I have a quiet patch here right now (well, there's LOADS of things I
could do, but nothing that will put grit in the gears of the world if it
isn't done) so I'm planning out our Canadian trip for next year, step
by step, town by hotel, road to mountainside. A certain pair of
venerable gentlemen kindly made some suggestions a couple of months
back, and the route looks great, but is nearly 2000km long and runs to 4
pages of google maps instructions.
Day 1 from Vancouver
we may stop at Kamloops, but I'm inclined to press on to Revelstoke and
the wooden hotel Marc referred to us. If we do go to Revelstoke then
we'll stop there a couple of days, although Kamloops appeals to the
mountain biker in me. Next stop will be Banff, probably for a night,
then Jasper for another night. Finally we'll drop out of the mountains
and do the last few hundred flat Km in search of the last homely
house(s) if you'll forgive my Tolkienism.
Putative route here.
Simples, as meerkats apparently say.
Looking forward to it? Yes I am!
Note - route destinations updated.
Looks good! It will be great to see you guys and it will be great for you to see our part of the world.
ReplyDeleteYes... that wooden hotel in Revelstoke... Marc did tell you it has no air conditioning right -- only a plug in fan, which we unfortunately didn't find until the next morning?! If you do stay in Revelstoke, I'd stay for only one day and add more days to Banff and Jasper. Definitely much more to do in those places!
How long are you staying in Vancouver? I'm trying to remember if Marc talked to my brother (who lives there) about where to stay/what to do...
And don't worry about the 2,000km. It's pretty different driving in Canada than in the UK! (As I discovered planning our trip to you guys!) We did a four-day-weekend trip from Manitoba to Alberta three times last year -- and that's 1,500km driving in each direction! I wouldn't recommend it, but basically, once you're out of the mountains, 100km equals 1 hour of driving. So it goes a lot faster here, even if that means the terrain is a little boring and it's an hour+ between gas stations!
Thanks for the tips Dixie. We'll be in Vancouver probably 4 days, arriving Friday morning so we'll have a clear weekend. Marc passed your brother's (Dean?) hotel suggestions on, although they were all downtown & Johanna was suggesting staying further out instead - we've not firmed that up yet.
ReplyDeleteHotels not booked, but the flights and car now have been - yes, we're coming! On the driving front, we did 900km in a single day in Zimbabwe, and that was pretty much the limit of endurance. But Canada is different, as you say, and with the low speed limits and empty roads it's really hard to stay awake.
Yes, that's what my sister-in-law says too. She's lived in BC all her life (mountains, hills, etc) and she says she falls asleep at the wheel as soon as she hits the straight flat roads of the prairies. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, and it's my other brother, Dory, who lives in Van. My oldest brother Dean is the musician. I still think you and Dean should be friends. :)
Micah is in Vancouver still - just up a little from downtown....
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol.
ReplyDelete