Victoria, BC to Anchorage, AK – Canadian Rockies

The Rove was fixed and we were finally on the road again, actually listening to Willy Nelson singing the song too for added effect ;). We had decided to take a bit of a detour to drive through the Canadian Rockies, we thought we might as well since we were still in Canada! Our first stop was at Eagle Pass, where the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven:

That night we camped at the Loop Brook Campground, which is part of Rogers Pass National Historic Site. We woke the next morning to the sound of the river and this view:

The more we drove the happier we were to have made the decision to take the detour… the Rockies are absolutely stunning! Looking at those majestic mountains you can’t help but remember you are just a tiny organism in this vast land. The next stop was at the Summit of Rogers Pass in the heart of Glacier National Park, aptly named as it has more than 100 glaciers in its 1,350 square kilometers.

Next was the spectacular Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park. No use in trying to describe this gem with words, here are a couple of images that will tell a better story than I ever could:

We also stopped to admire the Natural Bridge in Yoho National Park with its raging waters carving the stone:

We saw many other wonders during our 400 kilometre drive this day, including the Spiral Tunnels, Crow’s Foot Glacier, the Weeping Wall and the Athabasca Glacier. We camped at Honeymoon Lake that night, happy to have seen so much beauty and excited at the prospect of getting closer to the Alaska Highway, but more on that on the next post 😉 In the meantime, here’s a glimpse of Lake Louise, another one of the magnificent stops of the day:

Victoria, BC to Anchorage, AK – Kelowna

Driving the Alaska Highway is considered by many the ultimate road trip. For us it meant not just that but also a great way to head to our new home and our new life in Anchorage. So, after saying our good-byes to our chosen family and friends in Victoria, B.C. and with Milepost and maps in hand, we set out for this adventure on The Roving Palace Flophouse and Grill (The Rove for short):

After a smooth sailing on BC Ferries we landed on the mainland and headed to Kelowna, our first stop. In our first 465 kilometres or so we went from the beautiful wet West Coast to the dry and warm Central Okanangan Basin.

We camped at Bear Creek Provincial Park and after a nice breakfast by the lake were ready to continue our journey. However, as one friend said, “it wouldn’t be a road trip without the drama”. As we were leaving town we heard a sudden thunk followed by some pretty bad noises coming from The Rove… it turned out we had to extend our stay in Kelowna for a couple of days due to a broken rear differential, so much for preventative car maintenance!

Thankfully we found a great car shop and left our beloved Rove in Ian’s hands (the owner, a super decent guy). The Venezuelan in me couldn’t help but see the glass half full: we were lucky this happened in town and not in the middle of nowhere, plus there are worse places to be ‘stuck in’ than Kelowna, that’s for sure! We found a hotel and a rental car and then proceeded to wander around for the next two days. After exploring a bit of the downtown and stopping at a few fruit stands, we opted for a visit to Mission Hill Family Estate. It was a beautiful, warm day; we enjoyed seeing incredible clouds forming and wonderful views of this region.

With its warm weather and beautiful lake, tasty fruit and relaxed atmosphere, Kelowna is certainly a great place to visit in the summer. However we were itching to continue our journey, so soon after The Rove was ready we were on the road again, but more on that in the following post!

Morning stroll in Saanich

Today is my birthday and as my gift to myself I decided to take the day off from work. I think this may be the beginning of a new tradition: no working on my birthday! To top it off the sun came out after a few rather gray days, so to start the day I went out for a morning stroll around Saanich, which is where I live these days.

First I stopped by my favourite duck pond. I never get tired of looking at these fellows, they’re such a work of art!

It was a glorious morning, the sky was clear and blue, the sun was shining and the birds were chirping away all around me, I’m sure they were happy to see the sun too! It was lovely to share the path with cyclists, runners and fellow walkers.

This particular robin seemed to be enjoying the sun as much as I was.

I found this duck basking in the sun in  Blenkinsop Lake; quite the hairdo, don’t you think? 😉

As I walked along this lovely path I thought about the years that are now behind me and all the experiences I’ve had, good and not so good, which have shaped me into who I am today.

I also thought about the years still ahead and all the experiences I will hopefully get to live and learn from. I can hardly wait to see what’s around the corner! 🙂