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Mon.5/6-Fri.5/10:  The Week-Long Brake Job.

Well I had a pretty bad experience with getting my brakes fixed. I came down a big hill west of Calgary and felt pulsing and vibration from the RF brake.  Took it to a place called Canadian Tire on Monday in Cochrane,AB.

Big Mistake.

They put on new rotors/pads,checked the rears and I also got an alignment.  They got it all done and I headed down the highway (with many mountains ahead of me) and it pulled hard to the right. The manager drove it around town for a while and when he pulled back to the shop, the RF brake was pouring out smoke.

They took it apart to find that both calipers had froze up and burnt the new rotors/pads.  They ordered all new parts and would redo them the next mornig (Tues.) but this time with rebuilt calipers. They finally got it done at 4pm and the 'mechanic' road-tested it but when he came back, you could smell brakes burning. Both calipers again were freezing up.

They said they would try again on Wed. and ordered all new parts AGAIN but this time included new brake hoses. I then later told them I wanted a refund and would find another shop.  They did refund everything but the cost of the alignment and the guys at NAPA recommended a local 2-man indy shop who was supposed to be really good and reasonably priced.

Talked to his help on Wed. AM but the guy was at the doctor and wouldn't be in that day OR the next (Thurs).

Finally, on Friday I got them fixed at another place but they had to order calipers again because one of the other rebuilts was leaking at the seal. I was lucky that the second road test hadn't got them too hot and burnt the pads or warped the rotors like the first time around.

Anyway, I'm back on the road and now in Prince George,BC.  The drive thru Jasper National Park was amazing. I took some pics but will post later as I need to catch the (rescheduled) ferry.
 
slow2day said:
Mon.5/6-Fri.5/10:  The Week-Long Brake Job.
...
Anyway, I'm back on the road and now in Prince George,BC.  The drive thru Jasper National Park was amazing. I took some pics but will post later as I need to catch the (rescheduled) ferry.

Glad you got to see Banff/Jasper.  I got caught in a major snow storm last Sept.  The highs were in the upper 20s. 

I usually stay at Ma-Ma Ya RV park about 8 miles south of Price George.  PG is the last major city before you reach the coast.  Sorry about your brakes.
 
mpruet said:
.....I got caught in a major snow storm last Sept.  The highs were in the upper 20s. 

Well, I'm hoping that in early Oct. the weather will be OK for me to head down the Cassiar. At least to Prince Rupert  as I plan to take the ferry again to Vancouver Island. I've committed to the end of Sept. but if the weather starts looking nasty, I may have to bug out early.   I know it can be very unpredictable.

I stayed at a quiet rest area last night in BC west of Jasper. There are "No Idling" signs posted, so none of the 5 or so semis kept me awake at all.  Much different from most RA's in the US.
 
Use a site http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/ to find our free (or cheap) campsites all over the province of BC. Must pay attention to access notes though since some of them are definitely only good for 4 wheel drive.

I just spent a glorious day and night at one about an hour south of PG while on my way to my summer job and I use them and BC Hydro free campsites as much as I can.

There should be several on your way out to Prince Rupert and I know there's a wealth of them on Vancouver Island that you might want to use on your way south in the fall.

Oh and I avoid Canadian Tire for anything but shopping. Batteries are ok, tires are cheaper if they've got what you want but mechanical service is IMO horrible. Wish you had of asked before you took it there! Sorry you  had such a bad experience but it's kind of typical.
 
Thanks for the link AT. That will come in handy when I hit Vancouver. After losing 4 days in AB, I've been in a bit of a hurry, which is something I wanted to avoid. 

Saturday started out with a beautiful drive from Jasper out to Prince George. 72 degrees, a very nice highway and hardly any traffic. It was a different story when I got to Pr. George where I found it to be very busy. Typical Sat. bustle for a regional shopping destination.

To be sure to make it to Pr. Rupert on time, I kept driving and planned to stay at a Walmart in Smithers. Only thing is, there is no WM in Smithers. I spaced out and got my planned stop locations mixed up. I was burned out after driving 400 miles over twisty mountain roads and slow drives thru little towns and got into Smithers at midnight.  There was a rest area just west of there but it was posted "No overnight parking".  I didn't want to chance a ticket, so I drove back to Smithers and spent the night at the city tourist info kiosk. Nothing was posted about overnight stays and I was dead tired, so I took the chance.

Not to worry. No problem.

About 100 miles west of Smithers there was a forest fire and as I approached it, I thought for sure the road wase closed.  Traffic was backed up and there were dozens of cars stopped but the slowdown was because of all the gawkers who stopped to watch it.  Afters 15 minutes or so, I made it through.

I rescheduled the ferry to 5/17 but my employer wants me to try to catch the Tues. 5/14 ferry on standby. I arrived in Pr. Rupert last night and have applied for a waitlist spot.

It leaves at 3am and I'll need to be there at midnight tonight. If I don't catch this one, I'll just have to stay in a holding pattern until 5/17.

Here's a few pics from Jasper. I've sized them pretty small and they really can't show how fantastic that area is. I've driven many miles thru mountains in Colorado, Montana,Idaho,etc. but the Canadian Rockies at Jasper just seem to be more scenic.

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Because of ferry scheduling mistakes, I've had to take a detour to Skagway, which is the ultimate tourist trap. I've been camping at the nearby NPS campground for the past couple of days while waiting for the ferry on Monday evening.


Here's a pic of Nahku Bay located on the drive up to the NPS campground.

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Since I'm a gearhead, I'd almost rather take pics of old vehicles than the scenery. The Model A Ford for sale is a 1930. My dad drove a '29 from Minneapolis to LA in 1932.

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I didn't stay at this hotel but all of us guys have been at similar lodging at one time or another.

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Well the job didn't turn out so great for several reasons (that I won't go into). Anyway, I caught the ferry to Skagway and then headed north towards Whitehorse and the Alaska highway.

Just north of Skagway I saw several cars stopped and folks with cameras out and pointed over to the side of a mountain.  There was a mama grizzly bear with her half-grown cub ambling along through the rocks about 200 feet away.

A local guy I spoke to said the mama was probably about 800 lbs.

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slow2day said:
Tomorrow I'll be leaving Sierra Vista for a working vacation in Hoonah,AK.  Shuttle van driver at a cruise ship destination called Icy Strait Point.

Hope my old Ford makes it.

Truck should be fine as the ferry is the only way to Hoonah I think. I have been over "the road" 11 times to AK but only once dragging my trailer in 2015-16. It wasted the suspension on both so I installed new lifted on both.
 
RoamerRV428 said:
great adventures and very cool momma bear pic!

Yeah, I've finally seen a grizzly bear! I saw several mama black bears,too. One with 3 cubs in tow, feeding by the side of the road.

I saw several elk (and one that I almost hit), a couple of whales and seals and a whole herd of buffalo.

Never did see a moose though. Next trip...
 
Seeker/Wanderer said:
Truck should be fine...

Well, it's 6,500 miles later and it's still going fine.  Runs a little rough but I'm still getting 17+MPG.

I'm now in Montana and will spend the summer up north here somewhere.
 

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