In part one of day one we traveled from Lethbridge to the Crowsness Pass then along a washboard gravel road. In part two we drive through scenic Kananaskis back in the prairies again. We start this installment by cresting the Highwood pass at an elevation of 7239 ft. Due to an extremely hot and dry summer some of the trees have already started to turn color.
I do not recall ever driving in this particular area but the scenery is stunning.
Next up was a lake where these girls from a bachelorette party were pulling out a boat. The Pontiac guys (I think) managed to get the whole group to pose on top of their car.
Another scenic gravel road with many, many Texas gates followed.
We had a short stint along the Trans Canada highway where we got many reactions that ranged from puzzled to angry to laughing from the passing lane. This car attracted more attention than a Ferrari.
We topped up our fuel again and like expected the slower speeds meant much better fuel economy. The dust had got everywhere even in our relatively modern and well sealed car. Any of those braving classic cars surely got covered.
We stopped for a quick bite to eat in Cochrane where it was amusing to watch passerby’s reactions to our car from inside the restaurant. Many cellphone photos were taken and more than a few heads were shaken.
We headed north and the landscape changed from flat prairie to prairie with some rolling hills and trees.
We came across this church for sale in case anyone is looking for one to purchase. I wonder if the vintage tractor is included.
We finally connected with a few other vehicles in this small town of Water Valley.
We were supposed to pump and buy exactly $11.11 of gasoline at this rural gas station with its old school pumps but it closed at 6pm, well before our arrival. Probably just as well as our poorly planned previous fill up meant we could not have put in that much in.
Some sort of local celebration was underway with fireworks planned but we pressed on so we could arrive at the campsite before dark.
We spotted this Ford Mustang II convertible near the day’s final destination. It looked not bad for an aftermarket conversion. It obviously belonged to a Mustang II connoisseur as at least three others rested nearby. Would have made for a nice beater challenge car with the no roof bonus points.
We caught sight of the Mazda Bongo truck in Carstairs and followed him to the campground.
Last year we missed out on camping due to a torrential rain storm but this year the weather was warm and dry. I would have loved to see the reactions of the other campers to the arrival of our motley crew and ragtag vehicles. A few of the more hardy folks camped in their vehicles for bonus points. A few of the less hardy ones stayed at the hotel across the road. We choose the middle ground in tents.
One team had some chalk spray paint and left a few messages on a handful of cars. Luckily it washed off easily.
Unlike last year I had no mechanical maladies to report. The Civic was dusty but as intact as it was at the starting line minus the passenger side window wiper blade that fell off during the washboard gravel section. As you can see above panel fit is no longer a strong suit of this particular cosmetically challenged Civic.
There were a few issues from some of the other teams. The Jurassic Park Ford Explorer developed a transmission fluid leak and had to be towed for a short stint after running dry. Amazingly they were revived and completed the rest of the stage after adding transmission fluid. The Firebird fought some charging issues and planned to replace their alternator at the next reasonable size town in the morning.
After dark the farm trucks were the last to arrive. It was a slow, rough ride for them over the gravel sections.
After tents were set up and stories exchanged we caught some well deserved sleep. Tomorrow we have a ferry crossing as well as a date with dinosaurs.
The whole series:
Vehicle Selection and Preparation
Day One Part One: Tarmac, Gravel, Tarmac and more Gravel
Day One Part Two: Out into the Prairie
Day Two Part One: Dinosaur Hunting
Day Two Part Two – Bridges, Pipes and Star Trek
Boy-O, that looks like a lot of fun.
Happy memories of Kananaskis, my Uncle lived in a house trailer near Mount Kidd RV Park during the time he was a Parks employee. There was a little quiet loop for resident workers. What a place to live, during the week I spent visiting I would just stand outside and go “Wow….wow….wow….”
I’ll bet I’ve been on that gravel road too, because my Uncle also built a home in Water Valley which he still owned during my visit but later sold.
I wonder if that Mustang II convertible was a one-off by the owner or whether some coachbuilder made it – would make for an interesting CC. There is a guy here in Barbados that had a host of scrapped Mustang IIs plus a Fox body 2.3, but now he is down to two Mustang IIs parked side by side that haven’t run in years and are probably beyond redemption like these two here.
I guess that is one way to make tent camping seem like a gleaming oasis of luxury – drive hundreds of miles across bad roads in an old farm truck. 🙂
The thing with the Explorer transmission does not surprise me. I once had the C5 in my 86 Marquis wagon get so low on fluid that it would rev for maybe 3 seconds then slam forward once pressure built up. A vacuum diaphragm in the modulator had ruptured and the engine vacuum was sucking fluid into the combustion chambers. I diagnosed it, fixed it and filled it and never had another transmission problem with the car.
My ’70 Torino had the vacuum modulator fail, with similar symptoms. It wasn’t an expensive fix, however, and got the Cruise-O-Matic back to its normal smooth self.
Texas gate: I had to look that up. I thought maybe it meant “cattle guard,” and indeed that’s the case. I had never run across “Texas gate” before.
That could very well be a local name. Odd since we are nowhere near Texas.
A common sight on outback Aussie highways, however between threeways and Mt Isa heading east I found several silent cattle grids the grid pattern was simply white paint applied to the road, yes I did stop to investigate after the first two it fools the cows and intrigued me.
I guessed that one correctly also. Possibly because we spent over a week in Wyoming during and after the recent solar eclipse and drove over many of these on the 2-lane roads.
Good to see the Civic is supplying you anxiety free driving. However strong a reputation for ruggedness K-cars and their derivatives had, they were nowhere as reliable as Civics.
After my mom passed away, my dad decided to take a trip alone from Ontario to Calgary in 1999, driving his 2.2 litre ’91 Dodge Shadow. He had the car fully serviced before leaving Kingston, Ontario and managed to reach Kenora, Ontario before the alternator died. As the rest of his trip to Alberta and back was uneventful. That Shadow served him well.
Thank you for documenting the challenge with so many beautiful pics.
I come from a Chrysler Product family, and love them (also love my Buicks). On my ’66 Imperial (bought in 1971) every time I did a road trip with it the alternator failed. After 68 of them I altered the bracket and put on a Buick Electra alternator. That was 38 years ago and only had to replace a bearing once.
That Mustang II convertible actually looks quite good!
Also, I’ve seen quite a few converted old churches here in Brisbane. It’s very interesting to see how they’ve converted them.
You put 68 alternators on your Imperial? Man I am in awe of your patience and love for that car!
I think the 66 is the ultimate Imperial but I think I’d have lost the car or my mind by the time I was into double digits.
My 1961 Corvair liked to literally catch the generators on _fire_ ~ after several of them and harness repairs, new regulators etc. I sold the damn thing and the new owners never had any issues.
-Nate
I once had a conference at Kananaskis which I drove to, thru Calgary. I went home down highway 40 but stayed on the pavement where it turn east. This was in the late 80’s as I recall and don’t remember a lot. I thought that there was a wolf along the road at one point.