Western Canada and Northwest Territories Road Trip Mileage and Gas Log

It’s been six months and this was something I was determined to post right after our return from the 2016 summer road trip. Well, finally, here it is – the mileage chart from the trip that sent us out to Western Canada, the Northwest Territories and back through the Rocky Mountains and the north central United States.

I tried my hardest not to be confusing when it came to the purchase of gasoline in two different countries, with two different forms of measure and with two different currencies. The prices in the chart remain what they were on the sign in front of the gas station. Everything in Canada is per litre and everything in the United States is per gallon. To be a bit helpful, prices for gas bought in the U.S.A. are highlighted in red.

Total gas purchased has all been converted to litres. Cost is in local currency. When the numbers are highlighted in green, that purchase is in U.S. dollars. While we were away on this trip, the Canadian Dollar was valued at anywhere between 75 and 79 American cents.

See below the chart for more info.

2016 Summer Road Trip Mileage Chart

Date	Location	Gas Bar	Price	Litres	Cost	KM
Jun 27, 16	Orangeville, ON	Shell	0.999	52.852	$52.80	0
Jun 28, 16	Bay City, MI	Speedway	2.459	47.708	$30.99	486
Jun 28, 16	Sault Ste. Marie, MI	Admiral	2.549	42.843	$28.85	867
Jun 29, 16	White River, ON	Esso	1.209	44.045	$53.25	1226
Jun 29, 16	Thunder Bay, ON	Shell	1.197	38.645	$46.26	1700
Jun 30, 16	West Hawk Lake, MB	Esso	1.029	51.030	$52.51	2175
Jun 30, 16	Neepawa, MB	Co-op	1.029	38.879	$40.01	2532
Jul 1, 16	Wynyard, SK	Esso	1.019	45.142	$46.00	3029
Jul 2, 16	Lloydminster, SK	Shell	0.999	55.932	$52.52	3512
Jul 3, 16	Lac La Biche, AB	Shell	0.969	31.705	$30.72	3869
Jul 3, 16	Slave Lake, AB	Shell	1.069	24.650	$26.35	4101
Jul 3, 16	Red Earth Creek, AB	Fas Gas	1.049	22.240	$23.33	4271
Jul 3, 16	High Level, AB	Esso	1.139	34.989	$39.85	4596
Jul 4, 16	Hay River, NT	Shell	1.219	34.528	$42.09	4938
Jul 5, 16	Fort Smith, NT	Petro Canada	1.169	29.942	$35.00	5307
Jul 6, 16	Fort Smith, NT	Petro Canada	1.169	14.545	$17.00	5451
Jul 6, 16	Hay River, NT	Shell	1.219	36.048	$46.38	5747
Jul 7, 16	Fort Providence, NT	Shell	1.255	21.371	$26.82	5963
Jul 8, 16	Fort Simpson, NT	Northern	1.309	27.676	$39.24	6297
Jul 9, 16	Fort Liard, NT	Liard Fueling	1.259	33.752	$42.49	6610
Jul 9, 16	Fort Nelson, BC	Esso	1.279	27.742	$35.48	6827
Jul 9, 16	Fort St. John, BC	Petro Canada	1.169	40.934	$47.85	7218
Jul 10, 16	Prince George, BC	Esso	1.049	49.492	$51.92	7691
Jul 12, 16	Jasper, AB	Esso	1.139	56.077	$63.87	8245
Jul 13, 16	Calgary, AB	Shell	0.929	46.345	$43.05	8691
Jul 14, 16	Bonners Ferry, ID	South Hill Mart	2.449	48.408	$31.32	9240
Jul 15, 16	Deer Lodge, MT	Conoco	2.349	57.701	$35.81	9777
Jul 16, 16	Ennis, MT	CENEX	2.359	23.068	$14.38	9990
Jul 16, 16	Cody, WY	BOC Fuel	2.399	44.021	$27.90	10467
Jul 17, 16	Buffalo, WY	CENEX	2.209	34.826	$20.32	10779
Jul 18, 16	Rapid City, SD	La Grand Stn	2.349	45.402	$28.17	11247
Jul 19, 16	Kimball, SD	Ditty’s	2.299	45.107	$27.39	11614
Jul 19, 16	Missouri Valley, IA	Shell	1.999	57.604	$30.44	12058
Jul 20, 16	Davenport, IA	Kwik Star	2.039	57.171	$30.80	12620
Jul 21, 16	Paw Paw, MI	Speedway	2.299	58.019	$35.24	13124
Jul 21, 16	Romulus, MI	Speedway	2.299	24.893	$15.12	13368
Jul 21, 16	HOME					13762

Notes

The fill-up in Wynard, Saskatchewan was discounted by a coupon. If you were going over the numbers with a fine tooth comb, you’d notice that the total cost is lower that the price times the quantity.

If you stop at one of the CO-OP gas stations littered throughout Saskatchewan, they are full serve only. This is great, except they would stop pumping at the first click of the nozzle. With our van, this meant the tank would be no where near full.

If you plan on driving to the Northwest Territories, you should note that gas prices defy logic. Fort Smith was the cheapest gas we found in the territory. Fort Smith is the better part of 300 km east of Hay River on an often gravel road that dead ends just south of the town in Wood Buffalo National Park. Also, the gas was cheaper in NWT than in British Columbia, north of Prince George.

For Canadians traveling through the United States, be careful at some of the gas stations. In Iowa, I almost put in some very inexpensive gas – until I noticed it was 85 octane. From what I’ve read, this stuff is a bit of a scam and does nothing for your vehicle or gas mileage.

2004 Honda Odyssey

All this was done in a heavily packed 2004 Honda Odyssey minivan. Just prior to leaving, this van was given to us. It had belonged to my father who passed away just a short time before. It was a toss-up whether we’d use this van or the not much newer 2005 Pontiac Montana SV6. I’d sunk thousands into the Pontiac over the early months of 2016 but there were still issues. The main problem was that the air conditioning defied repair.

The Honda ultimately won out because of the excellent AC and the stow and go seating making for an overall better fit for all our stuff, and the two kids. The tires were new but lower quality than the Pontiac so the road noise was a little (lot) higher. Also, I missed the Pontiac’s outside temperature display and digital compass.

However, the Odyssey made the trip without problem. We gave her just one oil change, in Prince George, British Columbia. Much of the time, she was caked in a thick layer of dust, adding to the already stressful weight on the rear shocks. The windshield got dinged pretty bad in NWT when a rather large rock was kicked up by a passing vehicle. On an emotional side, I felt that my Dad and my Mom were on the trip with me.

The image above is the Odyssey at the summit of the Powder River Pass in Wyoming. The pass is tops out at an elevation of 9,666 feet above sea level. The van didn’t struggle at all going up or down. The image directly above is the damage from the rock hit in the Northwest Territories.