Today was slated to be one of our shortest journeys of the entire trip. But it didn’t turn out that way.

Things started rolling well enough in Lloydminster. We gassed up the vehicles first thing. Yesterday’s spark plug issues didn’t seem to be affecting the Blue Moke today.

That is, until we were less than an hour out from the east side of Edmonton. We decided to take another bio-break, but this time at a rest station. Unfortunately, it was pretty basic; vault toilets that you could smell as you approached the building.

But that was the least of our worries, as the Blue Moke decided that it wasn’t going to start again once we were done.

Again: Blue Moke’s hood is up; Tim & Dad’s heads are peering over the engine bay; Jeff and Phil are making small talk with everyone who comes by to say “sweet cars!”. It was a long diagnosis, but eventually it was found that the carburetor’s piston was stuck in the down position, stopping all air and fuel flow. The guys dislodged it and things fired up as expected again. We were now on-the-road again!

Cutting straight through Edmonton, we passed through to the other side of the city to the small suburb of Spruce Grove where our hotel was. After checking in and unloading our vehicles we headed back into Edmonton. We first went to Bass Pro to pick up and air-horn and some bear bangers, both of which we hope we don’t have to use (… this hopefully will not be accidental foreshadowing).

We decided to treat ourselves to some Alberta beef and hit up a steakhouse in west Edmonton. We parked our Mokes in the fancy-car section of the parking lot.

To wrap the day we decided to check out West Edmonton Mall which was just 5 minutes away. This is where the day got more interesting.

A minute away from the mall, the Blue Moke again decided that it was tired and wanted a rest at a traffic light. Refusing to start, Phil pushed the Moke as Dad steered it. Fortunately they were able to push it a couple dozen meters over to the side of the road and put it in between some construction cones there and keep it away from traffic.

Tim and Jeff circled back and the diagnosis began. This time is appeared that the fuel delivery system wasn’t working as expected. In particular, the fancy electronic switch that allowed for the selection of the two fuel tanks appeared to be working erratically. Swapping the fuel lines around allowed the fuel to flow and the Blue Moke to get going again. Another win! But not the last of our troubles.

At the mall we took in some of the sights, and Tim took the time to try a hydro-massage to ease his sore back. Not wanting to spend too much time there, we completed the circuit of the ground floor and headed back to the vehicles.

Heading back west to the hotel, again, the Blue Moke decided to take a nap while travelling down the highway out of town. Phil was driving and pulled it over. Tim and Jeff in the following vehicle did the same. This breakdown was definitely the most precarious due to the rate of speed of the traffic on the highway.

Again, another round of diagnosis, and again another problem and solution was found. This time the fuel was good, but there was no spark. Not the spark plugs themselves, but the ignition coil to the distributor was unresponsive.

Fortunately that was one of the spare items we packed. Tim did a quick swap of the part and the Blue Moke roared back to life.

The shortest day of the trip ended up being one of the most interesting one of the trip thus far. We wrapped up the day by grabbing McFlurries at McDonalds.

In the process, Tim and Dad pulled out the Bat-Phone and summoned Deb of the Montreal Mini Club to help find them a Mini enthusiast in the Edmonton area who could possibly hook us up with a coil we could bring as a replacement spare-part … just in case. Deb, as the master-networker, had us talking to a local guy within minutes and we were able to secure two spare coils for the rest of our journey.

Tomorrow, we hope for less stress and more amazing Canadian vistas as we cross over into BC and end our day in Dawson Creek.

Starting Location & Time	Lloydminster, Saskatchewan – 10:22 am
Ending Location & Time	Spruce Grove, Alberta – 2:36 pm
Total Kilometers	280 km
Total Time	4h 14m