Cross Country Road Trip 2012

What an incredible privilege it was to drive across the great country of Canada a couple weeks ago. From South Western Ontario to about the middle of British Columbia, the trip tools 6 days — at an average of about 7 hours of driving a day. I didn’t take the most efficient route, rather I took the one that would let me see as much of Canada as possible. I don’t think I truly appreciated either the size, or the varied beauty of my home country until I made this trek. It took two solid days just to get out of Ontario alone!
The incredible thing was the different environments I drove through. Ontario was spotted with lakes, the roads surrounded by either massive evergreens, or carved out of the rocky Canadian shield. Manitoba and Saskatchewan were defined by endless fields of green and yellow, and blue sky as far as you could see. Alberta transitioned into the mountains that defined most of my time in B.C.

And in every little town, and in every city were the faces of my fellow Canadians — free of fear and malice, not defined by one of two available political positions. We are more united in our simple, hard-working intelligence, perhaps not the most welcoming folks in the world, but not unkind, and never arrogant about the strength of our nation and its resilient, steady stand against the forces tearing apart so many other countries right now. Its no surprise to me that we are the brunt of many jokes south of the border, humbly self-deprecating as we often are — we take these things on the chin, quietly confident that our motherland raises good, level-headed people who’s impact on the world stage is made in measured, thoughtful and generally pretty peaceful ways.
If you’ve never driven across this beautiful country, I highly recommend it. It’s not a trip to be made lightly — and it helps to have a sturdy car to escort you across it — but it is so worth the challenge.
Oh ya, and the parts of America I saw were pretty neat too; the last pic up there is in Washington State — our new home!

3 thoughts on “Cross Country Road Trip 2012

  1. Frank’s Slide and Belleview! We were just on that road this weekend on our way to Cranbrook, it had crossed my mind that you had most likely taken the same route. So scenic.

  2. Door to door stats:
    – 6 days at an average of 7 hours driving per day
    – 4388km (2788 miles) total
    – Average gas mileage 6.9 l/100km (34mpg)
    – Average speed 88 km/h (54 mph)

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