Where I am

Map of Rixen Road

No it's not a golf cart

Small red car.

I am going to take this little red car to Tofino and back.

Leaving Tuesday morning heading for Sicamous, BC.

Small red car in Field

May 5th drove 279km. Calgary to Golden.

Intended setting off about 9:00 but didn't manage it till nearer 11:00. Lost another 90 min in Canmore. Who would want to vandalize EV charges? Well it is Alberta. Found another charger in Canmore thanks to Rick texting me a map. Thanks Rick. Made it to Field. BC Hydro charger in Field was easy. I couldn't just take a picture of the car could I. Spectacular new road down into Golden. Staying at The Pondarosa Inn. Restaurant next door the Pork and Fork so I had a Beef burger.

Leaving Golden Wednesday (May 6th) morning heading for Sicamous, BC or further depending on time.

Small red car at motel

May 6th drove 422km. Golden to Kamloops.

OK Rick tomorrow I'll find a car wash. Got off earlier today headed for Rogers Pass. Lots of road works today. In fact I almost passed Rogers Pass because of them. As I was at the pass the weather was overcast and I couldn't get a good photo. All the way along to Sicamous stop and go road works. At Sicamous the road was closed and every one had to detour south on highway 97a and then north on 97b to Salmon Arm. There were actually road works on the detour. Only a couple of roadwork places between Salmon Arm and Kamloops. Tomorrow highway 5 to Merritt and Hope then back on to highway 1 and through the Fraiser Valley to the coast. Hoping for a better day tomorrow it isn't very enjoyable with all the road works. Staying at the Knights Inn. There's an Indian restaurant The Koh-i-Noor about a block and a half away the Lamb curry was delicious.

Leaving Kamloops Thursday (May 7th) morning heading for Hope, BC or further depending on time.

Small clean red car at motel

May 7th drove 10km. Just enough to find a car wash.

Had a little mishap yesterday forgot that curry usually contains some sort of milk product. I didn't take any lactase consequently I had a bad gut that kept me awake most of the night. I didn't want to drive tired so I booked another night in Kamloops. Drove around Kamloops today and found a car wash. Check out the photo Rick. If I get a good nights sleep tonight I will continue in the morning.

Leaving Kamloops Friday (May 8th) morning heading for Hope, BC or further depending on time.

  • Small red car at motel
  • Leaving Horseshoe Bay.

  • Small red car at motel
  • Hotel in Naniamo.

May 8th drove 432km. Kamloops to Naniamo.

Left kamloops this morning after a good night's sleep. Still on Hwy 1 turned onto hwy 5, well it wasn't a turn they assume every one wants hwy 5 so you actually have to turn to stay on hwy 1. I'd charged up in Kamloops early yesterday and hadn't driven much so I didn't recharge before leaving Kamloops. Getting on to the Coquihalla I was amazed to see the speed limit 120 km/h. Scared I'd run out of power I drove at 100 km/h. Made a charging stop in Merritt and then on to Hope The first charger I found in Hope didn't work so I drove around till I found a couple of BC Hydro charges. These charges must have been BC Hydro originals. Most charges when I plug in tell me about 20-35 minutes to 80% charge. This one told me an hour and a half. Time for lunch. Found a greasy spoon run by two ladies who appeared to be sisters. When I got back to the car There was still a ways to go. I was at 55% I decided it was enough to get to Chilliwack. So on to Chilliwack. Had enough charge by 3:00 to get to the ferry. Off to Horseshoe Bay. I was in time for the 7:05 sailing but was unable to get on. Got the 8:30 instead. This meant 10:15 when I got to Naniamo and it was dark found what looked like a nice motel but the receptionist had forgotten to switch on the "No" in front of the "Vacancy" sign. I ended up at an expensive hotel.

Leaving Naniamo Saturday (May 9th) morning heading for Tofino, BC no further regardless of time.

  • Small red car at motel
  • Coast Guard station in Tofino.

  • Small red car at motel >
  • The Pacific Ocean at Tofino.

May 9th drove 334km. Nanaimo to Port Alberni to Tofino and back to Port Alberni.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, what the Dickens did I expect. The goal of the expedition was to drive my little red car to Tofino and back I made it to Tofino. I couldn't find any accommodation in Tofino for lass than $323 per night. So I took a couple of photos and I left. I am currently in Port Alberni. I was disappointed that I couldn't stay in Tofino but I had actually reached the coast and completed half my goal. Now I have to get back. Instead of hwy 1 and 5 all the way. I am going back to Hope and then taking the southern route Hwy 3 and 6. Hope, Princeton, Osoyoos, Rock Creek,Grand Forks Castlegar, Nelson, Salmo, Creston, Yahk, Moyie, Cranbrook, Elko, Fernie, Sparwood, Coleman, Lundbreck, Longview, and finally Calgary.

Leaving Port Alberni Sunday (May 10th) morning heading for the ferry.

  • Small red car at motel
  • From Duke point looking North.

  • Small red car at motel >
  • From Duke point looking East.

May 10th drove 225km. Port Alberni to Chilliwack.

Staying at a Holiday Inn in Chilliwack. A lot cheaper than the cheap shoddy places in Tofino. I couldn't get a ticket from Departure Bay to Horse Shoe Bay until after dark. The agent on the phone said she could get me a place on the Duke Point to Tsawwassen for the 2:00 sailing. so I took it. The boat ride is about 20min longer but I don't have to drive through down town Vancouver at 4:00 in the afternoon. For tomorrow there looks as if there are enough charges to make it through the Crowsnest pass. My aim is to make it to Osoyoos tomorrow. There is some business I wish to conduct in Osoyoos and so on to Nelson the following day and staying the night with Pamela and Wayne.

Leaving Chilliwack Monday (May 11th) morning heading for Hwy 3.

  • Small red car at motel
  • Hope Slide.

  • Small red car at motel >
  • Hope Slide notice.

May 11th drove 311km. Chilliwack to Osoyoos.

Left the Holiday Inn in Chilliwack relatively early this morning eager to get to Osoyoos. Came via hwy 1 to Hope, could have stopped for a beef dip but it was too early. Followed my old route in reverse till I could take hwy 3 the Crowsnest highway. On that route I passed Hope Slide which was advertised to have a charger which it did. Then on to Princeton. Princeton is the only place so far where I have seen a line up to use the charges. There were two charges and a guy was just plugging in as I pulled up to the second one he left saying he was going for food. My charging was only going to take 25 min so I stayed with my car. As I was there three other guys turned up. Once I had enough charge to get me to Osoyoos I left Got to Osoyoos just before 3:00 booked into the Park Inn quite reasonable. Dropped my luggage and headed out for a business trip. I headed up to the Nk'mip(pronounced Inkameep) winery and bought myself some wine. Libby and I were here some years back and of all the wines we sampled Nk'mip was the best. Tomorrow I head to Nelson via Castlegar Libby's sister and brother in law live just above Taghum And have offered me a bed for the night.

Leaving Osoyoos Tuesday (May 12th) heading for Nelson.

  • Small red car at motel
  • Leaving Osoyoos looking back at the town.

  • Small red car at motel >
  • Leaving Osoyoos looking back at the lake.

May 12th drove 282km. Osoyoos to Taghum.

Left Osoyoos it's a steep switchback climb out of Osoyoos. Two charging stops on the way to Taghum. First Greenwood. Then Castlegar. A rather short trip and no stops of interest on the way. The interesting part was of course at the end. Pamela was out when I got there Wayne and I had a long conversation about electric cars. When Pamela arrived home she was delighted that my new car was red. Also had conversation about electric cars their range and time to charge. I had suggested a couple of days earlier that I take them to a restaurant in Nelson for supper. Pamela said that she didn't think I would want to be driving more, so she made supper, which was wonderful.

Leaving Rixen road Wednnesday (May 13th) heading for Calgary.

  • Small red car at motel
  • Rixen Rd crowd.

May 13th drove 644km. Taghum to Calgary. A total for the trip 2930km.

Left Pamela and Wayne's after a wonderful breakfast of home made granola and rasberries. Got a full charge in Nelson. Through Salmo and the Kootenay pass to Creston. Charged again and then to Cranbrook. Next charge was in Sparwood. It was then only 40km to Blairmore. From Blairmore to Longview was to be the longest distance between charges I had done so I got a high charge at Blairmore and headed for hwy 22. Hwy 22 is one of the most scenic drives in Alberta. It was a beautiful evening just after 6:00 when I started very little traffic. I reached Longview with no problems, and the Longview charger worked fine. Took on enough charge to get home. Arrived home about 9:30.

Not leaving Calgary for a while.