looking for advice on cross-country drive

[Aris Marghetis]

Fellow chess nuts, I will be driving alone from San Diego to Ottawa at the end of August, and I will be be going up the west coast, and then across Canada, staying within it, like going over the Great Lakes, etc. I have never driven further west than somewhere near Windsor, LOL, so I am welcoming the advice of anyone who has driven cross-country.

Offhand, here are the Canadian legs of the trip that I was considering. Any feedback?

- first stop in Canada somewhere east of Vancouver, to shorten the next leg of the trip
- from that place east of Vancouver, to Calgary, where I have relatives to stay with
- Calgary to Winnipeg, unless there's a hidden gem near Winnipeg you can sell me on!
- now Winnipeg to somewhere between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste Marie, but where?!
- the idea is to leave me with a decent single day drive from this last stop to Ottawa

Finally, this is a budget trip, so I will have an air mattress in the back of the van. I am thinking of sleeping in WalMart parking lots, which allow travellers like RVs to stay free overnight. In addition to that address, I would like the nearest GoodLife fitness location, which I could use to shave and shower. I figure all of my food could be at Timmies, LOL!

Thanks!

P.S. Feel free to email me with any suggestions: arismarghetis at rogers dot com

[Caesar Posylek]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

Have a nice trip thru Canada and USA, Aris.
:)

[Howard Streit]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

Suggest strongly that you check for hidden treasures you may otherwise miss to your regret.

I have made the Cross-Canada trek many times and would suggest that you spend some time in the Prairies, the people are very warm and friendly. In Alberta there is the Dinosaur museum in Drumheller, just east of Calgary, one of the best in the world. South of Calgary there is a native museum that has just sprung up and is recommended by many.

My wife and I really enjoyed Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, people are friendly, as everywhere else in the Prairies. Aafter several fires destroyed the town in its early years a by-law was passed stating that buildings could not be constructed of wood. As a result, the town is littered with large brick and stone edifices similar to what you would find in Old Montreal or Toronto. If you like the tv show Corner Gas you can check out the Town of Rouleau where it is filmed, about 35 minutes SE of there. Regina is the headquarters of the RCMP, you might want to check out their museum.

The Winnipeg financial district has been kept the same way as it was back in the 1920s-30s. As a result, many American gangster movies are filmed there. May be an interesting place to visit.

Northern Ontario has a sameness about it, once you've seen a million trees you've seen them all; but there is an attractive ruggedness about the place and always a possibility of an unexpected meeting (my wife and I turned a corner on the Trans-Canada Highway one drizzly morning, and met a wolf crossing the highway, he calmly stopped, gazed back at us, and then strolled casually into the woods).

[Tony Ficzere]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

That's an excellent trip you are taking. I've been down the coastal highway, its a treat all the way. I've made the trip from Calgary to Ottawa & Toronto at least a dozen times.

Day one. Since you are leaving from San Diego, I would suggest going for San Francisco on your first day. Lots of stuff to see there, you'll love the hills. Maybe you could visit the Mechanics Institute if you have time.

Day two you can camp in the giant Red Woods in northern California.

Day three you could hold up in a little town in northern Oregon called Astoria. Pretty little place that has been saved from urban development. It has that 1930's feel to it. When you leave the next day, you can take the bridge into Washington State, or just go down the road a ways and take the ferry.

Day four could get you to Osoyoos BC. Depending on how you choose to get there, this is a nice place to stop for the night. If you're staying in a motel, you might want to book it in advance as Osoyoos is a summer town, lots of tourists, and it is a desert as well. If you like Indian food, try Ambrosia, nice little restaurant with great food.

Day five gets you to Calgary where I am living now. Give me a call when you're in town and we can get together for wine & cheese & chess.

Day six would put you into Winnipeg. Lots of stuff to see there. You shouldn't have any problems picking up a game there.

Day seven could put you in Wawa. Not much there, but there are some nice cabins to rent, probably cost about $80 per night (maybe less), but its beautiful country.

Wawa is a good days drive to Ottawa.

[Aris Marghetis]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

Thanks guys for the ideas!

[Leah Shaw]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

Aris,

Having grown up in the south-east corner of the province (Creston), I would suggest you take the Crowsnest Highway (No. 3) across the southern portion of BC. You could continue over to Fort Macleod, then head north up to Calgary. I'm not sure where your starting point would be, but we used to go through the Fraser Valley to Hope, through Manning Park to Princeton, then east to the Okanagan. Here, you could stop in Osoyoos, as Tony suggested. Should still be able to get some nice fruit at that time of the summer, and the lake is as warm as bath water if you want to swim.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowsnest_Highway

I'm assuming you don't have an aversion to switchbacks and mountain passes, of course :) I don't know if it's still the case, but the Salmo-Creston "Skyway" used to be called the highest paved road in Canada. A beautiful drive, though. Enough...I'm getting homesick :)

Cheers,

Leah

p.s. There are only 3 Goodlife clubs in BC, by the way. Pitt Meadows, Vernon, and one that just opened in Victoria.

[Aris Marghetis]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

Aris,

Having grown up in the south-east corner of the province (Creston), I would suggest you take the Crowsnest Highway (No. 3) across the southern portion of BC. You could continue over to Fort Macleod, then head north up to Calgary. I'm not sure where your starting point would be, but we used to go through the Fraser Valley to Hope, through Manning Park to Princeton, then east to the Okanagan. Here, you could stop in Osoyoos, as Tony suggested. Should still be able to get some nice fruit at that time of the summer, and the lake is as warm as bath water if you want to swim.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowsnest_Highway

I'm assuming you don't have an aversion to switchbacks and mountain passes, of course :) I don't know if it's still the case, but the Salmo-Creston "Skyway" used to be called the highest paved road in Canada. A beautiful drive, though. Enough...I'm getting homesick :)

Cheers,

Leah

p.s. There are only 3 Goodlife clubs in BC, by the way. Pitt Meadows, Vernon, and one that just opened in Victoria.

Thanks Leah! I have much research ahead of me ...

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

From near San Diego, you might take Route_395. It's been 35 years since I took it, going from San Francisco (395 doesn't go through SF, I had to get to the junction near the Nevada border) to Walla Walla (which is a side trip from 395. It might be fun to do Walla Walla on the same trip to Ottawa that you go through Wawa. Sorry, can't do Wagga Wagga, Australia, on the same trip.). No ocean, no surfing, no beaches (unless you try a day-glo on the Columbia River near Hanford. Wooo-ee!) but I'd say that 395 does for N-S what Route 66 did for E-W. It's a classic. I'd guess that in late August any of the coastal routes would be jam-packed with vacationers (going home). But it would be better to ask somebody with more recent experience. Global economic malaise will make even recent experience less indicative.

Another advantage of taking the Crowsnest route is Writing-on-Stone_Provincial_Park in Southern Alberta. It's a place of wonder. And (ho hum) a World Heritage Site. Then you might miss the chance of Wine-and-Chesse with Tony, but life is choices.

If you do like switchbacks, take the route Route_95 through Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on up to BC. It's like a day-long rollercoaster. Though on that road, my experience is *more* than 35 years old.

[Zeljko Kitich]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

Do like the song says and travel Route 66. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66 My geometry tells me this is a shorter, more direct route, rather than up to BC & then over to Ottawa, its like taking the hypotenuse of a right angle triangle rather than both sides, its why we instinctively cut through school fields and ignore the stay off the grass signs.

The cross Canada trip is notoriously mind numbing especially over the flat praries. I would also join the YMCA for the duration, even the Y membership plus which has a separate locker room with way more ammenities than the usual adult locker room such as towel service, from what I've seen in Hamilton & Toronto. There are Y's everywhere and they are more shave/shower friendly places.

If I'm not mistaken gas prices may be lower in the USA as well depending on what the exchange rate is when you go.

The only way I would travel cross Canada would be in a train which I did once and will do again one fine day.

[Tony Ficzere]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

I wouldn't miss the trip up the coast from San Diego to Washington State, I could do it over and over again. Some of the most beautiful country you will ever see.

As Jonathan points out, going up through Idaho is pretty cool too. I know what he means about the rollercoaster!

And the Crowsnest (#3) is a great trip. You might even see a little snow over the Salmo-Creston pass!

As for the prairies, people have different tastes for scenery. I enjoy the trip through Saskatchewan myself.

[Zeljko Kitich]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

if you are going that way as Tony suggests there is also possibly the Pacific coast highway
http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/pa...sthighway.html

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

Aris didn't tell us how he's getting to San Diego. Perhaps the Interstate system which replaced Route 66 is already on his itinerary.

Anyway, there are lots of choices: coastal route (scenic but long), I5 (urban, freeway, long), 395, ... I'd avoid 95: too boring, too much desert, for most of its length.

[Tony Ficzere]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

if you are going that way as Tony suggests there is also possibly the Pacific coast highway
http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/pa...sthighway.html

This is the same route.

[Zeljko Kitich]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

You mean the Crowsnest #3 and the PCH? PCH is #1, I don't doubt it but why different names and numbers for the same highway?

[Frank Dixon]

Re: looking for advice on cross-country drive

Aris, you are planning quite an adventure!!

I'd recommend a modification of your trip from Winnipeg to Ottawa, taking the route south through Lake of the Woods into Minnesota (some lovely country there), heading for Duluth (on the western end of Lake Superior), going through Superior, Wisconsin, and then heading across northern Michigan on the south side of Lake Superior, to the Soo. That gives you three more U.S. states to check off. I've made that very trip at almost the same time of year you are travelling, and the scenery is spectacular, the traffic minimal, and the prices cheap. The colours on the trees are already starting to turn towards fall at that time.

Have a great trip and travel safely. :) :) :)

Cheers, Frank