Seat 2A

THE LONG DRIVE NORTH

Many people are put off by the great distance to be driven between anywhere in the Lower 48 and Alaska. I love the drive. It is one of my favorite travel experiences, if only for all the beautiful scenery I pass through along the way. It also helps that my truck is outfitted with ten speakers, a quality amp and an equalizer. The front coaxials will handle up to 350 watts alone with a custom built bass, mid-range and tweeter box behind the seats. No, my truck is not one of those annoying ghetto cruisers with loud bass booming gangsta rap music to insult the sensibilities of anyone with an IQ over 50. Only an anti-social moron feels a need to inflict that rubbish on his fellow citizenry. Essentially, more power properly applied means more clarity. All the better to enjoy the sweet tone of those mandolin strings or the whisk of that cymbal complimented by the beat of a warm, full bass. My stereo provides concert hall quality sound that makes driving anywhere, even the 120 miles up to Fairbanks for groceries, a pleasure to be anticipated.

Now I’m sure that few if any of you want to read a mile by mile account of my 4000-mile drive back home to Alaska. After all, this is FlyerTalk, not AAA. I will provide commentary on a few points of interest however.

‘Tis indeed a privilege to live in the American West and an equal one to drive through it. Even some of the interstates have their pretty spots. A good example of this is along I-70 west of Denver. The highway starts climbing right at the edge of the city and continues its uphill heading through the Rockies until it summits at the Eisenhower Tunnel, 11,015 feet above sea level. At this point, it passes under the Continental Divide and begins a long and gradual descent down the Western Slope to Utah. Highlights include the climb out of Denver, the descent into Vail Valley and Glenwood Canyon. I stopped to briefly visit friends in Grand Junction before continuing on to one of my favorite places in Utah – Deadhorse Point State Park. It was a beautiful evening when I arrived and it seemed like I had almost the entire park to myself as I saw only five or six people during the entire length of my stay. There were only two other vehicles in the campground – both motorhomes – and I never did see or hear anything of the occupants.

The next morning I slept in, cooked breakfast, hiked out to the overlook point, and then continued on a northwesterly heading through Salt Lake City and up into Idaho. At Pocatello, I made a left turn on Interstate 86. This took me into Power County, the last and final county of the American West that I’d not yet driven through. It was tempting to pull off and have a celebratory beer somewhere but it was getting dark and I had a lot of territory to cover still ahead of me. I turned onto Idaho 27 and made my way back to the northbound lanes of Interstate 15.

I should note here that normally I try to stick to the smaller roads, but the fact that I had already driven all the secondary highways in this region coupled with the increasing darkness made taking the interstate up to Montana a more logical choice. I drove another 150 miles before calling it a night at a rest area just above Dillon, Montana.

My original plan had been to take Montana 43 over to Lost Trail Pass where it meets up with US-93 at the Idaho border. From there I’d head north up the Bitterroot Valley to Missoula and on to Kalispell for the night. Alas, it had snowed heavily on the high passes the night before – I woke up with an inch of snow on my truck this same morning – and the dubious road conditions atop the passes forced me to continue north along the interstate until I got about fifty miles north of Butte. There I turned onto US-12, then west on Montana 200 until I hit one of the prettiest roads in all of Montana, state highway 83. This is like the back way up to Kalispell and the eastern entrance to Glacier National Park. The route travels through the Swan Valley and is heavily forested with some beautiful lakes along the way.

In Kalispell, I was disappointed to find that the nice motel I remembered staying at about ten years earlier had been torn down and replaced with a bank. None of the other motels in town looked particularly inviting – or they were too expensive – so I continued 15 miles further up the road to Whitefish. I’d ridden Amtrak’s Empire Builder through Whitefish often enough, but I’d never stayed there. Whitefish sits at the base of the Big Mountain ski area and so it definitely has that ski town feel to it – kind of Tyrolean with lots of little shops and warmly lit pubs and eateries. I found a decent motel, cooked up some pasta and veggies, and enjoyed a warm bed and a shower for the first time this drive.

I spent the next two days winding through the mountains and valleys of southern British Columbia. There are no straight roads in southern BC – the area is very mountainous and there are some incredibly long lakes to be gotten around or over. Across Kootenay Lake, I rode aboard the Osprey 2000. This was a pretty good-sized open deck car ferry with a small café and an nice passenger lounge. The crossing took half an hour and was billed as the longest free ferry ride in the world. Later that day I crossed Lower Arrow Lake on an old fashioned rope pulled ferry. All day long I drove back and forth between autumn in the valleys to winter in the mountains. It was quite a day, but one I’d gladly do all over again. Southern BC is certainly a beautiful part of the world!

I pulled into Kelowna at about 6:00pm. I’d driven 1,860 miles since leaving Colorado five days ago and was looking forward to letting WestJet and ViaRail do the driving for awhile. Since my flight didn’t depart until 9:35am the next morning, I figured I’d indulge myself and get a motel for the night. Kelowna’s got plenty of them but as I was soon to discover, they’re all pretty high priced on the weekends. The best deal I could find was $54.00 per night at a so-so looking place that had tiny rooms. I decided to pass and instead purchased myself a nice chicken dinner in town before heading out to the airport where a night in the Economy Lot goes for just $5.00.

Now I know that for many people, their pride would never allow them to sleep in their vehicle unless it was specifically designed for that. Me, I could care less. Lord knows, I’ve slept in many more dubious locations, especially in my hitchhiking days. But the reality is I’m just as comfortable in the back of my truck as I am in most beds. I’ve got a full bed mattress in the back, not one of those awful inflatable things. It’s soft yet firm and I actually like it better than many regular beds I’ve slept in. There’s plenty of room and I can stretch out fully and then some. Add to that a couple of pillows and a couple of good sleeping bags and I’m more than comfortable. By the way - I never get in sleeping bags. They’re too restrictive that way. Even on backpacking trips, I just unzip them and get under them, like a big down comforter. With a Thermarest pad or a mattress underneath me, I’m plenty warm.


November 6, 2005
Kelowna to Vancouver WESTJET 737-700 Coach Class 935a – 1030a
Vancouver to Winnipeg WESTJET 737-700 Coach Class 1125a – 400p

This morning dawned clear and cold – frozen droplets of rain all over my truck were testament to last night’s sub-freezing temperatures. Nonetheless, I slept comfortably through the night under my trusty –5° rated sleeping bag and awoke refreshed and ready for the day’s adventures. That today would be a sunny day was an added bonus.

Kelowna International’s Economy Parking Lot is located next to the terminal building whereas Close-In parking is located right in front of the terminal. Unless you’re parked way out in the back forty of the Economy lot, the difference in walking distance is negligible. The difference in price is substantial however, as Close-In parking costs double that of Economy.

Following a speedy clean up in the deserted baggage claim area washroom (The first flight of the day wasn’t due to arrive for another hour yet), I presented my freshly attired self at the WestJet ticket counter where I was assigned exit row window seat 12A for both of my flights.

Awright! Exit row window seats on a web special ticket on a low cost carrier! I must be livin’ right!

With a couple of hours to burn before flight time, I walked down to the Skyway Restaurant for a bit of breakfast. It’s a cafeteria really – the days of fine dining in North American airports are for the most part gone – but I thoroughly enjoyed the plate of Eggs Benedict I purchased for just $5.50 CAD. The coffee wasn’t bad either and, like the eggs very affordable at just $1.30 CAD with unlimited refills. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen Eggs Benedict offered at an airport cafeteria. In the US at least, a cup of typically bland coffee will usually run you close to $2.00 with no refills. Very reasonable prices here in Kelowna.

I’m sure at least a couple of FlyerTalk’s more well heeled readers must be snorting in derision at this point. (That’s assuming they’ve even deigned to read a report such as this). That Seat 2A is such a cheapskate! Niggling about coffee prices and sleeping in his truck… How gauche!

Well it’s true - I don’t have a six-figure income, I’m not on a company expense account and I’m not heir to any large sums of money. (My father left me a black hat and a stuffed owl.) In order to travel as much as I do, I’ve really got to watch my budget. As it is, I’d rather spend my money on getting there rather than blowing a bundle just to catch a few hours sleep in a hotel room. That’s fine for business travelers or vacationers who can afford to pack a lot of expense into a short, two or three week trip that they only take once a year. I’m not on vacation. This is my life. Just think of me as a well to do hobo and pray I don’t show up bumming unfinished drinks and half-smoked cigars at any FlyerTalk get-togethers.

Boarding of flight 77 to Vancouver was pretty simple. Passengers needing assistance were boarded first, followed by everybody else. Not one, not two but THREE gate agents helped scan boarding passes and then directed passengers to either the front or rear door of the aircraft. No jetways were involved and boarding was accomplished relatively quickly. I especially enjoyed walking out into the bright morning sun and climbing up the stairs to that shiny new winglet equipped 737-700. There’s something about walking out to and around a big jetliner that really allows you to appreciate what magnificent machines they truly are. The impact is considerably less when boarding via a jetway.

WestJet 737-700s are outfitted with 136 gray leather upholstered seats offering decent legroom of 32” pitch. In the back of each seat is a 5” PTV with controls located in the armrest. Twenty-five channels of television (including a flight progress map) are available along with pay-per-view movies from Disney and Fox. There is no charge for the television programs, but headphones will set you back $1.00.

The Flight Attendant making the pre-flight safety announcements was unlike any non-ramp airline employee I’ve ever seen. Specifically, he sported a goatee and had his long hair tied back in a ponytail. Most airlines would never allow this image in a public contact position, so hats off to WestJet for hiring this guy as is, because the great job he did throughout the flight had everything to do with character and nothing to do with appearance.

Flying time to Vancouver was planned for thirty-seven minutes. Due to the short flight, a scaled back service of orange or apple juice was all that would be offered. I had an apple juice and was happy to help out when the crew asked us to separate the juice cartons from any other rubbish we might have so that they might be recycled. Good job, WestJet!

I had an hour layover in Vancouver and, with no lounge access, decided to head over to a small café where a coffee and a Biscotti assisted me in my ongoing efforts to bring this report up to date. I paused briefly to watch as an Air North 737-200 was towed into the gate and prepared for its departure up to Whitehorse. Air North really needs to come up with a better livery for this ex-Piedmont 737. The all-white fuselage bears a small north-pointing compass on the tail and the title “Air North – The Yukon’s Airline” in thin blue print on the forward fuselage. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were just leasing this airplane for the short term until something more permanent comes along.

Hard though it may be to believe, the 737 first entered service with Lufthansa thirty-eight years ago. The first 737-300 entered service with US Air twenty-two years ago and some of the early examples of that aircraft are now starting to show up in the used aircraft market. How time flies… It seems like only yesterday that a friend and I drove down to Stapleton to have a look at one of the new –300s. US Air even let us onboard to have a look around the airplane. That would never happen these days!

The flight to Winnipeg was fairly full but once again my seatmate du vol and I enjoyed an empty middle seat. Following the lengthy safety and flight service announcements (Because Canada is officially bilingual, all announcements must be made in both English and French. I can’t help but wonder about if we were in Quebec, whether the authorities would insist that the French announcements be spoken 40% louder than the English ones, much as they do with the size of the lettering on their signage…) we roared off down the runway and quickly climbed to 38,000 feet for the two hour and seventeen minute flight to Winnipeg.

WestJet got its start back in 1996 flying three 737-200s between Vancouver, Calgary, Kelowna, Winnipeg and Edmonton. They’ve certainly grown since, now operating a modern fleet of 737-200s, 600s, 700s and 800s from Vancouver in the west to St. Johns, Newfoundland in the east. Foreign destinations include the usual winter hotspots in Florida, Arizona, Nevada, California and – starting soon – Hawaii! They also fly charters to Mexico. Check out the route map.

Back in 1996, WestJet’s longest flight was probably from Edmonton to Vancouver. Now they’re flying transcons and so the onboard service has evolved from complimentary soft drinks and snacks like cookies and nuts to light meals for sale such as sandwiches and breakfast wraps. Here’s a listing of what’s for sale:

WESTJET’s INFLIGHT MENU

I wasn’t particularly hungry and so settled for a complimentary packet of cookies with a cup of coffee. Meanwhile, I perused the TV selections and found two channels broadcasting NFL football games. I watched for awhile as the Chargers grounded the hapless Jets, then switched to TSN Sports Center for a review of the day’s action. You won’t find this on Cathay Pacific!

Soon we began our descent into Winnipeg. It was a blustery day on the high plains of Manitoba and our approach into Winnipeg International was not the smoothest. Upon landing, the Captain flipped on the thrust reversers followed by an application of brakes so heavy that my water bottle leapt off the middle seat and rolled forward into the next row.

Transportation from the airport into downtown Winnipeg is available via taxi, limousine or the #15 bus. Hmm… I could pay $15.00 CAD for the limo or $1.85 CAD for the city bus that’ll get me downtown in just thirty-five minutes. Fifteen minutes later, I was rolling down Sargent Avenue with transfer in hand for the #55 bus to Winnipeg’s Union Station. Total transit time from airport to train station: Fifty-three minutes.