Jul 20, 2023 -“Answer Me These Questions Three”

From now on, March 16 will be recognized as ‘Canada Day’ in our household. Not the official Canada Day that falls on July 1 and commemorates the date on which Canada became a self-governing nation. No offense to Canada, but March 16 holds great significance to us. Canada, we’ll celebrate with you on July 1, but we’re going to throw are own party each March 16 in your honor. This is the date on which we waged a battle against Parks Canada and won. It is the day we secured 12 nights at a full hookup campsite in Banff National Park seven days after acquiring 12 nights with full hookup in Jasper National Park. Parks Canada was a worthy opponent and fought hard. But we won!

We were in – we had our reservations for July 22 through August 15. Now, we just had to get there. With 5000 miles of towing between Chokoloskee Island and Banff National Park, anything could happen. The anticipation of experiencing Canada’s magnificent Rockies added a sweetness to our travels, but always in the back of our minds was the thought “will our luck last through 10 weeks of travel?” It became clear from day one that we were going to be tested. And unlike Monty Python’s Arthur King of the Britons, we needed to know more than the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow to pass the series of tests that came our way.

Test #1 presented itself less than 200 miles from home. You can read about our first day of travels in a previous blog, but long story short – one of the RV tire’s was punctured by a screw and needed to be replaced.

Test #2 came to us three week later as we prepared to hitch up and leave Tucson. While checking the hitch, I noticed the ‘set screw and jam nut’ located on the center post was missing. This is a 1/2″ diameter and 3 in long bolt with a nut that keeps the hitch from vibrating at its base. I found it laying in the bed of the truck threaded through a piece of the hitch base that had broke off.

Still able to hitch and move on down the road, we were not in dire straits, but this was a repair (or replacement) that had to be confronted sooner and not later. Vivian examined the piece that broke and recognized it as a weld break. Could it be an easy welding fix?

We passed test #2 with a some good luck and good sense. The break was recognized as an easy fix without an expensive replacement. Lucky that Vivian spoke with a welder on Sunday as we drove across Arizona into California and that he was located in Palm Springs and available the next morning to do the job.

Test #3 came to us two weeks later while we were parked in Lodi, California. During one of her routine suspension inspections, Vivian noticed excessive grease coming from one of the wheel hubs. This was odd as we had the suspension and wheel bearings serviced back in August. Upon contacting them, Lippert, Inc followed through and sent a mobile RV tech to our campsite. Wheel bearing repacked, all good. But, we also learned that one of the axles (not to mention brake pads) would need to be replaced some time soon.

We passed test #3 because as always, Vivian is on top of things with her frequent suspension inspections. When something looks out of place, she follows through and gets the issue addressed one way or another. Luck again was good as we were in the right place at the right time for mobile service call.

At this point, Banff was 5 weeks and 1700 miles away. Before crossing the border, we visited the Lake Tahoe area, and two more national parks among other things including Oregon’s mountains and waterfalls. And just before crossing into Idaho, we had one more spectacular waterfall to view located in the vast prairie region of eastern Washington state. Check out Palouse Falls, a Washington State Park in the middle of nowhere.

Test #4 was the final 30 miles to the border and the process of crossing into Canada. We prepared by researching and making phone calls. Still somewhat confused on what we could and could not bring across the border, we played it safe and got rid of all fresh foods and frozen meat, and whittled down the alcohol to a reasonable amount for two moderate drinkers. On June 20, we were ready to cross over. But first, Idaho’s road repairs would test us through two separate five-mile long single lane (flagman required) construction zones and a torn up gravel road.

Shortly after passing into Canada, the clear sky turned hazy and continued getting hazier. Canada was on fire and we were heading directly into one of its recent wildfires near the town of Cranbrook where we intended to stay a couple nights before heading up to Banff. Test #5 was about to begin.

The next morning, we stepped outside the RV only to find flecks of ash covering everything. The smoke burned our lungs, mountains were invisible – we had to get out of there. The wildfire was not contained and the wind was not in our favor. With remarkable luck, we found a campsite available that evening in Radium Hot Springs, on our way to Banff. So, we left our Cranbrook campground a day early. The further north we got, the clearer became the sky.

We passed test #5 by making the executive decision to get away from wildfire and having the luck to locate a campsite along our route toward Banff. Although we received a refund from our original campground, our new campsite would cost us double. But we were safe, so we thought.

The next day, our route from Radium Hot Springs to Banff would take us up and over the Continental Divide – an initiation into the Canadian Rockies. We were glad we had a relatively short distance to cover so we could take our time, pull off frequently and savor the views.

And then test #6 appeared out of nowhere. Once again with her due diligence, Vivian took a look at the suspension before we hitched up. The last thing she expected was to find a broken leaf spring.

OK, we have a broken leaf spring, which means we can’t go anywhere. Fortunately, it was discovered while parked at a campsite and not on the road, but the problem worsened when we realized we had to leave our campsite. As it were, the campground is a time share, and the owners of our campsite were delayed one day and due to come in the day we were to leave. It was a fluke we got the site for one night but with no other available, we had to move.

The good news was – we carry a spare leaf spring. The bad news was – we had to find someone to install it on a Saturday morning in a location where mobile RV service is non existent. As luck would have it, the campground maintenance guy (I wish I could remember his name!) knew a thing or two about leaf springs having been a freight hauler for years. He volunteered to fix it.

We passed test #6 with flying colors – again Vivian noticed the issue, we were prepared with a spare leaf spring, and grateful recipients of the kindness of a stranger.

It was a beautiful drive, perfect weather, and surprisingly light traffic. That is until we got about 30 miles from Banff where we were caught off guard by an exit ramp closure. This forced us, along with a train of other vehicles to go the opposite direction away from Banff. Eventually, we got turned around and began heading toward Banff, with only 30 miles or so to go.

After a few years of relying on Google Maps, we invested in a GPS programmed for RVs our size. This assures us we will avoid low bridges and tunnels , among other pitfalls. Not this time. This time, our GPS routed us through downtown Banff. – test #7 commenced on the outskirts of the tourist hub and ended about 4 miles away at the entrance of our campground.

Slow and steady, we made it without hitting a tourist or needing to back up the RV. We arrived at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court with great relief. Congratulations! We passed the tests and officially began our visit to one of Canada’s favorite (and first) National Parks! And what a sight to see as we approached the entrance to the campground. This was a good sign of things to come.

Stay tuned for our next few blogs that will include many photos from beautiful Banff and Jasper National Parks, and the Columbia Icefields.

RV TIP

You may have already gleaned a couple tips from this blog but here are two important ones in case you missed them – #1 Carry spare parts. Because we had a spare leaf spring, we could bypass having to find one, which in the case of our Canada situation, would have been next to impossible for us. You are more likely to find someone to replace a broken leaf spring (or you may be able to do it yourself) than you are to find a leaf spring when you are out there on the road. #2 Inspect the suspension!