I’ve been thinking that it’s time to name my van. John and I bought her in 2009 and got the news that Annika, our first grand daughter, was on the way when we were in our driveway checking out all of the great things this little 2002 Dodge RoadTrek has to offer. This year, 2023 the first trip out was to Radium Hot Springs with that beautiful little red headed Annika who is now 13 years old. She asked last year when she was helping me repack it to store it for the winter if we could, just the two of us, go on a little road trip and camping. Soooo, that was the first trip this summer. Memories to be made while she still wants to hang out with her Nana…not something to be put off.
Our first stop was in Canmore to do a little shop browsing and look for Henna to do tattoos. We didn’t find any Henna, but we did buy beautiful coffee mugs that Annika saw a few weeks ago when she was there with her parents. Her favourite VanGough, night sky and mine is the sunflowers. A special memento. We arrived in Fairmont at the Spruce View campground around 5pm and set up camp in the rain. The forecast wasn’t calling for a full on rainy time so yay. We were close to a river and in the mountains, it was all good, especially the company and the fresh air. Annika and I went for a little walk to explore after having a bite to eat and discovered that we were actually on a cool little lagoon that was being fed off of that river. Also,Yay!! There would be some paddle boarding after all. After having a fire for a couple of hours, we went to bed so we could get an early start to the day. Waking up to sunshine we enjoyed the full day just hanging out by the river and doing a little paddle boarding on that lagoon. Annika had her beading kit with her and made some fun things sitting in the sun. We had a healthy supper in the evening and another fire, this time we put in some colour chemicals and watched the magic. Tomorrow we’ll make our way home but not until we’ve made a stop at the Fairmont Hot Springs and done a little shopping in Invermere. We expected to get into Red Deer around 8 pm so we weren’t in any hurry. When we were approaching Calgary the sky was black at around 6:30pm and the traffic was backing up. There was a big hail storm and so grateful that it was small sized hail. It would have been so sad if the van got beaten up by it. We ended up sitting in a gridlock traffic jam for three hours. Thank goodness we were in the van. Snacks and a bathroom come in so very handy in situations like that. We were finally, safely and happily back in Red Deer by 11pm. First summer road trip in the RoadTrek in the bag.
Next…Family Camp out in the West Country. Bear Country. Beautiful Alberta Scenic Country. It was so smokey from the forest fires but the weather was warm and the company good. It consisted of sisters from BC and one from Edmonton. Some of their kids and some of mine with a good helping of grand-kids. It was a good weekend while the weather held. We got a good hike in to Siffler Falls and that was pretty much the highlight of adventure. We didn’t see any bears, and I’m always good with that. We ended up wrapping up the weekend camping in the rain on Sunday and everyone headed out for home with good feelings and a plan to reconvene next year, same time, same place. I hope we can make it happen.
Then, my ever so awesome birthday weekend in Toronto. That deserves a blog of it’s own. It involved me being treated like a super special human from my new friend Christine from Cabo. Seriously, the best reason for my travels is the beautiful people I meet and become new friends with along the way.
This being said…the next great Van Adventure of the summer was with my new and very lovely friend from Florence Italy. I met Carolina on the Costa Rica Adventure Tour last fall. She was my room-mate and we kept in touch following that trip. In May Carolina bought her ticket to come to Canada for a 3 1/2 week holiday. This started on August 9 when I picked her up in Calgary and came back to Red Deer for 3 sleeps before heading out on what would be the best adventure I’ve taken the van on since John was in the drivers seat.
We logged over 3500 kms on that trip. Heading out on Sunday, August 13 we went west, and got onto the beautiful Ice Field parkway heading towards Jasper. It was a clear sunny day and the mountains were majestic and beautiful for Carolina to have her first glimpse of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. We stopped at the Icefield Parkway Tourist and Information centre to go on the bus out the the look out. I had never done it before and wanted to keep the mind of being a tourist in my own back yard. It was a little under rated for the $45 charged and the 30 minutes to see it and walk out on a Plexiglas that looked down at rock. The view was absolutely stunning and Carolina got some good Insta photos. We carried on our way and stopped in Jasper, took Helen for a walk, and Carolina tried poutine before we headed to Mt. Robson to set up camp at a beautiful wooded campground recommended by a friend that goes that way often. The next morning we wrapped up and headed to Kamloops. We got there at a reasonable hour, set up camp, and went for a wade in the river to cool off. I text my cousin who lives there to see if we could meet. She was at a wedding of Vancouver Island and recommended that I book the ferry if going to the island was in our plans. I did that and made it the only thing we would be committed to getting to. The next day before heading out we went to find and see the residential school in Kamloops where the first children were discovered. I thought it was important to show Carolina that horrible things have happened in Canada too. It’s pretty to look at but some horrible things have happened inside our borders. We carried on to Vancouver feeling a little heavy in our hearts. We took the Fraser Valley route and stopped at Hells Gate to take the tram down to the site where there is more Canadian History regarding the railroad and the Chinese folks that worked hard and gave their lives so we could have a Canadian Railway system that is still in use today. We arrived in Greater Vancouver in the early evening and set up camp at one of the city’s only campgrounds in North Vancouver. After having a BBQ supper we hung out and made a plan to take 2 nights in Vancouver. The next day we took an UBER from our campsite to the fun area of Granville Island, where we did a little shopping and had lunch. The following day we were back on the road and headed to Whistler. I’d never been there before and was looking forward to seeing it as a real tourist. We set up camp at the Olympic Ski Jump and campsite where they had a fantastic social room with a ping-pong table and board games. We decided to spent 2 nights here too and did a great hike to the top of the ski jump. Carolina was so happy to be in a place where we could be active and enjoying nature in the mountains. We did a little shopping and a stop at a brew house in Whistler to be sure we got all the things in. From Whistler we headed, back tracking, to the ferry in Vancouver to get to Vancouver Island. We had a late arrival but also had our camping booked, It was a pitch black setup for the van in a stubble field, with no hook-ups. Sometimes ya just gotta take what you get. We got up, wrapped up, had breakfast and hit the road to go check out Victoria. I was disappointed in how rundown the city felt. It’s been many years since I was there last and much has changed since the pandemic wreaked havoc on so many businesses. The Empress Hotel is still a visual highlight with the beautiful gardens around the front of it and it was a lovely day for a waterfront walk. We spent 4 days and 5 nights on the island before getting on the ferry back to greater Vancouver. Once off the ferry we headed directly for Kamloops. Happy to say my little van did great keeping up and just blasted over the Coquihalla Highway with a posted speed of 120 km/hr. Arriving at my cousins house at a reasonable hour for a fantastic home cooked meal and a bed in a room that had a real bathroom. It was heavenly after a couple of weeks in the van. The following day we took a little longer route getting to Revelstoke to avoid the massive amounts of forest fires burning down the Okanagan…so much fire devastation this summer. We arrived safely in Revelstoke and had a booking to stay at the lovely Williamson Lake campsite. We stopped in town to grab some groceries and have a little walk after the days drive. When we got back on the road I noticed a grinding sound in my wheels and the steering didn’t feel quite right when I braked. We just continued to go and set up camp. I was a little nervous about heading out without getting that checked before having to do two mountain passes, Rogers and the Kicking Horse, to get to Banff for our last camp in the van. Thankfully this was a brake issue that could be handled and one of my Revelstoke sisters has friends in the right places that could make it happen quickly on a weekend. I was so very grateful that it happened in Revelstoke, where I know people, and not Whistler where it would have been a premium price and maybe have taken days. Serendipity at it’s finest, thank you universe for looking after us. We spent another night in Revelstoke with my sister at her lovely home and just relaxed. The following day the van was ready to go again, we picked her up and went up to the dam for a swim and planned to leave the next day. When we headed back into Revelstoke there was a Black Bear that crossed the road ahead of us and went into the Train yard. Carolina was so excited to get to see an actual bear she almost cried. Another serendipity thing of being in the right place at the right time. We headed out early the next morning. It was a great day with a stop, where we were actually able to park, at Lake Louise. Carolina knew what I meant by it being a little over rated after all that we saw on our most awesome adventure, but I was so happy she got to see it too. It is an iconic view in our beautiful Rockies. We only got to drive around Banff but couldn’t find a place to park so we carried on home. What a great holiday with great company, lots of laughs and really no drama. My little RoadTrek still doesn’t have a name. John would think that’s just stupid anyway. Carolina and I got back to Banff on her last full day here. We enjoyed a lovely lunch on the back terrace of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, with a beautiful view of the Rockies, followed by a walk in town and any last minute souvenir shopping that was headed to Italy.
It was a fun filled an many memories made kind of summer. I am looking forward to being hosted one day, in Italy, by the beautiful and lovely Carolina…My Italian Daughter.
