It's been almost 2 months now since we bid goodbye to friends and familiar surroundings in Victoria, BC on Canada's west coast. Over 7,500km, a chipped windshield and a new set of shocks later here we are in Canada's easternmost province, Newfoundland. At last we're about to enter the final leg of our cross-country journey which we expect will come to a close next week in St John's. Woo! And also, whew!
Here's a few of the highlights from our trip:
New favourite Canadian hiking trails…
Sentinel Pass, Moraine Lake, Alberta
Balu Pass, Glacier National Park, British Columbia
See photos in my Rocky Mountains flickr set
Most wildlife sightings…
Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (wild bison, red fox, coyote, prairie dogs, antelope, elk, burrowing owl, etc., etc.)
Best side trip for photo ops…
Icefields Parkway, Banff and Jasper National Parks, Alberta
See photos in my Rocky Mountains flickr set
Friendliest people we encountered…
Newfoundland…and Saskatchewan
Of course everyone knows about the legendary friendliness of Newfoundlanders, but the amazing hospitality of the people we encountered in Saskatchewan was somewhat of a surprise. It felt like every second person we crossed paths with in the province tried to go out of their way to do something nice for us, just because.
Best museum experience…
Art Spiegelman Exhibit, Vancouver Art Gallery, British Columbia
Royal Tyrrell Musem, Drumheller, Alberta
Best sandwich…
Montreal smoked meat sandwich at Swartz's Deli, Montreal, Quebec
Best breakfast…
Brock's fried tomatoes and bacon at the Merrifield cottage on the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario
Beyond the hiking experiences and sightseeing excursions, the most memorable moments of our trip have been spent catching up with familiar folks across the country - in most cases, dear friends and family we haven't seen for years.
We hadn't originally planned to begin our trip this way - somehow it seemed like cheating to begin an around the world trip with two months of travel in our home country - but I'm so glad we did! As one of the friends we caught up with put it, it's like the take-off part of the journey and Canada is the runway - a runway lined with our wonderful, supportive friends and family.
Our eternal gratitude to those of you who've shared a meal with us, packed us lunches and snacks for the road, taken us on a tour of your town, passed on helpful travel tips, provided us with a place to lay our heads for the night and so much more. We've been so humbled and honoured by your willingness to share our journey with us. Thank you, thank you for helping to make it happen!
As the Trans-Canada leg of our trip draws to a close we're starting to make final arrangements for the next segment which will begin just a little over a week from now when we fly to Iceland, land of glaciers and volcanoes. Stay tuned!
2 comments:
I can't agree more about the Saskatchewaners....when Maya was 4 we were road tripping to Ontario in July in a car without aircon....and it got so bloody hot we stopped in Regina to seek shade. Maya, being cute as a button, started chatting up a woman who was putting up an art installation in that gorgeous park downtown....next thing we knew we had an empty apartment to stay in for the night...because this lovely lady didn't like the thought of us driving out at dusk to find a campground....she had just rented the apartment for her daughter who wasn't yet in town....so she gave us the key and her home address to drop the key back in the morning....love the prairie folk.
Best of luck on the next leg of your adventure.
That story pretty much sums up our experiences in Saskatchewan as well - from the woman who waved us into the campground for free because we were just looking for a place to shower before driving into Regina, to the coffee shop guys who told us to put our wallets away as it was the end of the day and the coffee was about to be thrown out anyway, everyone was kind and welcoming. Thanks for sharing, Bern and for the good wishes!
Post a Comment