While we weren’t traveling in the company of twelve dwarves, and we didn’t have to slay a dragon to steal its treasure, we did find ourselves on an epic adventure driving across the entirety of Canada…and back again.

49 days — 11,050 miles (17,783 kilometers) — 5 ferries — 6 time zones — 2 sore butts

Beyond getting across the U.S./Canada border and eventually making our way to visit some Toronto-area friends Glenn met while hiking the Camino de Santiago, we didn’t have a plan. It was a fly by the seat of our pants situation.

We didn’t set out with the intention of driving so far East, but one thing led to another and before you knew it, we found ourselves about as far away from home as we could get without boarding a plane.

One of the things I love about traveling is that it enables me to do one of my most favorite activities…collecting memories.

This blog is as much about me having a space to process my thoughts and feelings about things I experience, as it is about me having a place to record some of my collected memories. I love reviewing old blog posts to remind myself of the details of my experiences. It’s like a journal and a photo album all mixed up together.

To that end, below you will find a handful of trip highlights.

Grizzly Bears

The most awe-inspiring trip experience, for me, was getting to spend time with the Khutzeymateen grizzly bears in Northern British Columbia. Beyond the bears, the surrounding scenery and wildlife was out of this world. Check out my previous blog post for more about this amazing and spontaneous adventure! It absolutely made my top ten list of most awesome experiences ever and we’ve already booked a return trip for this coming June.

Visiting Friends

It seems Glenn and I know a fair number of Canadians, most of whom we’ve met via work or our travels in Spain, Bolivia, and Peru. We were able to visit and connect with several of these folks as we made our way across the country. One of my absolute favorite experiences in this realm was meeting Glenn (the other one!) and Jan. Glenn met them the very first morning of the Camino as the three of them bumped into each other and wandered around trying to find the starting point. They became fast friends and spent severals days hiking together.

In many ways this Canadian road trip was about me trying to cheer Glenn up. He was quite devastated when we had to cancel our trip doing long walks in Ireland and Scotland due to COVID, and was having a hard time getting out of the dumps. I thought that having a chance to visit and reminisce with friends that he’d experienced a long walk with might help ease some of his frustrations.

Glenn ended up calling our multi-day visit with Glenn and Jan “the great reset” as it occurred a little over midway through our trip and provided us with the chance to sit still for a while, sleep in a real bed, do a deep clean of Laverne, eat amazing home-cooked food and enjoy easy companionship. Although this was my first-time meeting Glenn and Jan, I felt an immediate affinity for them. It was as if my soul had known them for a long time. We left their care with full hearts and a renewed passion for seeing what comes next. 

Off the Beaten Path

On this trip I confirmed something about myself that I think I’ve always known, and that is my love of taking the road less traveled. The more remote and harder a place is to get to, the more I want to go there. I remember when my friend John and I were deciding where to go to see the mountain gorillas. As soon as I read that the Ugandan locations were harder to reach than the Rwandan locations, I knew Uganda was the place for me.

Similarly, when I was looking at a map trying to figure out where to go after our visit with Glenn and Jan, my eye caught the island of Newfoundland, far off the Eastern coast of mainland Canada. I felt an irresistible pull to trek there. After all, how often does one find themselves “in the neighborhood” of Newfoundland? I’m so glad we made the effort, as it was wild and rugged and stunning…my favorite kind of environment. Newfoundland made my short list of places to return to one day!  

Leaf Peeping

We knew that at least part of our trip would involve looking at the fall leaves on the East Coast. Glenn had seen the leaves once before on a quick work trip when he was younger, but it was a new experience for me, and one Glenn was anxious to revisit. We saw amazing leaves across the Atlantic provinces in Canada, as well as the Eastern U.S. In some ways it felt like tracking a wild animal…looking at maps to assess elevation, distance from the ocean, nighttime temperatures and other factors that influence the timing and intensity of the leaves changing color. Some of my favorite moments on our leaf-chasing adventure was following random remote dirt roads that became winding tunnels of yellow, red, and orange. “I wonder where that road goes?” paid off more than a few times.

While life on the road was mostly filled with beautiful scenery and lovely experiences, there were a handful of stinkers along the way. As I’ve reflected in a previous blog post about happiness, having a few less-than-ideal experiences comes with the territory and can help make those positive experiences that much sweeter.

Tacky Billboards

I once visited Mexico City to speak at a conference. The road from the airport to the hotel was cram-packed with large billboards. I remember my Mexican host pointing at them and saying, “you know how we have air pollution and light pollution? Well, that (gesturing to the incessant billboards whipping by out the window), is eye pollution.”

Driving I-90 across South Dakota was like that. It looked like some big monster barfed billboards across what would otherwise have been a lovely landscape. One business, Wall Drug, has a ~230 road signs alone, an auto museum has 80, and on and on with countless signs for other businesses and tourist venues. This goes on for hundreds of miles, from one end of the state to other. By the time we reached the Western border my brain was so exhausted because, try as I might, I could not seem to ignore the blaring signs. Talk about driving while distracted!

Weather

September and October are our favorite times of the year to travel. The temperatures are cooler, and school is back in session, so places are less crowded with vacationers. Shoulder season travel does come with a few downsides however, including seasonal closures and inclement weather. For most of the trip we lucked out with great weather. Unfortunately, there were several days of rain and low-hanging clouds when we were in the Canadian Rockies. While driving the famed Icefields Parkway we were listening to a guided audio tour. The narrator would say “coming up ahead and to your left you will see one of the most stunning vistas in all the world!” Yet, all we could see out the window was a solid bank of clouds and fog with just the barest hint of the towering cliffs and mountaintops that surrounded us. It was torture! We will certainly need to go back someday.

Ferry Ride From Hell

As I mentioned above, I love expending the time, energy, and resources it takes to get to more remote locations, and visiting Newfoundland fit the bill. The primary way to get to Newfoundland is via ferry, which can take anywhere from 6 to 16 hours depending on the route and time of day. I discovered a 7-hour midnight ferry, which meant the travel was done overnight when one could be sleeping, which sounded perfect.

Unfortunately, we booked our tickets at the last moment so all the sleeping cabins with beds were sold out. This left us relegated to the common areas since we weren’t allowed to stay inside Laverne on the car deck. It turns out these ferries are old, and smelled of a combination of secondhand cigarette smoke and sewage gas from the bathrooms. The chairs were all stained, broken down and brutally uncomfortable. Glenn and I found ourselves so desperate that we took to lying on the sticky hard floor beneath our seats in a futile attempt to get a little bit of sleep. The whole time we were in Newfoundland we were filled with dread because we knew we had to make the return ferry trip.

Quebec

Canada has two official languages, English and French. Much of Canada, and certainly the further East you go, is awash with both languages. From road signs to product labels, everything has both English and French posted and printed. We had been warned that things would change once we reached the province of Quebec, and that they did. Everything was suddenly in French…and only in French. From a historical perspective this makes sense. Quebec was part of New France before 1763 and something like over 80% of Quebecers claim French as their first language. I get it…but man, it sucked.

It was jarring to slip across a fairly nondescript provincial border and sudden find ourselves unable to read important road signs or the COVID guidelines posted on public bathrooms, for example. Apparently, due to some sign laws they have on the books, everything has to be in French with nary an English word to be found. I know it makes me a petty, entitled, English-speaking American, but I don’t think Glenn and I were mentally prepared to have to work that hard to figure things out. We got lost more than a few times because we didn’t understand the road signs and just felt exhausted by it all. In the end, we cut our visit to Quebec short because we felt unwelcome and honestly couldn’t wait to get out of the province. Maybe I’ll go back and try again someday…with hopefully a better attitude in tow!

Tourist Traps

There were a handful of experiences that left us underwhelmed. As is often the case, we don’t tend to enjoy highly touristy areas filled with mediocre over-priced restaurants and kitschy tourist gift shops. These spots, like Banff (Alberta, Canada), Peggy’s Cove (Nova Scotia, Canada) and Deadwood (South Dakota, U.S.A.), felt additionally egregious due to the larger crowds of people when physical distancing is needed during a global pandemic. It was a good reminder that these sorts of places just aren’t for us and that it’s okay to skip past them in the future, no matter what the guidebook says.

Moose

Although not overrated, seeing a moose was overpromised! From road signs to hiking trail signs, we were never far from a visual warning to be on the lookout for moose. It became a quest to have a moose sighting. We even picked hiking trails specifically because a ranger told us we’d most certainly see a moose (lots of other hikers on the same trail, at the same time, saw moose…but we did not!). Granted, we saw a lot of dead moose trundling along on the back of trailers, as it was moose hunting season, but those don’t count!  

There was no shortage of fun sights and interesting experiences that we weren’t expecting. For example, who knew that Newfoundland has its own time zone that is only 30 minutes ahead of the mainland, rather than an hour (talk about being in the “what time is it again” Twilight Zone).

Crash Site

While driving around the backroads of Maine we came across a sign that said “B52 Memorial.” About 9 miles up a dirt road we found the remains of a B52 bomber that crashed onto the slopes of Elephant Mountain in 1963. The wreckage was scattered throughout the woods as far as the eye could see. It was a somber, yet beautiful place. I’m glad we made the effort to see it and learn the history of the men who died there.

Niagara Falls

While visiting our friends near Toronto we were within spitting distance of Niagara Falls. I’ve seen Niagara Falls in photos and on TV several times, but never felt a strong desire to visit. Since we were so close it felt like something we should do so we could at least “check it off the list,” if for no other reason. I was completely prepared to find the falls to be an underwhelming tourist trap. To the contrary, they totally knocked my socks off! I’ve never seen such a volume of water moving so quickly. The view from the top of the falls gave me vertigo and I was stunned at how seemingly quiet they were – as if the roar of the falls was so loud it couldn’t be heard. Touché, Niagara Falls. I shall not underestimate you again!

Montana Larch

On the last day of our trip we were passing through the mountains in Western Montana. We were close enough to home and familiar territory that I had mentally moved out of “driving adventure to see new sights” mode and into “what chores do I need to do first when I get home” mode. It was cloudy, rainy and very windy…an overall gloomy day. Then suddenly, the hills were ablaze with the bright yellow of countless larch trees in the fall. (Larches are deciduous trees that look like evergreens, but their needles turn yellow and fall off each year.) I have seen patches of larch here and there in the past, but I’d never seen anything like this. It felt like one last gift from Mother Nature as we neared home.

Little Bighorn

Before we left home, Glenn had mentioned that he wanted to try to see the Little Bighorn battlefield in Montana while on the trip. He recalled seeing pictures of the battlefield as a child, in particular the battlefield markers recording where individual U.S. government soldiers had died. We’ve visited other battlefields over the years and I was expecting much of the same…mostly a field with a couple of historical markers scattered about.

We had planned to spend maybe 30 minutes checking it out, as we were eager to get further down the road before nightfall. Hours later, we were still exploring the battlefield and learning about what happened there. {Quick history – this is the infamous place of “Custer’s last stand” where in 1876, Custer led his troops to attack a band of Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. Custer was greatly outnumbered and within an hour he and all of his soldiers were dead. It marked the most decisive Native American victory, and the worst U.S. Army defeat, in the long Plains Indian War.}

I can’t quite pinpoint what was so captivating about this place. It may have been the stunning vistas, or the visceral feelings evoked by the battlefield death markers, or the direct historical connection to the the raw emotions I was still experiencing after learning more of the history of the Black Hills area we had just visited (see “History Lessons” below).

Okay, these aren’t necessarily deep thoughts, but they are things that I’ve spent some time observing and thinking about during and after our trip.

Staying Healthy

Doing a road trip like this is hard on your body. We needed to cover a lot of miles every day, which meant time was of the essence. Besides the impacts of sitting for so long, eating healthy home-cooked (van-cooked?) meals and getting daily exercise became more and more difficult. “Why yes, Mr. Tim Horton’s, I’ll take a donut with my coffee…again…thank you very much!” We’ve been focused on reconnecting with healthier habits since our return. That is going well and we feel better. In the future we’ve decided to experiment with different approaches to our campervan travels (like staying in one place longer), to see if we can achieve a better balance than we did this time around.

Say Yes!

My friend John was on a long trip overseas once and was trying to say “yes” to things as often as he could, even when he really wanted to say “no.” He had some amazing experiences as a result. My little introverted soul has a hard time doing that, so I am endeavoring to adopt a similar approach to expand my horizons. We had a handful of great experiences on this trip because of saying “yes.” For example, when on a lark I told Glenn I wanted to go to the middle of nowhere to see some grizzly bears, he said “yes.”

Another such experience was when our Canadian friend Willow, whom we had met on a trip in Bolivia, reached out to say that if we were going to be near Calgary (Alberta, Canada), she could offer a place for us to camp on some remote property her parents owned. It turned out that on the day we’d be passing through the area her parents and sister would be staying out at the property at the same time. It felt weird to show up to a bunch of strangers and say, “Hi. Umm. Your daughter said we could camp here?”

It felt so awkward that we almost passed on the opportunity, but I’m so glad we didn’t. Not only did we meet amazing folks, but we also got to immerse ourselves in some stunning scenery. Their property abutted large swaths of public land in the Drumheller badlands, which meant we were able to hike for miles and miles through other-worldly landscapes with only the coyotes and osprey to keep us company. We saw one of the most spectacular sunsets ever and enjoyed ourselves so much we decided to spend a second night!  

Life is Short

Another observation reinforced for me on this trip is that life can change in an instant. On two separate occasions we found ourselves stuck for 8-10 hours on closed two-lane highways, with no detours, due to fatal head-on collisions that happened just ahead of us. I couldn’t help but wonder if it could have been us instead…if we had left our campsite just a little earlier that morning, or if we had decided not to stop for another cup of coffee (and donut, damn you Tim Horton’s!) on our way through the last town.

In another instance, we came upon the aftermath of a man that had just hit a moose at full highway speed. Between witnessing the dying moose and watching the driver somehow miraculously emerge from his car that was folded around itself, it was one of the most traumatizing things I’ve ever seen. Again, if we had only been a minute faster down the road, it easily could have been us.

Life can change in an instant…this isn’t a new contemplation. In fact, it factored quite heavily into our decision to find a way to quit our jobs early and begin living our best lives while we could. These experiences were stark reminders of how fleeting life and health can be, and reinforced for me that we we’re on the right path in trying to make the most of today.

COVID Culture

Another fascinating aspect of our trip was experiencing the different approaches and attitudes around COVID-19. The Delta variant was starting to surge in Canada about the time we crossed the border. As a result, the provinces were re-adopting certain restrictions like mask wearing. They also started implementing proof of vaccination requirements to enter certain venues such as theaters, gyms, and inside dining, and large events like sports and weddings. We even had to show our proof of vaccination to enter a provincial park that was entirely outside.

The Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland) had locked down significantly during COVID and had only recently opened their borders to folks coming from other provinces. However, we had to obtain entry permits before crossing their provincial borders, which included providing proof of vaccination and agreeing to abide by their restrictions and requirements (e.g., 14-days of quarantining if we were directed to do so). Laverne’s glovebox was packed with copies of all the various entry permits and paperwork we needed to continue eastward, which we were asked to show to authorities at various times along the journey. Prince Edward Island took it a step further by requiring us to submit to a rapid COVID test upon arrival.

At the other end of the spectrum, we traveled across several U.S. states where you’d never know there was a deadly pandemic happening (South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana come to mind). Glenn and I were often the only people wearing masks, even in crowded areas like grocery stores. Although no one harassed us about our mask wearing, we got a lot of side-eyed glances. There were two U.S. restaurants that gave us a hard time about requesting take-out food rather than sitting in down inside their establishments to eat, with one declining to accommodate our request.

I’ll admit I’m a bit pollyannish when it comes to Canada. It seems everything is kinder, gentler, and more logical there than is often the case here in the U.S. (e.g., universal health care, creamier Kraft macaroni and cheese…the list is endless). I’m sure this isn’t necessarily the case; they certainly have plenty of their own problems and shortcomings that don’t warrant me putting them on a pedestal.

But when it comes to COVID, I found folks in Canada to have more of a “we’re all in this together” approach and seemed more inclined to try to take care of one another. They have one of the highest vaccination rates in the World, with almost 75% of all Canadians being fully vaccinated (compared to only 57% in the U.S.). They have safeguards in place, such as mask mandates and proof of vaccination requirements for public spaces, that are – in my experience – consistently followed without a bunch of drama. Their compassionate and collective approach is paying off. As of today, 4.5 times as many Americans are currently dying of COVID every day compared to Canadians (7-day rolling average of the number of deaths per million people).

We only ate inside a restaurant once on our entire trip. (Exhibit A: the underwhelming lobster rolls in Peggy’s Cove depicted above.) We decided to do so in part because the restaurant was mostly empty, and in part because we knew that all the folks inside the restaurant – from customers to staff – had been fully vaccinated. I enjoyed being in an environment where it felt like everyone was doing what they could to keep themselves, and those around them, as safe as possible.

History Lessons

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to pay attention to the history of the lands that I’m visiting, particularly here in U.S. where I was born and raised. Part of this process is learning about the original inhabitants of the land. It was interesting to do this while working our way across Canada because I wasn’t familiar with most of the First Nations people of those areas.

For example, I learned about the Beothuk, who were the indigenous people that originally lived on the island of Newfoundland. Shanawdithit, a woman in her early twenties and the last known full-blooded Beothuk, died in 1829. What I found interesting was that most of the materials at the various parks and visitor centers that discussed Native groups focused on the Mi’kmaq from Cape Breton Island and the Inuit from Labrador, both of whom arrived much later and both of whom had a less hostile relationship with European colonialists. It was as if the Beothuk were simply erased from the landscape and written out of the history books (or at least out of the informational pamphlets and museum displays that I saw).

Similarly, I also learned more about the history of the Black Hills of South Dakota while traveling in that area. Known as “the heart of everything that is,” the Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota people, also known as the Teton Sioux. I have numerous fond memories of visiting this area as a child and again as a young adult, including the seeing national forest, Mount Rushmore, Reptile Gardens, Bear Country USA and the town of Deadwood, to name but a few. I was excited to share those memories with Glenn on his first visit to the area.

However, on those previous trips I didn’t know about the divisive and controversial history of the Black Hills, including that it was part of the Great Sioux Reservation created by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 to be “set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians.” That only lasted a few years until gold was discovered in the Black Hills, at which point the U.S. Government tried to buy the land and when that didn’t work, they decided to take it by force. In 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court found that the Sioux were never justly compensated for their land that was taken and ordered the government to pay up ($105 million at the time). The Sioux have declined to accept this money (which is now worth billions with accrued interest), and continue to demand the return of the Black Hills.

After learning more about this history of broken treaties and lawsuits, my heart was heavy and I felt conflicted about playing tourist on stolen lands. It also brought up feelings of entitlement and white privilege that I’m still processing, such as, “I don’t want my fond childhood memories tarnished by this knowledge” or “the Black Hills are beautiful and should remain public lands so everyone can visit them.”

This experience reminded me why it is important to continue learning about and contemplating the full history of the places I visit…even when it makes me feel uncomfortable.      

Amazing Sunsets

Awesome Campsites

Favorite Photos

“Hey Glenn, get over here and take a selfie!”

Check out my instagram feed (@a_life_more_extraordinary) if you want to see more photos!