Wednesday was the 11th day of our Model A US-Canada road trip. By now the daily events of the tour have become routine. We wake up in a hotel room, prepare for the day, and drive to our next destination. This process is a team effort. Our team consists of our 1929 Model A (the car), Randy (the driver), and me (the passenger). You might think that the passenger just sits back and enjoys the ride. This is partially true. I do enjoy the ride and have been known to doze off as the sun warms my window. Nevertheless, let it be known that when it comes to Model A road trips, the passenger is not passive. Our job is important too. I have a story to tell about my duties for Wednesday’s drive from Quesnel to McBride. But first, let me tell you a bit about the passenger’s side of our Model A.

This is what the dash of the passenger side looks like. You will see that it is quite a bit different from a modern car. The dash has only a control panel. The rest of the dash is usually empty. While on road trips, we take advantage of the extra dash space. Since it is metal, we use a magnetic holder to hold soda cans or small plastic cups. The photo you see shows the gray “cup holder” holding a Starbucks beverage.

When on road trips, we try to get a refrigerator magnet for each notable stop. This way we can decorate the magnetic dash colorful memories of our assorted destinations.

We sit in seats that are quite cozy. It is so cozy that our shoulders touch. Note that there is no glove compartment. Under the dash is a small fire extinguisher, and a make-shift garbage bag (a plastic bag attached with Velcro).

Thankfully, the doors have little pockets that are handy to store your phone, notes, or paper maps. Behind us is a small shelf where we put an assortment of small necessities.

We use suction cups to hold the GPS to the windshield. Some days I attach a GoPro to the front, back or side windows to capture the beauty around us. Here is a little video that shows some GoPro footage of our drive to McBride.

Besides being a videographer, my duty as a passenger is to help the driver as much a possible. This involves helping with navigation, or something less-exciting like fetching a water bottle from the back shelf. Something we take for granted in modern cars like reaching for a water bottle to take a sip of water is not easy for the driver of a Model A.

Then there is the all-important job of researcher to find places to stop to rest, get gas, or eat. On Wednesday our drive had fewer miles, so we had some extra time to spend sightseeing along the way. I researched stops on my phone and found that the town of Prince George had a visitor center. The photo on their website had glowing reviews of this visitors center. Based on the website photo, we anticipated a sophisticated visitors center full of brochures, maps, and souvenirs.

I used my phone’s GPS to get us there. The only problem was that there was nothing at the address provided. We found ourselves in a neighborhood of abandoned buildings, trash bins, and drug users. After a bit of digging, I learned that Prince George had a new visitors center several blocks away. We drove to the new location only to find a locked door and a sign that said “coming soon”. Our ready-for-anything traveling companions Ryck and Linda suggested that we grab a bite to eat at the local Tim Horton’s but we found that it was drive-through only. We finally found a Subway sandwich shop that we could walk to. It too did not offer a good place to sit and eat, so we walked back to the “coming soon” visitors center and found a curb to sit on while we ate our sandwich. As I walked to the car, disappointed at my choice of sightseeing stops, I finally found the “visitors center”. Here is is below.

Although our sightseeing adventure did not work out like we planned, we did enjoy our drive to the quaint town of McBride where we spent the night. Tomorrow we leave BC and head to another wonderful Canada province: Alberta.