We prepared quite a detailed plan on how we were going to drive from BC to our new home in Prince Edward County, Ontario. I also spent quite a long time worrying about how we were going to pack everything and make sure nothing was forgotten. In the end, the packing went perfectly, and we left early so none of our best-laid plans were fulfilled.
Risa’s packing super-powers 
Let’s get this party started!
Driving Highway 3 from Vancouver to the Crowsnest Pass takes 993 km and 11.5 hours of driving. The alternate route is about 800 km up through the Horseshoe Pass but there were rumours of lengthy stages of single-lane construction so we chose the southern route.
We decided to get a half day head start on the trip and headed out mid Thursday afternoon. We made it as far as Osoyoos, and stopped at the Westridge Motor Inn, where a friendly unmasked gentleman wearing a camo Trump2020 cap checked us in. He told us his last room at the discount of rate of $159 was booked just 41 seconds before we arrived so we had to settle for the $179 rate. I have no proof, but my suspicion is that he charged us an extra $20 for wearing masks indoors.
Driving across BC takes you mainly through the Coast Mountain Range, the Kootenays, and the Rockies. (yeah, yeah, it’s more nuanced than that, but you can google those details if you are interested). I expected the Rockies to be the most harrowing, but along Highway 3 it is actually the Kootenays that are more terrifying, with spots where there are thousand foot drops just off the passenger side door. My least favourite route signage was “barrier removed”. WTF? WHY is the “barrier removed”??
May favourite signs were the Wildlife Corridor signs. At various spots along the way, these signs would depict a random collection of BC’s Big Five:*
- Deer
- Elk
- Moose
- Bear
- Big-horned Sheep
Some exciting summits included Alison Pass (~4200 ft), Bonanza (5036 ft), and Paulson (also 5036 ft). And of course, what goes up and all meant we also faced some thrilling downhills of 6-7% grades for as much as 4 km at a stretch. Good times when you are fully loaded with 600 lbs of collectable whiskey!
Friends we wish we could have visited along the way: Dave and Kinga Hipp in Kelowna BC.
*I made that up. There is no BC “Big Five” (but there should be!)
Postscript: I fretted over a theme for this travel blog, and in the end settled on My Stompin’ Grounds, commemorating the song by Canadian folk singer Stompin’ Tom Connors. In answer to the question “what places (across Canada) do you like best”, Tom’s answer was essentially “wherever my friends are”. And so, as we leave BC to drive across the country to our new home in Ontario, through provinces where old friends now live, we, too, will be inclined to like best wherever our friends are.
My Stompin’ Grounds, by Stompin’ Tom Connors
I’ve been all across this country
From the East coast to the west
And I’ve been asked about a thousand times
What places I like best
Well I’ve had to base my answers
On the friendly people I’ve found
And if you’re inclined to take the time
This is where you’ll find my stompin’ grounds
Just take a little piece of P.E.I & old Saskatchewan
Nova Scotia & New Brunswick, we’re back in Newfoundland
Alberta & Manitoba
Ontario & B.C
And you’ll have found the stompin’ grounds of all my friends & me
And you’ll have found the stompin’ grounds of all my friends & me
Now there was a time with a buddy of mine
When a frieght train was our load
And we found people in this here land that would help a guy along the road
Some of them lived in the country
And others lived in town
But these are the people that made me proud
To say this is my Stompin’ Ground
Just take a little piece of P.E.I & old Saskatchewan
Nova Scotia & New Brunswick, we’re back in Newfoundland
Alberta & Manitoba
Ontario & B.C
And you’ll have found the stompin’ grounds of all my friends & me
And you’ll have found the stompin’ grounds of all my friends & me
And now you’ve heard my answer
It’s one I hope you’ll understand
It’s just my way of kinda sayin’ Thank You to the people of this land
And it doesn’t matter really where you’re from
Ya can spread the word around
For where ever you find a heart that’s kind
You’re in a part of my stompin’ ground
Just take a little piece of P.E.I & old Saskatchewan
Nova Scotia & New Brunswick, we’re back in Newfoundland
Alberta & Manitoba
Ontario & B.C
And you’ll have found the stompin’ grounds of all my friends & me
And you’ll have found the stompin’ grounds of all my friends & me