We had a problem that led to the longest day yet

We left early this morning. About an hour down the road, we saw a sign for fresh cinnamon buns and gas at Tetsa River Outfitters. Of course we stopped.  There was a sign on the door: Santa Claus Crossing Alaska with a picture of the sleigh & reindeer. Ray gave the owner a Santa card and we ate some delicious cinnamon buns. The owner wanted to take a picture of Ray with the sign. Santa borrowed one of their red vests to complete the picture. Santa Ray also told the lady that she could do whatever she wanted with the picture. When we were ready to leave, the owner came running outside & gave him the vest and said that she was putting his picture next to the sign on the door.

Here is a list of animals that we saw today: stone sheep, a mom & baby with the ram close by; 2 bear; about a dozen buffalo; and a caribou.

This is the ceiling of a gift store.

 

We saw lots of pretty scenery this morning and stopped for gas at Muncho Lake. When we left, our car made a squeaking sound and Ray thought that it was a brake dragging. We were next to a small air strip so we pulled over there. The left front wheel was hot and you could see grease coming out of the hubcap. The guys pulled off the wheel and saw that the paint on the hub around the outer bearing was burnt white from the heat.It took a while just to get the hub off. The bearing was in small pieces. The inner bearing was stuck to the spindle. The heat had welded the inner race to the spindle. After three hours of cutting, drilling, and hammering, they were able to chip off the race, piece by piece. After reshaping the spindle with a file, they installed new bearings & were back on the road, almost 5 hours of lost time. The good news was that it was a nice day in the 60's and that we had a good place to work on the car. It could have been 40 degrees and raining like it was in Montana. If it had not been for Jim, our tour guide & mechanic and a new Model A friend Ed, from Houston, I don't know what we would have done.
We stopped at a welcome sign for the Yukon sign & met 2 guys from Chicago doing a documentary about a trip 3 guys were making, playing golf all the way to the Arctic Circle. At the Arctic Circle, they were going to spread ashes of a fourth buddy.

Tomorrow we will travel about 270 miles. Our miles today were 320 which puts us over 3,000 miles. We saw lots of unique signs today. I have posted several of them

Fort Nelson, BC

We left right on schedule today and in the end, all went well. Our first thrill was when we crossed a bridge over the Peace River. The base was a metal grate. With the skinny tires, it was like the car was doing the twist.  After that when we were still above 1/2 a tank, we stopped for lunch and to top off the gas.  The station was out of gas. There was a sign that read: Sorry Out of Gas but we still have the best food. (They did serve a good lunch!) We didn't worry because we knew that even though the next gas station was 50 miles down the road, we would be fine. That gas station was closed because it was Sunday. When we made it to Fort Nelson, the first station was closed. To make it worse, there was a huge hill to go up on the edge of town. Jim had about 1/10 of a gallon of gas left but we made it.  We had a 1 1/2 gallons. So we were in great shape. FYI: We are each carrying a 5 gallon reserve can of gas.

The Mile Post Book listed a museum here, the Fort Nelson Heritage  Museum. After we checked in to the hotel, we went to it. It was a local history museum. There was big building that had Model A's, Model T's, tractors, a Studebaker, Packard, 1908 Buick, and much more. These cars were all in running condition. We went next door & had dinner at a campground restaurant.  The bar stools were all made from saddles. It has been an interesting day.

Oh I almost forgot . . . we saw a moose but not close enough to get a picture.  Tomorrow we we should see some more pretty country and more wild life as we head for Watson Lake in the Yukon Territory.

Total mileage for today was 270.  Total miles so far is 3,700.

June 10th.Elk, bear & big horn sheep sited today!

We left promptly at 8AM & headed for Lake Louise & to Banff & Jasper Parks. First we saw one elk & then we saw a huge one on the side of the road. We started to continue on when the smaller one started running down the road to the big one. Of course we watched!  Lake Louise is a glacier fed lake and is specticular!  Continuing down Rt 93 towards Jasper (It is called the Ice Fields Parkway) we pulled into Num-T-Jah Lodge to view more of the mountains.  We were over whelmed with people looking over our cars. I wish we had a quarter for all of the pictures taken. It could pay for gas for this trip. On down the road just a little, a bear ran out in front of Jim & Rose.  A short distance later, their were a group of Big Horn Sheep grazing on the side of a cliff. I don't know how they stand up!  A little later, we saw  some huge glaciers named Crow foot & Columbia. Ray & I bought warmer jackets as we couldn't seem to pack warm clothes when the temperature was 95 degrees at home. Spent the rest of the day driving to Prince George. We rode over 430 miles to make our total  about 3,200 miles. Our time spend in Jasper & Banff Parks more than make up for the cloudy, rainy conditions at Glacier National Park. 

I could not blog last night. The hotel owner was nice enough to let me use his computer but it was in Korean. 

Teri

June 11 Last day before the AlCan

We headed out a little later today.  It was a short day, only about 250 miles. Jim has done an outstanding job of navigating us through the US & Canada. We are a full day ahead of schedule.  At lunch today, a local told us about an International Chainsaw Carving Competition in Chetwynd, BC. Since we were close, we went to it. It was amazing to see the artists at work.  There were artists from Oregon, Colorado, Missouri, Japan, and of course, Canada. It is a 4 day event so we didn't get to see the winner.  The previous years winning sculptures were on display as you drive through town. Tonight it's time to do laundry & clean up the cars. We needed a short day & we got it.

We went to dinner and were approached by a man from the Chamber of Commerce here in Dawson Creek. He gave us a couple of pins and asked to take some pictures. We are celebrities. I can't believe how friendly people are here.

We Made It To Canada

Today we drove over 300 miles and that makes our total mileage about 3,000.  We started out at Glacier National Park. We could only drive into the park 13 miles because the road was closed due to snow.  We saw a video before the drive. They say all of the glaciers will be gone by 2030. It was breath taking riding along St. Mary's Lake with the mountains on one side & the lake on the other side. We went through two avalanche areas & saw where the avalanche has ripped out trees. We also passed through other areas that warned us not to stop because of a possible avalanche.  Unfortunately for us, it was rainy & cloudy so we were not able to see the glaciers.

We crossed into Canada without any problem. There were lots of pretty farms and rolling hills. Ray installed our heater last night so we were nice & warm. Stopped in Fort McLeod for lunch at an A & W Eoot Beer. The root beer & hot dogs were tasty. Then on to Calgary, home of the 1988 winter olympics. We pulled off of the highway because Jim was experiencing a vibration. Trouble shooting found that a fan belt was ready to break. It was a quick fix and we were back on the road.  We traveled on route 1 and found that it took us right in to Banff National Park and we had to pay admittance. Oh well. I guess it is like a toll road. We plan to spend the night in Banff. We will see more the Rockies tomorrow. Ray did some routine maintenance on the car tonight.

Last Day in USA

We gassed up and left Billings MT by 7:40. It was overcast & cold, 45 degrees. Today we are staying on backroads. The plan is to get to Glacier National Park.We stopped for gas in Lavina. We were going into remote areas and thought it would be good to fill up the gas cans. There was a lot of flooding in the area. A man at the gas station told us that they have already had 12 inches of rain. That is normally their annual rainfall. This is the first day for sweatshirts and jeans. When we were packing for the trip, it was hard to believe we would need cold weather clothes.
Light rain fell most of the day. We still saw some beautiful scenery. We climbed over 8,000 feet to the Showdown Ski area.  Jim's car overheated. Ray took a great picture of it. Can't wait to show everyone.  Jim added somewater and all was well. We continued to the top of the mountain and it was sleeting. There was snow everywhere and we're not in Alaska yet.Tonight we are staying in Browning. It is on an Indian Reservation by Glacier National Park. We got rooms at the only hotel in town. The guy liked our cars so he gave us a discount on the rooms.  I'm glad but boy are they pricey! We had dinner at a local restaurant and had Indian fried bread for the first time. It is good.Tomorrow we will see a little of Glacier Park. Most of it is still closed due to snow and may not open until July! Then on to Calgary, AB.
Mileage for today is 370 miles.  We have driven over 2200 miles. Tomorrow we will (hopefully be able to) send a blog from Canada.