Cross USA+Canada: Adventure Mobile

Being back in Canada has been so easy and pleasant. Now that we've re-adjusted to Canadian culture, everything's familiar and accessible. Our minds have "caught up" to the pace of life here and some semblance of routine began materializing. So what does that mean? PROJECTS!
Ladies and Gentlemen, we'd like to introduce you to our new Adventure-Mobile, "Taz!"

That's right! He's named "Taz" and he's our Honda Element
aka Toaster on Wheels

We picked him up from our friend Marcus during the middle of summer in order to prepare him for a big road trip we had planned: Vancouver-Vermont-Ontario-Vancouver

I call this "The 49th Parallel Loop"
approx. 14,000 KM

Our original intent was to do a one-way camper van/RV relocation, which would've cost 30% of standard rental rates but would restrict you to a set # of days in order to deliver the vehicle back to the rental company. After doing a bit of math and plane ticket calculations, buying a car like our Honda Element would give us more time, flexibility, and end up costing just about the same amount of money. Of course this meant we needed to do a bit of work to get Taz ready:

1) Research, plan out, and build a bed frame/storage system in the car.

We wanted to keep it simple and space efficient. There are some seriously elaborate Honda Element conversions out there complete with folding beds, closets, and even kitchens!!

3/4" plywood, varnished, hinged, and bracketed together

Bed hinge panel = coverts to full length bed

Bed hinge allows for comfortable driving positions

Approx. 210 cubic litres of storage boxes + space between for misc.

2) Measure and order in foam mattress.

4.5" mattress incl. egg crate style "pillow top"

3) Make a custom mattress cover.

Foam in mattress cover.
Nearly as comfortable as our bed at home!

4) Sew together bug screens for the windows and sunroof.

This provides better air circulation for those warm/muggy evenings.

Window "bags" made from screen-door mesh fabric

5) Create insulating covers for all the windows. 

We discovered while camper-vanning in Australia + New Zealand that you lose a huge amount of heat thru the windows!

Made from "Thermal Insulation" aka bubble wrap + tinfoil

6) Mechanically prepare Taz for 1 month of driving (no pics here cuz I just sent Taz to a shop, hehe)

210 cu. L of storage = gear, clothes, pots/pans, stove, cooler, and food!

So after 4 weeks' worth of research, carpentry, tailoring, tune-ups, and route planning, we hit the road at the end of August. Our itinerary encompassed:

• A total of 12 days to reach Vermont, USA and visit our friends Brian & Erin on their farm co-op
• 3 of those days in Yellowstone National Park (the world's first national park!)
• 1 day in Chicago

With the rubber on the pavement, we set our sights for our first major stop, Yellowstone!

-Terry

Desolation Sound

During the middle of August we had the opportunity to join our friends, Judy and Kent, on their boat for 8 days in Desolation Sound, BC.

Desolation Sound reminds us a lot of Milford Sound in New Zealand. The primary differences being:
-Desolation is wider and more spread out, whereas Milford is much tighter leading to more dramatic visuals
-Mosquitoes instead of sand flies (fortunately the mosquitoes weren't that bad)

20C water, so warm!

It was such an easy trip, we were so fortunate to join Judy & Kent as they did all the hard work to get the boat ready and prepared: drinks, food, fuel, gear and equipment for 4 adults for 8 days! This includes:

• 2 coolers the size of coffins filled with ice and drinks
• 2 fridges, 1 freezer, and several cabinets filled with food
• prawn traps + fishing rods
• a fully equipped kitchen
• kayaks and stand-up-paddleboards
• all the technical boat equipment I can't even wrap my head around

Before

Getting ready!

After

+/- 500 prawns total!

Spotted prawn sashimi, doesn't get any fresher!

Asides from the amazing nature we encountered, our biggest adventure was saving a loose and unmanned boat from crashing into a cliff face.  It was quite an adrenaline fuelled rescue, being newbies to boat life, we were desperately trying to control this runaway boat knowing next to nothing about proper "open water rescue" procedures. Also, being 30-40% bigger than our own ship, it really added to the mental hurdle of wrestling it down. Fortunately, with Kent's lifetime of experience on the oceans we were able to follow his lead and successfully secured the runaway boat.

Boat rescue in action

To our surprise, the adventure continued as we were preparing to leave. While pulling up our anchor, we somehow hooked onto another anchor and chain that was abandoned on the ocean floor. We ended up spending 1+ hours fighting to pull up several hundred feet of metal chain and the stray anchor.

Wrestling with an anchor

What's a trip without a little drama?

Chris & Ava, our fellow boat rescuers!

-Terry