Mechanic Sunday And A Great View Of Banff

When I purchased the former ambulance, it had two alternators. One for the engine and the other for all the medical stuff they had onboard. Trouble was, alternator No.2 was faulty and by that reason disconnected. And it did make a howling sound as the bearings were worn out. So I have speculated a good deal whether just to replace alternator No2. or rip out the extra equipment and just buy a shorter belt. I finally came to the latter, and today I got myself the right tools and started it halfway through the morning. Prior to this action I had watched a video on how to go about. What the video did not show was the fact that both alternators were mounted on a special bracket which is not to be found in any other vans of this model. That bracket was about to cause a major problem as the standard one-alternator-belt was too short to reach up and around. So not only had the two alternators to come out, but also the bracket they were mounted on. It sat with 3 bolts only, so that seemed easy, but even after removing all three of them the darn thing would not come off. It seemed like welded to the motor. I bend and hammered and poked and pried and finally, after a full hour, it came loose. With that part removed, the rest was peanuts. I restarted the engine and the terrible howling was gone. Of course, I now needed a little road trip and decided to check out a few of the most wonderful views around Banff. My first goal was to drive up to Mt.Norquay. In winter, this is a fine ski destination while now only a few cars make the long switchback road to the top.   Not only was there a grand view but I was lucky enough to see a whole herd of horned Mountain Sheep resting peacefully on an alpine meadow. Well, a few were even checking out who was visiting down on the road!   Vermilion Lake seen from Norquay Road Next on my bucket list was Vermilion Lakes, down in the valley. A narrow paved road leads from the west Banff entrance along the few shallow Vermilion Lakes.         The views across the quiet waters are crowned by towering snowcapped mountains. Mt. Rundle sure dominates most pictures I took, yet the foreground changes in every picture. I’m sure it was way over 70F today. People were lounging on the few boat docks along the lake just hanging out there enjoying. What a great way to spend Sunday. First being a Mechanic then a Tourist. Oh well….. Thanks again for coming along.