But I’ve got a good friend who proposes such a trip in a few weeks. I’ve told her all I could think of that she’d need to know about measure conversions, and given her a link to a site that lets you check gas prices in Canada. Also links for stuff like what ID she needs for herself and the kids. She’s taken care of that, she remembers the formulas for converting kph to mph, Celsius to Fahrenheit, and liters to gallons. I don’t think anybody would still be selling gas by Imperial gallons, but I gave her the conversion for that, JIC. I haven’t remembered yet to explain Tim Horton’s, :smack: :rolleyes: but I will. There may be other chains, especially in BC and Yukon, that it would help for her to know about, but I’ve never been there. And other helpful/useful stuff. I’ve mentioned rockslides. I’m assuming that bears aren’t that big a thing near the main highways, but I don’t think she’ll take any chances about stopping in the vast emptiness, unless it’s an emergency. I do wish she had a CB or a satphone, as her cell is the usual type, and useless out in the middle of the mountains.
The shortest route from the Yahoo map service goes up through Wisconsin, then across five provinces. I did some playing around and suggested a route to Montana, then up into Canada. It’s about 400 miles longer, but the differential in gas prices is such that I think it would save enough money to be noticeable, even though she’d see far fewer mountains (I think; am I right?) if she goes on up into Canada ASAP. Other routes staying in the US that I checked add up to a thousand miles more; not acceptable in a trip that’s already more than 4,000.
I can’t think of anything else. I’m sure there’s more. I’d like some help, please. I’ll give her the link to this thread.
I think it’s four years old; the mileage isn’t very high for its age. Her brother (a mechanic) will be going over it from bumper to bumper beforehand. She does realize it’s a very long trip, and intends to make stops “whenever I need to.” Even if it is a rather daunting distance, she’s a very level-headed person, a good driver, and not inclined to take chances.
Sorry I didn’t think to put this part in before.
I’m not thrilled she’s going to do it. But if it had to be any of my women friends doing such a thing, she’s the one I’d pick to do it safely.
If my health would permit, I’d go with her. She’s going to be driving through some gorgeous scenery, and I love mountains.
I just spent a week visiting a friend in Vancouver from Edmonton. I’d recommend stopping to enjoy the view occasionally… making sure you have a decent map of the area you’re going through :smack: (the local AMA gives members free maps - stock up!) and understanding that even though that deer is at the side of the road now, easing off the gas is good in case it decides it’s had enough of it all. (That wakes you up in a hurry when you’re doing 120 at midnight and you see one of those appear in your highbeams).
Bears are much smarter - I saw 4 or 5 off the main highway, and pulled over next to a convoy of German RV’ers once to photograph two climbing a tree. They aren’t usually going to cause problems for drivers other than slowing traffic when people see them. Just don’t, you know, feed them, pet them, park your kid on one for a photo, etc. :rolleyes:
My friend and I drove the ~1200km in two days each way, stopping to camp in Jasper/Wells Grey going there/back. That helped because even with switching off, that’s a lot of boring sitting around, and going from city to city through endless forests without going on a hike or four seems like a waste.
If you’re looking for a scenic drive, then the stretch from (roughly) Winnipeg to Edmonton (the Yellowhead Highway) is not, shall we say, the most interesting stretch of highway ever. That is, unless you haven’t seen vast stretches of prairie before, which can be awe-inspiring for the uninitiated but probably not for the two days it would take to go this far. And I say this as someone who grew up smack in the middle of it.
Alberta used to have significantly cheaper gas prices than anywhere in the country, but not quite as much any more. It’s still the cheapest region in the country for gas though and in Calgary, you can probably expect to pay between 80 and 90 c/L. That’s around $2.40-2.60 US per gallon. You would certainly get your money’s worth scenery wise out of Montana and Alberta.
Bears: not really an issue if you’re not out in the wilderness, however, they can present a highway hazard (!) at times just like deer.
Franchises: We have more or less the same as in the States, depending on geography. A&W is a little more ubiqutous, and she should definitely stop in at a Harvey’s if she gets the chance. Excellent burgers.
Assuming she’s taking the Alaska Highway, important stops are Ft. St. John and Fort Nelson, as there’s not a hell of a lot else that’s sizable up there.
You may want to check the road reports for contstruction and road related road closures along the routes she will be taking there and back. July and August are favorite time for road repairs and a lot of maintanence is done in the spring.
The worst would be the Yukon and BC (a lot of places are single lane traffic each direction).
Lots of really good stuff. Thanks, guys. We have problems with deer crossing the highway here, even within 10 miles of Jackson (the nearest thing MS has to a metropolis), so that part will be nothing new. Bears, OTOH … :eek: … and I know they won’t be the little brown bears we have in some areas down here, or even the somewhat bigger ones found in northern Michigan.
I’m going to send her the link now. Please don’t let that stop anyone from further posts if anyone has any more ideas. I’m sure she’ll check it at least once more before leaving, in addition to when she picks up the message.
I’ve done my level best to make her aware that she will be driving through some territory that is at best very sparsely occupied, especially in northern BC, Yukon and Alaska. And that it’s not even remotely similar to the most rural or sparsely populated areas of Mississippi and its neighbors, other than the fact that she can generally expect whatever people she does encounter there to be what southerners call “neighborly”. She’s driven extensively in the deep South, from Georgia to Texas, as well as a couple of trips to the Great Lakes region.
The reason she’s going is to bring back her daughter and 2 grandkids to visit for a while; son in law was reassigned to a base near Anchorage last year. She will be taking a 5 year old and a 3 year old with her. She does plan to have another adult with her as well, who is still undetermined as of my last information - maybe a niece, maybe her husband, if he can work it out.
As for gas prices, 90 cents per liter, times 3.8 gives me $3.42CD, and the Canada Tourism Commission’s currency exchange webpage tells me that’s $2.74US. But she’s got links for both the currency exchange rate and Gas Prices Across Canada . And just like the kind and public-spirited people that I know Canadians to be (grew up less than 40 miles from the Ambassador Bridge, and have always loved to go to Windsor restaurants - another thing I miss terribly down here, and will be glad to get back to when I move back), most locations listed on the gas price site have regular and recent postings of prices.
I speak from personal experience when I say: get gas whenever you have the opportunity, unless you are 100% certain that another gas station will come up before you run out. It can be easy to underestimate the distances between towns/roadstops, and while it’s not the end of the world, it’s also not fun or cheap to sit by the side of the road waiting for the people an hour or two back along the way to finish what they’re doing and get to you with fuel.
Coming back with a 3 and 5 year old? Eep! :eek: Be prepared for lots of stops and have lots of entertainment in the car. I would probably suggest a portable DVD player. They won’t have much appreciation for the surroundings, especially when it only changes at the boundary areas (prairie, foothills, mountains…). Take snacks and food and a potty in the car since they also don’t have a lot of patience at that age.
For accomodation, they’ll probably be staying at Mom and Pop motels once they get to Canada since the chains are only in the larger population centers. Just something to be aware of. Also, there aren’t the mile high signs in Canada that are prevalent off the interstate highways announcing the food/gas/accomodation coming up.
That said, a AAA membership would be a good idea considering she will be driving the whole way. The AAA is affiliated with the CAA in Canada, so your membership will cover the entire trip. Get a triptik and maps from your local office, and have them highlight the locations of the CAA offices in Alberta so you can stop in there for some local advice and pointers.
Oh, yeah, two more observations…if she’s going soon there won’t be much nighttime to worry about, and it’s the mosquito and blackfly festival…Have fun!
Also a related question…will the car insurance company want to be notified that the car will be driven out of the country for a few days?
It will probably not be an issue at all, but when my sister drove down from Alaske, she had a good deal of trouble at the border, because her husband assumed he could bring his gun, since he was “just passing through.”
Turns out it doesn’t work that way. Those Canadians act like they live in a different country, or something.
NO GUNS! And bring a passport so you can get back into the States. The road is paved all the way to Alaska, by the way, so it’s no where near the undertaking that some are making it out to be.
They take this real seriously. Last fall a friend of mine couldn’t enter Canada because he had had a DUI in 1983. 22 years later he had to pay some $$ for a temporary permit and write an essay about how he’d seen the error of his ways.
I’m going to have to see if I can get in sometime. I’ve never had a problem when flying in, but haven’t driven over the border in years.
And other helpful/useful stuff. I’ve mentioned rockslides. I’m assuming that bears aren’t that big a thing near the main highways, but I don’t think she’ll take any chances about stopping in the vast emptiness, unless it’s an emergency. I do wish she had a CB or a satphone, as her cell is the usual type, and useless out in the middle of the mountains.