28/06/2009 by Brigid.

Those of you with local knowledge - or a map - will immediately recognise that Kelowna is some 300 miles southeast of Williams Lake and nearly 750 miles away from Dawson Creek … where we were meant to be today. We have hit a snag. Potentially, a trip buster.

While fuelling this morning, we suddenly noticed a tablespoon or so of clear brown oil leaking from the BMW’s swingarm.Given that the service manager in Portland had told us to keep an eye on the final drive after cleaning off all the muck and corrosion, we could not continue north with the possibility of it seizing completely in the middle of nowhere. What am I talking about? Williams Lake is the middle of nowhere! Amongst other things we discovered this morning, our US cell phone doesn’t work in Canada. The closest BMW dealers were in Vancouver or Kelowna. Neither carried spare final drives, which could mean a wait of 4-5 days for parts.

Having spoken to both dealers, we opted for Kelowna on the basis that it is an attractive tourist destination in its own right, and the British service manager did a great job promoting the town. It has to be said though, we are both quite depressed at the prospect of a $2.5k+ repair, and the very real possibility that we may not reach Alaska.

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28/06/2009 by Brigid.

Today was a rest day. Since we wont get to Calgary in time for their internationally-renowned Stampede, we took a day out to see the (not quite so) Famous Williams Lake Stampede. In comparison, both Williams Lake, the place, and the Williams Lake Stampede, are a fraction of the size of Calgary. In fact, we struggled to identify the “downtown” area, until we realised that there wasn’t one: just a string of motels, stores and other businesses, strung out along the highway. The Stampede, nevertheless, attracts professional competitors from all over Canada and the US, and one from Australia lending an international flavour to the proceedings.

Rodeo is nothing if not unpredictable, and the action is fast. We took plenty of photos, some better than others. Here is a selection of the least blurred shots. (Hover over the photo for a description, and click for an enlargement.)

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