Epilog

During the past few days I have been reflecting on the entirety of our trip. Over a span of seven weeks, we have logged some 17,500 km by car plus another 1000 km by ferry-boats. We had some rough weather on the way and it was a long trek, but full of exciting experiences. We saw a lot of beautiful things and met lots of friendly people (it helped a lot that all three of us speak french). Looking back a number of different emotions come to mind. First of all we were surprised to find that the mosaic of different people and cultures that make up this country, all seem to be woven into the same great fabric called Canada. We were dumbfounded by the remoteness of places like Newfoundland, Northern Quebec and Western Ontario; the farmfields in the prairie provinces seem to go on forever. We were awestruck by the majestic beauty of icebergs and amazed by the grandeur of Niagara Falls. We also had feelings of nostalgia when meeting old friends or seeing historical things that reminded us (the old folks) of our childhood. But most of all we are very happy to have seen the different facets of this truly beautiful country of Canada coast to coast. For those of you who have followed our chronicles and stuck with us through often spotty coverage, thanks for sharing this experience with us.

The home stretch.

This morning at 6 am we were awakened by the boys (aged 5 and 8) tapping on the window of the van. They wanted to come in and share the big king-size bed with us and the dogs, something they also do when they sleep over at our house. After feeding them breakfast in the van ("Do you guys have any food in here?"), they checked out all the buttons, handles and anything that wasn't tied down in the place and then installed themselves in the two front seats with the comment: "Now this is what I call a pretty cool way to travel". So much for that. Later in the morning we went together out for ice-cream at the Islands Farms dairy factory (they must have two dozen or more flavours) and then started on our last 100 km drive home. We arrived there at 2 pm, 7 weeks and 2 hours after we had departed, full of great memories and no worse for wear (at least nothing a long soak in the tub and a good night's sleep won't cure) .

Okanagan-Similkameen

Before we left Kelowna this morning, Artemis did a few hours of wardrobe shopping, Luckily we have a lot of empty place in the van, after using up most of our provisions. We drove along Lake Okanagan to Penticton, where we stopped for another successful shopping trip; the van is now full again! In the afternoon we drove through the Similkameen Valley to Princeton and from there through Manning Park, where we made a late afternoon stop. From there we drove straight to Chilliwack to surprise Kian and Ryker, our grandsons, who didn't expect us till tomorrow. We were greeted exuberantly, and decided to stay overnight and head for home in the morning. So one more day until we complete our journey.

Rogers Pass and Glaciers

Last night we stayed at a beautiful campground overlooking Golden, BC. This time there were lots of campers (unusual!), very few mosquitos (we ate outside without getting eaten alive), and a community of cute little prairie dogs (who sounded the alarm as soon as they spotted the poodles!).

Today's drive brought us through Glacier National Park and over Rogers Pass. The descent, although long, was a lot more gradual than the white-knuckle steep and windy Ten Mile Hill yesterday coming off Kicking Horse Pass. We stopped at the Rogers Pass Lodge and took pictures of the glaciers around us and the resident population of prairie dogs. Next we went through Albert Canyon and Mount Revelstoke National Park where we saw a small herd of five mountain goats next to the highway. Pity enough there was too much traffic to stop to take a photo. We made a pit stop at the town of Revelstoke, then drove through the Shushwap Lake area to Vernon, stopping for the evening in Kelowna.

Rocky Mountains

Soon after getting on the road we found ourselves at the gate to Jasper National Park. The high peaks of the Rocky Mountains were looming before us. A few kilometres into the park, we came across three big horn sheep grazing along the road. We stopped at the Athabasca Falls where the Athabasca River first makes rapids and then plunges down very deep into a narrow canyon that has been carved out by the water over millions of years.

On a pathway, you could follow the water from up at the top of the falls (where you were so close you could almost touch the water) till the bottom through the canyon until it became a calm river again. The sun came out long enough to take beautiful pictures.

Next we followed the Icefields Parkway and saw the Athabasca Glacier. Thanks to global warming, the glacier has receded many hundreds of meters since I last saw it some eight years ago. Next we drove into Banff National Park. Because of the late spring, the high mountain tops had still quite a bit of snow and we saw lots more glaciers. We did have a couple of light showers but the sun came out often enough for us to see the beauty of nature in all its glory. In the late afternoon, we traversed Yoho National Park and by 5pm we crossed through Kicking Horse Pass into our home province of BC.

Back in Alberta

Overnight the rain was unrelenting but by the time we got onto the road this morning it was only spitting and heavily overcast. We're back in Alberta - still on the Yellowhead Highway. By the time we reached Edmonton, the very heavy wind with strong gusts had blown the thick threatening rain clouds away. Of course we had to go see the West Edmonton Mall. And it being a week day, we quickly found a covered parking spot. We spent about three hours at the mall and saw the wave pool with the giant waterslides, the sea lion show, a replica of Columbus' ship the Santa Maria, and of course Galaxyland with all the fun rides and its giant rollercoaster (they would not get me onto that even if they paid me). Of course, we also saw some of the 600 stores. When we came out, the sun was shining and we had a beautiful afternoon drive on the Yellowhead Highway. What a difference a day makes! We stopped for the night in Hinton, AB, in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

When it rains, it pours

We don't have any pictures to upload for today... as soon as we got on the road this morning, it started raining and it's been pouring buckets all day. Next to the snowstorm on the way east, this was definitely the worst weather we've had on the trip. But I bet you the farmers here in Saskatchewan must be happy with the rainfall on their newly-sprouted crops after three days with temperatures soaring to the high 30's. We took "Dad" to Boston Pizza for father's day (us and a bunch of other families) in Lloydminster - a small town that straddles the Saskatchewan and Alberta borders. To simplify things, the whole town runs on Alberta time. Because of the ongoing downpour, we took refuge in a motel that offered free wireless connectivity so we could finally update the last week of blogs.