Planning Part 1 – Can we do this?

My ideal cross-Canada trip – if time and money were no object – would involve not just visiting all provinces and territories, but meandering through them, and experiencing all each region had to offer. I’d visit each national park, every major centre, all the landmarks… taking time to explore each, lingering where I wanted. But alas, Freedom 45 is not in the foreseeable future, and thus our adventure will be constrained by the realities of life – a mortgage to pay, house to take care of, jobs to get back to, kids that are bound to get cranky sitting in the car for eight hours every day. A month is really all we can offer up to this endeavor. As a result, before we could even consider this further, the first question we had to answer was “Is it even possible to drive across Canada in 30 days?”

The answer is “Yes… sort of”. Randy Olson, a computer science PhD candidate at Michigan State University, used a computer algorithm to calculate the best route to visit all provinces and territories (except Nunavut, which has no roads) for the Huffington Post Canada. His journey, based on 6 hours of travel a day, would take 32 days. That’s one way of continuous travel – no additional days in any location, no deviating from the path, no stopping to see friends and family, no return trip.

The biggest mistake foreign travelers make when coming to Canada is underestimating its size. Check out this link to a map of Canada superimposed over Europe – our country spans an entire continent. You could drive all the way from Portugal to Greece and still not be as far as Vancouver to Ontario. A born and bred Canadian, I am familiar with the vastness of our country. Even so, it’s hard to fathom just how big it is until you start planning a trip like this. The thirty days I initially thought would be more than enough, is going to be tight – we won’t be able to see it all, do it all. But with the right choices, we can do it.

Someone once told me that they key to doing anything (or getting through anything) is understanding that no matter how enormous the challenge seems to be, it is just a series of individual decisions. You make one then move on to then next until you are done. And so, our series of decisions began:

·        Car travel only or train/bus/plane too? Car travel only

·        Return trip or one way and fly home? Return trip

·        Our vehicle, buy a camper van, rent a vehicle? Our vehicle

·        Camping or hoteling? Hoteling

·        Go into the US or exclusively travel in Canada? US, a little on the way home

We had the basic parameters, now it was time to start mapping out a route. The Yukon and Northwest Territories were scratched off the list immediately (Nunavut was never an option as it is not accessible via car), and soon after British Columbia was too. The North remains a bucket list item, but is far too remote – it’s just not feasible given our constraints. BC was a tougher call. On one hand, it is a unique and integral part of this country. On the other, it is relatively close to home, and an area we travel to frequently. Adding days to get out to the West Coast, then to double-back and drive past home to continue with the rest of the trip felt incongruous.

So Calgary east it was. We began mapping out a few itinerary options, and in doing so, realized Newfoundland also needed to be cut from the plan. This was a tough blow as there was so much I wanted to see and do in Newfoundland. My heart still aches when I see pictures and articles of Gros Morne, L'Anse aux Meadows or Quidi Vidi, but including Newfoundland would take 6-10 of our thirty days. There is simply not enough time.

We also had to make a few compromises related to how long we would stay or how much we would see in some areas. If it was close to home (a.k.a. Saskatchewan or Manitoba) or an area we visit frequently (a.k.a. Southern Ontario), we’ve constrained our time there on the presumption there will be plenty of opportunities to make a return visit in the future. We also decided to shorten the trip home by cutting through the US for a few days. This way we will be able to maximize our time in the places we’ve never been and are difficult to reach.

Like life, the trip is not perfect – there are constraints, cuts and compromises. But in the end, I think we’ve come up with something pretty darn good. The details still need to be worked out, dates and locations confirmed, but here is rough draft of our trip itinerary: