Reflections

Writing this while on our last days of this epic adventure, with the sun going down on the trip and our thoughts riddled with ‘darn it, we’ve got to go home and build a house’ we’ve naturally done a lot of reflecting. Should we produce a PowerPoint presentation for every time we meet friends once we are back, or just produce a handout of the inevitable Q&A questions?! Tricky one that, as for most questions, we have no answers. The one thing we do know however is that we’ve met some fantastic people along the way, with whom, we’ve made such fond memories and we know we’ll meet again. When we think about everything we’ve done, it’s always the fantastic people we’ve met who come to the forefront of our minds. Here’s the rogues gallery!

We then started to think about all the Q&A for ourselves and of course, The Travelling Cat, although she didn’t have much of an opinion about anything! Here goes….

Favourite Canada National Park – Waterton National Park, Alberta, closely followed by Jasper, British Columbia

Favourite Canada Provincial Park – Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta

Favourite US National Park – Yellowstone, it has it all (including dumb tourists)

Favourite US State Park – Dead Horse Point near Canyonlands

Favourite park for wildlife – Waterton for the boxing Bears and rutting Elk

Favourite place for immense landscapes – Icefield Parkway, British Columbia

Favourite Canadian Province – British Columbia & Nova Scotia (big debate… define what favourite means!)

Favourite US State – Arizona

Favourite Store – Canadian Tire, they just have it all to be a happy camper. REI in US a close second.

Favourite bargain – Lavazza Coffee in Canada Walmart, £3 ish per pack

Not so favourite bargain – Cheese and milk in Canada!

Favourite Coffee Outlet – Has to be Tim Hortons, if only for their free WiFi that got us across Canada. Oh and Timbits 😩

Favourite Walmart – who knows, they’re all the same!

Favourite Hostelry – The Narrows, Halifax for its vibe and fabulous live maritime music which is very Irish

Favourite City – Austin Texas (an oasis in Texas) closely followed by Victoria, Vancouver Island

Favourite Scenic Drive – Icefield Parkway…. although there’s been plenty of choice

Favourite Hike – Parker Ridge Trail, off the Icefield Parkway, made worth it by the view at the top

Favourite Bike Ride – Whistler Sea to Sky Trail (although Arkansas near Hot Springs was a close second and the trails at Squamish)

Favourite new besties… Impossible 😂

Favourite Wildlife Encounter – Couldn’t decide, Moose courting in Jasper v. Boxing Bears in Waterton

Favourite Surprise – Arkansas

Favourite Campsite Experience – Dark Skies RV resort, Kanab, Utah followed closely by Movie Night in Kaslo when we met Mike and Doug

Favourite Boondock – Big John and Little Jean on PEI

Favourite Laundry – Coin Clean Laundry in Jasper, in a basement it had live music and a coffee shop while you wait.

Most underwhelming tourist attraction– Four Corners Monument

Favourite Country – that’s a bit like Kamala and Donald, obvious!

Favourite Jigsaw Location – Everywhere that didn’t have tarmac… most places really

Favourite Jigsaw Catch – 3 chipmunks in one day at Kenora, Ontario (Lake of the Woods) No chipmunks were harmed in this post!

Favourite Cat Boondock – roaming free at Mike and Doug’s house, Lethbridge, Alberta