other only had one. It was a lot fancier and bigger, too. The deck was at least twice the size of the other one and had an arcade room, big restaurant, kid’s place, and a lot more chairs that were like airplane seats. It’s not even that long of a ferry, though- only one and a half hours. When we got to Vancouver, we went until we found a place in the parking lot of a store. We got kicked out, though, and had to move somewhere else. Dad was scared before we even went to bed but it was midnight and everyone was tired. He thought that in Canada they might kick us out faster. They did. I slept through it all, though, even though they say they knocked really loudly on the door and yelled through the window. –posted by Renae
30-July-2004
We had some decisions to make this morning – like, do we want to do some things in Vancouver, or just drive & head on down through the Cascades and on to Montana? Some of these decisions become big deals! And lots of votes are taken and of course not everyone is entirely happy, but everyone gets their say, and then we go with what gets the most votes. That’s what democracy is all about, right?! The girls had gotten some brochures with various things to do & the one free one that made the grade, was visiting a salmon hatchery. Since we were in the area where it was anyway, we stopped in. Most options were quite pricey & we weren’t that excited about them. Anyway… Finished there at noon & headed on down to Washington. At the border we all had to get out of the pickup & go in while they searched the camper and ended up taking only 2 apples that were from New Zealand. We were afraid they were going to take most of our food, but luckily everything else had stickers on to prove it was from the US. The people in line in front of us got a lot taken, including meat. Drove on down through the North Cascades Nat’l Park & stopped & b-b-qued hamburgers by the lake which was beautiful. Then kept driving, hoping to find a place to pull over & sleep, but there wasn’t anywhere so we just kept going. There was a guy along the road, stopped with a flare out, so we backed up to him to see if he needed help. He didn’t – someone was coming to help him. But, as we took off again, the truck did not go into gear for a bit & it was pretty weird. What it all came down to was that the transmission is completely messed up. We ended up crippling it to a pull-out place along the road & sleeping there till morning. Apparently there were warning signs earlier that something wasn’t quite right, but we kept going. Ah… will these problems never end?? -posted by Jolene
When we got fuel at a service station Jolene noticed the two axles on the trailer were too close together, and upon closer inspection I noticed the back spring hangar weld had broken off. If only I would have brought a welder along – I told my family I should have brought more tools. It was Friday afternoon, and I knew I had to do something quickly, so I went to this truck hitch facility and they made a call to try and get help, but nobody could do it until Monday. He said he had a welder and could weld, but could not jack it up and position it. I told him if he will weld it I will get it in place. But he then put his floor jack on it and did it himself. He thought the trailer was much heavier and he could not handle it. He welded it up and we were ready to go in under ½ hour. I found out he was a certified welder and used to build trailers. Charged me $20.00 – we ran into a lot of good people on this trip. When we left the shop the transmission sent an error code and started acting up, but I didn’t think it was real serious, however in a short time we discovered it was not a small problem. – posted by Roger
31-July-2004
This morning Roger woke up about 5:30 & started working at the truck, hoping that maybe overnight it fixed itself!! Alas, it didn’t. Turns out we were only a couple miles from this little town of Winthrop, WA, where we went to. The truck would go for a little bit, then lose all power & not go, so he’d have to turn it off and start it again & it would go a little bit again. There was a garage open & he talked to the guy, who said they could help him, but the garage part was closed till Monday morning (this was Sat. morning). He told us about this campground just a couple blocks away, which is where we went to & are now. This will be probably the longest we’ve stayed anywhere on this trip yet – we’ll be here till at least Tuesday. They can get parts in one day, so hopefully Monday they tear into it & see what they need, Tuesday the parts come, they fix it, and we can move on. We’ll see. Roger & Travis have been working on various things with the pickup & camper that have been on Roger’s list the whole trip. The girls have explored the town on their bikes & walking, and everyone went swimming at the river that runs through the town and is very clear, clean water. (reminds me of Waterville). And I’ve enjoyed the air-conditioning (it’s high 90’s today) & reading my book! It’s also great to have showers anytime we want, and laundry needed to be done anyway. So I suppose having this happen wasn’t all bad, and it is good to sit for a couple days. A blessing in disguise you might say. –posted by Jolene
1-August-2004
Wow! I can’t believe it’s August already! The summer’s going by so fast. This morning we walked about a mile to a nondenominational church. It was nice little church. After church we walked to a store nearby and got groceries. We all walked back to the campground with a bag. After lunch we just relaxed and went to the creek since it was over 100 degrees. We had hot dogs & vegetables on the grill for supper. That evening we watched The Hunt for Red October. It was pretty good, a bit hard to follow at times, but it was good. It was a late night –posted by Lisa
2-August-2004
Well today was not my favorite day – but that’s part of the fun of winging it I guess. On Saturday when I was assured I could not get any work done until Monday we got a campground, and then I returned to the shop and inquired with the owner whether I could get it attended to on Monday because it was a small one-man shop and I wasn’t sure about the capabilities. They seemed to be quite knowledgeable and I was told it would be attended to first thing Monday morning (later I found out he was also the owner of the business). In any case I was assured whatever it was the parts could come overnight and I would be on the road on Tuesday. He told me even if the transmission was gone a replacement would be there the next day and it would be a one day job. When I went down in the morning I waited about one hour and they did get the computer codes and checked a few items and decided the transmission would need to be replaced. Before I went to the shop I also had been in contact with Landis Transmissions, who had overhauled the transmission a week or two before I left on this trip, and they assured me it would be covered with warranty. They agreed to pay all my additional expenses up to the amount I paid for the overhaul, which was $1905.00. Anyway when I inquired more about getting an exchange unit I was told they would not be able to do it until Friday, but most likely the following Monday or Tuesday. I was not very happy. I talked to the owner and reminded him what he told me, and he said he’ll talk with his worker and see, but by that time I was pursuing other options, as I was not too impressed with them getting an exchange transmission in anyway. Landis would have rather had an ATRA approved shop involved anyway. Landis gave me numbers of one approved shop in Seattle and two in Wenatchee, and I called the one to get a quote for towing, and they came back with a tow bill of $235.00 which I said if he can get right up I will go ahead. By this time it was 10:00AM and he said he would be there by 11:30 and get me back to the shop and they promised they would get me in right away and check it out so they could order parts and have me back on the road in a couple days. When the tow truck came it was with a new trailer which the newly retired owner had built and pulled by an old pickup that was painted up nice and said Cheap Tow. He jumped out and got me loaded and the truck just so fit on, but we got going and only got a few miles down the road before we noticed smoke coming from the tires and found out the fender was too close to the tire and was rubbing. He had no jacks along or blocks and no spare tire, so we got things from my truck to jack it up part way and dig out under the tire so we could remove it to pound out the newly painted fender so it would not rub. He is building these trailers to sell, and was trying it out. We got it back together and left and I told him I think the back axle was also rubbing, but he was convinced it was not and a mile further down the smoke was rolling off and when we checked the tire was rubbed to the point it was ruined. This on a new tire and no spare tire available. We stopped and pulled that wheel and worked on the fender until we got it fixed and then proceeded again. The transmission was not very sound on his truck and with this heavy load I was not convinced it would even get us there, but I guess that’s what you get with Cheap Tow. He kept telling me the whole way down about what a good deal I am getting and how much money I saved, and he would not even charge for the extra time it took since he had to stop and work on the trailer. He was a real work of art, and a big talker, and I am convinced he had himself believing everything he said. It was an interesting ride, and we talked about many things. I learned all about his life etc. The trailer swayed at any speed over 45 mph so we had to take our time and we finally got to the shop just as they were closing a little after 5:00 PM, which meant another day was shot. When I went to take it off the pickup I saw he left the key on and the battery was completely dead. We then had to jump it to get it started. I was glad I was at least at a shop, and I asked at the small shop if they would be able to get at it first thing in the morning as they said, and they assured me no problem It looked busy there, and I told them I was concerned about it. I did call the other shop in town and found out they would also be able to put me right in and have me out in 2 or 3 days. But since I was assured again and felt good here I decided to stay. The shop owner then took me to the airport to get a rental car which I had arranged, and I left that night after getting a bite to eat. On the way down I noticed a sign for free wireless internet at a roadside fruit stand which I found interesting. It was dark and late when I got back up there (I was 2 hours from the shop), but I pulled in to check and sure enough I could sit outside and get on the internet. Amazing! I spent about two hours there until my battery went dead, working on the internet. It was interesting it was dark late at night but I sat outside the fruit stand on a bench and was connected. Why can’t other places be as good as a fruit stand. I got home around midnight and discovered the kids spent the day playing and riding bike to a state park around three miles away and in the evening the whole family played games. I guess they had a nice relaxing day, something I could not say. That’s the breaks, I guess.
3-August-2004
Today we got up and loafed around camp and checked into white water rafting, but it is not that great now because it is too late and the water is too low. The wild rapids rafting is not available until next spring again. After that we messed around and then I decided to head down to town to see if my truck was being worked on as promised. Travis and Nicole went along, and on the way we stopped at the internet place and worked online a bit. We found a receptacle to hook in to and stayed a bit and then headed to town. When we got there around 3:30 PM and went to the shop I discovered they had not touched my truck yet. I had called a few times earlier and they said they were working on it, but I was not convinced and went down to see. I was very discouraged and told them I was not too happy. They are such a nice couple, and really felt bad and he promised to work that night until he got it out and apart. I felt bad for them, I know how things can go, but I hate it when people promise too much and cannot deliver. They really did feel bad I believe, and I decided to mess around town and see if anything happens that night yet. I didn’t think it would. We did some other running around and right now I am on the phone at a 7-Eleven and writing this and who walks up but the tow truck driver. Small town USA I guess. I did go past the shop around 6:00 and saw that the truck was pulled in, but when I passed again at 7:30, the shop was closed up and nobody was there. Is there no end to delays? I am upset, but don’t want to get too angry with him, or we’ll never get out. We stopped at the internet place again, plugged in and finished our internet stuff. That is where I am now as I am sending this. I don’t know what the others did today, but probably swam, read and took it easy. - posted by Roger
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