Canada Road Trip: a mini loop with mum
I arrived at mum’s house on Tuesday May 20th and we almost immediately began planning our trip to visit all of her favorite places while fulfilling our ultimate mission of visiting family to ferry along some lovely heirlooms. Our trip was round trip from Parksville, we drove 2115 miles in 8 days. We drank lots of Tim Horton’s coffee, tried to stay up to date with the news and took it all in.
A round trip loop from Vancouver Island and back.
Day 1 BC, 285 miles (7 hours) - Nanaimo - Horseshoe Bay Ferry - Sea to Sky highway through Whistler - Pemberton -Kamloops
The Sea to Sky highway is gorgeous, very very windy (as in curvy) and slow, every corner is a view. I was driving and didn’t take many photos other than when we stopped. Whistler was a destination but we breezed through, there wasn’t a parking spot anywhere and it’s so built up and touristy, we just weren’t interested in shopping.
Mum’s memories of Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton (and well, everywhere really) were from 20 years ago when everything was smaller, more accessible and just generally had less people. She was shocked at how everything had grown.
Gorgeous mountains in every direction, even the mcdonald’s had a view. Pemberton, BC
Duffey Lake, BC
As we climbed, it got warmer and drier. It was 80+º in this area.
The road was steep and hugging the mountains all day. Average speed was probably 35/40mph. That’s ok, I was rubbernecking.
Sage! Finally! We picked two bundles at the Seton Lake lookout and enjoyed it’s amazing scent for the rest of the trip.
dry and stark terrain
Day 2 BC into Alberta, 502 miles (8 hours) - Kamloops - Valemount - Mount Robson -Jasper AB - St Albert AB (near Edmonton)
Mt. Robson, the highest peak in the canadian rockies. just shy of 13,000ft. Incredibly picturesque.
Jasper was 1/3 destroyed by a massive wildfire last summer, so rebuilding was in full swing and the landscape looked VERY different. Those bald hills (beige) were all burnt, the dark hills in the distance were not. Amazingly, they saved the historic railway station, but houses right across the street were decimated. The fire cut a path of chaos through the valley leaving some places untouched and others destroyed.
More evidence of last years forest fire.
The glacially fed lakes and waterways are other worldly in Jasper National Park.
Bighorn sheep at the side of the road, Jasper NP
Roche Miette
mum drove like a champ a good part of this day while I snapped photos through the sunroof and craned my neck to see the tops of the mountains.
Day 3 Alberta, 250 miles (4 hours) - St. Albert - Opal - St. Lina (and back)
While heading to St. Lina we HAD to stop in Opal. (my daughter’s name is Opal). Every street was named Opal. (street, ave, lane, rd etc). Current population 24. It used to be a bustled town of several thousand in it’s prime.
We stopped at a gas station in Smoky Lake, my mum claims to have not seen this humungous bear just outside the restrooms.
We stopped at the family farm in St. Lina to drop off some heirlooms, I completely failed to get a group shot, lots of pics of the old cars that cousin Ben has though. Mum got pretty teary leaving the farm, she had so many good memories there.
We had amazing steaks from their cattle, delicious cinnamon cake and fresh homemade buns, all of which have nothing whatsoever to do with this photo. Yum.
Amy gave me the recipes thankfully. I’ll try to make them when I get back home. Oh look another car!
Day 4 Alberta, 267 miles (5 hours) - St. Albert - Carstairs (Custom Woolen Mill) - Calgary Tower - Canmore
We stopped at Custom Woolen Mills on the way to Calgary, an active mill that processes thousands of pounds of wool into roving, yarn, socks, blankets and they even make their own wool filled, quilted sleeping bags. An amazing operation on the most beautiful old equipment.
Dandelions and prairie soil
Mum knitting in the car
Our next stop was the Calgary Tower, my stepfather George was the lead engineer on this tower’s build. It was completed in 1968 and was the tallest building in Calgary until 1985. He would tell stories about sleeping at the job site because it was a 24 hour (round the clock) continuous pour of concrete. Of course went to the top for the view.
It was a phenomenon when it was built, standing 627 feet tall it was credited with helping to usher in the golden age of Calgary’s growth.
There’s a glass floor that I didn’t dare walk on, but the view from the top was stunning.
Mum in the Calgary Tower
Downtown Calgary is pretty awesome. So vibrant, lots of folks out and about. Diverse. Warm. I kinda loved it.
Downtown Calgary
Our cheap-ass hotel in Canmore AB was pretty run down, but maaaannn, that view.
Day 5 Alberta into BC, 376 miles (8 hours) - Canmore - Banff - Rogers Pass - Revelstoke BC- Nakusp Hot Springs BC - Vernon BC
I took almost no photos this day, but we made it Nakusp, our hot springs destination. It was sooo nice to soak in the hot pools in the open hair while it was pouring rain. One pool was 104º, the other was 98º. This is a photo of a painting in the lobby. Mum’s mom remembers visiting back when it was just little pools made of stone.
Hot pool in the foreground, not-so-hot pool in the background. We met several locals in the pool, it’s a favorite. of mum’s and I can see why.
The town of Naskusp was also pretty special and welcoming. We stopped at a little health food store to buy some snacks (crackers, hummus, rose lemonade). The mountains are less craggy, they felt more ‘huggy’. The lake was inviting too, I’d go back for hug again.
To get to Nakusp, you have to cross the Upper Arrow Lake twice, once at Shelter Bay and once at Needles. the crossing to Needles is on a cable ferry. Takes about 10 minutes and holds about 15 vehicles. Very smooth and cool. Somehow it felt super old fashioned to be hauled across by a cable.
Day 6 BC, 138 mles (3 hours) - Vernon - Kelowna - Peachland - Osoyoos
The best town museum I’ve ever visited, the town historians have been keeping artifacts forever. Peachland, BC. Okanagan region.
the museum had the most amazingly accurate and huge train set, complete with sounds and lights.
I was honestly infatuated with this train. I wish I could post a video of it. I hope my friend Ken Munsey gets to see it someday.
Beautiful sycamore trees in Peachland, BC. This is such a cute town wedged between Okanagon Lake and the highway.
We landed in Osyooos and went straight into the water. It was 90º. We loved it so much that we decided to stay all the next day to be on the beach.
Day 7 BC, 0 miles - No driving! We stayed put on the beach in Osoyoos
Osoyoos, BC
Also Osoyoos, BC
Day 8 297 miles (7 hours) - Osoyoos - Princeton - Manning Park - Tsawassan Ferry - Nanaimo
Zero photos, glad to be home! Phew.