2025 Journey to the West Coast Archives - Page 2 of 2

Day 05: Writing on Stone Provincial Park to Grasslands National Park

We both awoke early after a nice long sleep. Extremely quiet here but a little chilly overnight with the morning temperature being below 10°C. We made a quick exit from the campground and drove to one of the trailheads so that we could go for an early morning sunrise walk to look at some indigenous stone carvings for which the park is named. We also heard a pack of coyotes across the valley yipping and howling to each other, beautiful.

Although a cross-country route to our destination was proposed by Google maps, we chose a slightly longer route that ensured a supply of fuel. This routed us North towards Medicine Hat where we would join the Trans-Canada Highway yet again. However, before getting to the TCH we made a small detour to the Red Rock Coulee Natural Area to see the odd collection of naturally formed large red rock boulders that occur in this single location. It might also be a future boondocking location as it is quite remote with no visible neighbors and a good sized gravel parking area. It would be a wonderful dark-skies camping location.

The TCH today (Saturday) was relatively quiet with very few trucks thereby making the driving very easy and stress-free. We stopped at Gull Lake, SK for fuel and lunch at a small Bar & Grill in town. Simple food made well for a reasonable price.

From Gull Lake we headed South and East towards the Eastern side of Grasslands National Park. We saw many Pronghorn Antelope along the way and miles and miles of straight roads across the fertile South Saskatchewan landscape. It really is a very beautiful place with the light and shadows dancing across the grassy hills.

At about 4:15pm we pulled into Rock Creek Campground and setup for the night. We have an electrical site (30A) with a water tap nearby. There is no cellular coverage here and so we setup our Starlink Mini to provide us with ample internet bandwidth for the night.

A quiet dinner watching the sunset across the grasslands and then a wonderful night time sky filled with stars. What could be better than this?

Tomorrow we head into Manitoba in search of a free nights stay in Winkler.

Day 04: Radium Hot Springs to Writing on Stone Provincial Park

Yep, I know…. What happened to Day 03? Well, we spent it relaxing at Redstreak campground and walking a 2km hiking trail to the Radium Hot Springs where we relaxed in the 39°C water and swam in the ‘cool’ water pool. I finished another James Patterson novel and we cooked dinner on the Blackstone griddle. A day off from driving was very nice.

Today, we’re back on the road again, this time heading to southern Alberta where we have a camping reservation at Writing on Stone provincial park near the town of Milk River a little north of Coutts.

The day started with a drive South towards the Crowsnest Pass (Hwy 3). The road down the valley is wonderful, easy to drive and not too busy. When we get to Hwy 3, traffic is heavier but moves well. We drove this road last year and enjoyed the views of the mountains as much this year as last.

Arriving in Fernie, BC we stop at The Chopstick Truck for some Vietnamese fusion cuisine. We took it to a local park and enjoyed lunch away from the traffic and noise of the highway. Delicious and filling.

After Fernie the road passes through the actual Crowsnest mountain pass and then descends to the grasslands of southern Alberta. Barb takes on the driving chores and navigates us into Lethbridge where we stop for fuel before turning South towards Coutts on Hwy 4.

We stop for a couple of grocery items in Warner and then drive to Milk River where we turn East to the provincial park.

We arrive at about 4:30 and settle into our campsite. No luxuries tonight, the site has no services and so we’ll rough it for one night.

Tomorrow, we’re heading to Saskatchewan so join is again.

Day 02: Cache Creek to Radium Hot Springs

Up and at ‘em! It’s just after 8:00am and we’re on Hwy 1 heading East. It’s September 10th, our 37th wedding anniversary, Happy Anniversary my love ❤️.

Heading East along Hwy 1 the hills rolled along still covered in grasses. We pass some larger lakes and after about an hour we arrive in Kamloops, BC. Here we treat ourselves to a sit down breakfast at the White Spot restaurant, a BC staple. We both enjoy a very well prepared Eggs Benedict and coffee before heading back out onto the highway.

Having traveled this section of Hwy 1 a few weeks ago we knew to expect some construction delays as large sections of the highway are being widened to 4-lanes from 2. This requires the clearing of trees and the removal of huge sections of mountainside in order for the road to weave its way through the wilderness. Our journey was extended by about 30 minutes in total because of these delays.

After continuing our drive eastward we passed through Roger’s Pass and knew that we only had a little further to go before leaving Hwy 1 at Golden, BC where we stopped for fuel, groceries and bakery items (Yum!)

Our journey continued Southward along Hwy 95 towards Radium Hot Springs where we are camping at the Redstreak Campground in Kootenay National Park for 2-nights.

Before pulling into the campground we turned East on Hwy 93 towards Banff. We drove past the hot springs facility and up to the Kootenay Valley Viewpoint. The sun was in the West which lit the far side of the valley allowing us to take some wonderful photographs.

Returning back to Radium Hot Springs we entered the campground and setup camp before enjoying dinner and a beverage. It was a long day (in excess of 6 hrs) and we were both tired.

Tomorrow we will visit the hot springs and take a day off from driving.

Day 01: Galiano to Cache Creek

The ferry back to Tsawwassen left Galiano at 8:30am, that meant leaving Dad’s house by 7:15am in order to ensure that we had a good spot in line as we had no reservation. Turns out that we needn’t have worried as there was lots of room on the Salish Eagle that would return us to mainland Canada. We enjoyed a breakfast on the ferry and once we arrived we made our way towards the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1) heading East towards Hope, BC.

Originally we had planned to go through Vancouver and then take the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler and onto Cache Creek; however, that was going to add 90 plus minutes to our first driving day and so we headed like lemmings toward Hope. Everyone heads this way, including us in the past. We wanted to take a different route and so headed up the Fraser Canyon on Hwy 1. This was the original Trans-Canada Highway before the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy 5) was opened.

We took the “Coq” West when we arrived a few weeks ago. I described it as ‘intense’. 120km/h four lanes, steep hills (6 – 9%) and lots of truck traffic makes for a less than relaxing drive. Coined “The Highway through Hell” in the Winter, it gets its name honestly from those that have driven it in harsher weather.

The Fraser Canyon drive was slower as it weaved its way North towards Lytton. It reminds me of Route 66 in the U.S. It was once a busy thoroughfare as can be seen by the many now abandoned gas stations and businesses along the way; however, it doesn’t have the allure of Route 66. It was difficult to find places to stop and admire the scenery, even the ‘Hells Gate’ tourist attraction was closed as we passed by at about lunchtime on this Tuesday in September.

We did manage to find a pull off where there was a sign for Southbound travelers welcoming them to the Fraser Canyon. It included some wonderful views across the canyon and North towards Lytton.

Arriving in Lytton Hwy 1 turns North-East and follows the Thompson River towards Cache Creek, BC. The landscape changed from lush treed mountain slopes to dry desert like hillsides. After several miles of twisting along the rivers edge, the road struck North across a grasslands landscape that remained us of Northern Nevada. The sagebrush was abundant and the hillsides rolled along covered in grasses and not trees. The air became much dryer and we noticed this on our arms and legs first.

Arriving in Cache Creek we stopped and filled the van with fuel and then sought out a place for lunch. We’d already stopped twice along the Fraser Canyon but one was closed and the other seemed a little sketchy so we drove on. Our third attempt in Cache Creek also resulted in a closed Greek restaurant and so we headed for a local taco stand that seemed to get good reviews. The ‘Desert Hills Ranch Taco Stand’ proved to be an amazing place. We each ordered a Taco Bowl which ended up being large enough for both lunch and dinner. The ingredients were fresh and the spices were amazing, easily the best Mexican food we’ve had anywhere in North America.

We stopped for the night at the Cache Creek Campground and RV resort just East of town off of Hwy 1. A nicely kept private campground with level sites and full services. A great end to the first day of our journey home.

Tomorrow we head deeper into the mountains, retracing some of our route Westward but also finding some new places to explore.

It’s been a while…

Yep, too long really but there you go. We are currently midway through a Fall ‘journey’ that has had some real highs and real lows so let’s catch you up.

In mid-August I received the phone call that no son wants to get, my mother had been admitted into palliative care and I should make my way to her ASAP. Air Canada was grounded due to a strike and the other airlines were charging ridiculous fares to gouge customers in the interim. On top of the fares, the earliest we could fly would be 7 days later. Barb and I quickly decided that we could drive our camper-van more quickly and more cheaply across the continent than we could fly. We were heading out on the road!

We left home on Monday, August 18, 2025 and head to McCullough’s Landing Campground near Carleton Place where we had reservations for the week but would only stay one night. We enjoyed a lovely evening with our friends Cathy & Dean before getting a good nights sleep ahead of several long driving days.

Tuesday started well until we spilled a large Tim Horton’s coffee into the passenger footwell. Saved however by the WeatherTech floor mat as it contained the entire coffee allowing me to pour it out onto the ground. Phew, crisis averted. Was this how this journey was going to go?

Tuesday found us stopping in Sault Ste-Marie, ON where we parked for the night at a truck stop. Wednesday found us rounding the Lake Superior lakehead and turning North West towards Dryden, ON. Another night, another truck stop. Thursday had us finally exiting Ontario and crossing Manitoba before stopping for the night in Moosejaw, SK where we parked at the Visitor Centre. Friday found us zipping across Alberta and into the Canadian Rockies where we stopped at a campground in Golden, BC. Saturday, August 23, 2025 found us driving the remainder of the way across BC to Vancouver where we caught a ferry to Vancouver island. We arrived at my mother’s bedside in the early evening and visited for a short while before retiring to sleep. We parked at the hospital overnight and stayed for the next few days. We would be joined by my brother, Trevor and his girlfriend, Kim on Monday.

The next few days were a bit of a blur. Sadly the inevitable happened on Wednesday, August 27, 2025 my mother passed away quietly with my father at her side. The insane 5 day driving journey had been worth it. I had spent some of my mother’s last hours at her bedside along with my brother and father.

Thanks for all of the support in recent days to those that have reached out. It meant a lot to myself and my family.

Coral Edna Fisher (1944-2025)

We spent the next 2 weeks with my father at his home on Galiano Island. Things got done, changes were made. Life goes on.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone attempt driving across Canada at the pace we did unless they have to. You don’t enjoy it or see anything of interest along the way. It really took the joy out of camper van adventuring. That said, it had to be done and we’re both glad we endured the journey.

The next few blog posts will detail our return to Ontario. Nope, not doing it in 5 days, in fact it’s likely to take us about 10 days. So, come back and follow along on our journey home.