Last chance to see...

[MikeO]

2nd October 2023

I sleep really well - and don't wake until just before 0800. I quickly shower and dress, repack, and get the elevator down to the lobby, where I hand in my key before going downstairs to the...

...where the Duckling awaits...

I do about an eight-point turn, trying to avoid the pillars the basement is planted thickly with - the Duckling's sensors shrieking at me from every direction - then position the car to the left side of the automatic door.

I drive up the ramp (it was much more frightening driving down ) and into a wet Monday morning in downtown Vancouver.

Yesterday afternoon this was a vibrant, cosmopolitan, and muti-cultural hive of activity. Today, the few pedestrians are shielded under umbrellas, and all the businesses are closed.

I get my cellphone service from Three in the UK. I do this because they have terrific foreign coverage - whereby I can use my phone as if I'm still in the UK. However, I'd forgotten that this doesn't include Canada, for some reason. My phone coverage is therefore restricted to when I have Wi-Fi coverage.

This means that Waze can't route me to my hotel. No problem - I use the Duckling's navigator and it steers me towards the Trans-Canadian Highway - East.

It's a miserable day.

Speed limits and distances in Canada are metric. The Duckling overcomes this by giving the equivalent limits and distances in miles - which makes life easy...

This is a really elegant bridge - Oh I give up!

There's no point trying to make this more than it is - a wet drive on an urban motorway...

What is needed is breakfast.

I've had nothing since the taco salad yesterday lunchtime...

The Lumberjack Slam - that'll do the trick

I call my admiration as to the colour of her car to Lizzie, who is just leaving - she can find it in any car park...

I start driving east again, turning up the volume of my new book, to hear it over the sound of my arteries hardening...

The new book is The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright, tracing the origins of Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11. It was made into an engrossing mini-series, which I thoroughly recommend.

Still pretty grim, but just unpleasant - no high winds or torrential rain. Glad I have a roof over my head...

Avalanche tunnel - I like the bear artwork in the concrete...

I stop at this rest area - literally some bathrooms in the middle of nowhere. It's quite high up and the temperature is 45F. I consider putting my fleece on - then remember I left it in my car - 4,535 miles away...

The young guy who is cleaning the place says hello and goodbye to everyone...

Now that we're over the first range of mountains, the weather improves markedly, as I was expecting. There's now a high overcast, and as we descend, the temperature increases to about 55F...

After a couple of hours, I turn off the Trans-Canadian and drive into the city of Kamloops.

Sounds a little like a breakfast cereal.

The Duckling steers me downtown to the Plaza Hotel. I am an hour early for check-in, but the staff don't bat an eyelid at it. My car can remain where it is (beside the hotel) for $8 Canadian.

I ask if they have a guest laundry - they do!

I'm two days away from becoming underwear-critical...

There then plays out a comedy of errors as I try to get some Canadian coins (one dollar coins are called Loonies, because they have a picture of a Loon on them. Two dollars are called Twonies, because - well, never mind). Being a clutz, I only have US currency, so Tina adds six dollars to my parking charge and gives me the coins - and also a detergent pod.

I take the lift to my second-floor room...

...then smuggle my bag of toxic waste to the guest laundry and ram it all into the machine...

I realise I have left my camera in the Duckling, so go to retrieve it - and spot this unlikely sight outside the hotel...

I'll be impressed if someone comes up with a make/model/year for it...

 

[MikeO]

Correctly identified by Roger (Chip Seal) on ADVrider as a 1929 Ford Model A Roadster Pickup.

 

[MikeO]

Having successfully rescued my clothes from the clutches of the Guest Laundry, I finished my journal entry and - for a change - was at a bit of a loose end. Normally, the three to four hours it can take to write the day up leaves me fit just to fall into bed...

I take the elevator down to the lobby, where I notice they have a cool old cash register...

...and then take a wander down the street - past some questionably-named businesses...

Until - within 100 metres - I find an Irish bar. I seem to find them wherever I go...

I'm in British Columbia, so I order a Molsom (awaits shrieks from beer-bores berating me)...

...to accompany a rather splendid bacon cheeseburger, with Pachos...

This may help explain. It was a great meal...

Abdul, who was bar-tending, was a great guy. He's lived in Denmark and has family in Manchester and London. He's also a Man Utd fan WHO HAS BEEN TO A GAME. Unfortunately, it was the game when they were beaten 7-0 by Liverpool earlier this year...

I make my way back to the hotel - quite a long day tomorrow...

 

[Arsey]

If you’ve got a modern iPhone download Airalo app and get an esim for Canada

Ive sent you a text

Sent from my Nokia 3310 using Thetwatcantalk

 

[Arsey]

News just in . Mike has data


Sent from my Nokia 3310 using Thetwatcantalk

 

[MikeO]

3rd October 2023

I sleep well - nice hotel with a great shower...

I pack up and take my bags out to the Duckling, then checkout...

Never seen one of these before

I decide I'll try the complimentary breakfast...

Big mistake. Not very nice, so I just have a coffee and point the Duckling in the direction of Alberta.
That's east.

I have cell service - thanks to a suggestion from @Arsey. For $6 I bought an eSim, which allows me a couple of gigs of data and calls for a week

It's a nice bright day, but I have a long way to go - so a lot of the pics are going to be taken through the windscreen, I'm afraid...

In no time, I'm back on the Trans-Canadian Highway, with the cruise control set marginally above the speed limit (even so, I'm regularly overtaken)...

Alongside the highway, crossing over each other now and again is what I assume is called the Trans-Canadian Railroad. It's busy all day - several engines at the front towing trains literally miles (or in this case, kilometres) long...

I spot this place and I'm intrigued enough to turn around and stop.

It's a junk/antique/curio shop - but with a side hustle as a Car Museum. $15 Canadian gets me in and I have a good nose about...

Lots of points up for grabs here...

The curio shop is pretty ordinary...

...with the normal collection of overpriced ephemera...

Some of it quite old, apparently...

But the car part has some interesting exhibits...

Nicely kept/restored...

I loved the bonnet (hood) mascot on this DeSoto...

Apparently, there is a TV show called The Rust Bros - about chaps that customise old cars. I haven't heard of it, but the blokes (whose cardboard likenesses are here), apparently have their workshop near here and are regular customers.

Unusual to see a restored Sunbeam Alpine - I would have thought the Tiger would be more popular...

There's all sorts inside, but the more interesting cars (to me) are outside...

Ambulances - or the basis for a Ghostbusters car?

At the far end of the lot is where the winged-jukebox vehicles are gathered...

Amazing designs - all done in a drawing office - no computers involved...

To me, these represent the era of most optimism in the USA - the late 1950s and early 1960s - JFK was about to be elected...

Why not go crazy with car design...

Enough - I have a long way to go. I steer the Duckling back on the road and resume the route that Waze has devised.

The road has become a two-lane highway. There are regular road works throughout the day, marked by the signs that indicate it is all being converted to four-lane...

This is a beautiful part of the world...

...and I'm really enjoying driving through it. Unfortunately, the distance I have to travel today means that stops for pics are limited...

First bridge pic of the day...

I stop to put $115 Canadian's worth of Premium in the Duckling - and an A&W Cheeseburger in me...

Traffic is pretty light between towns...

We're stopped for about 20 minutes at roadworks here, which is a good opportunity to stretch my legs...

The mountains on the horizon are beautiful...

At the town of Golden, the Trans-Canadian Highway is closed and we are diverted south...

As I entered Golden, a fireman stood on a pedestrian crossing, holding a Stop sign aloft, so I stopped. The chap alongside me didn't...

Eventually, at Radium...

...which has an excellent sculpture of Big Horn Sheep horns on its roundabout, we are steered back towards the Trans-Canadian again.

Although this is a long diversion - the cloud has a silver lining. I am now travelling the road that would normally form most of Banff National Park. Since it's a detour, the ticket office is shuttered...

Traffic is slow through these canyons - there are five articulated trucks up ahead and, until a passing lane appears, they are controlling the speed...

Ultimately, I get past them, and a more normal speed can be adopted...

Every bend produces a new mountainous view...

...it's a distracting panorama...

I pull into a viewing area...

Fabulous...

Onward!

I'm turned back onto Highway 1 - only about 40 miles to go now...

I arrive at Banff - and the Bow View Lodge - at about 1800. Or perhaps 1700 - I may have crossed a timezone...

The room is basic and clean - it's clearly designed for winter use and has no AC. No problem, it has one of these...

...and with the temperature being about 54F, that'll do fine for now...

 

[Arsey]

Excellent. Love Banff and beyond .


Sent from my Nokia 3310 using Thetwatcantalk

 

[Doc]

Some cracking scenery.
Do you go on a diet when you get home.

 

[2 wheel humvee]

Nice looking Mk9 Jag and seems a fair price too

 

[MikeO]

4th October 2023

I sleep like the dead and don't wake up until 0830. Or 0730. I'm not sure what time zone I'm in...

I have a shower, pack, and wheel my bag over to the subterranean garage where the Duckling has spent the night...

Nice parking, asshole...

I'm on the road, steering the Duckling out of Banff at about 0915. I'm going to be covering some of the same ground as I did yesterday, as I head south toward the US border...

But this will be the prettiest part of yesterday's route - to Radium Hot Springs - so that's no bad thing...

The weather is great, with good visibility and little wind. It is a little cool up here, though - about 48F...

As I re-enter British Colombia, I pass a sign I didn't have a chance to photograph. It said "If your speed is 40kph over the limit - instant kerbside impound of vehicle"

So I stuck close to the speed limit. It's apparently for a period of seven days and will accompany a hefty fine...

Pretty soon (though not as soon as if I'd been speeding), I'm approaching the attractively named Radium Hot Springs...

...where I stop at the Big Horn Café for a spot of breakfast.

They don't cook breakfast here, so I make do with a breakfast burrito, with some salsa, and a large coffee...

It was tasty enough.

Onward!

Just outside of town (I'm heading towards Cranmore now), I stop at an overlook. It really is gorgeous here - plus the temperature has climbed to about 55F...

These are bins designed to stop bears from getting into the contents. You reach into the metal pocket and push a button to open it.

“There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists.” said a Park Ranger in 2006...

First bridge of the day...

It's a great drive - except for the occasional road works...

...one set of which leaves me on a scraped surface for about ten miles. The road noise was terrible - had to turn the volume of my audiobook right up...

I stop at another viewpoint - Kootenay Lake, I think...

I later stop at the splendidly named Skookumchuck Prairie Rest Area...

...which has some alarming graffiti...

I spot a couple of old cars for sale, so do a U-turn and drive back to investigate...

This first one is interesting - any ideas?

This one's probably a little easier, especially with its distinctive bonnet (hood) ornament...

How about this third one - any ideas?

I make my way through Canmore and arrive at the US Border...

I'm second in line. The Officer asks me similar questions to those I was asked entering Canada, then hands me back my passport and wishes me a safe journey...

Northern Idaho is beautiful - but already you can see that the mountains are softer, and more rounded than the Canadian Rockies. It has also got considerably warmer - 68F - it's lovely...

But Idaho are also resurfacing their roads...

I take advantage of this enforced stoppage to get a barn pic - we've not had one in a while...

I stop to put $89 worth of Premium into the Duckling - and spot this place across the road...

It turns out to be a bar - and BBQ restaurant. The menu is very tempting...

I particularly like the family meal - Meat Sweats

Which is also the WiFi password...

I don't want anything too heavy - so settle for Nachos with beef...

...which arrived looking really weird - but tasted great...

I carry on south towards the Interstate which will take me to Spokane...

On the outskirts, I spot this custom car - goodness knows what it started life as...

I got a quick snap from the side as I passed.

Suddenly I'm in downtown Spokane at about 1630 - peak traffic...

Waze unerringly steers me to my hotel - which is in a pretty seedy part of town - the pawn shop and bail bonds shop count is high...

I'm efficiently checked in by Luke and am pleasantly surprised by a spacious and impeccably clean room...

 

[Robbo1200ADV]

Really nice Report . Many thanks for that . Re the Anxiety thing , that is pretty common . Easy to loose confidence and just want it to end . great that you dumped the bike and got the car . Looks a Fab trip .Again thanks . Lot of those old cars are Studebaker , they look a bit European .

 

[MikeO]

The dark green car is 1953 Kaiser Manhattan [could be a 52 or a 54 but...] 2nd is a 54/55 Packard sedan, model unkn, last one is a Studebaker Commander 53era also.

The sign on the window says it's a 1949 - but I think you're closer to the mark (1953 pictured) - although the car pictured doesn't have a split screen, so maybe it's a year or so earlier? I'd never heard of Kaiser before...

EDIT - 51 has a split screen...

Second one is a 53 Dodge Regent - it runs!

Spot on on the Studebaker!

 

[MikeO]

5th October 2023

I sleep well - past 0800. This is a really nice hotel, in a not terribly nice area. The room, staff, and facilities are excellent - it's just the neighbourhood that's a bit rough.

I ablute and get dressed, pack my stuff away, wheel it out to the Duckling, and then go back into the lobby to return my keycard and grab a (half-decent) cup of coffee. I tell the manager that Luke, who checked me in last night, did a great job and she was pleased to hear it and will let him know...

It's a glorious cloudless day - still cool (51F), as I steer the Duckling, aided by Waze, through Spokane's rush hour towards Interstate 9...

Once on the Interstate, I set the cruise control to 75 (70 limit) and start making my way toward Portland, some 250 miles away...

I'm quickly out of town and spend much of the day on fairly featureless dual carriageways (divided highways). That said, traffic is light, and keeping 75mph up is easy...

On the right here is a huge Correctional Centre - built in the middle of nowhere.

The USA imprisons more of its citizens per capita than any other country.

Cool bridge...

The road diverts through a town (I'm sorry - I can't remember its name). All over Oregon, Idaho, and Washington are these little drive-through coffee points - some not much bigger than a garden shed - which ensure the population is sufficiently caffeinated...

It's getting pretty warm now - 78F, so I ease the Duckling's fan up a notch.

Having finished The Looming Tower, I have started to listen to Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann. I believe it has been filmed by Martin Scorsese.

It tells the story of the Osage Indians, a native American tribe, who were forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma, a piece of land seen as worthless. Except they found huge oil deposits below it - and the Osage tribe became the wealthiest people per capita in the world. Then someone started killing them. It's an interesting tale, as it also incorporates the founding of the FBI...

I stop at a small café at a junction...

And have an excellent BLT and fries...

...and lemonade - natch...

I'm now traveling down the Columbia River Gorge, which is a remarkable geological feature...

During the last Ice Age, there was an inland sea, some 1000 feet deep, held back by an ice dam in Missoula, Montana. When the dam collapsed, millions of tons of water was released, causing enormous erosion to the states of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, as it raced to the Pacific. Geologists think the Columbia Gorge may have been formed in under a week...

Onward!

I think this chap's brakes might be on fire - he was stopped and talking on his cell phone...

I must remember to refill the Duckling before handing it back tomorrow. It has also been reminding me it's due an oil service for 400 miles...

As I approach The Dalles, the speed limit reduces to 65 - for no apparent reason...

Crappy pic - but an interesting bridge design, that allows shipping to pass...

It's still warm, but there's a stiff breeze blowing. The geography here causes winds to eddy and gust - Hood River - a town further east - always seems to have kite-surfers and wind-surfers in abundance...

Waze steers me to my motel.

I may get murdered here.

The office door is locked (hinges broken), so I check in through a side window through a corner of the security glass...

It seems to be a charming place...

That said, the room is clean, does not smell and I can park the Duckling directly outside...

 

[MikeO]

Having survived so far, at about 1830 I decide to explore the area in search of dinner...

What could look more inviting?

Actually, it's fine - just a working blokes bar. I have a pint of draft Pabst, and a chat with the barman, Dan, about how Mescal is a type of tequila, much as bourbon is a type of scotch. Every day is a school day.

I get served an excellent cheeseburger, say goodbye to Dan, and then make my way back to my room...

 

[Hairnet600]

Was the double deuce next door

 

[MikeO]

6th October 2023

I survive the night

Actually, I sleep well, waking just before 0800. I shower, pack, and am in the Duckling within half an hour, heading to a nearby 7-11 to fill the tank for the last time. I return the car to SixT - the 'Rental Car Drop Off' signs signal where I need to go. I leave the keys in the cup holder, as requested, let the chap know about the oil service warning, then wheel my bag back into the building and to the SixT desk, where Danica - bubbly and irrepressible as ever - welcomes me back. She provides me with a printed invoice for the rental and then points out where the Über pick-up point is, about 100 metres away.

The pick-up point is weird because there are lots of cars parked there - I go on the app and choose a 'green' option that will take me to Jorge's house for $38. A car (Chevrolet Volt?) turns up, driven by the delightful Mary, who is from Kenya and has been in the USA for six years. She has four children, all boys, ranging in age from eight to 18. The eldest wants to become a lawyer - but is very tall and also wants to play basketball.

She is shocked to hear I am not married and have no children and tells me to put that right the minute I get back to the UK...

I assure her I will.

We're soon at Jorge's beautiful house - Jorge answers the door in the middle of a business call, and I make my way to the rear deck, where it is cool and quiet...

...and where Aster patrols regularly, to ensure I don't get up to any mischief...

More later...

 

[jeffa]

Great trip thanks for letting me tag along

 

[MikeO]

Just before lunch, Jorge needs to go to pick up some stuff, so I go along for the ride...

We wend our way through Portland's Friday morning traffic - already getting heavy...

...then, having done his chores, we stop at a Chipotle for lunch...

We drive back, and Jorge gives me a guided tour of the extended neighbourhood around his house...

...via a purchase from the local pot dealer...

...which had some great brands on offer...

Pot sales are legal, but have not yet been made Federally legal. This means that suppliers are not able to use normal banking, as would, a shoe shop, for example. Purchases are made in cash and then deposited into a sort of state-approved bank. Or something like that - the details are a bit hazy (my memory, not the effect of the pot ).
It leaves stores and growers occasionally holding and transporting large amounts of cash, and therefore vulnerable to robbery.
Should the drug be legalised by the Federal Government, then it will just become another business, but for the time being it sounds a little precarious...

We get back to Jorge's house and see Tom and his daughter Sy outside, over the road, so let Aster out and stroll over to see them...

...and we're briefly joined by Tom's wife Janice, who is working inside. Tom is emptying his truck after a few days fishing.
Or, at least, he's supposed to be doing so.

Tom's beautiful German Pointers, Cleo (old and grey, nearest the camera) and Twig (svelte and brown - but annoyingly - older) come out for some attention.
Cleo is very affectionate and I realise how much I miss Marnie...

Jorge and I return home - and clear the decks ready for his cleaners to arrive*...


*I really hope my Housekeeper Sarah doesn't read this and think I'll be doing the same on my return...

 

[MikeO]

So, while the cleaning crew were doing their magic, Carolina took Aster for a walk, and Jorge and I went down to the garage to see if we could work out what was wrong with the ADV's ABS.

About two weeks ago, whilst in the cruise on a freeway, both ABS lights started flashing together. No combination of restarting, pushing the ABS button (out of optimism) worked. Jorge tried shorting two pins in the diagnostic plug using a piece of wire, but this had no effect.

Help was offered in the shape of a GS-911 Diagnostic tool from soyanarchisto on ADVrider, who very generously lent his to Jorge...

We followed the quick start instructions and downloaded the software onto a borrowed laptop (GS-911 doesn't play easily with Mac), then connected the device to the diagnostic plug, located just above the air filter, and asked the device to search for faults...

OK - Fault Code 13 - Plunger Test Fault.

First rule of electronic diagnosis - delete the code and see if it comes back. It doesn't immediately, so Jorge gets togged up and rides it up the road and back.

As half-expected, the same code came back. With neither of us able to remember how to take a screenshot from a PC, we both took a pic...

Time to put a distress flare up on GSpot and UKGSer to find what needs to be done to rectify this...

More later...

 

[MikeO]

So, whilst waiting for ideas to come in from the interweb, Jorge, Carolina and I decided to go out for something to eat.

Regular readers will be familiar with my fondness for food carts - and this evening I was introduced to some new ones...

The French Quarter is a great venue - live music (bluegrassish tonight)...

A good selection of beers - Carolina and I each had a pint of Blonde...

...and a wide variety of food. I still had a hankering for Mexican, despite having had some for lunch, so ordered a chicken burrito supreme...

When they've taken your order, they give you a little pager...

...that lets you know when your food is ready.

My burrito is the size of a small child

(Pint glass for scale) and is absolutely delicious...

I'm completely full, Jorge drives a circuitous route home - and we stop at Lewis & Clark College to watch Sy, Tom's daughter, playing soccer...

We watched the last 25 minutes or so - it ended in a 1-1 draw. Good fun to watch...

We drive the short distance home, where we read up on the various advice provided so far. As a Plan B, there's a place in Idaho that will rebuild the ABS module for $350.

Although it's early, I leave Jorge & Carolina watching The Three Amigos and get an early night.