Spoffords Travel

High Level Alberta to Slave Lake Alberta 308 miles

We had a nice breakfast included at the hotel. The skies are very cloudy with a 70% chance of rain. The car started with only a few attempts. However as we went down the road it was not running well. Rob got out and adjusted some things. We also had to turn around since we were going the wrong way. So much for our early morning navigation skills. Stopped at the gas station to fill up and adjust again. The car keeps over heating. Rain drops are starting to fall but not too many. Still not running well so another tweak. This time the car is hot. Rob let it cool down some and then checked the water level. After adding water the car ran much better the rest of the day. Such a simple fix. Rob thought the timing was the problem. The mosquitos continue to be aggressive, very big and hungry. One of the nearby creeks is called Mosquito Creek for a reason. The landscape started out flat but changed to small hills and trees before long. The road is quite rough and the bridges are worse. Two more board deck bridges that seem as though they could use a few new boards. We came to the Peace River which is one of the more significant rivers in the area. Early on it was the highway in the region. Then came steamboats and a ferry. The bridge wasn’t completed until 1974. Just across the river is the town of Fort Vermillion which was one of the very first settlements in Alberta. We had planned to drive through to see some of the old buildings but it was raining too hard. Not so much fun in the rain. Then came the construction. The asphalt had been removed but none of the new down. This went for at least five miles. The woodie wiggled from side to side the whole way. Very similar to the nasty bridges from earlier in the trip. We got to the junction and a gas station. We stopped to fill up. A couple there asked if we were the ones who had been in Fort Smith earlier. They saw the car on Facebook. We took the junction onto highway 88. That road was in much better condition. Now is one of the longer drives to Red Earth. We did see one fox on the road which quickly ran off. The only other wildlife were many big black crows. We did see several oil wells along the side of the road. Red Earth had one of the more interesting convenience stores. They had a little bit of everything. Food, fishing gear, hunting gear, electronics, and household goods. They even had a fast food counter. The owner said that because they were out in the middle of nowhere they needed to stock a little bit of just about everything. Somehow a dragonfly got in the car, flew past us and out the small opening in the windshield. That sure was a surprise. At one point the rain was coming down so hard the car sputtered and nearly died several times. Luckily it didn’t last too long. Slave Lake is a little bigger town. They even have a McDonalds. Our room really smelled of cigarettes so they allowed us to change rooms. The second one was much better. We went out to dinner at a Chinese/Canadian restaurant. Nice change of pace and very tasty.

Hay River Northwest Territory to High Level Alberta 197 miles

Day 2 of our back tracking. The skies are mostly clear and the temperature is cool. The woodie was reluctant to start again this morning. Down the road to the gas station we have been using every time in Hay River. We didn’t have to put in much so the cashier was concerned something was wrong with the pump. She indicated at least two stations with gas before High Level. We are somewhat concerned because this was the stretch where we ran out of gas. We are still in the Wood Bison National Park but we didn’t see any bison today. We did see two cranes (the birds) in the barrow pit. We came to the 60th parallel which is the border between Northwest Territory and Alberta. We stopped for lunch at one of the pull outs. All they have is a few places to park and trash barrels. Restrooms are at a premium. At one point we saw a dark animal cross the road. It was too far in front of us to determine for sure what it was. Later we learned it might have been a wolverine. We stopped twice for gas fill ups so we would not run out this time. Lots of bees, dragonflies and mosquitos again today. We arrived in High Level a little after 2 pm. Plenty of time to do the errands we wanted to do. We checked into our hotel and dropped off luggage. Our room actually has a fake fireplace. It probably helps keep you warm when the outside temperature gets to -40F. Might feel really good in the winter. Then off to the Visitors Center for some information. The young man there was very helpful on where gas stations might be on our proposed route. The local museum is in the same building so we looked at that. Very well done. They had several different furs on display. One was a fisher. Well we had never heard of that animal. Learned that it is a member of the same family as a weasel. They are only found in Canada. The museum also had shelves set up as if it was a Hudson Bay Company Trading Post. They had lots of old cans and jars of goods. Most interesting. Then we are off to the bank to get some cash. The first bank had the doors locked. While preparing to leave a man came up asking for money to purchase alcohol for himself and his friends. We declined. In the next block was another bank. While stopped for that one couple in a classic era Cadillac stopped. He was super friendly. Offered his help with tools and/or labor. Next stop the grocery store. Another really nice place. A sign on the door said that August 1 is a Civic Holiday. Wonder how that will affect businesses. When we got back Connie did the laundry. That cost $3 to wash and $2 to dry. Unfortunately the clothes didn’t all get dry so they had to be hung in the room over night. Rob re-timed the woodie and cleaned bugs out of the radiator.

Fort Smith British Columbia to Hay River British Columbia 177 miles

We ate oatmeal we brought with us for breakfast along with tea and coffee. Rob loaded the car and then tried to start the car while Connie brushed the dragonflies off the radiator. Must have been at least ten big ones. The car started after several tries so we are good to go. Rob texted Carla to say we had left her place. We went to the gas station we used yesterday but it is closed. A resident was filling and he said a Petro station was down the road a little ways. We should see a sign. The sign was further down the road than expected and the station didn’t sit on the main highway. The place was busy however. Connie tried to add the station to Gas Buddy but couldn’t find the way to do so. Back on the highway headed back to Hay River when Connie realized she had forgotten the thermos we use for drinking water. Since these are so nice and fit in our holder we turned around. When we arrived back at the apartment, Rob tried numerous times to call Carla to say we had left something. Shortly after ten she called saying she just woke up and would be there shortly. By 10:15 we are truly on our way. Sights are the same as yesterday just in reverse. The skies are cloudy but only one small rain shower. By the time we reached Hay River the skies were mostly sunny. We saw the lone bull bison again. This time he was laying on the opposite side of the road. One of the shifty ones. 15-20 miles later a herd of bison were standing all across the road. They didn’t seem the least bit interested in moving. Rob tried honking both horns but they didn’t even look up. We turned off the car and waited about 20 minutes for them to clear one lane. We drove by very slowly and without incident. Even further down the road was another smaller herd but they were in the grass between the road and the trees. Eventually we saw two more lone bulls. Traffic is extremely light today. We didn’t see hardly any cars or trucks. We ate lunch at one of the trash stops. We did not go dumpster diving for lunch. Lots of mosquitos, dragonflies, flies and bees. No wonder the bison’s tails were always so busy. When we got close to the turn onto the highway to Hay River, Connie used Google to get directions to the hotel. It showed 169 miles. Oh my gosh what else could go wrong today? Where is this hotel that gave an address of Hay River? We are about 10 miles from town. We pulled into the gas station we had used before. One of the same guys came out to talk. He said the motor inn was in town about 5 minutes away. He made our day. We took a short rest after getting to the hotel. Then out to the grocery store to get supper and breakfast. The store had Kirkland toilet paper for sale just inside the door. Where is the closest Costco? Up on high shelves the store had lots of different antique household and farming items. The bakery section was surprisingly large. After supper Rob changed the points in the car and tweaked the timing. Forgot to mention that the license plates in the Northwest Territory are in the shape of a bear.

Hay River Northwest Territory to Fort Smith Northwest Territory 183 miles

Skies are once again very cloudy but no rain. Rob loaded the car while Connie brushed the dead bees out of the radiator grill. There were lots of bees. The car took some coaxing to get started but it finally started. We decided to drive a little around town and perhaps out to the Great Slave Lake. A guy stopped us asking for money for a good cause which was to buy him something. On out to the river past some pretty tough houses. A couple were cover in plastic to keep out the weather. We got to the lake but once again it’s hidden by trees. We did finally come to a small opening. The lake is very large. The opposite shoreline can’t be seen. Time to get going because we have a long day planned. We filled up once more with gas because no gas is available for 170 miles. That is right on the edge of what we can do. Patches of previous forest fires are along the road. Trees have started back but they are still short. The road has its usual rough spots so you must stay alert. Part of the trip was through the Wood Buffalo Preserve. We could see past and current buffalo manure. Finally we came to a small herd laying along side the road. They were in the shade which made them difficult to see. Shortly after we left the preserve we saw a lone male buffalo laying on a small hill. Traffic is light. Not much going on to see. We got to Fort Smith where we planned to fuel. We had a terrible time finding any gas pumps. When we did you needed a special card. A lady did come out of a nearby building offering help. She returned to the office and got a card so we could use the pumps. When Rob went into pay he learned that you can only go south in the winter when the water freezes over. The only way to go south is to return to Hay River and then retrace about the last three days. Rob was not happy about that. He wanted to stay in Fort Smith tonight and tackle the return tomorrow. Only problem is that all the hotels, campgrounds and B and Bs are booked full because of construction and a paddle fest. The suggestion was to check with the visitors center. In the mean time a newspaper journalist stopped and wanted to do a story. We must be one of the most interesting events in town. We will be in Monday’s edition. Numerous people stopped to photograph the car. Rob noticed we had lots of dragon flys stuck to the radiator grill. Not surprising since we had driven through thousands of them for a ways. We finally got away enough from the crowd to cancel our reservations for the next two nights. Won’t be going to either of those places. Next stop Visitors Center. A young lady who works for CBC broadcasting company offered us the granny apartment where she lives. She will stay with a friend. We followed her to a very small apartment. She suggested we go have dinner while she cleaned up. So we went to Anna’s Home Cooking where we had pizza. I think we met the other half of town. This evening the mosquitos moved in for something other than pizza. The bug spray helps but some of them are VERY hungry.

Manning Alberta to Hay River Northwest Territory 316 miles

We got up a little earlier today because we knew we had a long day. The sky is mostly blue with a predicted high of 91 degrees. Only two degrees short of the record. We drive along more farms. Although we see lots of hay bales we don’t see much livestock of any kind. Before long the landscape changes and we are back in the forest. This area has more birch trees than before. They are very tall with branches only near the top. This is supposed to be moose country but I don’t know how a moose could get through the trees. We did see two deer along the side of the road. A little before that we saw a mother duck escorting her ducklings across the road. Must have been at least ten of them. We drove along for at least 20 miles where the trees had burned on both sides of the road. The brush has started to grow again so the fire must have been a few years ago. It came close to the town of High Level. Some patches of road are really good and some are really bad. Bridges seem particularly bad. Not many recreational vehicles today. But another police car. Alberta must have more than British Columbia. We had our cheese and cracker lunch along the side of the road. A semi stopped to be sure we were okay. Turnouts are few and far between. The temperature is cooling down as we go north and the skies are very cloudy. Eventually it does begin to rain. We got within 10 miles of Hay River when the car ran out of gas. We coasted to the entrance of a gas station that sat back off the road. Rob and I started pushing and then three other guys came up to help. We made it to the pumps where Rob put in 11.01 gallons in a 10 gallon tank. One of the guys said the price had just gone down this week. We are staying in a two bedroom fully furnished apartment tonight. Guess we should have stayed longer.

Fort St John British Columbia to Manning Alberta 242 miles

Today is sunny and already warm. Part of that heat warning. We checked for a coin laundry but couldn’t find one. The front desk said they had one machine just around the corner. Cost is $2.50 Canadian to wash and another $2.50 to dry. So we got our clothes and started the process while we ate breakfast and packed up. Woodie started on the first try this time. We stopped for gas and headed down the road. The countryside is much more open with some agricultural spots. That also means there are a few houses along the way. Oil fields are in the area somewhere but we didn’t see them until later. The town of Taylor has a big processing plant for some kind of fuel. At the end of town is a long bridge with metal mesh deck. This was the worst one yet. The car really wobbled from side to side and there were big trucks coming from the other way. We sure were glad to get across that. On the other side is a long steep incline. On the way up Rob decided to look at the bigger picture of our travel. Oh No!!! We are going the wrong way. We were supposed to take a different highway out of Fort St John. So we turned around, went down the hill (very slowly) and across the wobbly bridge again. Got back to Fort St John and filled up again just in case. That added 35 miles to our day’s total. Just our luck the highway out of town has major construction so the road is closed for several blocks. It’s nearly 11 am and we are finally going the correct way. The road came to a hill with a sign stating slide area. Well part of the road had slid off the side. The remaining road had really large frost heaves that were as much as a foot higher on one side of the car as compared to the other. That made the woodie do strange things. Got through that area and the terrain got really flat with huge fields. Three crops dominated the landscape. One was grass hay baled in huge round bales wrapped in some kind or mesh or three wraps of twine. Next and most popular was canola with very bright yellow blooms. Finally there was some kind of grain that had not yet turned yellow. Virtually no fences and no weeds. Farm yards were scattered every few miles. Now throw in a few big logging trucks rather than fuel trucks. We crossed into the province of Alberta. Rest areas don’t exist on this road only an occasional turn out. Not even a litter barrel. We ended up eating our sandwich in a heritage park with a little bit of shade. A police car passed us. The first one we have seen in Canada. Next fuel stop we had a Magnum ice cream bar to help cool off. When we were nearly to Manning we encountered a small rain shower. That helped cool us down temporarily. Something to note. Vegetables and fruits are sold by the pound. Meat is sometimes sold by the pound and sometimes by grams. Most everything else is in grams or liters. Apples yesterday were $3.99 Canadian per pound. That makes them $3.11 in US currency. We are the only guests in the hotel tonight. Conveniently a fish and chips food truck is in the nearby parking lot. We bought one order and spilt it. One big piece of fish and a pound of fries cost around $15.50 in US dollars. Gas is back under $6.00 US per gallon. However, odds are that low price will go up before we reach the east coast. We spent about an hour trying to find a room to rent for two days from now. Several towns/hamlets are fully booked along our intended path. We are competing for lodging with oil and construction workers.

Fort Nelson British Columbia to Fort St John British Columbia 241 miles

The morning looks partially cloudy but no rain. The forecast says a severe heat advisory has been issued for the next couple of days. The high in Fort Nelson for today is listed as 85 degrees. Obviously severe heat is different here. This hotel actually has a breakfast included. They aren’t real good about keeping it stocked however. Rob had to make one more adjustment to the car before it would start. Much better than requiring a push. First stop for the day is the local Napa store to buy a spare oil filter. That was successful. Then a fuel stop before departing town. We are headed south and some east. The road is much straighter but still up and down hills. The big mountains are further in the distance but still primarily forest. We go in and out of mostly sunny. The clouds we do see are fluffy white ones. No wildlife spotting even though signs keep warning of wildlife. Not much traffic on the road but more semis. Almost all of the locals carry spare gas cans. Cell coverage is still only in bigger towns. We stopped for gas at a fuel point but it kept refusing our credit card. The lady in the store said try another card or go to the next stop about 30 km down the road. Shortly after leaving the stop our credit card company sent a text asking if we had spent $116.90 at that stop. Well we quickly pulled off on the side of the road while we still had coverage. Rob called the company to say we had not spent that money and to be sure our card wouldn’t be compromised. All is good. While we were stopped two motorcyclists stopped to be sure we were okay. A couple of hundred feet from the entrance to the next fuel stop was a flagger. She did allow us to go around and into the gas pumps. This place only took cash. Explains why not many were there. They charged an even $50 Canadian. Not sure what if anything the pump said. Most of the usual gauges were covered with dark tape. We were probably one of their only sales for the day. We pulled up to the road and waited for our turn to go. Several of the hills are long up hill grades with no curves. Rob had to go all the way down to first gear for one of them. The space from the edge of the road to the tree line is much wider on this highway. We have seen several mowers out cutting the weeds and new trees. In some cases they are baling the grass. We found our lodging without much trouble. After unloading we are off to the grocery store to buy something for supper. Rob had some difficulty booking a room in Hay River, Northwest Territory. Reservation clerk said she would send us an email tomorrow. The room rate is still a mystery. I think it is a popular place to vacation. Overall it was another good day. The Woodie liked the backup carburetor and ran very well today.