Tag: Whitehorse

8,9,10 August 2018. Whitehorse YT

8,9,10 August 2018. Whitehorse, YT (again)

Well, we are back in Whitehorse waiting for our appointment to fix the water pump at the Ford Dealer. (Scheduled for August 10).  Whitehorse is a great place to do restocking, though.  They have three big-box grocery stores (Walmart, Save-On, and Canadian Superstore) within 1/4 mile of each other, with two big box home-improvement stores (Canadian Tire and Home Hardware) in-between.  So, we have been to all of them.  In general, our plan to restock about once a week has not worked out well.  We have usually found some sort of place to buy groceries, but most of the smaller places (i.e., everywhere except Whitehorse, Anchorage and probably Fairbanks) have grocery stores that are smaller than a gas station convenience store back in the states.  And the prices really reflect the low selection.  So, for the rest of the trip, we are going with “super-restocking days” and buying a couple weeks worth of stuff and “touch up restocking days” for some milk or things we can’t store that much of.  Hopefully this will work better for those of us who are somewhat picky about brands (e.g., only JIF crunchy peanut butter).

It is also raining here, and we are feeling a bit muddy.  All those dirt roads just built up the dirt and now the drizzly rain is just enough to make mud, but not enough to wash it off.  We have gone to the car wash twice in the last two days.

We are staying in a full RV park while we are waiting.  There are lots of trees here, and we haven’t run into any caravans. So, besides the rain, not too bad. 🙂 Actually, this is the first place we’ve stayed in over a month that we’ve used their showers (and not just used the one in the camper)!

Our campsite at RV park
Out the back window at our campsite – nice woods back there – but huge rain puddles, too! We won’t get much exploring in…

We got to the Ford Dealer bright and early on Friday.  The water pump they ordered the week before had arrive at 4:55 pm the day before.  The tech started replacing it and noticed that the second water pump was also leaking a little bit.  Luckily, there was supposed to be one of those delivered on Friday – and it was.

Truck getting fixed at Whitehorse Ford Dealer
Truck getting new water pumps

So we have two new water pumps and fresh oil and rotated tires – the fridge is full of food.  We are ready to once again try and drive up to the Arctic Ocean!

We walked around Whitehorse a lot. Here are some of the things we saw:

Dam on Yukon River in Whitehorse – fish ladder on left

 

 

1 August 2018. Whitehorse, YT

1- 2 August 2018. Whitehorse, YT

After topping off our coolant with water (good thing we can carry so much in our camper), we headed south down the Dempster Highway and started toward Whitehorse.  We decided to suck up the cost and turned one of our phones on for Canada rates so that we could call the Ford dealer and make an appointment.  However, even if you turn the phone on, you need signal… so it was drive, drive, stop, check coolant level, check for phone signal, drive, repeat.  Finally got through early afternoon.  They were booking appointments for 10 August – but said that they might be able to give us a diagnosis, if we came in.

So, drive, drive, check coolant.  Repeat.  And look at some nice scenery.

We were following th Yukon River most of the way
A couple of Trumpeter Swans
View of the Yukon RIver
View of the Yukon River
Drive, drive, drive

We made it to the Dealer about 4 oclock. They were able to look at our truck the next day.  Long story, short, It was the “primary water pump” that had failed.  They did not have one.  They requested one on “emergency” and we are scheduled to have it put in on 10 August.

Totem Pole in Whitehorse YK
Passing the time in Whitehorse, sitting along the Yukon. Waiting for the Ford people to give us a diagnosis.
Ford dealer in Whitehorse, YK

Luckily, they agreed that we could probably do some close in touring, as long as we continue to check our coolant level.  So we got some coolant and are headed to Skagway AK, and then to Atkin, BC. And then back to Whitehorse for repairs.