Coast to Coast Trans-Canada Road Trip, Day 20: On the Farm in Manitoba

"When you reach Winnipeg, take the north perimeter highway to Highway 7. When the road ends you'll see a bar. I'll meet you there."

Those were the exact instructions we received from our good friend Michael when we caught up with him by phone after leaving Manitoba's scenic Riding Mountain National Park. We'd been trying to get a hold of him for over month and now just a few hundred kilometres shy of driving past his place all together we'd finally managed to connect with him. In the eleventh hour so to speak. Of course, that was no problem at all.

"Come to Arborg for the day, or for two days! Better yet, come for the week!" Mike insisted when we mentioned we were hoping to see him while we were in his neck of the woods.

The licence plate motto for Manitoba, one of Canada's three prairie provinces, is "Friendly Manitoba". I suppose it's no coincidence that pretty much the friendliest guy we've ever met is from Manitoba. We stayed on Mike's family farm - located outside town in Poplar Field, MB for three fun filled days and two blissfully restful nights.

During those three days we feasted on a robust diet of local meats, baked goods and eggs purchased from local Hutterites, vegetables grown in their own garden and homemade pickles, jams and yes, moonshine. I learned to drive a quad, Baasje went for a ride in Mike's handmade canoe and we spent one afternoon at the impressive cabin Mike and his brother in-law had recently built on a wooded section of their property. The cabin was decorated with trophies of past hunting expeditions, antlers, pelts, and even a bear skin.

For my two cents, Manitoba certainly lives up to it's motto, and in a uniquely Canadian way! We had a blast and I can't wait to go back!

Coast to Coast Trans-Canada Road Trip, Day 16: Grasslands National Park, Southern Saskatchewan Makes Our A-list

Here's a question for you: why set out on a hike when you can view all 10km of the trail from the trailhead? It's the question that left us wondering if it would be worthwhile visiting Grasslands National Park, Canada's only Prairie National Park, at all. 

You don't have to travel the remote roads of southern Saskatchewan to get an idea of what the terrain will look like at Grasslands - perhaps not surprisingly one of the least visited national parks in the system. Its grassy and flat. What more could there be to it? 

Having overcome our initial reservations to take the time to pay it a visit, I'm very pleased to report there's much more to Grasslands than you might expect. This unassuming park is in fact a unique jewel in the crown - an undiscovered gem, so to speak - of Canada's most memorable national parks.

So, to get back to the question at hand. Why set out on a hike when you can view all 10km of the trail from the trailhead? The answer is in the endless small details and infinite view points you'll encounter along the way. Grasslands is a wanderer's park, best suited for those who prefer the journey itself over the accomplishment of reaching that milestone destination. If you take the time, you'll see that at every one of the infinite view points to be seen from its hiking trails is a vast and stunningly beautiful landscape.

We hiked two of the park's trails and I really wish we had time for more. We walked 7km of the trails at 70 Mile Butte close to sunset (as suggested in the park brochure). We also took in the shorter Two Trees trail at the park's western access point. Both trails were spectacular. 

I hope to post some pics during our upcoming stop in Regina but to do the park justice you really must see it for yourself. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Coast to Coast Trans-Canada Road Trip, Day 15: Lost in Rural Saskatchewan

We stopped in Consul, Saskatchewan to get gas on our way to Grasslands National Park. 

"Are you lost?" was the first thing the gas station attendant asked us as we stepped out of the car.

We explained that we'd been directed to Consul by the Cypress Hills park staff whose own gas pumps were out of order due to electricity problems. Though we'd

fairly recently tanked up, we didn't have quite enough fuel to make it to Grasslands National Park (our destination) and then onto the next nearest town with a gas station, Mankota. Welcome to rural Saskatchewan.

In some ways, Saskatchewan seems to be the most truly Canadian province we've travelled through so far. Draped with vast empty spaces, tidy and massive farm fields stretching out to the horizon and beyond, super friendly people with kind smiles. Not as showy and in-your-face as beautiful British Columbia. Humble and unassuming compared to prosperous Alberta. Saskatchewan has a quiet beauty all it's own.

Tonight, if we're lucky, we'll maybe see a herd of wild buffalo in Grasslands National Park. Does it get anymore Canadian than that? Outside of a hockey arena, that is.

Update: We did see bison in Grasslands National Park! Though park staff explained that most of the herd are currently located in a remote area of the park, we came across numerous small groups of bison near the roadway throughout the park. We also saw lots of prairie dogs, coyotes, two red fox, rabbits, hawks, raptors, a burrowing owl, antelope and mule deer. The best wildlife viewing we've ever experienced in a natural setting. Magic!

Coast to Coast Trans-Canada Road Trip, Day 14: Goodbye,Dinosaurs/Hello, Rainbows (and a little bit of catch up)

I've been terribly remiss at keeping up to date with these blog posts from the road so I'm trying a new approach - blogging from my sleeping bag. We'll see how this goes.

Anyhoo, when last I wrote it was day 5 of our journey and we were thoroughly enjoying hiking the scenic alpine trails in Glacier National Park I've since learned the hikes in Glacier, while every bit as fabulous as I initially reported, pale in comparison to the even more fabulous hikes in Lake Louise, Banff and Jasper (days 6 to 9 of our trip). I posted galleries on Flickr if you'd like to see some pics (see link below).

I should also mention that we had the pleasure of sharing our campsite in Lake Louise with a super cool young family from Washington that we ran into at the campsite registration hut who were about to be turned away due to lack of space at the campground. We couldn't have that! A shout to our new friends, Shaun and April and their two awesome and adorable kids!

Days 10 to 13 we took a bit of a departure from the usual outdoorsy theme of our journey to experience the cowboy charms of the 2013 Calgary Stampede, a.k.a. "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth". Though we only had time to enjoy 3 of the 10 days of the city-wide extravaganza, we packed in most of the highlights including a pancake breakfast, watching one of the afternoon rodeos, attending a ceremonial event at the Indian Village and checking out the exhibits at the Stampede grounds. A great big thank you to our fantastic host, Baasje's little cousin Matty (who sometime in the past few years went from being a gawky teen to a hotshot corporate lawyer). Thanks for letting us stay in your swanky, new downtown pad, Matty!

The last couple of days we're been exploring the museums and sites that feature Alberta's other big tourist draw, dinosaur remains! In my humble opinion, the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller was one of the best museum exhibits I've ever experienced. I mean, everybody knows the big dinosaur skeleton is the best part of the museum tour and this museum is chock-a-block full of 'em! Gobsmacked, I tell you!

We also made a stop at Dinosaur Provincial Park to snap a few pics of the scenic Alberta Badlands landscape, do a few of the short hikes, all the while doing our best to dodge the mosquitos.

And that pretty much takes us up to where we are today, super clean and friendly Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park in southwestern Saskatchewan. When it comes to amenities, this park has it all - mini-golf, horseback riding, brand new showers, even a pizzeria!

Check out my Flickr galleries if you'd like to see pics of our Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise hikes. I'm also hoping to get a blog post up about the Plains of Six Glaciers and Sentinel Pass hikes we did near Lake Louise. Definite contenders for my favourite Canadian Day hike of all time!

Coast to Coast Trans-Canada Road Trip, Days 5 & 6: Glacier National Park, British Columbia

Balu Pass Trail

I LOVE Glacier National Park. I believe I could easily spend a week, perhaps two, exploring it's many fine hiking trails. Who knew? Certainly not I, having obviously been unfairly distracted by the lure of it's more iconic neighbours to the east, Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay.

We had planned on staying one night in Glacier and decided to pony up for two. This gave us enough time to hike two of the park's most scenic trails, as recommended by the helpful Parks Canada staff, Balu Pass and the Asulkan Valley.

Balu Pass Trail
Estimated time (return): 4 hours
Distance (return): 12.8km
Elevation gain: 788m
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike details for both hikes taken from the Glacier National Parks trail brochure.

The trailhead for Balu Pass is conveniently located behind the visitors centre at Rogers Pass. It starts with a steep climb through a fairly unremarkable (sorry, but I must call a spade a spade) stand of hemlocks. Not to worry though! In a reasonably short amount of time the trail opens up into alpine meadows with gorgeous views stretching across the valley to Balu Pass. I know all valleys and alpine meadows make for pretty pictures, but these are particularly scenic AND the layout of the trail coupled with uncharacteristically well-aligned valley walls allow for unobstructed views for the remaining length of the hike. Charge your camera batteries before you go and pack a big lunch! This trail requires some degree of endurance but you'll be well rewarded for your efforts.

Asulkan Valley Trail
Estimated time (return): 6 hours
Distance (return): 13.8km
Elevation gain: 869m
Difficulty: Moderate

Here is the Canadian alpine hiking experience of your picture-postcard-perfect dreams. I mean it! Close your eyes and imagine the required elements of the quintessential west coast alpine hike and this trail has them in spades. Valley views, a rushing icy creek, glaciers, wildlife, even an alpine hut and, oh yes, a steep grind or two (or three or four) to get the blood pumping. As an added bonus, the hike begins with a walk through the ruins of the old Glacier House Hotel, complete with plaques detailing the establishment's colourful history. What more could one ask for in a trail?

Note: Snow cover made the last sections of both these hikes difficult and slow-going. What's more, though we saw no bears on either of these trails, we have heard that bear activity can be of heightened concern some years. Check trail conditions with Parks Canada staff at Rogers Pass before heading out. Happy hiking!