I'd always wanted to do that trip, to see the country and explore places I'd never been. We live in an amazingly beautiful country, with such a diverse geography (it is a huge country, after all), that I wanted to see some of it for myself. I'd been to Alberta a number of times, what with my aunt living there on a farm with her family and my brother having settled and raised a family in Calgary. And I'd visited Vancouver a couple of times, but I'd never been to the northern portions of my own province, and never visited the prairies.
I'd caught the family travel bug a few years ago. Back in our nuclear family days, Dad and I had taken the kids for a month in Italy, and a year later, a month in Peru. Those were amazing trips. We had a full list of places to go next: Namibia, Nepal and Bhutan, Morocco, India… The list went on. But once we split up, I was happy simply affording a house in the neighbourhood of my choice. Those kinds of exotic trips were off limits. And even if I'd had the money, I wasn't sure I'd be comfortable navigating those places as a single mom with two young girls.
That's when the Great Canadian Road Trip idea was born. I had considered flying us out to Alberta for family time, but it seemed pretty expensive. And while family is definitely important, and the connections we have with my family there mean everything to me, I also wanted to explore a little more. I costed it out, and driving 10,000 km in my little Honda Fit (to get there and back) wasn't going to be prohibitive. Staying in a variety of accommodations along the way - motels, hotels, camping, family - wasn't going to break the bank.
As for entertainment, with enough research, you can do it on the very cheap. Many national parks are free, and those that aren't, are free on Canada Day. Hiking costs nothing, except for parking in some places. Some museums and one owl sanctuary run on donations rather than entrance fees. You can get into the Calgary Stampede for free on a couple of days, if you arrive before 9; if you don't mind crowds, this works out well. My niece bought advance ride tickets, which saved us about $20 per person (it was lovely that she treated us). Altogether, we spent less than $400 on entertainment over the three weeks.
On food…. there are countless Stampede breakfasts and BBQs that you could theoretically eat for free for most of those ten days! We got a free lunch at a national historic site on Canada Day. Buying groceries on the road is the same price as buying them at home - you just need to be flexible on what you're eating and make that suit your accommodations (some places have kitchenettes, and sometimes you make do with a kettle and Mr Noodles and TVP with cut veggies for supper, which was actually a favourite with the kids). We did eat out a fair bit, but we found places with kids' menus, which are always cheaper. And for a whole week, we were guests with family, so we were well fed and cared for, for sure.
So here's where we went and an overview of what we saw and did (links to the touristy parts I found most worthwhile):
- Sudbury: Science North and the Big Nickel
- Pancake Bay Provincial Park: camping, and gorgeous beach
- Wawa: a quick stop to see the big goose
- Pukaskwa National Park: camping and beautiful hiking
- Thunder Bay: Terry Fox memorial, chilling out
- Dryden, Ontario: murals and painted benches - a good stop between T-Bay and the Peg
- Winnipeg (3 days): Lake Winnipeg, The Forks, Trolley tour, laundry (this was a cultural adventure, I assure you), St Boniface
- Yorkton, Saskatchewan: stop over between the Peg and the Toon, though we were caught in an area that as under a state of emergency, on account of flooding
- Saskatoon (2 days): the conservatory, Mendel Art Gallery, Batoche National Historic Site, Wanuskewin Heritage Park
- Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan: passing through to our next destination, we visited the Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre, for Boo, who loves owls
- Southwestern Saskatchewan (2 days): Grasslands National Park, Great Sand Hills
- Calgary (4 days): we stayed with my niece (I never tire of telling people I was literally a child when she was born, so it's not so painful when I say we stayed with my niece and her husband!); we visited Heritage Park, the Stampede, the Royal Tyrell Museum, hiked (sort of!) in the badlands and saw the hoodoos
- east of Red Deer (3 days): we stayed with my aunt and uncle on their farm; my mom was also visiting there. The girls got to jump hay bails with their second cousins, and explore the farm
- Sorrento: we visited with the girls' aunt on their Dad's side, along with her extended family who invited us to stay with them at a retreat where they were staying
- Vancouver: we visited Kits beach; we made it to the Pacific!
I had an amazing time with my girls. There were moments of spats between them, but over all, they got along splendidly. There was never once a "are we there yet?!" despite the length of some of the legs of the trip. They mostly shared their bed well, though there was one night I had to separate them. They were always up for a new adventure. When I got frustrated or annoyed at a destination being less than anticipated, I tried not to show it. This allowed them to form their own opinions. It means that they have great memories of our Winnipeg hotel, when I think it was an absolute bust. All they need, really, is a pool with a slide, and they are happy as clams. That's definitely a life lesson for me.
I wonder what kinds of things they will remember from this trip. I know that they've been talking about their cousins - both first and second cousins - a lot. They have already asked that next year's trip consist of Alberta only and that we spend as much time with these cousins as possible.
For me, the sheer beauty of our country will stick with me, as will its vastness. There is so much to explore.
