She Prime's Cross-Country Adventure

[She_Prime]

As some of you may know I embarked on a trip from Hamilton, ON to Vancouver BC on August 11. With day one of traveling complete I thought I'd start a thread to chronicle my adventures thus far and ongoing as I reach my destination.

(this post will unfortunately be lacking pictures but I hope for future ones to include photos)

Day one started at approximately 10am. My friend and I initially drove separate vehicles to get to Mississauga, where I parked my car for the week with Phil (thanks again for that!)

From Mississauga we headed to Orillia- as my friend lived there for the past 5 years he needed to tie up a few last minute things. Quick lunch and back on the road for about 1pm.

Up highway 12 enroute to Sudbury. Not the greatest part of the trip as we almost got into an accident (I wasn't driving) and we went the wrong way for almost 30 minutes.

Finally back on track and make it to Sudbury around 4:30. We were initially going to stop there but decided we would wait until a little further up. So onto highway 17 we go.

About 30 minutes outside of Sudbury a huge accident closed off the entire (two lane) highway. Luckily the back up was near a gas station and a small restaurant so we decided to stop and get some dinner while things cleared up.

Luckily by the time we were done eating the highway was once again moving normally. We were nearing 7pm at this point delaying us by an hour.

Brief stop in Sault Ste Marie for gas and coffee around 10pm. Nothing exciting there- much like the town.

400 more kilometres and we are now in Marathon, ON for the night. In the morning we are departing and by the day's end we should be in Winnipeg, MB.

Today's driving total- 1300 kms

[STeeLy]

Have fun!!!

You should stop by Corner Gas LOL. Or take a picture with the Giant Moose at Moose Jaw.

[Thrizzl3]

holy cow 1300 out of 4200 complete lol

[gabbygenier]

you stopped in marathon, out of all places, you could of made it to thunder bay. at least theres more then 3 restaurants there haha

the one hotel i stayed at there had some good food, cant remember the name but ya. also had lots of fun with the pickup there in the parking lot in the winter lol

have fun the rest of your trip

[Default User]

Sounds like an adventurous trip.

Road trips are always fun. You guys can play "I Spy" LOL

[iconicrocket]

My brother took my car to the east coast last year and they had a kid after. lol

Have fun.

[crystal8484]

you stopped in marathon, out of all places, you could of made it to thunder bay. at least theres more then 3 restaurants there haha

LOL my friends boyfriend is from Marathon and she spent the christmas holidays up there. She said there is literally NOTHING to do.

[dentinger]

take a stop in Edmonton haha

oh, and apparently, Winnipeg is the "murder capital of canada"

[xxSlidewaysxx]

My brother took my car to the east coast last year and they had a kid after. lol

Have fun.

Was it your car's testosterone? If not, i hope you had it detailed!

[Fuyuzora]

oh, and apparently, Winnipeg is the "murder capital of canada"

Last time I was in Winnipeg I got locked into the zoo after-hours. Would have been stuck there overnight if I hadn't been able to attract the attention of the staff, lol.

On-topic: Sounds like a fun trip! Where's the photoblog?!

[yearoftherat]

take a stop in Edmonton haha

oh, and apparently, Winnipeg is the "murder capital of canada"

I'm from Winnipeg and we have to be known for something...:P

[STeeLy]

take a stop in Edmonton haha

oh, and apparently, Winnipeg is the "murder capital of canada"

No. Edmonton is the murder capital of Canada... Winnipeg is the Slurpee Capital of the world. They have more 7-11 per capita than everywhere else. (I think that's what it was)

[dentinger]

well we've had...36 homocides in Edmonton so far this year?

[STeeLy]

well we've had...36 homocides in Edmonton so far this year?

I think that's the number, last I heard was 33 in Edmonton compared to 3 in Calgary... but that was a few weeks ago.

[She_Prime]

Gord: Photoblog is coming- probably tomorrow when I have access to wifi (hopefully, Matt)

Anyways, day two is done for traveling and I'm currently in downtown Winnipeg at a good friends apartment for the night.

We started the day off in Marathon, ON at approximately 10am EST. As we are pulling out of the hotel's parking lot we get flagged down by a man who is walking his dog. He informed us that our car's front passenger side tire is completely flat. There's a gas station right next door to the hotel but they do not have an air compressor.

WHAT THE HELL KIND OF GAS STATION DOESN'T HAVE AN AIR PUMP!! :bang :bang

After asking around and an almost attempt of putting the donut on, a staff member of the hotel had an air compressor in his vehicle that he let us use. We quickly filled up the tire and headed into Marathon to find somewhere to fix the tire.

Luckily there was a little tire shop on a hill just as you come down the main strip. We were informed then that the tire had a huge gouge in it and another smaller one about 10 inches away that were unpatchable due to their location. So we buy a new tire and get it put on. We then drive into Marathon further to get some gas and lunch. This delays us by about two hours total.

Enroute to Thunder Bay and not much going on. Some patches of construction, beautiful scenery and beautiful hilly roads that were fun to drive along. Just outside of Thunder Bay on Highway 17 (keep in mind this is only a two lane highway) we are following a pickup truck hauling a small trailer and he decides to dead stop from a 100kms/hr speed and swerve into the left lane (of oncoming traffic). We were fine (thankfully I wasn't driving).

Into Thunder Bay where we get disgusting coffee and pay a disgusting amount for gas (1.37/L).

Briefly stop again in Dryden, ON for another coffee break. Boring I know. So far we have done 600kms in that day, and it's about 7pm CMT. (Time zone changed shortly after Thunder Bay).

Final stop before reaching our destination was Kenora, ON. We got gas and food (but not in that order). Yay for crappy sushi and reasonably priced gas at 127.9.

As we started driving toward Manitoba both of us agreed how sick of Ontario we were. Dealing with all the construction and traffic because of it was really getting to us. Once we finally passed the "Welcome to Manitoba" sign it was graciously welcomed as our highway went from a Maximum 90km/h to a 100. This was especially weird since it was the same two lane undivided highway but people were now going 120 right beside one another.

Whatever.

On the last leg of the trip we were greeted with some immense fog, lightning, but no rain. From the Manitoba border to Winnipeg is approximately 150kms so we managed to do that in just over an hour.

As we were nearing Winnipeg we had a car fly past us as well. Most people have warned us that to be careful when in Manitoba for speeding because they are meticulous here. Well we were going just under 120 and he flew past us so he must have been going 140 or more. A little ways up we see the same car pulled over with a cop. Told ya so?

We finally arrive in Winnipeg at approximately 11:30 (CMT). Since my friend lives right in the core downtown it was interesting to find parking but we managed. We were greeted by her, her husband and their newborn baby :) I haven't seen her in over a year so it's very nice to be here. Gas is also around 1.13/L here as well- another nice sight.

Off to bed for me. Tomorrow if things go as planned will be our longest trek of the trip!! Stay tuned for more!

[dentinger]

just wait until the 110 highways :chuckle

also, fwiw, i only saw maybe 1 or 2 cops in all 3 of the provinces (well, on the highways of course). and both of them were when i first crossed into Manitoba.

the first half of manitoba is nice, after that, you have nothing but (mostly) flat highways across the rest of manitoba, saskatchewon, and Alberta.

[STeeLy]

just wait until the 110 highways :chuckle

also, fwiw, i only saw maybe 1 or 2 cops in all 3 of the provinces (well, on the highways of course). and both of them were when i first crossed into Manitoba.

the first half of manitoba is nice, after that, you have nothing but (mostly) flat highways across the rest of manitoba, saskatchewon, and Alberta.

But unlike you, she's heading through the mountains, so some nice scenery after the flatness.

I've been pulled over in BC, AB and SK, but I've never been pulled over in Manitoba, just tailed.

110 Highways are VERY nice though... But once you get into SK and AB, people won't be going 120, they're probably going to be going about 130-140. And you're pretty safe going at that speed unless the RCMP are on a blitz. The only time I've ever seen anyone get pulled over on an AB highway was on the QEII (AB 2) and there were always multiple cop cars pulling multiple people over, but I've never seen just one car pulled over.

[ottoyu34]

Have fun! what car are you using?

[STeeLy]

Have fun! what car are you using?

Last I heard, some sort of Saturn... LOL

[She_Prime]

Last I heard, some sort of Saturn... LOL

He is correct. 07 Saturn Ion. Nothing fancy but at least it's a manual.

[She_Prime]

Day 3: Hello Calgary AB and more importantly Steely :)

Today started in Winnipeg, MB at approximately 10am. We embarked on our journey as treacherous as it was getting out of Winnipeg we made it unscathed!. First stop of the day was in Brandon, MB where our car looked like a butterfly graveyard. Quick fill up on gas and back out on the road.

Lots of flat land, not many trees, 110km/h roads and very few cars.

Rinse, repeat for about 700kms.

Into Regina, SK at approximately 4pm... somewhere the time zone changed.... not sure where but that was cool. Had a late lunch and back on the road enroute to Calgary.

We stop at the Alberta sign to take some pictures. We meet up with a random family and we take each other's pictures at the sign. How exciting right?

First stop in Alberta we reach Medicine Hat. Again stop for dinner and are back on track for our last 300kms of the day.

Lots more flatness, sun is setting, man this is boring.

Finally reach Calgary at about 11:30 pm. This was our longest day of driving by far at 1,340 kms. We are graciously hosted by none other than TM3's Steely for the night.

Sorry this was a boring post. Not much going on today. Tomorrow will be much more interesting I promise!

Pictures will be up soon (within the hour)

[She_Prime]

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r40/angela_294/IMG_1612.jpg
My friend wearing my sunglasses in Northern Ontario

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r40/angela_294/IMG_1625.jpg
The tire shop that saved our lives in Marathon, ON. Super nice people there!

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r40/angela_294/IMG_1627.jpg
Road leading into Marathon, ON

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r40/angela_294/IMG_1651.jpg
Took this beautiful shot while waiting for construction to clear in Northern ON

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r40/angela_294/IMG_1659.jpg
Welcome to Saskatchewan!

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r40/angela_294/IMG_1663.jpg
The Saturn bug graveyard

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r40/angela_294/IMG_1699.jpg
Me with the welcome to Alberta sign!!

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r40/angela_294/IMG_1708.jpg
My friend and I with the Welcome to Alberta sign :)

Well that's it for now, I'll post some more when I'm in BC tomorrow! And there's more on my facebook for those of you who have me added there.

[She_Prime]

Final enroute post since I'm finally in Vancouver!!!

Today started in Calgary at approximately 10am. We headed out for breakfast with Matt (Steely) to this awesome little diner he knew of just outside the downtown core. My friend also had a friend from his college days living in Calgary so she joined us as well. The food there was amazing. Company was even better.

After breakfast we headed out on the road toward BC. Minimal issues for the first 50km. After that point you could see the Rocky Mountains in the distance. As we got closer and closer to the mountains it just got more and more breathtaking. Honestly, if you have never been to Alberta or BC, you haven't experienced these first hand.

Going through Banff was probably one of the most wonderful and memorable experiences of my life. Every turn on the road brought more and more breathtaking views. I honestly had to remember to breathe at points.

After you get out of Banff National Park British Columbia welcomes you with open arms. Following suit, my friend and I stopped to take a picture at the sign and we were on our way to Golden, BC for a quick rest and a gas fill up.

About 50km outside of Golden on the Trans Canada we came to a complete stop. Roadwork (on a Sunday mind you) prevented us from moving forward for almost an hour. People in other cars were standing on the side of the road, reading books, playing with toys and walking their dogs while waiting. Once it finally cleared we had minimal issue from there to our next stop in Kamloops.

We stopped for dinner in Kamloops and then embarked on our final stretch to Vancouver.

The road into Vancouver had so many curves and hills. With it being unilluminated it made things that much worse. At one point there was a serious downgrade that took my friend everything he had to keep the car in control. Very interesting indeed.

Last leg of the trip proved very interesting as we had to transfer onto another highway and it was quite confusing. Once we finally got onto said highway traffic was diverted onto the left shoulder due to an accident up ahead. Yay for being hurded like cattle at 11:40pm on a Sunday.

I'm now sitting in my friends new home so exhausted yet so relieved to be here. It's been an interesting four days but definitely a memorable one. I'll add more pictures tomorrow because right now I'm dead to the world.

I'll post more on here as I have my adventures in Vancouver.

[Burner]

Have fun in the anal stain of Canada!

[Rob23]

Have fun in the anal stain of Canada!

lol how do you figure that? have you ever even been to vancouver? id move there if i had the money.

[Burner]

I actually have been there. I love the scenery and the mountains would be snowboarding heaven for me. The city is an absolute mess though. I'd live there if they could fix their social policies and didn't have such a large crime problem. I bet that if I lived in the downtown core or any of the surrounding suburbs, my car would have been broken into 2-3 times so far this year. My step fathers parents just moved out here from Surrey. Their car has been stolen 7 times in the last 3 years and broken into a bunch of times.

But my comment was a joke that arose out of the morons that rioted after they lost the cup! Google "Vancouver is the anal stain of Canada" and you'll understand. :chuckle

[Bleemer]

4 days Toronto to Vancouver is very fast indeed, U must be getting some well deserved sleep now, lol...

We recently did ON to BC in a more "leisurely" 9 days, and that included being on the road by 6 AM ...;)

I agree Banff area and the Rockies is very beautiful, so too is drive through Vernon/ Northshore/ Capilano going into Vancouver

[sharkbait]

lol how do you figure that? have you ever even been to vancouver? id move there if i had the money.

+1! Been there several times and spent a summer, and a Christmas there. If it wasn't so expensive I'd move there in a heart beat!

[Airman Jack]

Have fun in the anal stain of Canada!

Nope, that's most definitely Winnipeg. And whether or not they're leading in murders this year, they will by the end of it. My wife has been prevented from getting to work 3 times in the past 6 months because there was a murder IN THE ****ING BUILDING. I hate that filthy violent bug infested self delusional shithole.

Enjoy Vancouver, like any big city it has its rough parts but for the vast majority it is beautiful. If you have time to take a drive, head up the Sea to Sky Highway past Whistler to Pemberton, the road is absolutely phenomenal.

[STeeLy]

The road into Vancouver had so many curves and hills. With it being unilluminated it made things that much worse. At one point there was a serious downgrade that took my friend everything he had to keep the car in control. Very interesting indeed.

The biggest one is 8% on BC-5, I've gone down that road doing 140 in gear without touching the gas pedal

I've also gone down a 13% grade (while short compared to on BC-5) on BC-4 towards Tofino

[swales]

I My step fathers parents just moved out here from Surrey. Their car has been stolen 7 times in the last 3 years and broken into a bunch of times.



Surrey is NOT Vancouver, and even people from VanCity make fun of and avoid Surrey at all costs....lol

[Burner]

My first impression of Vancouver was when I got off the skytrain and walked by some chick that was passed out on a bench with the needle still stuck in her arm. This was at around 2pm on a Thursday.

[Rob23]

your right they have thier problems with crime but mostly due to the high expenses. my sister lives there and im dying to go visit. best mountain biking in canada!

[cereal83]

I am doing the exact same drive this weekend. Seems like you did it in 5 days and I plan to do it in 3. I did it before in 2.5 but I had 2 drivers and we only stopped for gas. Nice writeup and thanks for pointing out where construction was.

[She_Prime]

I am doing the exact same drive this weekend. Seems like you did it in 5 days and I plan to do it in 3. I did it before in 2.5 but I had 2 drivers and we only stopped for gas. Nice writeup and thanks for pointing out where construction was.

I did it in 4. Left Thursday morning at 10, got to Vancouver just after 11:30 pm Sunday. But it was definitely a good trip. Kudos to you for doing it in 2.5 days. I think we could have too but I really wanted to stop and see friends along the way.

[cereal83]

I am trying for 3 days and I am sure it is possible. I am not going right into Vancouver but Kelowna so I am sure it's possible. I also don't have to stop for anybody as I don't know anybody but it would make things cheaper via the motels all the way across. So did you just move to Vancouver or did you go for vacation?

[STeeLy]

I am trying for 3 days and I am sure it is possible. I am not going right into Vancouver but Kelowna so I am sure it's possible. I also don't have to stop for anybody as I don't know anybody but it would make things cheaper via the motels all the way across. So did you just move to Vancouver or did you go for vacation?

If you have a passport, go through the US. Faster roads and 4 lane highways pretty much the entire way across. Cheaper gas and accomodations too!

[dentinger]

If you have a passport, go through the US. Faster roads and 4 lane highways pretty much the entire way across. Cheaper gas and accomodations too!

this. if i had to do the trip again, i'd for sure go thru the states.

either way, i averaged about 8 hours a day (9-5 or so), and made it here in 4. im sure if you did 10 hours a day, you could easily do it. (kelowna is what? 6 hours farther than edmonton, roughly?)

[STeeLy]

this. if i had to do the trip again, i'd for sure go thru the states.

either way, i averaged about 8 hours a day (9-5 or so), and made it here in 4. im sure if you did 10 hours a day, you could easily do it. (kelowna is what? 6 hours farther than edmonton, roughly?)

On my first trip across, I was doing about 14 and 16 hour days and I made it from Calgary to Ottawa in about 2.5 days through Canada (without going through the US).

From Toronto, 16 hours should get you to Minneapolis. Another 16 from there gets you past Billings, MT. Pretty sure another 16 hour day could get you from Billings to Vancouver.

[dentinger]

i hated long trips in my mazda, but once you have cruise control, its saves you so much time. you can move your driving foot around, so it doesnt get cramped up, you can move your body around more, so you dont get a sore back, etc etc.
i could barely do 2 hours straight in my mazda. i was doing 8 hours almost straight in the GTI with cruise.

[She_Prime]

I am trying for 3 days and I am sure it is possible. I am not going right into Vancouver but Kelowna so I am sure it's possible. I also don't have to stop for anybody as I don't know anybody but it would make things cheaper via the motels all the way across. So did you just move to Vancouver or did you go for vacation?

My friend moved there. I got back late Thursday night.

If I ever cross country again I'll definitely do the US route. My friend had no passport so that's what prevented us this time.

[Airman Jack]

You were uncomfortable in your mazda? Really? I'm 6'6", 235lbs, and have pulled 14 hour driving days solo in my 3. Never came out of the car with a sore back! I lurves me mah Mazda! Especially for cross countries!

[She_Prime]

You were uncomfortable in your mazda? Really? I'm 6'6", 235lbs, and have pulled 14 hour driving days solo in my 3. Never came out of the car with a sore back! I lurves me mah Mazda! Especially for cross countries!

I feel the same being 6'1" and all.

But I'm pretty sure Adam only had a GX model sedan so he didn't have cruise control on his. That, combined with a MTX is definitely hard when it comes to high traffic areas.

I thoroughly enjoy my cruise control on long trips. Next time if I drive the Mazda across country I told my friend I'm burying it at sea when there lol.

[dentinger]

But I'm pretty sure Adam only had a GX model sedan so he didn't have cruise control on his. That, combined with a MTX is definitely hard when it comes to high traffic areas.


bingo. no cruise control = the suck.
you're stuck in pretty much the same position the whole trip.

[cereal83]

My friend moved there. I got back late Thursday night.

If I ever cross country again I'll definitely do the US route. My friend had no passport so that's what prevented us this time.

Yeah I wondered how much quicker it was. I never took it because I don't wanna be searched and delayed at the boarder. Well I arrived and it took 2.5 days. 1st day I drove like 14 hours and stopped in Dryden. 2nd day drove to Medicine Hat and then by 1pm that day, I was in Kelowna. Good drive but never again. Way too long

[STeeLy]

Honestly, through the US it's really not any FASTER...

but you end up saving money on gas, hotels and food. And it's 4 lane divided highways all the way through. So safer in that sense.