The Adventures of Fucker (the Van)

Writing-On-Stone

2011-07-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

Dave and Tannis took me on a ride to Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park. They both needed a vacation, and I was happy to get them there safely :-D

They stopped off at the Nanton Candy Store along the way, but Dave was pretty disappointed in the candy selection. "Their loose candy is generic brand and stale!," he exclaimed.

The two still haven't figured out how my radio works. They figure they'll need a cassette adapter to use it, since the FM appears to be iffy. As well, they found that my air-conditioning uses a lot of gas, but does a poor job at cooling them off.

When we were in the park, I got to shuttle a bunch of rafts for them and their friends - it made their bed really sandy.

With the rain, they found some more leaks in me, and Dave said he'd need to seal all the windows to finally be done with it. It also looks like the gaskets on my doors are all going out :-(

They got back to Calgary, and when Dave finished the tally it looks like my current cost per kilometer is now down to $1.77!

Trip to Wells Gray Provincial Park

2011-07-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Dave and Tannis decided to head out to the upper Clearwater in British Columbia. It was a long 10-hour drive to get out there, but the scenery was beautiful!

They headed out on Thursday, driving through Lake Louise, out to Golden, Revelstoke, and Kamloops. The road was really foggy, and Dave was beating his foot on my floor high-beam switch like it was a bass drum.

On Friday they drove through the Wells Gray Provincial Park, and saw the waterfalls and mountains that are located all around the park. The road was really bumpy, but I seemed to pull through with grace (well, as much grace as a camper van can have, I guess).

When they drove back, they ended up taking the Jasper route back to Calgary. Dave was swearing a lot through the Jasper main streets. I get the impression he doesn't like driving through city streets with me.

When they were finished, Dave and Tannis tallied up the gas receipts and found out that I manage 6.5 kilometers/liter, which is still fairly close to what the factory said I got back in 1985.

My per-kilometer cost is now MUCH lower, and they are both saying that I should be under a dollar a kilometer soon :-D

A night out and a trip to the Big Hill Springs Provincial Park

2011-06-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

I finally got to spend a night with Dave and Tannis, when they went to see Tammy and Laurie out in Tuscany. After spending the night there, they picked up Janine from the Crowfoot station and drove out to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park. The weather was really wet, but it looks like they had a good time hiking around anyway.

I went to a softball game!

2011-06-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

Dave had to go to a softball game, and since Janine also had to go they ended up using me!

It was a fun game to watch, and it felt good to ride out to Shouldice Park. Dave was a big old grump and kept mumbling about how I steer like a tank, but secretly I think he enjoyed the trip, too.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2011-05-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Darn! It looks like Dave and Tannis' plans for going to Drumheller were scuttled by the rain.

Instead they ended up going to the supermarket. They were both pretty bummed. They got a LOT of groceries, and seemed to be glad to not have to carry them back.

My first trip with the new owners!

2011-05-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a few long months since Dave and Tannis bought me, but they finally got to drive me to Peter's today!

My battery was dead, so they had to get a new one this morning after they tried jumping me. Fortunately, once I got a new one we were ready to zip around the downtown. Dave was a bit nervous when he first got behind the wheel, but soon enough he got the hang of it.

They got double cheeseburgers at Peter's, and when they were done dinner played cards on the table. All in all, a good first trip :-)