Our plans for driving to Kelowna last weekend did not pan out. It was suppose to be a breezy 6 hour drive. On paper. However, the Coquihalla “car killer” Highway, combined with what was probably one of the hottest days of the summer, meant that Sean’s truck overheated to the point where we weren’t even sure we could make the 1.5 hours drive back into Vancouver.
We were just past Hope (1/4 of the way to Kelowna) when our engine started to smoke. I didn’t know this but apparently, we were on a 30 kilometre never-ending uphill climb. We made it to just past the Great Bear Snowshed, which was a couple of kilometres from the summit.
Sean had warned me about the possibility of the truck not making it but I thought, it’s not streets of San Francisco vertical, so it can’t be THAT hard. It certainly didn’t feel like a steep incline. But the cumulative effect of climbing for so long takes a toll on cars.
And I found out later about the “burning car phenomenon” that the Coquihalla is famous for, where overheated cars and trucks have burnt to a fiery crisp off the side of the road.
Luckily that didn’t happen to us. And thank our lucky stars, we were able to pull into a rest stop on top of the highway where there was a couple of ginormous metal tents designed for trucks that needed to get out of the scorching heat.
We let the truck cool down for a couple of hours and entertained ourselves with counting the fleet of cars and big rigs that also needed to pull over on the highway before attempting to journey on. And strange to see tour buses as well as semi-trailer trucks, hazard lights blinking, as they literally inch up the Coquihalla.
After a couple hours, we crossed our fingers and drove back into the city. With the air con off, so not to overheat the engine faster and praying that we cross back into 3G territory. (not only would it suck to be stranded on the Coquihalla, but it would suck even harder with no cel service!) We made a stop in hope to have some lunch before deciding to stop for the day in Abbotsford. We didn’t want to push the car so hard and hence pushing our luck.
So it was “date night in the valley.”
The failed attempt at driving to Kelowna got us sweaty and crankey and ready to kill in exchange for a cool shower and air conditioned room. So we checked in to a hotel to swim in a cool pool, order take out dinner and fall asleep watching tv in bed.
A little reward for a day that whooped our asses.
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