ACROSS AMERICA IN FIVE DAYS

a roadtrip from Ottawa to Vancouver

By Bri Vos

October 28^th, 2014

Leaving

After spending a month at Patrick’s parents in Ontario we embarked on our five day whirlwind trip of America driving Patrick’s sister Natalie from her home in Toronto to her new life in Vancouver. We started out on the interstates but soon realized we’re not interstate kind of people. We wanted to see the back roads, camp in the woods and on the beach, stop for coffee in the small town diners and watch the sunset along the landscapes only the adventurous can enjoy.

Cramming that spirit into four days was a little tough, but we did our best.

Day One: Ontario

Having just driven across Canada earlier in the month on our way out to Ontario it was seriously painful for us to choose to drive the southern route through the states. I didn’t believe we could see anything quite as beautiful as the waving prairies of Saskatchewan, the river valleys of Manitoba and the surreal landscapes of Northern Ontario. Our first day of the trip got us as far as Pinery Provincial Park in Ontario. The weather called for violent thunderstorms and it didn’t disappoint. We spent an evening watching the storm clouds roll in over Lake Huron and picking up driftwood and pebbles on this gorgeous beach.

Day Two: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa

A stop for groceries and a visit with a friend in Detroit meant we cruised through Michigan entirely on I-94. It sucked. It was all concrete walls and big trucks throwing an extra wave of rainwater our way. Ending the day in Indiana National Lakeshore State Park almost made up for it though. We set up camp and took a sunset run across the dunes. The park looked like the gorgeous Pinery Provincial Park we’d stayed at the night before but spread out above Lake Michigan across from the beach was the most perfect Chicago skyline.

The following day was an entire day of cornfields on I-80 and I-35 made up our mind for us: no more interstates if we could help it.It was the right choice. Cruising through northern Iowa on highway 20 was beautiful and as we crossed the state line into South Dakota for the night, we promised ourselves the rest of the trip would be better.

Day Three: South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming

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The night we spent near the Gavins Point Dam on the Missouri at Chief White Crane campground ended with a gorgeous sunset and a campground all to ourselves. Getting on the road in the early morning, we were on Sioux Yankton reserve land to watch the sun rise over the mighty Missouri river and the rolling hills that lead into it’s valley. It was gorgeous and we spent the greater part of the morning driving gravel roads that turned into dirt roads and back into gravel again. By the time we crossed over into Nebraska we had to make up some time so we cruised through the sand hills on a lonely highway 20 until the sun was in our eyes and Wyoming’s landscape was rising up to meet us.

Day Four: Wyoming, Montana, Idaho Oregon

Now Nebraska and South Dakota are the kind of places that make me feel at home, but Wyoming turned out to be the kind of place where my heart expands. We spent a night in the Wind River Canyon and made our way the next morning through Yellowstone National Park before setting our course West once again. But let me tell you this, Wyoming blew my mind!
After a rude 4am awakening in Wind River Canyon we set out on the road only to stop an hour later worried we were missing the scenery by driving through the dark. We pulled the car over and while Patrick and Natalie slept, I stared up at the sky. 5 am in the middle of Shoshoni territory there is a beauty that is so intense you’re forced to just sit and watch. I took no photos. I read no books. I listened to no music. I simply tried to absourb this moment that felt like no other.

Oh yeah, Yellowstone was neat too.

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We caught the south west corner of Montana and cut across the Idaho panhandle before we crossed into Washington state in the dark. Making it as far as the Spokane KOA meant a (relatively) quick drive into Vancouver the next day. The pass around Coeur d’Alene gave us our first taste of the Pacific Northwest and we could feel Vancouver within reach.

Day Five: Washington, British COlumbia

Washington threw at us a bit of rain, a bit of sun and a whole lot of wind. Where it was flat, it was very very flat (which felt like home) and where it was mountainous it was majestic (which also felt a bit like home). After a typically Canadian stop in Bellingham for cheap gas, cereal and booze, we crossed into Vancouver as the sun came out. Perfect timing to begin a new start.