June 19,2025
On Tuesday 6/17 we departed McBride RV Park at 10:00AM. It was a beautiful, sunny morning with a temperature of 60 degrees. We stopped at the edge of town for fuel and then we were on our way to Prince George BC.
I brought out the Milepost and began following along. The Milepost is a guide for traveling to Alaska. It gives mile to mile descriptions of roads in Alaska and Canada. On today’s route, there was a description alerting travelers to watch for Moose and Bears. We kept our eyes looking on both sides of the roadway, but, we didn’t see any wildlife!
As we continued along the highway, the RV check engine light came on and started buzzing. This had been happening off/on throughout our trip. Ken did some checking and thought it was nothing serious…all other indicators were functioning well. However, this time the buzzing would not stop and the engine was not running smoothly (my description). We were driving on a 2 lane highway without any shoulder to pull over. Of course, for the next several miles there were no rest areas or pull-offs. Finally we found a place, pulled over, and let the engine rest as we contemplated what we should do. I think we were about 30 miles from Prince George. We needed to find a repair shop!
To Prince George
Wildflowers – While Sitting at Pull Out
Wild Flowers – While sitting at pull-out
Thank goodness for Starlink…I was able to go online and find a repair shop that worked on Cummins Diesel. It was a shot in the dark, since I had only the limited information that was available online. We could not call, since our cell phones do not work in Canada.
The repair shop was near where we wanted to stay for the night. We by-passed the RV Park and drove straight to the shop. We were able to get someone to do a preliminary check. It was either the actuator or Turbo. They would do a better look in the morning. The owner let us stay on the property overnight so we would be there first thing in the morning.
Ken was up bright and early and ready when the shop opened. He backed the RV up to one of the garages where they would begin a further inspection. Once they took it apart, we weren’t going anywhere. It didn’t take long for them figure out the Turbo was stuck. What does that mean? It means that we get to purchase a new Turbo. That is not a cheap fix! Immediately the technician began the search to find a Turbo. Of course, they have to get one delivered, AND, it won’t arrive until next Tuesday (6/24). We can’t move the RV, but, the owner is letting us stay in the RV on the property. He even gave us a key to the gate for after hours!
A problem for us in Canada is our cell service. We knew that our plan did not have include service in Canada. Our provider offered a $10/day plan that we did not get. We were planning to check on a Canadian e-sim card or a prepaid phone in Canada. We stopped at Walmart and got some info on e-sim, but ended up at Best Buy. We had two young clerks that were very helpful and patient, they even said after the store closed to help us. They found that our new Iphones were locked and therefore an e-sim card would not load. We did not know our phones were locked! After much discussion, we purchased a basic prepaid flip-phone. We will probably only use it a few times to make RV park reservations, but, at least we have the peace of mind that we can call out. Our US phone plan is great until it isn’t!
So, for the next few days we will be touring around Prince George. Last night we went to Costco…for Pizza. The Costco menu was slightly different from ours in Phoenix…chicken strips/fries, fries only, Poutine (fries, gravy, and cheese curds). Most everyone else was getting Poutine! Today we went to Canadian Tire…it is a favorite store of ours that we found our prior trips to Canada. There is a winery on the Fraser River that sounds fun.
Ken and I are doing just fine…the people here at the shop are nice and accommodating, and we have our jeep to get around. Prince George is larger town with things see and do. They even have a Drive-in Movie!
Ken might be getting a little bored…he is now working on our brand new thermostats!
