Build Ozzi, 2000 HZJ78 in Canada - travel/maintenance/build

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In September we made another attempt for a lake-front spot... and this time, we got it!

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Where's Waldo... errrr Ozzi!

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At some point in late summer we got around to shifting to the pizza cutters that @John Young generously gifted - and one which he brought to the USA and shipped to me in Canada. Thank you! In my opinion they look great and befit the Troopy somehow.

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A trip to Glacier National Park (Montana), and Ozzi's first time in the USA:

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On the way back, picking up some Rotella (really hard to find this year):

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Another trip to Waterton, stopping in Nanton, AB, this time:

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Now with the big trip upcoming, and knowing it will involve some beach driving, a full Fluid Film treatment was warranted:

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Additionally, my dad did a full fluids change (diff, transfer, transmission, plus obviously oil).
 
The big trip

I had actually been away from Canada since mid-April, and a number of factors made my work schedule so busy I was unable to return until the very end of August. Instead of flying home to Calgary, we decided to meet up in Prince Rupert, BC, and fulfill a long-standing wish of visiting Haida Gwaii, BC. My dad did the 1,500 km trip in three days, and camped along the way, and then we had 10 nights together to visit the archipelago and return home.

Night 1

About 6 hours drive from Calgary, near McBride, BC. (BC Recreation site, free camping)

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Night 2

Smithers, BC, municipal campground, $30 a night.

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And since on day 3 I was landing into Prince Rupert, my dad found the only car wash in town and did the best he could...

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In the meantime, I flew from Europe to Prince Rupert by way of Vancouver on the once-a-day flight, which lands at the unusual local airport - since it is located on an island, you take a (complimentary) school bus shuttle via ferry into town.

We quickly headed for some Asian food in town, and posed in front of the nicest building around:

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Night 3 camp was a Provincial Park (Prudhomme Lake), $20 a night but closest (only?) real campground nearby town. Ferry departure to Skidegate, Haida Gwaii was at 10:00 am the following morning, and a check-in time of between 120-90 minutes before departure.

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The lake was just behind those trees you see, and we were treated to a spectacular sunset.

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The camp was reasonably quiet considering it was very close to the Yellowhead Highway, and the next morning we woke to a fairly dense fog.

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After stopping at Tim Horton's for coffee and breakfast, we drove past the Moby Dick Inn, a PR landmark.

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janyyc said:
A trip to Glacier National Park (Montana), and Ozzi's first time in the USA:

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On the way back, picking up some Rotella (really hard to find this year):

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Another trip to Waterton, stopping in Nanton, AB, this time:

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Now with the big trip upcoming, and knowing it will involve some beach driving, a full Fluid Film treatment was warranted:

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Additionally, my dad did a full fluids change (diff, transfer, transmission, plus obviously oil).
Click to expand...
Haribo Rotella....
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I've never had it.
 
We were at the ferry line-up 90 minutes before departure, checked in, showed ID's, etc., and then we just sat, and waited... and waited. Finally around our originally scheduled departure time, an announcement was made that our departure was delayed "due to cleaning". Great.

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Finally we boarded about 45 minutes after original departure time. The ferry was the "Northern Adventure", built in the early 2000's in Greece. Quite a user-unfriendly design, as there is only one entrance/exit, which means backing into/out of the ferry or turning around inside. In this case, for most vehicles there was a "U-turn" possibility midship. The ferry was built for Trinidad & Tobago, and between that and the European origin there is a huge amount of passenger space... much more than necessary for these sailings, where car deck space is likely to be maximized much earlier than passenger space.

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It was foggy but beautiful on this crossing, the sea was calm and we enjoyed just being on the ship for the 6 hour journey (calm seas meant we could take a shortcut, and arrived before the original arrival time despite our 1.5h late departure).

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The ferry food was just that, but they did have local beer (from Prince Rupert!) which was enjoyable and on-subject.

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Service on our phones meant we were close to land, but we could only see the archipelago as we approached Skidegate...

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We were fortunate to disembark quite quickly, immediately proceeded to the supermarket for some missing basics, and then drove to my chosen campsite for our Night 4, which was on the west side of the island - hoping for a sunset, one of the few clear days according to the weather forecast.

Everybody speaks of this "steep" hill, at an apparent 25% gradient - but it didn't seem so steep to me.

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We checked out some spaces, and they were not ideal, but we found a little pullout on the side of the road which just barely fit our Troopy after some maneuvering. The view was superb.

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Just as the sun was setting, two guys came down the road, one on an ATV and the other on a motorbike - they were movers, the same ones I had observed backing a semi onto the ferry in Prince Rupert. With a free evening, they were also exploring the island! That was literally the only traffic during our entire stay "on the side of the road".

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Dinner was made on the fire, and an amazing evening was had. Great first night on Haida Gwaii!

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A breakfast by the fire, and a hot shower with our FrontRunner shower arm and a shower bag... The shower arm is very functional!

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After driving up the "steep" hill, we continued through Queen Charlotte and Skidegate towards the North of Graham Island, stopping about halfway to see the shipwreck of the Pesuta, one of the landmarks on the island. First time beach driving - fun, fun, fun. The beach is a mix of pebbles, gravel, and sand, so it was fun to experience all three. Didn't get stuck, so I call the operation a success.

We parked before a river, the shipwreck was just after. The river was fairly shallow and likely crossable, but why risk it in tidal waters? (especially since we should walk it anyways...)

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Crossing the river!

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At the shipwreck, we met a lady from Port Hardy (northern Vancouver Island) who lived in Massett (north of Graham Island) for many years in her youth - she was visiting for the first time in decades, and had walked/hiked the 1.5h to see the shipwreck. We offered her a ride back, especially as the wind had picked up quite drastically.
 
Absolutely amazing Jan! Glad you guys got to go. I'm still laughing about how I ran into your Dad and the troopy just up the road from us in Waterton, while camping in July. We had such a fun evening telling stories with some brewskies...

Meanwhile, Haida Gwaii is now on my trip list!
 
If your driving through Vernon on your way home let me know! Be great to connect and grab a beer!
 
If you find yourself in Victoria on your way back it would be great to connect. I don't get to connect with many other Troopy owners in this part of the world.
 
JDMBC said:
If your driving through Vernon on your way home let me know! Be great to connect and grab a beer!
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cannedcruiser said:
If you find yourself in Victoria on your way back it would be great to connect. I don't get to connect with many other Troopy owners in this part of the world.
Click to expand...

Thank you both! This trip is long ago past, I’m just very slow in catching up with my posts 😬
Sorry! Next time I will happily meet up.
 
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