Months ago, Paigey sat online waiting on the clock for summer camp registration to open up in Sidney. This was the week we were to benefit from those efforts. Five days of kids off on their own at summer camp while we got to enjoy all the Victoria area had to offer. It wasn’t just the kids that were excited. I relished the routine of bedtimes, wake-ups and even packed lunches. Paige was excited about the weather and lunches without crayons or kids’ menus.
Continue reading
One of those places where the journey is better than the destination. That’s Denman Island to me. Paige and I had to fill a couple days before the kids started summer camp near Victoria so we decided on a two-night stay on Denman Island. I didn’t know anything about the place but it had availability and fit into the budget, so we gave it a shot.
Continue reading
It was raining when we broke camp in Tofino. We find it easier to leave a place you love when it is raining (at least emotionally easier). However, packing a wet tent sucks. It causes you to rush and amid the chaos we left behind Isabella’s bike lock. It was the first piece of gear we had “lost” on the trip. If anyone finds it, feel free to use it. The code is 61014.
Continue reading
Ferry Departure from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy was scheduled for 07:30. We had to be there for 05:30 (it is kind of like boarding a plane but a boat). We woke up at 04:45. We had the wherewithal to stop at Circle K to load up on snacks and water before lining up at the ferry. The kids were excited as it was their first time on a ferry and it was an enormous boat. Julie even cheered as we drove on the ramp to board. As soon as the car was put in park, they wanted to jump out of the car and explore the ferry. And that’s what they did for the first hour. Unfortunately, there were 15 more hours to go.
Continue reading
So with Kluane in our rearview mirror, we could begin to get excited about the next “WOW” destination of the trip, Vancouver Island. There was only one problem, we were nowhere near Vancouver Island!
First, we needed to backtrack 400km across the Yukon, then we would take a highway down the middle of B.C. and then we would cut back to the coast to the port city of Prince Rupert. It was going to be easy. The little lines on the map connected the cities, we just had to drive the road. The reality is far different. Firstly, not all highways are treated equally. Secondly, this was the first section where we really didn’t have accommodations booked. Thirdly, we were coming off the high of having stayed in one place (the Yukon) for 6 full days. And finally, we had to say goodbye to our Nan who was heading home after a short visit. As they might say on the amazing race, this was a tough leg.
Continue reading
This was the leg that had us worried. It was just under 900km, all of it on the Alaskan Highway. There were huge gaps between stops. How would the kids handle that amount of time in the back of the car? How would we handle it? What was the highway going to be like? All these thoughts were in the back of our minds as we departed Fort St. John early in the morning. The morning walk had to be postponed to hit our 6:30 departure. Anyway, all the worry was for naught. This leg would turn out to be my favourite of the trip and the kids loved it.
The drive was like a northern version of African Lion Safari. We will just dive into the wildlife update as it is longer than normal.
This was a long day for us. Before departing Edmonton the kids needed to go visit Elk Island National Park with their Nan. It was funny as we had been to that park four years ago so we knew where to look for the bison. Yep, you go to Elk Island to see bison and not elk. Also, there is no island. Regardless it is a great park and the wildlife is easy to spot from the highway. We had brought the bikes to the park too for the kids to hone their skills. Fortunately, they did not crash into any buffalo. We spent a couple hours at the park and then really needed to be on our way as we had a 7+ hour drive ahead of us. The kids said goodbye to their nan (who had planned to meet up with us in the Yukon in a few days) and off we went.
For lunch, we took the kids to Wendy’s for their first “chain” fast-food of the trip. They got happy meals and for some reason, we substituted their drinks for Frostys. Paige then bought us a medium Frosty to share. Needless to say, I ended up eating half a medium frosty and 3/4 of a kid’s frosty twice. If my math is done correctly, that is enough calories to run a marathon.
Continue reading
The kids said goodbye to the yellow fields of the prairies as our next destination was Alberta. Our plan was to spend three days with Paige’s extended family in St. Albert (located just outside of Edmonton). Isabella and Julie were looking forward to meeting their cousins for the first time. Paige and I were looking forward to having a kitchen, adults to talk to and some space.
The drive from Lloydminster is a mere three-hour drive on paper. But why do a trip in three hours when you can stretch it into six? We were then lured to the town of Vegreville with a giant Pysanka (easter egg) you could see from the highway. We hopped into the FREE paddle-boats at the tourist information and got a 360-degree view of the egg. And then we had our best roadside meal of the trip at some taco place in the town (Loco Burro). Great marks for Vegreville all around! What a pleasant stop. However, the kids were beginning to piece together that the promised three-hour drive seemed longer. Julie is on the verge of being able to tell time.
Continue reading
After a week of Summer Camp in the city with the girls, we were ready to get back on the road. Our destination was Riding Mountain National Park and arrived in the early evening. Daylight lasts so much longer here, we had plenty of time to set up our site and check out the town of Wasagaming which is actually located within the park boundaries. We were blown away as you could walk to the town from our campsite (about 1km away). And the town itself felt like a mini beach town from home. It was busy yet it didn’t feel overwhelmed like the beach towns back in Ontario. There was a “street” of commercial establishments, a pier, a nice beach and many quaint cottages throughout the town. There were no fences, no garish multi-level dwellings and no garbage anywhere. I guess there must be some sort of park bylaws limiting the type of dwelling that can be built. And there were ice cream parlours!
Continue reading
Onward to Manitoba! Before getting to Winnipeg we had to stop for two roadside attractions. First, we had to go to Kenora to view the larger-than-life Husky the Muskie. Like the Wawa goose, this was one of those childhood memories I needed to recreate. The underpass from the parking lot to the Muskie was flooded by the river so we had to run across the “highway”. Isabella enjoyed that part the most. We got the required picture and were back in the car. Closer to Winnipeg, we stopped at the longitudinal middle of Canada (96°48’35″W according to the sign). It was just off the Trans Canada Highway that had a couple giant Adirondack chairs (that seem to be all across the country and some needed washrooms). We stopped quickly as Paige and I just wanted to get to Winnipeg, do some laundry and dry out all our wet gear from Blue Lake. We were splitting Winnipeg up into 1 day at a hotel and then 4 days outside the city at Birds Hill Provincial Park. The kids were looking forward to this part of the trip as we had enrolled them in a week of summer camp at the University of Manitoba. Izzie was off to become a scientist while Julie was going to hone her gymnastic skills. Paige and Mike were going to do…….well, we had nothing planned for ourselves.
Continue reading
Family Travel Countdown 