Grande Cache to Hinton, Alberta – 22 september 2024

It was about a 2 hour drive from Grand Cache to Hinton when approx. 45 minutes before arriving in Hinton we stopped along the side of the road for a washroom break. On exiting the car Derek and I both noticed a very strong rubber smell and Derek commented it must be oil from Alberta. Once we put the stairs down to get into the RV, Derek noticed that BOTH the front leaf springs had broken (we had previously broken the one back one on the way into Alaska. ) The broken leaf springs had caused the front axle to twist such that the inside wall of the passenger side tire was scraping against the frame and the rubber was burning. Within minutes, a guy stopped in a truck and came over to see if he could help. They determined we could not continue to Hinton, but luckily Derek had one spare leaf spring which we had purchased in Anchorage for just in case. The guy “Gordo” had just come back from hunting – thank goodness he did not have any dead animals in the back of his truck 

 He left us to go fetch his wife and said he would pick up tools and return to help Derek.

Within a few minutes of him leaving, another guy with a truck and trailer stopped but as there was not much he could do, he also left. About 10 minutes later two more guys in trucks stopped to help. Then the first guy returned. So thankfully Derek had 3 guys to help him which he absolutely needed to reposition the axle, which was really hard to do by yourself. We were there about 3 hours and then drove very slowly into Hinton.

We were so impressed with these Albertan Samaritans. Not good to have an emergency along the road but hell, if you are going to have one, Alberta seems to be the best place to be. Go Alberta!!!!!

We extended our stay at the KOA campsite in Hinton, Alberta by an extra 2 days so Derek could purchase a new leaf spring and install it. Once again there were plenty of willing, helping hands to assist. I didn’t mind staying a bit longer as the campground was very nice. It was surrounded by horse farms and the towering Rockies in the distance. The only negative was that it impacted the reservation we had made at Lake Louise which meant we would not be able to stay there after all. I was really disappointed but Derek promised to do a day trip there from Banff.