M2A 2011 - Montreal to Alaska with our Dune Buggy

Post by **vincent9993** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:50 am

We're leaving for our annual ironbutt trip on Saturday to Alaska. You'll be able to follow us on our real time tracker: Spot Tracker (Will only start tracking on Saturday morning)

Ed-Chenal · Post by **Ed-Chenal** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:17 am

Have fun...

Good luck.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:47 pm

Great adventure
can't wait to follow your story as it unfolds

towd-dude · Post by **towd-dude** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 12:10 am

Vince and France,

Have a safe trip and take LOT's of pictures. Wish we were going with you two.....

Bob and Anita

Ed-Chenal · Post by **Ed-Chenal** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 3:26 am

towd dude wrote:Vince and France,

Have a safe trip and take LOT's of pictures. Wish we were going with you two.....

Bob and Anita

With all due respect...... I'm content to sit and watch.

DIESELDOOG · Post by **DIESELDOOG** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 12:31 pm

Vincent & France are off on their trip.

Follow the progress at:

http://debrouillard.ca/dunebuggy/?Nav=Trips&Content=Yes&Trip=Alaska2011&Filler=Spot

Joe

Post by **vincent9993** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 7:56 pm

Thanks Joe, forgot to post tracker link. We arrived in Sudbury safe and sound. Dune Buggy is all cleaned and I'm ready for a cold one. Daily recap to follow.

Post by **vincent9993** » Sun Jun 19, 2011 12:51 am

The adventure started Friday at the end of the afternoon.? We had to ensure that all our stuff would fit in the different bags and spaces for the dune.? In the big clothing bag, here is what we have;? 21 shirts for France, 20 shirts for Vincent, 19 bandanas, 20 pants and/or shorts for both of us, 38 pairs of underwear for both of us, 4 long sleeves shirts for both of us, 38 pairs of socks for both of us and 9 bras and 1 skirt for France (obviously)....ouf we were able to close the bag (refer to picture 3303).? For the electronic, we have 1 iPod, 1 iPad, 1 laptop, 2 blackberry, 1 wireless router, 1 external hard drive, 1 Spot, 1 GPS and different chargers, batteries and cables...look at picture 3305.? Finally for the cosmetic and pharmacy products, we put them in a small red bag with an extra pair of shoes for Vincent and I, look at picture 3306.

We left at 6:00am from our appartment, under a cloudy sky but the more we drove west, more the sky was blue.? It was a very nice day although it was a little bit chilly and quite windy (of course the wind came from my side...but it didn't stop me from taking a nap).? The total distance for today from Montreal to Sudbury is 439.6 miles (or 707.47 km).

We went for a walk at the Bell Park near the lake and after that, destination The Keg. ?
You will not be surprise to see pictures of Vincent with his beer and his thumbs up…it is the beginning of our vacation, he deserved it.

Lot of pictures today because tomorrow is supposes to rain so less pictures.

Message for Alain L.: Hope everything went well at your graduation.

Message for Françoise:?
We wish you a nice trip

Special message for André P, Guy R and Alain L: We wish you will spend a great day on Sunday for the father’s day (and happy father‘s day to all the other fathers)

Day 1 recap

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6DP1ddLHoE[/youtube]

Ed-Chenal · Post by **Ed-Chenal** » Sun Jun 19, 2011 3:19 am

You guys need some windwings and a back screen. (I don't know what else to call it but it keeps the wind from coming in from the back side).

Best of Luck to you both.

Post by **vincent9993** » Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:32 pm

Ed Chenal wrote:You guys need some windwings and a back screen. (I don't know what else to call it but it keeps the wind from coming in from the back side).

Best of Luck to you both.

Thanks for the good wishes! As for wind deflectors, we have a "Difference" from TJ Kustoms but unfortunatly, we cannot use it with the luggage bag in the way.

BTW, we're at our day 2 destination. Recap to follow.

Post by **vincent9993** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 1:38 am

We left Sudbury around 6:00am this morning with a nice sunshine but it was a little chilly, only 12 degree Celsius (54 Fahrenheit). The road to get to the bridge (picture 3449) from Sault Ste-Marie and Michigan was beautiful. I even passed in front of the RBC Bruce Mines branch. Hard not to think about the Bank (Picture 3444). At the border crossing, there were no dedicated Nexus lines but we were fine with only 2 cars in front of us. The agent asked us many questions… Where we were going, what state would we travel to, wanted to see the map, the content of the trunk… A little over zealous but friendly. The rest of the road was not too exciting, I fell asleep… We have not crossed any bears (yet) but we saw other animals and quite a few dead deer and other animals that crossed in front of us slowly. (picture 3431)

We crossed Santa clause in his village (picture 3460, 3462). We then stopped to take a few pictures by Lake Superior. Following this stop, it rained for 2.5 hours… The roof held without any issues. We are an hour behind here (CST). For dinner, we went to the Liberty Bell Chalet, an Italian family restaurant. The portions were a little too big but the food was good. Well that it, good night everyone, hoping the sun will shine tomorrow, that would be nice. Total today: 844.26km (524.6 miles)

Ed-Chenal · Post by **Ed-Chenal** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:06 am

Keep the pictures coming.....

I like the wolf.

Post by **vincent9993** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:43 am

Hi everyone, this morning we left Winnipeg at 5:50 and kept the top on. I was 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit) and they were forecasting heavy rain in Saskatoon. Due to flooding in Saskatchewan, Ted (a friend on the forum) recommended we use Highway 16 (Yellow head road) instead of the Trans-Canadian highway. Great suggestion that we appreciated. You know how much Vincent likes to keep The Dune Buggy clean... Well there was construction for about 3km where we had to drive on the unpaved wet shoulder. See the result in pictures (3573, 3574 and 3616). Vincent thought he smelt earth like smell... I understand, we could have made a garden with the earth we were carrying on the Dune Buggy. When you look at pictures: 3571, 3579 and 3608 you’ll understand why this highway is called Yellowhead... We did not find the journey too boring, I assume Ted’s suggestion to take highway 16 played a role. It was sad to see all those fields flooded (see pictures 3623). We do not know how the farmers will manage to survive and what state their field will be left in when the water leaves. For about 20km (12 miles) we had a wide load in front of us that caused a traffic jam. At least we were only 4 cars back... When we arrived at the hotel, we declined Brad’s offer to help us do an oil change in favour of cleaning the Dune Buggy and parking it indoors for the night. Thanks for the offer Brad, very kind. Ted and his wife Elly picked us up at the hotel and we went for a coffee at Tim Hortons. They are very nice people and we enjoyed their company. I can’t imagine why they offered beer as a gift to Vincent... It required thumbs up! Thanks Elly and Ted for your suggestions and having brightened our day. Oh yes, we now have 2 hour difference with Quebec. Dear mother in-law, you would be happy, it is 9:00pm and it’s still light out (see picture: 626128) Today’s total distance 820.12 km (509.6 milles) Good night, tomorrow’s destination is Jasper.

Ed-Chenal · Post by **Ed-Chenal** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:50 am

A little bit of dirt is good for your buggy....

That is why God created buggies.

Post by **vincent9993** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:40 am

Just got into Jasper, AB as planned... Perfect day with lots of sunshine... That only means one thing: I need a cold beer!!!