North to the Cariboo

[marsgal42]

My first Delica road trip was visiting family over the Thanksgiving weekend, west of Quesnel. Everybody was impressed with Gumdrop. "This is a '92?!" My Mom thought she was easy and comfortable to drive, and everybody thought she was comfortable to ride in. My nieces both thought the cool box was, well, cool, and were thrilled at being able to hook their iPods up to the stereo. One of them is particularly crazy about all things Japanese and approved strongly of a real Japanese van.

Delica and house in the Cariboo.

Delica and house.jpg (166.45 KiB) Viewed 3848 times

Delica by the lake.

By the lake.jpg (161.25 KiB) Viewed 3843 times

I did some light four wheeling, but nothing major. Next time.

Delica on gravel road.

Gravel road.jpg (154.64 KiB) Viewed 3844 times

I kept track of fuel consumption and ended up with 10.1 litres/100 km, from the time I brimmed the tank leaving Burnaby to when I stopped the test brimming the tank in Hope. My usual cruising speed was 100 km/h, where a bunch of resonances come together to sound exactly like a Greyhound bus. The Fraser Canyon was no fun at all coming back, thanks to strong, gusty cross winds. All vans are a handful in such situations, and Gumdrop was no exception.

While driving I mused about a spoof Hinterland Who's Who, about the Right-Handed Delica, delica canadiensis. A species native to Japan, it has recently been introduced to Canada where it is thriving, particularly in the western part of the country. A few view it as an invasive species, alas...

...laura

[marsgal42]

Addenda:

The lake is Puntantaenkut Lake, west of Quesnel. About half way between Quesnel and Nazko. Try 52 56.39N 123 1.58W in Google Earth.

The gravel road picture was at 52 56.07N 123 1.67W.

I always take my GPS with me, and have lots of waypoints in it. Who can tell me why I would sit on the beach at 38 16.91S 144 29.66E?

...laura

[piyeguyo]

I don't think you would be sitting, I think you'd be swimming on the Pacific Ocean trying desperately to reach the coast of Japan. Or at least that's what Mapquest tells me.

My bad, I just noticed you're talking about the southern hemisphere... You'll be in a beach near Melbourne, Australia???

[BCDelica]

Ok, it's on the Surf Coast Hwy 6km to Torguay? Do you have pictures from the bench?

Also, Gumdrop needs her front torsion bars wound up, then an alignment done and she'll handle the winds sooooo much better.

Regards

[marsgal42]

Ok, it's on the Surf Coast Hwy 6km to Torguay? Do you have pictures from the bench?

Also, Gumdrop needs her front torsion bars wound up, then an alignment done and she'll handle the winds sooooo much better.

Regards

Hmmm...I'd wondered about the rakish stance, er, low front ride height, and had pencilled in front end work in the new year (mild crashiness over bumps, and some squeaks). If nothing else, the fresh off the boat pull-to-the-right wheel alignment has ceased to be a conversation piece and is now just a pain. Thanks for the heads up on this.

The Australian location is the beach in Barwon Heads, Victoria, one of the towns that played the fictional town of Pearl Bay in the delightful Australian TV series Seachange. It ran on Court TV here (the main character is the judge in a small seaside town), but should have gotten much greater exposure. Never noticed any Delicas in it, though there was the occasional L300 commercial van.

Barwon Heads, Victoria, Australia

Barwon Heads.jpg (103.54 KiB) Viewed 3645 times

The GPS location is on the waterfront at the south end (left in this view) of the bridge across the estuary.

...laura