[JONAT-chat] Trip report: SF and Calgary sectors (long)

[Craig Talbot]

Like Bob, I'm finally home as well, but only now have I had the energy
to do a write up. I did both the San Francisco and Calgary sectors,
starting at the beginning of the month with a drive from Calgary to San
Francisco to meet Jerry Mouton. That was a 2.5 day, 1400 mile trip in my
92 Vanden Plas V12. fortunately, the car is very comfortable for the
long day's driving, as my longest day was Spokane, Washington to Redding
California. 14 hours and 850 miles (1400 km)

Upon meeting Jerry we gathered up a few other Bay area Jaguar owners and
drove to San Luis Obispo. I won't repeat Jerry's description which he
has put together on his webpage, except to add that he obviously put a
great deal of effort into organizing the route and ensuring that
everything went as smoothly as possible. For me, the sector was a dream
come true: wonderful weather, great company, beautiful scenery, and
interesting roads devoid of RV's and tourists. I got to visit many
places that I have heard of, but never seen before, and in the company
of a knowledgeable guide.

Fazal joined me in SLO and rode shotgun for most of the sector, as I was
the only saloon in the bunch for most of the trip, and we filled my car
between my cameras and our luggage. It was a pleasure to share the road
with Fazal and to have a sign spotter and radio operator along, so I
could concentrate on keeping up with Jerry! Fazal, how was the rest of
your trip after I left you in Eureka?

After I left Jerry and the gang at Eureka, I did another long drive up
to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula for a trip across to Victoria,
BC. By now I was getting pretty good at driving through Washington and
Oregon in a day! There are only 2 ferry crossings a day at that time of
year, so I was up early at catch the 8:45 ferry, arriving at the dock at
7:20. What I wasn't prepared for was the lineup already there, and I was
second in line for "standby", as the ferry was theoretically already at
capacity. So I sat on the dock and had some strawberries and cherries
that I had bought at the farmers market during our stop at St Helena in
the Napa Valley. They were good, and I didn't want to have to throw them
away if Canada Customs wouldn't let me carry them across the border. As
it turned out, that wasn't a problem.

After a pleasant sailing across to Victoria, I was surprised to be
greeted by Dr Andrachuk as I exited customs. He had graciously
rearranged his schedule to meet me in the afternoon, and met me to let
me know. Afterward I made a direct line for Murchies, just up from the
Empress Hotel for a cup of tea. What an oasis of civilization! You can
get a proper cup of tea and high quality baked goods. With all due
respect to our friends south of the border, a mediocre tea bag plunked
into a mug of lukewarm water does not make a good cuppa, and Wonderbread
is not the highest form of baking! Later in the afternoon I met Gregory
and was able to examine his X type and 92 VDP, like mine, but prepared
to a much higher standard. Granted mine was showing the effects of being
lived in for nearly 2 weeks and 5000 km on the road, but his is
pristine. Thanks for washing my car Gregory, and also for the polishing!

My partner had flown out earlier to vacation up island, and took the
train down to meet me and we then checked into a cozy B&B, which are
plentiful in Victoria. Saturday morning we headed for the ferry back to
the mainland, but my luck didn't hold. I'll blame the many traffic
lights heading out to the ferry, all of which are synchronized to turn
yellow just as you reach them, but this time there was one other car in
front of me and myself left on the dockside for the 9 am sailing, so we
got to cool our heels for 2 hours until the next ferry. Once across, we
hit the Trans Canada highway and headed for Kamloops, our overnight
stop, via the Fraser Canyon route. I've never driven this route, but it
is beautiful. A bit longer and slower than the interior route, but it
does not have the steep grades, and is more scenic in my opinion.
Overnight in Kamloops and back to Calgary. In BC was the first time that
I have paid over a dollar a litre for gasoline, although it was premium.

A week later the tour caught up to me and came through Alberta. I drove
out in the morning and met the group at Golden, getting passed on the
way by another participant, so we drove together. Bridge construction in
the Kicking Horse Canyon held us up for our planned 9:30 rendezvous, but
by Assistant coordinator had driven out the night before and was waiting
for us. As it turned out Bob England had to make a trip to NAPA to get a
length of fuel line to fix his leaking tanks, so at least I wasn't too
late arriving. After the fix, we departed about an hour behind schedule,
heading east. We make a quick stop in Field for pictures and park
permits, then headed to Lake Louise for lunch. The restaurant I had
planned to eat at was booked for a Parks Canada Rangers conference, so
back up plans were called for. Good thing another place was able to take
us, as there are not many choices here. 

At this point all but 2 cars left us, John heading home to Edmonton, and
Bob and Ian into Calgary to do some business. That left Nels and Mike to
do the drive with Steve and myself up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper.
This is a beautiful road through the mountains, and fortunately wasn't
busy. We stopped at Bow Summit for pictures of Jay in the snow, as there
still was about 3 feet of snow left on the ground here. The roads were
clear and dry, but winter was still close at hand. After arriving at
Jasper, I checked in to my B&B, and Steve and Mike being the hearty
souls that they are set up camp. I wasn't prepared to go tenting in May
in the mountains! The next day we retraced out steps south and again
stopped in Lake Louise for lunch, but this time at the restored railway
station. It was a chilly day, and up at the Lake it was rain mixed with
snow as we took pictures of Jay in front of the Chateau, so when the
lunch special was soup and a grilled sandwich, we all jumped at it.
Plus, we were seated beside the fire so we were able to thaw out. Just
to improve the ambience, a train even went buy as we were eating!
Afterward was a quick trip to Banff, ending the day here.

Next day Bob and Ian were back with us, and we set off for Calgary. Our
intended route was blocked by an RCMP car directing us back onto the
main highway, so we had to take the less interesting route to Calgary.
Once in Calgary, the local Dealer, Jaguar of Calgary hosted us, and gave
us a tour of their facilities, including the workshops and the used car
lot. Bob and I must have spent too much time admiring the big board of
special Churchill tools, as they threatened to put us through a metal
detector before we left! The local newspaper was there to meet us, as we
got our pictures taken, as well as Jay, in front of the dealer. The
dealer was very generous, as before we left, each of us were presented
with a wine basket with a bottle of California red, two engraved wine
glasses, a stainless travel mug and a key chain. Hats off to Jaguar of
Calgary for their generosity toward the participants.

Through out the sector, Ian had been the running joke of the group for
his 70 E Type trailing blue smoke, and its thirst for oil. Several
things were tried, like adding STP, but nothing could cure its smoking.
Over dinner I asked about his dipstick, and afterward we compared to my
E Types - his stick was bent, and wasn't going through the hole in the
baffle in the oil pan, so he was overfilling his engine. After dinner we
went back to my garage and drained out over 2 litres of oil to bring it
back to the proper level.

After Calgary, the tour headed up to the Badlands and the Tyrell museum
of palaeontology. Dinosaurs, for those that need a translation! This is
the only museum in the world specifically devoted to dinosaurs, and
showcases some of the finds from the rich fossil beds in the area. We
took a loop to get the the Museum, and on a few small river crossings in
Alberta there are ferries instead of bridges. We were all able to fit in
one "sailing" so wasn't left behind on another ferry! More pics were
taken of Jay as he went to sea in the 2 minute crossing. From
Drumheller, we headed east, winding our way along the valley floor next
to the eroded cliffs that form Hoodoo's, giving rise to the roads name,
the Hoodoo trail. Climbing out of the valley it was onto the prairie as
the group headed toward Saskatchewan. I had to leave at the Trans Canada
highway, but the rest carried onto into the Cypress Hills for the night,
and the start of the Saskatchewan sector.

In total I drove my V12 9200 km in 17 days (5720 miles) and used 1300
litres of gasoline (287 galloons) for an average fuel economy of 19.9
mpg. Not bad, since it seemed that wherever I went I was running into a
30 mph headwind! The car was smooth, quiet and comfortable, and really
proved what a great long distance cruiser these cars are.

Craig

92 Vanden Plas, series 3