Suroeste Dos

Suroeste Dos

That’s right folks, I’m back. After a long hiatus this prairie boy is back on the trail. This time with fresh shots from the American Southwest. It has taken some serious time and energy to get back to what I love. I will explain everything shortly but for now I will keep updating this post with photos. More on the way. Stay tuned friends.

- Morgan

Nothing but Trouble

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In 2015 I found myself working civil construction and moving to the small town of Pilot Butte. This year was full of many things but the short of it was I was the new owner of a 1990 Volkswagen Jetta TD. With my new german steed, I was headed for the west coast of Canada and the United States. The months before my departure, I dived headfirst to learn how the car worked. Everything I could afford was addressed. From new exhaust and headlights. To bushings, struts and tires. I left with a full load including skiing equipment, a full set of tools, extra warm gear and spare fuel. This was before I learned to maintain a healthy weight budget and live more minimally. I was en route from Regina, SK to Vancouver, BC. I was off to visit family and ski through Kootenays on the way home. As I ventured further away from the queen city. I noticed my first issue with my car. I was losing heat inside the cab. I didn't really bother with this as it was intermittent and I wasn't knowledgable on how to properly diagnose this problem. So I carried on to Revelstoke, BC making the mistake of trying to be frugal. My accommodations left much to be desired but I survived and continued straight into Vancouver. I caught up with my family and enjoyed a wonderful holiday with them. When I wasn't spending time with family I was leaning over the engine of the Jetta. The main grief it was giving me was a leaking head gasket and although that should have been a red flag I pushed south into Washington State. Arrived at my Uncles home in Bellingham, WA only to find myself once again battling with gremlins. This time the alternator gave up the ghost while driving downtown. Fortunately, because of the mechanical nature of the MK2 Jetta, I was able to drive back no problem minus being able to signal and such. So after exhausting my skills and not being very social, I went about finding a garage to help sort my car out. There were actually quite a few shops that specialize in Volkswagens so I was in luck. I made some repairs, replaced the alternator and even the head gasket seemed to mend itself. After a few more days I said goodbye to my family and started my trek back into British Columbia to link up with a friend and his family to ski. Along the way, the electrical gremlins returned and this time it was a bit more serious. I was stranded on the side of a mountain pass in the dead of winter with no heat, no power and no cell service. Things were definitely to looking quite grim. I was alone. There wasn't any traffic for several hours while I attempted to make repairs in subzero temperatures. As the sun had set a truck rolled into the pullout where I was parked. At the wheel was an older couple pulling a trailer in their Dodge Ram pickup. They were experiencing their own vehicular calamity. Apparently their truck lost power while attempting the mountain incline. Was there some invisible force trapping people and their wheels in this unforgiving climate? The man reckoned it was a failed map sensor on the engine that was causing it to die. After concluding this, the man assisted me in restoring power back to my own car. With the wiring complete and our hands frozen, the Jetta's turbocharger whistled to life. I wished the couple good luck and sailed off into the night. My goal was to reach Nelson, BC. On the way, the next wave of anxiety hit when a truck driving ahead had its rear tires explode out of seemingly nowhere. I followed the truck until it stopped and asked if the driver was alright. I received a vulgar reply and kept driving. What a night so far. As Nelson was coming into view my phone started going mad with missed calls and text notifications. I pulled over to investigate and was soon on the phone with my father. Apparently, while I was stranded and out of service, my friend's family contacted the local RCMP and dispatched a tow truck to where I was last marooned which I was now on the hook for. I then got back on the road and arrived in snowy Nelson as midnight had passed.

I was greeted with hugs, food and laughter as I sat down and explained my misadventure. The following day I was out skiing at White Water Ski Resort and the next I was bedridden with the flu. By the time I was on the mend, it was time to head back to the prairies. We set out as a convoy with my friend leading with his MK4 Jetta. We made it into the crow's nest pass and stopped to refuel in Sparwood, BC. After leaving with a full tank, trouble was back. The low coolant warning had triggered and when I pulled over and inspected the reservoir, it was nearly empty. Oddly there was nothing to be found below the engine. I topped up the coolant and got back on the highway. Five minutes later I was on the side of the road once more. The Jetta's turbo-diesel heart appeared to sipping back the coolant and demanding more. My friend circled back and we decided to leave my car behind at the British Columbia-Alberta border with a plan to extract it on a later date. So I grabbed my essential and squeezed into the back seat of the MK4 Jetta and head east on down the highway. Hours later, the lights of Regina, SK lay in the distance. I wasn't far away now but my problems were far from over. After getting home, I contacted the RCMP to alert them of my vehicle status so they would be less inclined to remove it from its resting place. A month later I was on my way back to BC with a van, a trailer and a friend who joined me on my quest to bring home the Jetta. It took two days to reach the border where my car lay. Upon reaching our destination I found the Jetta frozen solid. After several attempts, I was able to coax the glow plugs into starting the engine. I drove the car onto the trailer, tied it down and set off for the prairies once more. We returned home with my rescue mission a success. The Jetta now back home I sent it over to a garage to sort out the coolant issue. As it turns out the head gasket was no longer fulfilling its job because the cylinder head was warped. At 450,000 Kilometers it was more than deserving of some attention. So with the cylinder head, reconditions and a new head gasket installed the Jetta has a new lease on life. However, by this time, I wanted to get away from the learning curve that was a 1990 Volkwagen Jetta TD. I wanted to have new experiences that weren't on the side of the road. So I sold the Jetta, then a couple of months later I sold my 1999 Jeep Cherokee Classic as well. I learned a great deal from my time with these cars but I wanted something different. A new era was on the horizon. One that heralded reliability, napa leather, credit scores and bi-weekly payments.

- Morgan

Beached Day

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During the summer of 2015, my Uncle and Aunt invited me up to their home in Saskatoon for the weekend. They sent two of my cousins away through a summer exchange program and in their place were these two francophone girls. We exchanged cultures as we discussed over one of the greatest bonding experiences one can have with family and friends; Monopoly. The next morning we packed up coolers, chairs and prepared for a day at the beach. We were headed to Lake Diefenbaker, 140 kilometres south of the Bridge City. You couldn't ask for better weather. We were coming up on the visitor center so I drove my Cherokee towards the beach while my Uncle headed over towards the boat launch with his Dodge Ram and trailing vessel. Having a high clearance 4WD can be advantageous but sometimes it can get you into trouble. I how I would discover that last part later. I had set my sights on the perfect place to set up our sandy hangout for the day. With the Jeep in 4Lo I trundled down the beach until I found a large area that would accommodate our group. After staking claim to the area I circled back to help lead in friends of my Aunt and Uncles to our site. These people had arrived in a GMC Arcadian, a wide, AWD crossover SUV and were intent on following me to the water's edge. Off we went. No sooner had we arrive when trouble appeared. 

We had reached the beach but we're not leaving any time soon. The GMC with its all-season tires dug right into the soft sand and clay. No problem, as a Jeep owner I was prepared for this. I had a recovery gear and was already getting to work on freeing the Arcadian. I hopped back into my Jeep and proceed to turn around to line up with the other vehicle. As I was attempting this maneuver, I soon found myself loosing against the soft terrain. Physics has ousted another vehicle, my Cherokee too was beached. Upon launching his boat and finding our party on the shoreline, my Uncle arrived on the scene and surmised we enjoy the water and the weather and sort this mess out later. While everyone else headed out onto the open water, I worked frantically to free my Jeep. The beach we found ourselves on was comprised of just a few centimeters of sand and the rest wet, muddy clay. Not having a winch or recovery boards, I attempted to create traction with whatever raw materials I could gather including large stones and tree branches. After I thought I had enough material I lined the hole I dug in front of the wheels. Then I tried to rock the Jeep out of the muck. This was a fruitless effort, in fact, I actually dug myself further in. The sand and clay were soon up to the body of the Jeep. I relinquished myself to the situation and decided to try and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. However, before I could do so my Uncle brought everyone back to shore and decided he would try his hand at rescuing our beached duo. So he brought over his pickup truck and before anything might be actually accomplished, he had his pickup truck stranded as well. The day wasn't getting any longer so as a group we decided to call for a tow truck before night hit. The nearest truck was over an hour away so we waited patiently for our savior to arrive. While we waited, we were greeted by some onlookers. These people happened to be the area's conversation officers. They had come to explain that we had actually trespassed on protected habitat and would be fined for doing such. Everyone as you can manged was thrilled by this especially because the officers gave fines to each owner of the three vehicles stranded. While that was happening a medium-duty tow truck arrived on the scene. The operator surveyed the situation and positioned his truck on the highest ground and proceed to winch out each vehicle. He had all three out in less than 20 minutes which was a relief however the cost of this rescue was not. In total, the bill as you might imagine for a multi-vehicle tow that took place far away from most services was several hundreds of dollars. My stomach turned at this and I imagine yours would too if you were faced with unexpected costs worth a set of new tires. But as I was preparing my card for the inevitable financial hit my Uncle stepped in and told me not to worry about this one. I was flabbergasted but also filled with gratitude for this act of generosity. At the time I was petrified my Aunt and Uncle wouldn't talk to me after this one but it's one of those memories you think back on and laugh. 

- Morgan