The 4 "F" Words of the Last 3 Weeks

 

Where did we go?!?!

We are currently in the city of Nelson at a café waiting for our van to be fixed and praying it will be covered by warranty.  The last few weeks have can be summarized by four “F” words: Family, Friends, fixing (the van) and saying/yelling a certain expletive.  So, this blog post will be a little different then the last, we are going to go through each “F” word and how it has impacted the last 3 weeks.
  

Family

We did not know if we could handle vanlife or this road trip when we first started.  We were nervous for the undertaking, scared for the future and riddled with self doubt, so we decided to break the trip up into a small part, driving up to Tuktoyaktuk and Alaska and driving South.  We’d separate these two sections by saying goodbye to Kendra’s family in Edmonton and saying goodbye (again) to my family in Quesnel.

After a night in a hotel, we drove relatively quickly to Edmonton where we visited family and shared tales from the road, most of which can be read from previous blog posts. 

One of our most memorable days was meeting up with our nieces and nephews at the Telus World of Science.  Kendra’s sister drove into the parking lot with all her kids but there was something off about her van, it was making a load Tssss sound.  Well, it didn’t take long to tell that there was a significant leak in one of her tires and within a matter of a minute the tire was absolutely flat.  We tried to help as best we could but after some discussion it was decided that we would call CAA (known as AMA in Alberta and BCAA in BC). 

We decided to get BCAA for this trip, but Kendra’s sister recommended we use her son’s AMA card.  They had a family plan and Paul was instructed to call AMA and inform them that he was driving the kids when the flat occurred; unfortunately, Paul did not follow directions…  After dialing the number, the first question that was asked was “What is your name”.  Paul panicked and forgot to be honest, instead he looked at the card bearing the name of a 7 year old boy and said Oliver.  The person from AMA was nice a greeted “Oliver” with a friendly word, then asked for my number, which I read on the card.  After he read the number the man on the other line went silent and after a few moments started to make a lot of hmmm sounds, which were finally broken with, “this card appears to be for a 7 year old boy”.  Well, Paul knew exactly what to do, he then responded, oh right, yes that is my…. Son, my name is Joel.  The AMA man once again greeted “Joel” with a friendly word, found his number then asked him to verify that he was Joel by telling him Joel’s birthday.  Well… that didn’t work…

In haste Paul spoke, probably a little loudly, “Ok, forget everything I’ve been saying, my name is Paul” Thankfully the AMA person found it amusing and within the next bit of time the flat tire was replaced.  Oddly AMA does not torque your tires for you as it is a liability issue, they just tighten it to a point they think is good.  Paul found this incredibly odd and a bit unsafe, so after the AMA person had finished the paper work, Paul grabbed the torque wrench from our vehicle and tightened the lug nuts (with the proper socket end- borrowed from AMA), two of which were surprisingly loose.

The rest of our family time in Edmonton was filled with delicious meals, tasty drinks and time at Driedmeat Lake/Tillicum Beach which was actually quite nice and didn’t have any sort of smell.  For some reason, with a name like Driedmeat Lake my expectation were incredibly low.

Seeing family in Prince George/Quesnel was equally enjoyable with Paul spending most of his time with his Dad fixing the van (more on this later).  The only real oddity of seeing family again was that in our minds and hearts we had already said goodbye to Paul’s family so it felt we were more haunting the area; we had our closure and now we felt like we were destroying the closure we were provided.

Friends

The reason we started making less stops between Fort St John and Quesnel, via Edmonton was that Fall was approaching the North.  When we woke up in Whitehorse and area, we were greeted by the cool crispy fall morning feeling.  The afternoon sun also seemed to hit the trees in a manner that highlighted the changing colours.  Edmonton and Quesnel became a balancing act between not staying too long, as not to freeze at night as we make our way down south, seeing family and seeing friends.

Thankfully enroute to Edmonton we were able to go into Grande Prairie where we were able to see a couple friends at the brewery, show off our van and hear excitement or changes within their lives, as well as get caught up with the political landscape of Alberta.

In Edmonton Paul was able to have a board game night, move a “little bit of mulch” and have a fire all while catching up.

Similarly, Kendra saw a good friend at a park and caused Paul to be the Designated Driver (for once :P).

Quesnel treated us well again; we truly will miss the people we have gotten to know over the last 7 years.  Kendra seemed to live at the Den, a local coffeeshop, for a few days constantly meeting people she had developed a relationship with.  The evenings were filled with drinks and laughter and often a fire. 

Fixing (the van)

Since the incident where “we” dented the rim(s), we have had the van fixed 4 times, with the time in Nelson being the 5^th time!!  Tire shops seem to becoming a new destination for us, but hopefully this trend ends today.

#1 When we arrived in Edmonton it was top priority to fix the rims (or order new ones).  I went to Fountain tire and showed them the issue and they went to work.   After an hour or so they called me up to the counter, informed me they were able to bang the dents out of the rim and we’d be good to go.  Paul was ecstatic, thanked them and left.

#2 Right before leaving Edmonton Paul was filling up the van with gas (as Kendra was driving that day) and looked down at one of the rims, the rim that had received the largest amount of damage and the tire looked very low.  Paul grabbed the air pressure gauge and realized that the tire only had about 12 psi of air (it is supposed to have 36 psi).
Off to the nearest Fountain tire, unfortunately a different one, and turns out that that the rim was not round and the bead wouldn’t form a seal, so it still leaked air.  Fountain tire did a bit more work on the rim and felt it was good enough for the time being.

After such a big hit in Alaska we were convinced, our alignment would be off.  We’d already started to notice uneven wear patterns on one of the tires so getting an alignment was top of mind.  Kendra had made an appointment at OK tire in Quesnel who informed us that they couldn’t do an alignment as our struts were leaking, one specifically was leaking really badly.  They also informed us that ¾ of our breaks were seized.  To fix everything would be around $3000.  Unfortunately, these are things we had to get fixed.

#3 Paul and his Dad decided to fix the brakes themselves.  Due to supply chain issues getting the right parts was always a day away.  It was a little surprising that the brakes had seized as it was only 2 years ago that we had redone the brakes in the van, but in the time, it looked like I had driven through acid, the corrosion on the brakes was ridiculous.  When we had replaced the brakes last, we learned that the van has “heavy duty brakes” which most Dodge Grand Caravans do not have and those type of brakes require special calipers, rotors and brake pads.  We knew from previous personal experience the wrong calipers or pads would not fit.
We did need a new caliper and after picking it up and taking it home we opened the box and sighed that familiar expletive, they had given us the incorrect caliper. 
Frustratingly I returned to the auto parts store.  The attendant was very confused by the caliper I returned as it wasn’t the caliper that was ordered for me.  The attendant was stumped, but just at that another man talking to a different attendant was heard complaining he was also given the incorrect caliper.  I quickly looked over and started to laugh, he had my caliper and I had his.  We had picked them up at different times but thankfully we’re returning them at the same time.  After a quick swap Paul and his Dad were able to repair the brakes on the van.

#4 We spent the money to get OK tire to fix the struts and do an alignment.  We paid the money and thought we were done with all the repairs…

#5 A few days after leaving Kendra was driving North of Nakusp when all of sudden a horrible clunking noise filled the van.  With every bump or left hand turn we would here CLUNK.  A quick google indicated that it could be a serious concern and was likely related to the work done by OK tire in Quesnel.  The work was on warranty so we decided to quickly drive to Nelson, the location of the nearest OK tire. Every kilometer and ever CLUNK was stressful causing stress headaches for both of us. Thankfully as we sit here, we got a call from OK Tire in Nelson who informed us that the issue was minor, OK tire in Quesnel had improperly installed a sway bar.  OK Tire in Nelson was able to fix it and we are happy to say that after an hour and a half in the shop we have our van back and we are confident to hit the road again.

A certain expletive

Every issue has cost money, time and stress.   Although Paul has a little side gig, we have a budget we have to follow.  When planning this trip, we decided to “Adult” and see a financial advisor on how to do this trip like fiscally responsible people.  By doing so we have various amounts locked into GIC and money in the market.  Lots of this money we can not touch for another 4 months and although we have a rainy day fund, we don’t want to break into it in the first couple months of this journey.  After purchasing health insurance for the next year, vehicle insurance and fixing the van we had spent a month’s budget in 3 days. 

We do feel like we are running out of time, as we sit here in Nelson it is barely above 10 degrees, extremely smoky, and the nights are quite cool.  We want to see more and do more but we feel pressed for time.

Both these issues have been causing a bit of stress causing us to utter, at least once a day a certain expletive, especially when we need to fix the van or go over our daily budget.

 

Our Days on the Road

August 27^th – The Hot Springs in Jasper

While in Edmonton Paul had randomly looked at campsites in Jasper for Saturday and was surprised to see a spot available.  We decided to book it so we could spend a day at Miette Hot Springs.

It was a bit surprising when we arrived at Miette to see a line up out the door.  Looking at the observation area the pools were packed, but we were undeterred. 

Although Paul found the pools nice, Kendra got pretty tired of looking down and seeing pubes float by.  The realization that no one had left the packed pool in the hours we had been there and the heavy chlorine smell was also very concerning as we had learned the smell, we associated with pools is actually the off gas created when urine mixes with Chlorine.  Yum.

After leaving the pool we decided to have a shower and sit by a fire and relax properly for the rest of the night.  We also lucked out with out timing because a week later Jasper had a wildfire destroy some infrastructure and Parks Canada has been encouraging tourists not to visit due to limited power and resources.

September 7^th – Leaving Quesnel again

We woke up in 100 Mile House beside Valentine Lake.  We had planned to drive to Nelson right after Quesnel and with it being such as long drive decided to leave the evening of September 6^th.   The Rec site was packed full of people, we were lucky to even get a spot so instead of feeling confined in a small camp spot we hit the road.  It was recommended the we check out Kentucky Alleyne Provincial Park known for its beautiful glacier blue colour.  Once we had arrived, we were happy we decided to only drive that far.  The lakes in the area were beautiful and perfect to swim in.   We also saw a young couple bring their pet in the water, why is that odd you wonder?  Because their pet was a bearded dragon. Rupert was unwilling to get his feet wet, but the bearded dragon was living its best life.

Regardless it was great to sit beside a lake and think about the road a head.

 

September 8^th – Errands in Kelowna

We stayed at the provincial park as long as we could, but within short order it was time to do some errands in Kelowna, we wanted to get some fresh fruit, drink some cider, get some groceries.  Kendra also wanted to get a hair cut, although she was 9/10, she thought she could do better, now she is a 10/10 :P

It’s funny how errand days seem to take up all your time, by the time Kendra was done her hair appointment it was almost 3pm, so after some googling, we found a rec site on top of a mountain, 12 kilometers up a forestry road.  We had the place to ourselves and with the fire bans removed in BC we were able to play music, have a fire and not worry how late (or early) we went to bed.

 

September 9^th – Kendra’s Decision

As we may have mentioned we trade who makes decisions for the day.  Kendra decided that she wanted to relax in nice hot springs and wash away the memories of Miette so we went to Halfway Hot Springs just north of Nakusp and just as we arrived to the campground all of a sudden, the van started to make a CLUNK noise, which we now know was a loose sway bar but at the time it was incredibly frustrating. We set up our camp prayed it was just a rock lodged somewhere and headed down to the water.  Although not as good a Liard River Hot Springs, Halfway Hot Springs is still a must go.  The natural pools and laissez faire attitude will mean that you will always have interesting conversations, perfect people watching opportunities and late night shenanigans.

Surprisingly we even saw someone we went to Undergrad with at Halfway Hot Springs which made the whole experience that must more special.

 

September 10^th – Okay there is something wrong

Paul didn’t sleep well, he kept tossing and turning thinking about the noise the van was making, so decided we need to get it looked at and with a place open in Nakusp we decided to make our move.  We were still hopeful the it was just a rock and were hoping a drive down a washboard road would dislodge it.  We were wrong and it became pretty evident that we needed to get this issue fixed.

Only one place was open in Nakusp but the person there was only able to look at tires, so he would be no help.  Feeling confident it was an issue with Struts we looked for the nearest OK Tire, which was Nelson and slowly drove to Nelson.  This drive was the longest drive of our trip.  It was stressful with us making note of ever sound, but not acknowledging out loud our individual thoughts, concerns or stresses.

When we arrived at Nelson we had hoped to get the van seen to that day, but everywhere was booked solid, so our plan changed to finding a spot to stay for the night.  Since it was a weekend, all the official campgrounds were booked, so it was recommended we head to a little unofficial campground a local told us about.  Well as soon as we arrived to this unofficial location we decided to leave.  There were “No camping” signs everywhere.  We looked on iOverlander and saw that just up a forest service road was another spot.  After a stressful 3 km drive up a mountain, we had our spot and met another Vanlifer.  It was a breath of fresh air not to talk about the van and instead chat with a stranger about everything and nothing.  Well after that we weren’t really strangers anymore.

 

September 11^th – Parking the Van

We were able to get a camping spot at the Nelson Municipal Campground which we thought would be a better spot for us, so we VERY SLOWLY drove down the mountain into town, slightly annoyed at ourselves for driving all the way up with an unknown vehicle issue, (but hey we have BCAA…right?).

We made it down in one piece and got to the campground without incident.  We set up our camp and decided to explore Nelson on foot.  We learned that is definitely the right way to see the city!  This town is what we’d call a “Hallmark City”.  It’s a cute little mountain down that embraces its arts scene, is oozing with culture and contains countless historical buildings.

We met back up with our Vanlife friend for beers at the end of the night and watched the sun go down and her dog play in the water, while Rupert slept.  It was good way to end the day.

 

September 12^th – FIXED!!!!

We woke up early to be at OK tire when it opened and as you’ve read the van was fixed.  It was even free of charge since it was under warranty. So, we get to spend the rest of the day exploring the alleys of Nelson which contain murals, grabbing a beer at one of the breweries and taking a historic electric tramway trip along Kootenay Lake. 

We are so happy to finally feel like everything is fixed, and hopefully we won’t have any more issues.