Ride with us, as we take a 3-week drive through Canada and the USA, searching for deep snow and hoping for a white Christmas.
Read Week 1 of this travel blog on this link.
It was just last year when we purchased a 2002 Chevrolet Corvette and drove it 12,000km across the USA. You can read all about that trip here, and also read about the process (and total cost) to import the car from the USA to New Zealand, get compliance and get it on the road. Currently, that car sits in the garage in Wellington, awaiting sunny-day drives.
A year on, and it’s time to do another trip. This time, we’ll be landing in Vancouver, Canada, picking up a new Mazda CX-70 3.3, and then spending two weeks in Canada, and another week in the USA. The first week in Canada will be spent on Vancouver Island, hopefully getting a white Christmas with family there.
After that, we’ll be hitting the road, heading back to Vancouver via a car ferry, then driving north-east through the Canadian Rockies – if driving conditions allow – and on to famous towns like Hope, Kamloops, and Banff.
We’ll end up in Calgary, then spend a week driving down into Montana, USA, and then west across Wyoming, Oregon, and then to Washington State. The full 5,000km circle will end up when we get back to Vancouver, and fly home.
Why a Mazda CX-70? We’ve spent time in the new Mazda CX-60, CX-80 and CX-90 models, so it was time to complete the range and get into the CX-70. Sure, the CX-70 can’t actually be purchased in New Zealand, but it’s basically identical to the CX-90, but with five seats instead of seven (as in the CX-90). With just two of us travelling, that won’t be an issue.
At the recent launch of the CX-80, we were once again impressed with the smoothness and refinement of the 3.3-litre, straight-six cylinder turbocharged Mazda engine, so it will be a great test over many miles to see what it’s really like.
Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 1 – Vancouver/Canucks Ice Hockey
Flying from Wellington to Auckland, we had left a solid 2.5-hour buffer between flights, just in case something went wrong. We both had visions of swanning about at the Koru Lounge for hours, eating cheese and waiting for our international connection.
Murphy and his law had something to say about that. Delays at Wellington Airport saw our plane be pulled away from the terminal 45 minutes late. Then we just sat on the tarmac as the tug that moves the planes about had broken down, and we couldn’t move. So we sat there, watching the time fly by.
Eventually, we made it to Auckland domestic airport and did the mad run to the international terminal, and our gate. Of course, our gate was right at the end of the terminal, as far as you could go. We sprinted in the summer heat to get to Gate 16 which had already started boarding. We did make it, but we made it there all sweaty, and that was the last thing we wanted to happen.
Still, the plane took off almost on time, and we were heading off on our 12-hour flight to Vancouver.
The worst part of this trip will be leaving a sunny Wellington with its 22 degrees, and arriving in Vancouver where it’s 9 degrees, and wet. A ‘quick’ taxi ride to the dealer, and our taxi driver is doing 65 in a 50 zone, all the time. The one hand on the steering wheel doesn’t fill me with confidence either, but she’s a professional driver, right? Well, she drives for a profession, at least.
We safely made it to Signature Mazda, and we grabbed our CX-70, finished in our favourite colour, Mazda’s Soul Red. While grabbing the car keys, the Canadian sales guy says his brother lives in New Zealand, and did I know Auckland at all? Yeah, I have some experience with Auckland. Small world? Totally.
Interestingly, our top-spec CX-70 has the “Windsor Tan Nappa Leather” interior, and it looks incredible. I know most New Zealanders go with a boring black leather interior, but this Windsor Tan is my choice over black, any day. I’m not sure about the Windsor Tan on the steering wheel as well, but it doesn’t matter – still better than black.
We load up the CX-70 with our suitcases and gear, and hit the road to our hotel, a 20-minute drive away. Well, it would be twenty minutes if it wasn’t for Vancouver traffic. It’s Saturday, and it’s crazy busy. Being close to Christmas probably doesn’t help, either. I notice that the drivers in Vancouver are much like those of New Zealand’s cities; very aggressive, rushing everywhere and indicators are so last century. Stop signs and red lights? Totally optional. I’m in the left-hand-drive zone, watching on all sides as traffic moves so fast.
The traffic is so heavy, the 6km drive to our hotel takes 33 minutes, but we check in and decide that to get to our ice hockey game tonight, we’ll be Ubering. The traffic is crazy here in VC.
With an hour to spare before the gates open at Rogers Arena, venue of tonight’s game, I order an Uber and wait. And wait, and wait. Each time, it’s cancelled by the driver, so hotel reception orders a taxi and it arrives in minutes. We cruise towards the arena, and spy all the homeless people, lining the streets. We thought LA and San Diego were hard hit, but the homeless in Vancouver are almost overwhelming. They are everywhere, and it’s sad as hell. It’s cold, starting to rain and they are outside in it. Surely the Canadian government can help? Not my call, but man, it was heartbreaking to see.
Our taxi driver drives like a man possessed, and we get to the arena with plenty of time to spare – and it cost just C$16 – far cheaper than the Uber would have been.
We’ll be watching the home team, the Vancouver Canucks, play against the Ottawa Senators tonight. Roger Arena is their home ground, so they’ll definitely have an advantage. Hungry, we head to grab some reasonably priced food, but there is none. We end up with two slices of pizza, a soft drink and a glass of Molson Beer and it costs C$55. Ouch. Molson’s is the “Official Beer” and actually, it tastes great. Molson’s was founded in 1786 (!) and yet, is only the second-oldest company in Canada – but it is oldest brewery in North America.
We’ve watched the LA Dodgers play baseball in Dodger’s Stadium in LA, the New York Knicks play basketball in Madison Square Gardens, and so we finally get to watch an ice hockey game, where ice hockey is like rugby in New Zealand. Fans are passionate, and there’s a lot of chanting and noise going on even before the game kicks off. To be honest, for the first two segments of twenty minutes each, the Canucks are totally outplayed by the Senators, and the Canucks spend most of their time defending their own goal. By the third (and final) 20-minute segment, they pull finger and start playing more aggressively, and manage to equal the score at 4-4 at full time. This means overtime, and in the first 15 seconds, the Ottawa Senators score, and it’s game over. Canucks fans are not happy.
Compared to baseball and basketball, I got a lot more out of the ice hockey game. It’s a lot more fast-paced, where baseball and basketball seem to stop every minute to decide what they are doing next. I’d happily watch more ice hockey, and can see the attraction of it. Was there fighting? You bet, and more than one player got penalised for “interference”, for two minutes each time.
As you can imagine, with 15,000 people all leaving at once, Uber drivers are again cancelling rides. I was prepared to pay the $30 to get back to the hotel, but it felt impossible to actually get an Uber. A taxi pulls up next to us, and says he can take us to the hotel. Not long later and with a fare of $22, we are back in our room.
Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 2 – Squamish & Whistler
Breakfast at the hotel is standard fare, for an American or Canadian hotel. While it’s nice to have the cost of breakfast included in the room rate – as compared to over $20 for a continental breakfast in New Zealand – the quality leaves me wanting.
There’s wafer-thin bacon that has no taste, powdered eggs that have no taste, and ‘sausage links’ that look like a certain appendage from one of the Seven Dwarfs. Tomorrow, I think it will be toast for me.
Still feeling a bit jet-lagged, today would be an easy driving day up to Whistler for lunch, then return to Vancouver. We quickly get to the Sea To Sky Highway and notice that once out of the city, drivers are actually driving well. They are indicating when changing lanes, and while most are exceeding the speed limit by quite a margin, they keep to the right once they have passed other traffic. It’s a miracle, but this could be helped by regular signs that remind them “it’s the law” to keep to the right, and “let others pass”. If only New Zealand drivers could grasp this simple concept.
The scenery is stunning, but it is raining a misty, annoying rain. It gives the drive a cool and eerie feel, but does not make taking photos easy. Regardless, mile after mile, the road and scenery are spectacular. We get to the turn-off for Shannon Falls, where we had been 12 years earlier. They are just as impressive, and the short 5-minute walk to see them – even in the now 4 degrees cold – is well worthwhile. At 335 metres high, they’re the third highest falls in the province of British Colombia, and in 1792, Captain George Vancouver set up camp just west of the falls.
Back on the road, we get to Squamish for a hot coffee, and cruise the small town. We’d been here before, and Squamish and Whistler remind me of Wanaka and Queenstown. Squamish is the far smaller of the two, still trying to be cool and small but also desperately wanting to be bigger, while Whistler is all grown up – and just a little too much.
Like Vancouver, Squamish has more shops selling cannabis than any other shop type, and there’s the pungent smell of it wafting through the town. It’s not bad, and nowhere as bad as say New York, but it still feels like a shame that this seems to be the hottest selling thing in this beautifully picturesque town.
Driving on, we aim to visit Brandywine Falls on the south side of Whistler, but the car park is shut for the winter and there’s nowhere to park on the road. We notice this quite a bit; shops/roads etc closed down for the winter season.
Whistler feels the same since the last time we were here; there are skiers everywhere, with accompanying bars to feed and hydrate them in the evenings. Sitting on 2 degrees outside, there’s snow everywhere but the roads are clear. My wife and kids are always happy to tell the story of the last time we were here, and I somehow managed to drive along what I thought was a snow-covered road, but was in fact a walking track leading to a ski lesson. We ended up in the middle of that ski lesson, in our car. The stares were quite uncomfortable, and we did a 3-point turn amongst the skiers and got out of there.
This time, I’m a lot more careful and stay on actual roads. We find a public car park and park up, then head out into the village to find some lunch. It’s 1pm, but a lot of skiers seemed to have called it a day, and the place is busy. Our first choice for lunch (Earl’s Kitchen) has a wait of 20 minutes, so we walk further until we get to Amsterdam Pub and Café. This place has a nice vibe, with previous diners having written their names all over the walls, and for some reason, management has decided that photos of women’s cleavage is a good thing to spread across one wall (my wife disagrees). I can only assume that the photos are from women who have frequented the pub, and possibly had a few too many before agreeing to a revealing photo.
But the food is excellent. We both order the French Onion Soup (C$15.50) for lunch, to try and warm up. The soup is 75% cheese and 25% soup, and that’s ok with me. It’s hot and delicious. Even better is the endless coffee; I don’t even have to ask, the waitress just comes over and tops my cup up. Lots of cheese and bottomless cups of coffee? I don’t want to leave, but our parking time is running out.
After a bit more cruising around Whistler, we hit the road back toward Vancouver. The rain is heavy now, and the drivers are still going way too fast for the conditions. The CX-70 takes it in its stride; the all-wheel drive system is brilliant, and even driving through standing water on the road simply doesn’t cause any drama or concern. While our fuel consumption around Vancouver was sitting on 13L/100km, with some open-road driving, at the end of the day it’s on 9.1L/100km – and this is from a 3.3-litre, six-cylinder turbocharged-petrol engine. It will be very interesting to see what our overall fuel consumption will be after 5,000km of driving.
Adding to my liking of the CX-70 for a winter roadie is the features it comes with; adaptive cruise control, a heads-up display, heated seats and a heated steering wheel. These are the perfect items needed for a cold Canadian road trip! There are a lot of other features too, but these are on my must-have list to make those long, cold driving days just that much easier.
Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 3 – Vancouver Island/Duncan/Nanaimo
We’re catching the car ferry today, leaving from the end of a long causeway at Tsawwassen, and going across to Victoria, on Vancouver Island. The ferry ride costs C$115 for two passengers and the CX-70, for the 1.5-hour crossing.
After our first day’s fun with Vancouver traffic, we left extra early and although it was rush hour in the morning on a Monday, traffic flowed well in central Vancouver, and we did the 36km drive in less than 30 minutes. Since we were an hour early, I wandered over to the building next to the queue of cars waiting and was pleasantly surprised to find a multitude of food vendors, lots of coffee outlets and even shops selling clothes, toys, and mobile phone bits and pieces. I’ve got a feeling that the ferries might often be delayed. At this terminal, there are four ferries that run all day long, going to five ports in the area, so it’s a busy place.
When the time comes, the drive on is simple and quick, and hundreds of cars are loaded up in 10 minutes. It’s so quick, organised and easy, I’m pretty surprised when we just stop and get out of the car.
The food on the ship is typical of a ferry; pretty pricey and not overly tasty. I buy a quiche, based on the photo. Unfortunately, the actual product is nothing like the photo, and it’s a quick couple of mouthfuls for my C$5.49 treat. But the coffee is good, so that’s a win.
It’s cold outside – 7 degrees and windy – but it feels like I should at least go out and take a look around. Cruising towards Vancouver Island, there’s a whole bunch of islands all scattered about. Some we are passing have luxury homes on them, and I can imagine the cost of buying one. It’s quiet and peaceful, and I can see the attraction of living on one of these remote islands.
We’re a bit confused when we land and drive off the ferry; this is not Victoria, what we had booked for. Unknown to us, we had landed at Swartz Bay (Victoria) and not Victoria itself, which was another 30km away to the south. Since it’s a single road, that meant driving south almost all the way to Victoria, then switching highways and going on State Highway 1, to get to Nanaimo.
Still, we aren’t in a big rush, so who cares. After an hour’s driving, we call into the town of Duncan (pop 5,000) for some lunch and a look around. Sometimes, random stops can be really special, and this was going to be one of those. Like Katikati in New Zealand has its murals for some identity, Duncan has gone with totems. There are totems all over the town, some 40 of them. We found out that in 1986, Māori artist Tupari TeWhata from New Zealand created a totem for Duncan, to add to its collection. We found the Māori totem, and felt a pang of national pride on seeing it here, in this seemingly random small town on Vancouver Island that we never intended to visit.
Time for lunch, so we head to Duncan Café and Crêperie. I’m a sucker for crêpes, so in we go and order a banana and Nutella crêpe, and my wife an apple and caramel crêpe. Both are delicious, and almost a meal in themselves. The coffee is good too, although it is filter coffee and that’s not everyone’s cup of tea (so to speak).
Going for a walk after lunch, and we get to the historic part of town that’s not really too historic, but they try, with signs around different buildings to show what they used to look like in the 1920 or 1930s. We go past City Hall, almost expecting Marty McFly to come running out. It feels like all City Halls in the USA and Canada look the same.
Back in the car, and we set the SatNav for our Air BNB in Nanaimo. We did start off using SatNav on phones, but with the heads-up display in the CX-70, using the built-in SatNav means I get the directions right there on the windscreen, and it’s a far easier and safer way to navigate. I like that the SatNav directions in the Mazda include the next turn and also the one after that, so you can be prepared in advance for a quick change of direction. It’s brilliant.
It’s an easy cruise now towards Nanaimo, but I’m over the amount of traffic lights we have to go through. I noticed this in 2012 too, when we were last here. The entire road from Victoria to Nanaimo seems to be littered with traffic lights, so it feels like you are either slowing down for a red light, or accelerating away from a green one. It doesn’t feel very fuel efficient, although the CX-70 is now showing overall fuel consumption of 8.6L/100km, which is outstanding for a 3.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine.
Regardless of all the traffic lights, people are keeping to the “slow” lane, as I mentioned from yesterday’s drive. Most drivers are exceeding the speed limit, but everything is moving well, people generally indicate their lane changes and there’s no craziness like you see in New Zealand. It dawns on me that we have not seen a traffic cop for the last two days. There just hasn’t been a single cop car or speed camera van, or fixed speed camera, and yet the traffic flows well, and flows safely. There’s something to be learned from this.
Like so many places, ‘Nanaimo’ is a bastardisation of its actual name, which was ‘Sne-ny-mo’, from an Indigenous word meaning ‘a big, strong tribe’.
Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 4–6 – Nanaimo
We’ve stayed in Nanaimo this week, spending Christmas with relatives. It’s been around 4 degrees most days, and wet – with no sign of snow. That includes Christmas day, so no white Christmas yet again. We’ll have to try another year!
We did a little local touring this week, picking the one day when it was mostly dry. With a population of around 104,000, Nanaimo is quick and easy to get around. It’s quite spread out, but the traffic moves quickly and there are 90km/h highways splitting the city. It’s stunningly gorgeous as well, with amazing views seemingly around every corner, where you see the islands that surround Nanaimo, tall trees, or snow-capped mountains.
Should you have a spare C$7M laying around, you could in fact own one of those islands, as Pym Island is currently up for sale. The boat-only access could be considered both a bonus or a drag, depending on if you are an introvert or extrovert. If owning an island has always been on your bucket list, check it out here.
One of our stops was on the shore, looking at Shack Island, just out of the city. Dotted with run-down shacks, the shacks were built in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. The residents who built them did not own any land on the island, they simply built the shacks there to live in. In 1955, the owners were told to pull the shacks down, but refused. There was public support to keep the shacks to add a little colour to the area, however, it wasn’t until 1974 that the owners were told they were allowed to keep them. They can never be sold, but could be handed down to family members. No extending any of the buildings is allowed, so it’s only maintenance, and that’s it. It’s a cool story, and a cool place to see.
Right next to Shack Island is Pipers Lagoon Park. This is a highly popular destination for locals, with a walk around the island surrounding the lagoon taking around 30 minutes to walk the 1.6km loop. The car park was packed when we arrived, and we could see a reasonable number of people doing the trek, perhaps walking off the Christmas meal.
Getting closer to evening, we shot south of Nanaimo to go and look at the town of Ladysmith. This town puts on an amazing Christmas light show every year, with every business in the main street laden with lights, as well as all the trees. It seems like over half the houses in the small town are absolutely covered in lights, and is a real magnet for families with kids. If you are near Nanaimo during the festive season, Ladysmith’s Festival of Lights needs to be on your must-see list.
After seeing the town, it was time for a hot chocolate, since it was still 4 degrees out. We decided to head to a Canadian institution, Tim Hortons. Tim was a professional ice-hockey player, who did very well financially (as many pro ice hockey players do). In 1964, he started his first ‘Tim Hortons’ coffee house and restaurant, and now it’s the biggest restaurant chain in Canada, with over 6,000 restaurants in 13 countries.
Admittedly, the coffee is excellent, and the food is good. Tim Hortons serves up over 5 million cups of coffee a day, and over 80% of Canadians visit one of their stores at least every month.
Sadly, Tim Horton passed away in 1974, and in 2014, Burger King bought the company for US$11.4B.
On the return to our Air BNB, we gassed the Mazda CX-70 up for the first time. We got nearly 600km out of the first tank, and refilled the car at a cost of C$1.73 a litre for premium gas. That works out at NZ$2.19/litre, not too far off the current $2.80/litre in New Zealand (at time of writing).
Near to our BNB is this “steep” street. Apparently, it’s so steep it is only for emergency and local traffic only, and is listed as a no-exit road, although it isn’t. It looks tame compared to half of Wellington’s streets.
One thing I’m trying to remember when driving in Canada is to look for stop signs. The trick is that some stop signs include lines on the road (and only white lines at that), and some do not – there’s just a sign. You really have to be on your game to make sure you are keeping an eye out, otherwise you may end up running right through one.
Another thing to watch when encountering a stop sign is who gives way; like in the USA, in Canada, it’s first come, first served. You get there first, you go first. This sounds great, but other drivers get confused and can’t remember if some other car got there before them, and then either no one goes, or two goes move at the same time. It also means that If i turn up at a stop sign just after another car opposite, they go first, then me, then any cars behind them. It makes for longer stops, but it sort of works out. Canadians are pretty friendly anyway, and will often just wave you on, even if they have the right of way.
Pedestrian crossings are tricky, too; sometimes there is a painted zebra crossing, and sometimes not – but it will still be a pedestrian crossing. There doesn’t seem to be any reason of why or why not there would be markings on the road, but basically I’m treating every intersection as having a pedestrian crossing, to be safe.
Canada/USA Road Trip: Day – Vancouver Island/Goats on a Roof/Cathedral Grove/Mt Washington Alpine Resort
Today will be a touring day, still on Vancouver Island but heading north.
Our first stop was for breakfast at Ricky’s Restaurant. Feeling peckish (and maybe a little brave), I ordered the Fondue French toast. For my C$20.50, that came with three thick slices of French toast, crowned with fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and layered with mounds of real whipped cream. This was accompanied by a chocolate ganache fondue for dipping. Was it good? Hell, yes, and filling too!
Also on the menu were endless pancakes for C$16.75, endless French toast for C$17.50, and endless Belgian waffles for C$17.50.
Back on the road, we headed to our first stop, up Little Mountain. Going up the road to the lookout, we were told to look to the right, and spotted what looked like an exact replica of the hotel from the TV series, Fawlty Towers, complete with a sign out the front and a Rolls-Royce in the driveway. The house is used as a BNB, but I’m unsure of the level of service that you might receive, and if it might be ‘Basilised’.
After another minute, we got to the car park for Little Mountain. It’s not a well-known place to visit, so there is no one else there. You used to be able to park at the top of Little Mountain, with its stunning views out over a valley full of trees and surrounded by mountains, but after too many deaths at the peak, the council put up a gate. You can still easily walk to the summit, but you can’t take your car up there.
My cousin mentioned how one of her friends drove his car to the top when she was a teenager. He parked, stepped out and didn’t realise how close he was to the edge, and fell to his death. Looking over the edge, it’s a very long way down, and some of the tall pines have grown up to the ledge – but that’s the tip of the tree. It’s both breathtaking and a little scary as well.
Our next stop was not far away in a town called Coombs, at a place called Goats On A Roof. It is what it says, and we visited 12 years ago, but there were no goats on the roof that day. Today, still no goats on the roof, but we did find the goats out that back, and managed to give them a scritch or two. It may seem strange, but this is a huge tourist attraction, and now other shops and outlets have sprung up all around Goats On A Roof, all wanting a piece of the tourist action.
At the actual venue, there’s a restaurant, and a shop selling a huge range of foods, gifts and novelty items. The food selection is massive, and comes from all over the world, including some Marmite (yes, and Vegemite, if you must).
Since we were here last, two other restaurants have been opened at the back of the venue (Mexican and Italian). In the summertime, literally thousands of people come here each day – most of them from Nanaimo – to see some goats on the roof, eat, and shop. Over one million people a year come to see the goats on a roof.
Why on earth, goats on a roof? There is a strong rumour that around 40 years ago, the grass on the roof of the building was getting long. There is no explanation of why there was dirt on the roof in the first place. Anyway, someone who had had a few too many beers suggesting (jokingly) that they put some goats up there to eat the grass. Now, it’s a multi-million dollar business.
On our way to the next location, we drove past Cameron Lake. It’s stunningly gorgeous, and huge too, covering over 1,000 acres. On the far side of the lake are executive properties that are only accessible via a gated road, and the homes look amazing.
Not far past Cameron Lake, we pulled off the road to visit Cathedral Grove. This is a place where some of the island’s original trees have not been cut down. There’s a mix of Douglas Fir, Grand Firs, Western Hemlocks, and Western Red Cedar trees, some of them up to 800 years-old.
It’s cold, wet and damp, and the track is a bit muddy, but it’s still well worth the 20-minute trek to do the loop walk. Moss covers everything here, and some of the trees that have fallen have been cut up to clear the track, showing their size. One of the Douglas Firs has a circumference of 9 metres. These are some of the oldest and tallest trees in Canada, and they’re right there by the road.
Onwards we drove, eventually making it to Mt Washington Alpine Resort. We were in search of some snow to at least see some in the week of Christmas. It didn’t take long before we saw plenty, as the snow on the sides of the road going up the mountain almost went over the street signs.
While driving up, the temperature went down, finally settling on 0 degrees Celsius. The resort is 1,588 metres above sea level, and boasts over 11 metres of average annual snowfall and offers access to over 1,700 acres and 505 vertical metres of alpine terrain, with 81 alpine runs.
There is also 55kms of cross-country skiing, and 25kms of snowshoeing trails along with Fat Bike Trails from the Nordic Centre at Raven Lodge, and a Tube Park, so the resort considers Mount Washington to be “Vancouver Island’s coastal playground”.
There are cars parked, totally covered in snow, with one guy with a shovel at his Subaru Forester, trying to get to his car.
That was enough for one day’s sightseeing, so we headed to the state highway, with its 110km/h speed limit, and back to Nanaimo.
Tomorrow, it’s onto another ferry as we head back to the mainland and continue our road trip.
Read Week 1 of this travel blog on this link.
Great write up,
Will be following along