Trans Canada ‘23 Day 4

Struggling with time zones on Day 4… up and at it too early and ready to roll for 5:00 AM! We had a great rest from the highway in Regina and quickly hit the ground running this morning making some use of the wait time for breakfast. Within Regina’s tree lined streets we found a beautiful park area surrounding the legislature, the downtown core, Mosaic Stadium (Home of the Rough Riders) and the RCMP Training Depot just outside of town. Fun time of day to explore… quiet except for several pockets of streetside drama with folks that obviously seemed in trouble 😔!

The progression west, after a mug up and check-out at the Fairfield, lined us up with a big driving day and we were set to pour it on! We passed Moose Jaw, Swift Current and came to rest at Medicine Hat (AB) before requiring gas. The landscape rolled from prairie field to rugged, rolling grasslands as we got closer to Alberta. I erroneously stated on Day 3 that “mining” was being left behind. Wrong there… lots of that to shore up the agricultural economy in Saskatchewan. By the time we hit the border, beef cattle were commonplace and the happenstance of oil derricks frequent.

Curiosities along the way included googling about potash mines (huge one just outside of Regina), a roadside plant which grows with “cat tails” that we identified as Dockweed, a strong smelling white mineral we isolated (after some searching) as Sodium Sulphate, and Daylight Savings (or lack there of in Saskatchewan). In a more damning irony, we found the same plant across the street at home upon our return… sometimes we don’t know what’s in our own backyards!

Further… lots of time spent by Janie isolating and booking our next overnight stop… we were working hard to be strategic and cost effective. Not an easy task. In the end we made several decisions.

• Bypass Calgary – Neither of us were in the mood for a bigger city at this point.
• Lake Louise – Do a stop here and take the opportunity to walk/hike/picnic
• Revelstoke – Book accommodations on the BC side of the Rockies.
• Destination – Vancouver… want to visit Stanley Park and maybe get into the mountains!
• Return – Looks like a return in Canada covers the same roads. We are beginning to explore the I-90 as a potential option for a route home.

Thus, a clean bypass of Calgary and directly onward to the Banff region. Calgary is a hefty city by Canadian standards… 1.3 million in 2017. Okay by us to leave that hot mess in the rear view mirror. An hour and a bit later we were focused on Lake Louise. On the way in I was contemplating my last (and only) time in this area… I was 13 and visiting Kananaskis as a Boy Scout to attend CJ’81! Oh my… just as gorgeous.

You can see the Rockies from outside Calgary and the layers only get thicker / higher upon approach . They are both stunning and powerful… not the tame “steep driveways” we find out east, but mighty, jagged and angry pillars of stone that reach well into the sky. Simply awesome! We came to rest at Lake Louise (on a busy high season Monday) facing full parking lots and “No Vacancy”. Undaunted, we had a superb visit! The towering mountains, turquoise lake and greens of the forest cast a fairy tale setting. We walked past the busy Chateau area to the 4.8 km return Lakeshore Trail. The numbers thinned quickly and it provided some outdoor time, a much needed walk, and another leg of our journey.

The easy drive into Banff National Park was not matched on the route through Yoho National Park / Glacier National Park to Revelstoke. A huge highway twinning project is ongoing – and we noted the signs still forecast it to be finished in 2021… hmm. For our trip however, we were happy to narrowly beat a 30 minute delay for a scheduled blasting 💥 and to navigate along safely to our destination. The mountain drive experience was a great band`-aid for me to rip off. I’m definitely not a man for heights and, in particular, not a fan of mountain driving. However, Janie was a super co-pilot and both Kicking Horse and Rogers passes were a piece of cake today 👍!

On the western side of the continental divide both active and recent forest fires left horrific evidence along the route. A first for us was watching the acrid smoke billow from an adjacent mountainside. There were a few remnants where a mountain’s entire forest was scorched, other times it was just random trees that were burnt and then it was the tallest trees that were noticeably affected. We realize it is an important feature of the life cycle for many trees, but still not easy to look at.

Through Rogers Pass are a series of interesting mountain infrastructure installed to protect the road at key points. These concrete covered tunnels that have apparently been designed to meet the need to shield from rock slide / avalanche damage that must occur every winter. The pass was originally developed for the coast to coast railway… later adapted for vehicle traffic and one of the few opportunities to cross and access the pacific. Interestingly, BC has a chunk of the south eastern region in the Mountain Time Zone and not in the Pacific time zone. That saga continues (too bad we didn’t start in Newfoundland 😂)!

We came to rest at the Fairfield Marriott in the mountain city Revelstoke, BC at about 7:30 PT and flumped into our room after both a handsome but exhausting day of travel. Google Maps tells me it was at least 12.5 hrs drive time and some 1,200 kms 😳. Sets up a decent Tuesday drive into Vancouver and some time in that “new to me” city! A rewarding day as we gently sweep down from the Rockies towards our most westerly destination.

… Trans Canada ‘23 Day 5