Welcome home Truckin. Sounds like you had a great time. Pictures? 
Back from Canada: 3,500+ miles only 4 Ridge sightings!
Hi, buddies. We got back a couple of weeks ago but I had a lot of catch up to do before I could just play on the computer again. I missed being able to post and read what everyone is discussing. It will be a while before I get through the best of what I missed the last several weeks.
We saw our first Ridgeline the first day of our trip. We stopped in Blackfoot, Idaho to gas up and eat our lunch. I spotted a black RL parked at an insurance business in town.
It was our second week in Canada before we saw our first Ridge up there. It was a miserably rainy day. We were on a Forestry Trunk Road (40?) heading south out of Hinton toward Nordegg, AB. I got a bare glimpse. It was Ammonite Green.
We got splattered repeatedly by gas and coal trucks on that road. By the time we got off that road our Blue was covered with a layer of wet silt and you couldn't tell what color it was. We didn't spend enough time in towns to find a car wash so we were glad when subsequent rainstorms washed most of the mud off. She didn't get a proper washing until we got home. That drove both of us nuts.
The last two sightings could have been the same truck, as we saw a black one in the same vicinity about 4 days apart. We were on the east-west highway just between South Slocan and Nelson, BC.
I have no clue if we were ever spotted by the other drivers. They were very brief glimpses.
We were surprised to have so few sightings. We are thankful that we did not see as many Ridgelines as PT Cruisers. They were everywhere in the park system. I like them, but enough, already.
We got to show our truck off many times during our trip. The most fun encounter happened in Canmore. We'd gone to the grocery store and as we were getting back to our truck with our groceries, we were hailed by an enthusiastic man. He wanted to know how we liked our truck. We told him we love it and found out he had one on order, then we understood why he was anxious to talk to us.
Our truck made the trip much more pleasant than it would have been in our old Trooper. It was a nice ride.
We saw our first Ridgeline the first day of our trip. We stopped in Blackfoot, Idaho to gas up and eat our lunch. I spotted a black RL parked at an insurance business in town.
It was our second week in Canada before we saw our first Ridge up there. It was a miserably rainy day. We were on a Forestry Trunk Road (40?) heading south out of Hinton toward Nordegg, AB. I got a bare glimpse. It was Ammonite Green.
We got splattered repeatedly by gas and coal trucks on that road. By the time we got off that road our Blue was covered with a layer of wet silt and you couldn't tell what color it was. We didn't spend enough time in towns to find a car wash so we were glad when subsequent rainstorms washed most of the mud off. She didn't get a proper washing until we got home. That drove both of us nuts.
The last two sightings could have been the same truck, as we saw a black one in the same vicinity about 4 days apart. We were on the east-west highway just between South Slocan and Nelson, BC.
I have no clue if we were ever spotted by the other drivers. They were very brief glimpses.
We were surprised to have so few sightings. We are thankful that we did not see as many Ridgelines as PT Cruisers. They were everywhere in the park system. I like them, but enough, already.
We got to show our truck off many times during our trip. The most fun encounter happened in Canmore. We'd gone to the grocery store and as we were getting back to our truck with our groceries, we were hailed by an enthusiastic man. He wanted to know how we liked our truck. We told him we love it and found out he had one on order, then we understood why he was anxious to talk to us.
Our truck made the trip much more pleasant than it would have been in our old Trooper. It was a nice ride.
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Thanks for the welcome back. It's great to be home, but I love Canada more each visit.
We took the Ridge into some fabulous country. Of course I have thousands of photos! It will be a bit before I get serious about looking through all of the digital ones, but I'll try to post some soon.
We took the Ridge into some fabulous country. Of course I have thousands of photos! It will be a bit before I get serious about looking through all of the digital ones, but I'll try to post some soon.
You missed ours in Canmore, and there is a Green one there too.
We shure get a lot of looks still (my wife drives it daily).
My daily driver is a Dodge/Cummins 6 spd.
You did quite a bit of exploring!
We shure get a lot of looks still (my wife drives it daily).
My daily driver is a Dodge/Cummins 6 spd.
You did quite a bit of exploring!
I am sorry we missed you too. We were only in Canmore three days and we spent most of those days in Banff. It would have been very fun to have actually met and talked to a Canadian owner.
We had a fabulous trip and, yes, we covered a lot of territory. It was our first trip to the Canadian Rockies and I wanted to see as much as we could cram into three weeks.
I'm having some issues with my photo program, so posting pics will take more time than I wish it would. I actually haven't even viewed all my digital pics yet. I just dumped them on my iPod until I can get the computer working better.
We had a fabulous trip and, yes, we covered a lot of territory. It was our first trip to the Canadian Rockies and I wanted to see as much as we could cram into three weeks.
I'm having some issues with my photo program, so posting pics will take more time than I wish it would. I actually haven't even viewed all my digital pics yet. I just dumped them on my iPod until I can get the computer working better.
Should have gone west of the Rockies to the coast.
If any of you ever decide to come up to the west coast of Canada (Vancouver area). Send me a PM and I'll meet up with you. Show you around a bit. 2010 Winter Olympics is coming up (Whistler, BC).
If any of you ever decide to come up to the west coast of Canada (Vancouver area). Send me a PM and I'll meet up with you. Show you around a bit. 2010 Winter Olympics is coming up (Whistler, BC).
We were exploring new areas this time. I do want to return to the Vancouver area, but it may take a while to save up for another huge trip. Thanks for the offer to meet. I'm sure there are other ROCers that will like that offer too.
Glad to hear about the long ride. We've got one coming up in December, and were hoping it will be comfortable.
By the time I return to Edmonton I'll have approx. 5000+ KMs on my Ridge. 4500 of them racked up between Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina.
YOU WILL BE COMFORTABLE!!!!!
My 80 yr. old Mom and 84 yr. old aunt were with me yesterday driving from Saskatoon to Regina and back..about 500 km round trip. They sat in the back and were very comfortable... yakin', sleepin, and playin' cards. Every once and I while I had to turn up the music.
YOU WILL BE COMFORTABLE!!!!!
My 80 yr. old Mom and 84 yr. old aunt were with me yesterday driving from Saskatoon to Regina and back..about 500 km round trip. They sat in the back and were very comfortable... yakin', sleepin, and playin' cards. Every once and I while I had to turn up the music.
It is "highway" 40 south to Coalspur and then it changes to Forestry Trunk road 734 to Nordegg and points south. Spent 6 years in one of the coal mines south of Hinton. The coal trucks you saw were likely from the newly opened Cheviot Mine which is jointly owned by Fording Coal and Teck Cominco. The whole area has a very interesting history.Truckin' said:It was our second week in Canada before we saw our first Ridge up there. It was a miserably rainy day. We were on a Forestry Trunk Road (40?) heading south out of Hinton toward Nordegg, AB. I got a bare glimpse. It was Amazon Green.
We got splattered repeatedly by gas and coal trucks on that road. By the time we got off that road our Blue was covered with a layer of wet silt and you couldn't tell what color it was. We didn't spend enough time in towns to find a car wash so we were glad when subsequent rainstorms washed most of the mud off. She didn't get a proper washing until we got home. That drove both of us nuts.
http://www.albertaheritage.net/article/articles/coal_branch.html
You certainly like to take "the road less travelled"! Good on ya!
Truckin', welcome back and I also look forward to your pictures and more details about your trip since we hope to be up there next August.Truckin' said:We were on a Forestry Trunk Road (40?) heading south out of Hinton toward Nordegg, AB. I got a bare glimpse. It was Amazon Green.
We got splattered repeatedly by gas and coal trucks on that road. By the time we got off that road our Blue was covered with a layer of wet silt and you couldn't tell what color it was.
Also, thanks for this little tid bit (and Skywalker) . We will want to avoid that road!!!
My intent was not to discourage anyone from taking this road. I must have travelled Hwy 40 south about 3500 times in my years up there (The reason the first 12 km has upgraded pavement is the direct result of a little video I made and sent to the transportation minister!) It is a beautiful area that parallels the foothills of the Rockies and is far more interesting a drive than highway 2 between Edmonton and Calgary. Sure the majority of the forestry road gets a little muddy when wet, or dusty when dry, but when you have the opportunity to see bighorn sheep, bears, moose, wolves, coyotes, great horned owls, etc.... then it is worth the drive.RidgeOwner3 said:Also, thanks for this little tid bit (and Skywalker) . We will want to avoid that road!!!
Thanks for the interesting back story about the coal area. It was a deliberate effort on my part in planning this trip to explore and avoid cities. You make me want to drive it again. All the mountains were obscured by the clouds and we didn't see any wildlife on our drive.Skywalker said:You certainly like to take "the road less travelled"! Good on ya!
I would in no way discourage anyone from taking this road unless you are one of those "my vehicle never leaves the pavement" types or it's a day with nasty weather. We didn't expect the heavy rain we got that day and it prevented us from seeing more than the areas close to the road. It made it a long, hypnotic drive in the pouring rain. I still LOVED it.
The hosts at our B&B said they would have discouraged us from taking the road, so I'm glad we didn't talk to them before setting out. Instead, I inquired with a friendly woman at a c-store in Hinton. She was familiar with the road and said it would be in fine condition. It was. The road base was hard and we had no ruts or sliding.
We also took Forestry Trunk road 40 north from Frank Slide up through the Kananaskis on our way to Canmore. That was a brilliantly sunny day, one of the few we had. What a stupendous drive! I would absolutely recommend it to anyone wanting to see some stunning scenery and wildlife (mountain sheep). Make sure you stop and Livingstone falls.
Ah.. Kananaskis ("meeting of the waters")... one of my favorite places in all of Alberta. Followed closely by Dinosaur Provincial Park (the Badlands) near Brooks, Jasper Park west of Hinton, Willmore Wilderness Park (avoid the trails and hike the ridge tops instead!), Waterton Lakes National Park, Elbow Valley, Sheep River, the Whale back, Icefield Parkway (one of the most scenic drives), Ghost River, Crowsnest, Cypress Hills Provincial Park, best stop there. This list could go on and on....
Please do! I'm printing this discussion now for my trip file. Thanks for all the advice. (From your description of road 40, it sounds great! I was just a little concerned about the "splattered by coal trucks" and "covered in silt" comments, but sounds like that's nothing that can't be washed off without damage to the truck.)Skywalker said:This list could go on and on....
Great list. We only saw a fraction of the places you mentioned. It just means we have to go back.Skywalker said:Ah.. Kananaskis ("meeting of the waters")... one of my favorite places in all of Alberta. Followed closely by Dinosaur Provincial Park (the Badlands) near Brooks, Jasper Park west of Hinton, Willmore Wilderness Park (avoid the trails and hike the ridge tops instead!), Waterton Lakes National Park, Elbow Valley, Sheep River, the Whale back, Icefield Parkway (one of the most scenic drives), Ghost River, Crowsnest, Cypress Hills Provincial Park, best stop there. This list could go on and on....
The silt layer just made our Ridge look like a silver (Ladyridge) for a while. However, there were residual collections along the running boards, etc. that didn't go away until it got a proper washing.
Truckin' said:The silt layer just made our Ridge look like a silver (Ladyridge) for a while.
If any ROCers are heading out to Alberta (or for that matter anywhere in western Canada) and are looking for some travel advice, just pm me and I would be more than happy to tell you where to go... so to speak
So much to see... so little time.
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