headed to banff, need a couple tips please & thanks

[delicioso!]

howdy folks,
so my dad and i are doin a roady to banff for a conference (leaving next friday) from s. ontario. been there twice before and would love to show my old man the country as he's never left s.ontario except for the states, camping along the way, sight seeing etc...
so..first, i need to find just a decent fair place to do an oil change as i'll have hit my 5K mark once we get to calgary. any suggestions? i'm afraid of some drive through lube joints... i should have my own filters with me and will grab somre rotella T 15w40 locally if needed.

second, can you guys suggest a scenic road to take besides the usual transcanada and 93 up to the icefields? we're just looking for good views, camping, and hikes, nothing to serious for my dad. if not, i know that any road there will be breathtaking enough for my dad.

btw, i'm sure you guys know about that steep uphill going up to lake louise, would you suggest D2 on that on an l400 (or even low gear)? just curious. i don't yet have a pyro and i have plans on a 2.5" side exit exhaust so i'm a bit leary on egt's on such a hill and which rpms i should avoid...?

other than that, we're just going to take it easy and cruiser at 100-110Kmh and just enjoy the view along the way.

any tips will be hugely appreciated!
cheers.
romey

would really love to meet some local delica peeps but i'm in a bit of a time crunch, still figuring out accomodations in calgary if we do spend the night there, keepin it low budget.

[delicioso!]

btw, if anyone can also suggest some tips for such a lengthy roady specific to the l400, that'd be awesome. i've driven out west a couple times before, was just wondering if there was anything in particular to delicas to watch out for. we've had our rig now for about a month from mardy and so far so good, it's been baselined with new fluids/etc...so really, i just need to drive it sensibly and not run out of diesel. mardy suggested not staying at one speed for too long especially 120 or over, which i don't plan to, and just varrying speeds from 100 to 115 to keep the engine happy, and watch temps.
thanks again.

[jaggedfish]

Hey Delicioso!
Oil changes in Calgary... Kirkham Automotive 403-253-2033. Very good guys and they know delicas. They are in the south side of Calgary and worth the detour.

For a little scenery in Banff... Minnewanka Loop directly opposite the Banff turnoff. Not sure if the full loop will be open yet but the scenery is beautiful and you are pretty much guaranteed to see some wildlife - bighorn for sure.

Will write more in a bit... rushing off to work...

[Spearo]

My advice is hit Highway 40, the old Forestry Trunk Road. It is mostly gravel or secondary road until you hit Highway 16 (Yellowhead) going north to Grande Cache. South of the Yellowhead down through Nordegg to The Trans Canada Highway is stunning. Lots of little lakes/rivers and things to see. Get on the David Thompson Highway too, between Rocky Mountain House and Highway 93. Crescent falls is worth a good look.

And IMO this 5000km oil change rule is vastly overrated. But if you're insistent, at least carry your own oil filter in case the lube guys can't figure out what you need.

Have a great trip!

Erik

[delicioso!]

fellas, big thanks! glad there's a joint that's familiar with delicas, i'm there for sure! i hear ya on the drain intervals with that big filter and all, but i still have close to 4000K to get back and i prolly wont bother looking somewhwere in northern ontario or saskabush for an oil change, lol. piece of mind just to get it done.

those routes sound fantastic and just what we're looking for. gonna check the map! i think all my pops have seen in the wild are deer, should be lots of those too since it'll be calfing season. just wanted to make sure my old man enjoys this trip as there aren't too many opprotunities to head out there often that's not a vacation.

thanks Erik and jaggedfish! super stoked! we might do a quick boat cruise on lake minewaka too.

cheers.

[Spearo]

You'll probably see bears ie grizzlies. My friend (sober/reliable etc etc) who says he and a buddy saw a sasquatch near Nordegg.

May you be so lucky!
Erik

[jaggedfish]

The scenery around Minnewanka is outstanding and well worth checking out. It's not a long drive in to Lake Minnewanka itself. If the loop is open, there is an old coal mining ghost town to wander through but I suspect the loop will still be closed due to the amount of snow still in the area. Because it has been so cold, I wouldn't count on the lake being thawed just yet and I know the campsites in there will remain closed over the long weekend. Still a beautiful trek and the bighorn in there are aplenty and unafraid.

As far as worrying about hills and temperatures, don't sweat it. Mardy puts the bigger radiators in the L400's, plus... it's an L400 (more power). I suspect your temp needle won't even move.

If you really insist on changing your oil, Kirkham will be happy to do it and they don't mind if you bring your own parts. They just changed my oil for me yesterday along with both my rear calipers I believe they stock oil filters for both the L300 and L400 now.

[delicioso!]

nice, thanks for the reassurance wth the l400 jagged. and good to know kirkham has filters too! maybe i wont bother pickin one up here (for 30 bucks from local fuso!)..a case from mardy wont make it in time i'm sure...

seen lots of bears but never a grizzly, there was one in our camp site in jasper once but they said we should worry more about the elk in calfing season, lol.

like always, there's never enough time to explore the rockies. good reminder about the snow, the first time i was there i was able to hike up to the base of the col. icefields with just a light jacket, hit n miss this time of year with the weather i guess. too bad if that loop was closed. we'll be just be in one vehicle so i'm certain these roads are doable w/o getting stuck!

but frig, i'd love to see a sasquatch or two, maybe a family of them, lol. i hear they're taller in the rockies than in ontario. ;)

curious anyway, what're you guys pushing your intervals at with regular dino oil then? 10K?!

can't wait to be out there again and breathing in that fresh mountain air!

[snelson]

If you're going to Lk Louise, I'd recommend taking Hwy 1A (Bow Valley Parkway - get on just past Banff townsite while on the Trans_Can) up to Lk Louise townsite. It's a slower 2 lane road - wildlife including Grizzly if you do it early morning/evening. Can also stop at Johnston Canyon along the way which is pretty amazing if you've never been.

Another drive for great views is you drive up Mt Norquay road from Banff, you get to a pretty sweet look-out right @ the top of the road. road. Head back down for a beer at the best patio in the valley at The Juniper.

[Mr. Pistachio]

Hey Romey,

I don't have any tip for Banff itself but here's the route I've took to cross the country in February and the roads where awesome and diesel cheaper. I really liked the road especially between Great Falls (Montana) and Glendive (Montana). Very scenic. There's also on those highway very nice rest area which is always nice.

Cheers Mate

Antoine

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s ... 506836&z=5

[jaggedfish]

The road into Minnewanka WILL be open but the top half of the loop that brings you back to the beginning may not be... you just return the same way you drove in. I won't post any pics of the scenery at Minnewanka because I think it's best for you guys to discover it yourselves as I feel it is quite humbling but here's a couple pics of the bighorn... and, yes, I was THAT close! A little intimidating but there were no indications of threat and I was positioned to avoid any danger. These were taken one year ago almost to the day. Impressive creatures.
This big fella was keeping an eye on a group of about 20 males...

Big Daddy on watch

Copy of Big Daddy 2.JPG (271.62 KiB) Viewed 9252 times

These two boys were greeting a group of female bighorn that came down the road from the opposite direction with babies...

Impressive curls!

Copy of Bighorn 3.JPG (178.39 KiB) Viewed 9252 times

This baby watched from above and was equally as nimble on the rocks as the veterans...

A young one watching from above.

Copy of Bighorn Babies 2.JPG (227.47 KiB) Viewed 9252 times

Enjoy your roady!

[delicioso!]

ha ha, nice pics of the bighorns! amazing animals indeed. saw them first on my 1st roady to bc a few years ago, but they were just on the shoulder and i drove bye them and didn't really get to appreciate them, not this time!

nice, i remember bow valley pkwy, we never took it i think just to save time, will check it out! we also made it to johnston canyon falls but stopped at the tall one and never made it up to the inkpots, i think i'll do that this time! gonna check out mt. norquay road, a friend may have mentioned that same place with the view at the top. juniper for drinks, yes sir! i bet they have some nice local homebrew beers!

nice route antoine! man, you just reminded me how much cheaper diesel was, we took a smilar direction on our way back but we took hwy 2 running parallel just north of your route, and the secenery was awesome as well....frig, we even wanted to take a detour to yellowstone but taht would taken us way out of our schedule! there was one town in n.dakota where we must've counted 40 casinos along the way, lol. camping was much cheaper too... we'll see, maybe on the way back cuz this route is a couple 100K's shorter, maybe aim to catch the ferry to tobermory (ontario) to save more time and distance.

we'll prolly skip jasper and just make it up to the icefields, there's already so much to see around banff with all the trails,drives, and scenery to keep us busy for 3 days before headin back.

thanks again fellas!!! looking forward to sharing some pics when we get back!

[delicioso!]

well, back home last night in one piece! thanks again for the tips fellas, we pretty much did most of them! weather was shat most of last week but the skies cleared on sunday and we were able to enjoy lake louise/icefields/johnston canyon falls, etc...and the rest of the beautiful scenery! 93 would be on my to do list on motorcycle, that's for sure! overall the delica did amazing! she started, she ran and she got us home. anyway, sifting through pics, will post them on the members trips thread this weekend.
cheers.

[delicioso!]

ssssoooo, weeks later after this trip, and after the postal strike i guess...i get a surprise envelop from alberta! frigg, got bit on photoradar for what says i was goin 96 on an 80kph zone!!! $103 fine...i'm SOL'd aren't I?! just bend over and pay up?! cuz i can't really appear in court in august or plead not guilty...!

what are ya'lls doin when/if you get photoradared?!

any tips, if it's even possible, greatly appreciated! :(

romey

[FalcoColumbarius]

I beat a photo radar ticket, for the wrong reasons. In fact I was in an old beat up Chevy Van that could clearly not turn the corner and drive up hill doing "64 KPH"(in a 50 zone) in less than one hundred yards, but of course the police gun could never be wrong (also it wasn't the police operating it). So I called them on 11b of the Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms. I won.

Falco.