Cross Canada/Cross Contient Road Trip

[FL2AK-tdi]

So it looks like it will actually happen. We'll be leaving Anchorage for Tampa, Fl, via Quebec City, on or about July 27th or 28th. The current plan is to drive the Al-Can (my second time) and go by Calgary to visit friends. Then on, across Canada to Quebec. From Quebec to New Brunswick then south, down the Eastern Seaboard, to Tampa.

I am planing this as a sort of history vacation road trip, which will work nicely as I've just graduated from the University of Alaska-Anchorage with a degree in History and a minor in Canadian Studies.

So, to all of our Canadian brethren, what would be the best roads and routes to use? What is the cost of diesel fuel in the various provinces these days? What points of interest are out there? (Specifically, anything of historical or cultural significance or outdoor adventure, i.e. backpacking or canoeing?) (I'm also hoping to have enough time to eiter day hike or overnight on the International Appalachian Trail, the Appalachian Trail in New England, and the Mohawk Trail in New York, perhaps a canoe trip on the Richelieu River.

My current itinarary includes (possibly) a short side trip up the Canol Road, a trip to Methy Portage (I hope) and a visit to Batoche and Louis Riel house. We're also planning at least a few days in Quebec and Vercheres.

One could also apply those questions to the east coast as I'm also planning a sort of tour of the French and Indian War and Civil War on the way south.

Oh yeah, if...IF...the Jetta pukes on the way, who are the goto guys and where do I get parts?

 

[JASONP]

Toronto,Ontario
http://www.precisiontuning.ca/

Stewiacke, Nova Scotia
p: 9026392777
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/roseland/P&S.htm

 

[je]

You could visit Louisbourg, and the Plains of Abraham and Citadel in Quebec of course. There are some interesting civic buildings, and another Citadel in Halifax. Once there you might want to stop at Pier 21 where immigrants (perhaps your parents, like mine) landed (or as my mother now insists on calling it, Pier 1).

If there's anything left of Fort York in Toronto by the time you get there, you could visit that.

Of course, you can see Province House in PEI where Confederation was signed, and walk down the path that the Fathers of Confederation staggered drunk down to the waterfront in Charlottetown (it's true!). You can also stop at the spot where Terry Fox ended his Marathon of Hope.

You might stop in Ottawa, there's some notable history there but that route might take you past Toronto (or is that your plan already).

When I did a trip like this once I stopped at all the provincial parliament buildings, and except for NL have been to all of them.

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

You could visit Louisbourg, and the Plains of Abraham and Citadel in Quebec of course. There are some interesting civic buildings, and another Citadel in Halifax. Once there you might want to stop at Pier 21 where immigrants (perhaps your parents, like mine) landed (or as my mother now insists on calling it, Pier 1).

If there's anything left of Fort York in Toronto by the time you get there, you could visit that.

Of course, you can see Province House in PEI where Confederation was signed, and walk down the path that the Fathers of Confederation staggered drunk down to the waterfront in Charlottetown (it's true!). You can also stop at the spot where Terry Fox ended his Marathon of Hope.

You might stop in Ottawa, there's some notable history there but that route might take you past Toronto (or is that your plan already).

When I did a trip like this once I stopped at all the provincial parliament buildings, and except for NL have been to all of them.

Thanks, je.

Yeah My time in Quebec is centered around seeing all of the Seven Years War sites at a minuimum. I'm also hoping get to to practice my French some. I've dug out oall of my notes and textbooks to start refreshing as I haven't taken a course in French in about a year.

I'm actually considering trading the side trip on the Canol for time to go up to PEI. I love telling people that, when it comes to forming countries, Americans have wars, Canadians have meetings.

Do I detect a bit of anomosity against Toronto?

 

[owr084]

Don't miss the Canadian Aviation Museum and the War Museum in Ottawa. Both are very nice. Lots of other museums in the area.

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

Don't miss the Canadian Aviation Museum and the War Museum in Ottawa. Both are very nice. Lots of other museums in the area.

ooooooh. I've always been a big fan of deHavilland Aircraft Company. The firs plane I ever worked on for pay was a dash-8. Since I've worked on the dash-8, the dash-6, (Twin Otter) and the dash-2 (Beaver)

As much as I detest war, I found it impossible to escape studying it. The Imperial War museum in London is first rate as well.

 

[alnmike]

Sweet trip. Im sure there will be pictures galore. Enjoy the Great Alaskan Departure

 

[Sweeps]

I'm leaving Victoria, BC on or about July 28th as well, heading for Home in Orillia, ON (an hour north of Toronto).

Might see you on the road somewhere on the prairies

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

I'm leaving Victoria, BC on or about July 28th as well, heading for Home in Orillia, ON (an hour north of Toronto).

Might see you on the road somewhere on the prairies

hey! Let's meet up at the Ruby in Dog River for lunch!

 

[Ookpic]

Ok, not sure what your route is or how "leisurely" your plans are...

I'm also not too sure about other provinces, but rather than going through northern Ontario, if you head south at Winnipeg on highway 75 and cut down through the US 29 south and then hook up with I94 you could do the loop around Lake Michigan going through Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Chicago.

After visiting Chicago, you could come back up to Milwaukee and cross Lake Michigan on the Lake Express which comes out at Muskegan, MI. You then head East through Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Detroit. You then can cross over the Detroit/Windsor border into Ontario.

If you are up for a historical lake shore drive when you get to Ontario, there are some neat places you can visit on your way through. You can head through Amherstburg, Kingsville, Leamington. Then you can hook up on to the Talbot Trail which takes you through Wheatly, Blenheim, Wallacetown. You can detour down to Port Stanley and St. Thomas then back south to Port Bruce, Port Burwell, Port Rowan, Turkey Point, Port Dover. You can then head north to Cayuga, on your way to the Welland Canal and Niagara Falls. Then you can either route yourself back up around Lake Ontario through Hamilton, Mississauga, Toronto on your way to Ottawa and then on to Montreal.

This trip is definitely NOT the shortest or quickest way through Ontario but like I said, not sure how leisurely your driving plans are. There are certainly lots of little "burgs" along Talbot Trail and at times not a lot to look at however more scenic than the 401/402 for sure.

Here is a link to Google maps and some various links for this route.

Minneapolis

• 150 Things to do in Minneapolis

Milwaukee

• Lake Express Ferry Service
• Milwaukee best attractions

Chicago

• Architectural boat tour
• Hancock building

Grand Rapids

• Grand Rapids History

Lansing

Detroit

• Henry Ford Museum

Windsor

• Things to do in Windsor

Amherstburg

• Fort Malden

Kingsville

Leamington

Wheatley

Blenheim

Wallacetown

Port Stanley

St. Thomas

London

Port Bruce

Port Burwell

Port Rowan

Turkey Point

Port Dover

Cayuga

Welland Canal

Niagara Falls

• The Falls

St. Catherines

Hamilton

Mississauga

Toronto

• Rain Forest Cafe
• CN Tower
• ROM
• Science Centre
• Theatre
• Canada's Wonderland

Ottawa

Montreal

Sorry for the length. Once I started, I just kept on going . Sounds like an awesome trip!! I'm a bit of a info mining geek so if you would like any more on anything specific, just PM me your email address.

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

Ok, not sure what your route is or how "leisurely" your plans are...

I'm also not too sure about other provinces, but rather than going through northern Ontario, if you head south at Winnipeg on highway 75 and cut down through the US 29 south and then hook up with I94 you could do the loop around Lake Michigan going through Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Chicago.

After visiting Chicago, you could come back up to Milwaukee and cross Lake Michigan on the Lake Express which comes out at Muskegan, MI. You then head East through Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Detroit. You then can cross over the Detroit/Windsor border into Ontario.

If you are up for a historical lake shore drive when you get to Ontario, there are some neat places you can visit on your way through. You can head through Amherstburg, Kingsville, Leamington. Then you can hook up on to the Talbot Trail which takes you through Wheatly, Blenheim, Wallacetown. You can detour down to Port Stanley and St. Thomas then back south to Port Bruce, Port Burwell, Port Rowan, Turkey Point, Port Dover. You can then head north to Cayuga, on your way to the Welland Canal and Niagara Falls. Then you can either route yourself back up around Lake Ontario through Hamilton, Mississauga, Toronto on your way to Ottawa and then on to Montreal.

This trip is definitely NOT the shortest or quickest way through Ontario but like I said, not sure how leisurely your driving plans are. There are certainly lots of little "burgs" along Talbot Trail and at times not a lot to look at however more scenic than the 401/402 for sure.

Here is a link to Google maps and some various links for this route.

Minneapolis

• 150 Things to do in Minneapolis

Milwaukee

• Lake Express Ferry Service
• Milwaukee best attractions

Chicago

• Architectural boat tour
• Hancock building

Grand Rapids

• Grand Rapids History

Lansing

Detroit

• Henry Ford Museum

Windsor

• Things to do in Windsor

Amherstburg

• Fort Malden

Kingsville

Leamington

Wheatley

Blenheim

Wallacetown

Port Stanley

St. Thomas

London

Port Bruce

Port Burwell

Port Rowan

Turkey Point

Port Dover

Cayuga

Welland Canal

Niagara Falls

• The Falls

St. Catherines

Hamilton

Mississauga

Toronto

• Rain Forest Cafe
• CN Tower
• ROM
• Science Centre
• Theatre
• Canada's Wonderland

Ottawa

Montreal

Sorry for the length. Once I started, I just kept on going . Sounds like an awesome trip!! I'm a bit of a info mining geek so if you would like any more on anything specific, just PM me your email address.

Wow, thanks! That seems like a lot of material. I am still writing a final exam to give tom y students tomorrow morning; after schools' out tomorrow I'll be able to start reading through all of that...thanks. =)

 

[NarfBLAST]

I will recommend the Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton: http://www.warplane.com/pages/ptalk.html

Their Avro Lancaster is flying again, the sound of that thing is amazing, only two left flying in the world, I'm lucky to hear and see the Lancaster literally directly over my back yard. You can watch them take off from the Museum which is located at Hamilton International Airport. Members get to ride on the vintage aircraft... check out the flight schedule at the above link.

JE mentioned the Terry Fox memorial. I stopped there while working in Thunderbay one winter, it was right at sunset. Very Moving. Also a great lookout point for the area. If you have ever seen Michealangelo's David, I think the statues are about the same height, and both struck me with awe, for differrent but similar reasons.

Anyway... if you visit Hamilton, the birth place of Tim Hortons, I will buy you a coffee!

 

[lovemybug]

If you come down through Milwaukee, you'll have to stop at the Mars Cheese Palace for some real Wisconsin cheese. And a brat too, of course.

 

[Sweeps]

hey! Let's meet up at the Ruby in Dog River for lunch!

Not a bad idea!
I can be there for dinner, probably on the 29th

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

So it looks like our for first, definite stop will be in Alaska, actually; we'll be driving the 320 mile gravel Taylor highway up through Chicken to Eagle, Alaska on the Yukon River.

We're still considering driving a portion of the Canol as well.

 

[Jack Frost]

If you are intersted in Louis Riel, you should also vist:

• the St. Boniface Museum, http://www.msbm.mb.ca/english/home.html
• Duck Lake Reginal Interperative Center: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/PM.cgi?LM=MuseumFlash&LANG=English&scope=Museum&Referer=Museum&mark=Search&start=1&AP=M_E_display&Featured=1&Page=AAXSI.html
• Bathoch National Historic Site: http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/sk/batoche/index_E.asp

 

[XXX_er]

if you are going to calgary I would definatley go thru jasper & banff , that part of the rockies is a really nice drive

Diesel was more expensive than reg probably for the last 2 years but has turned around in the last few months and is consistantly much cheaper than reg the way its always been ,I just paid 85.9 a litre

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

if you are going to calgary I would definatley go thru jasper & banff , that part of the rockies is a really nice drive

Diesel was more expensive than reg probably for the last 2 years but has turned around in the last few months and is consistantly much cheaper than reg the way its always been ,I just paid 85.9 a litre

That about US$2.90 per US Gal. I'm paying US$3.29 per US Gal here.

Thanks.

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

If you are intersted in Louis Riel, you should also vist:

• the St. Boniface Museum, http://www.msbm.mb.ca/english/home.html
• Duck Lake Reginal Interperative Center: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/PM.cgi?LM=MuseumFlash&LANG=English&scope=Museum&Referer=Museum&mark=Search&start=1&AP=M_E_display&Featured=1&Page=AAXSI.html
• Bathoch National Historic Site: http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/sk/batoche/index_E.asp

Thanks for the links. Batoche has been on my list for a while now; the others I didn't know about.

 

[Jandu]

Diesel in Calgary is around $0.72 to $.74/litre. If you want the latest, check the following link to find the best spot

http://www.calgarygasprices.com/GasPriceSearch.aspx

 

[Mike in Anchorage]

So it looks like our for first, definite stop will be in Alaska, actually; we'll be driving the 320 mile gravel Taylor highway up through Chicken to Eagle, Alaska on the Yukon River.

Why woud you want to vsit Eagle? Is there aything even left after the ice dam destroyed the town? If you're going that way, I highly recommend Dawson City. Now, that is a PARTY town. And it has great historical perspective, too. And the Top of the World Highway is just beautiul.

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

Why woud you want to vsit Eagle? Is there aything even left after the ice dam destroyed the town? If you're going that way, I highly recommend Dawson City. Now, that is a PARTY town. And it has great historical perspective, too. And the Top of the World Highway is just beautiul.

Actually, that decisinon grew out of an unrelated conversation where I made the statement that I wanted to drive part of the Canol highway so that I will have driven pretty much all of the really backwoods northern roads. My girlfriend respoded by saying well that's not true unless you drive to Eagle.

 

[T_D_I_POWER]

No Canadian trip is complete with out going to British Columbia, Victoria garden, and breath taking Jasper National Park. I would skip Quebec if I were you and go to BC instead. People in Quebec are anti Americans, specially Quebec city. Montreal would be ok, because it is a metroplitan city.

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

No Canadian trip is complete with out going to British Columbia, Victoria garden, and breath taking Jasper National Park.

Without looking at a map, I think that Jasper and Banff are on the way for us and we hope to camp there at least a night or so. (We're really hoping to camp most nights ont he road; I realize that in the larger cities, I may have to get a hotel,which is totally agreeable to my girlfriend., lol)

Problem is, I'gve already been to Western B.C. on the drive up here four years ago;unfortunately, I was in somewhat of a hurry.

I would skip Quebec if I were you and go to BC instead. People in Quebec are anti Americans, specially Quebec city. Montreal would be ok, because it is a metroplitan city.

Hmmm, some here might assert that I should fit right in there then.

Actualy, for me, Quebec and Acadia are going to be the high points of the trip, I think. (I hope?) I've studied French off and on for a couple of years now amd I'm looking forward to visiting aplace where French is the native language. Hopefully, Quebec will hold cutural significance inaddition to the historical significance of the Seven Years War and, prior to that, the early colonial period of French Regime. (I've just opened a French language thread on this topic in the local discussions, Quebec, forums.)

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

registration and ID question

So, I grew up with this urban legend that it was against the law, in most states, to drive a vehicle with an out of state tage usung a driver's license from yet another state. Is there any truth to that?

For example, my car is registered and insured using my parent's address in Tampa, but, because of my job (and the PFD) my driver's license is Alaskan. Does anyone think that this will cause any problems with border crossing or , if I'mpulled over in New England or soemthing?

Add to that, my passpoert has my parent's address on it as well.

 

[Jack Frost]

If you have an accident, it might be possible for your car's insurance company to deny you coverage as the car's owner does not live in Alaska.

Check the cars registration and your insurance coverage. Sometimes insurance rates are based on risk calculated on where the owner lives. They require changes of address to be reported. If they felt that they were being scammed (and I am not insinuating that this is the case here), but if they felt that somehow they could wiggle out of claim, they may deny you coverage. You will then either have to pay for damages yourself or possibly take the insurance company to court and explain to a judge why the insurance company owes you money.

My car's registration and my drivers license legally requires Manitobans to report changes of address within 15 days. These are important identity documents and if they are incorrect, it may look like you are trying to make yourself difficult to locate. American passports may have a similar requirement.

I doubt if your situation would cause you problems in Canada, but border officials can make life miserable. You will need your passport to get back into the States and the fewer the red flags the better. If it doesn't make sense to change the addresses, make sure that your story (if you need to tell it) is rational and your documentation supports it.

 

[Mike in Anchorage]

Actually, that decision grew out of an unrelated conversation where I made the statement that I wanted to drive part of the Canol highway so that I will have driven pretty much all of the really backwoods northern roads. My girlfriend respoded by saying well that's not true unless you drive to Eagle.

That is a good point, then. Have you done a part of the Dempster? I always wanted to cycle it. I assume you took the Cassiar on the way up & also had time to hit Stewart and Hyder. Not difficult roads, but different.

Liaird hot springs are worth the diversion, but recall that two tourists were killed by a brown bear there a couple of years back. It's a "family" site, so you gotta wear clothes. Unnatural, I know, but them's the rulz. Check your air filter when you'll not be eaten alive by mosquitos. The only time I drove south, my mileage & performance got worse & worse. Finaly climbing a pass in Wyoming, I hit upon the idea of checking the air filter. There must have been a centimeter of packed mosquito bodies all across it. banging them out helped immeasurealbly. Changing the filter in Mini-soda did even more good.

When are you gonna have time for a brew? I'm leaving 31 May until 15 June for a wedding in the lower 48.

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

If you have an accident, it might be possible for your car's insurance company to deny you coverage as the car's owner does not live in Alaska.

Check the cars registration and your insurance coverage. Sometimes insurance rates are based on risk calculated on where the owner lives. They require changes of address to be reported. If they felt that they were being scammed (and I am not insinuating that this is the case here), but if they felt that somehow they could wiggle out of claim, they may deny you coverage. You will then either have to pay for damages yourself or possibly take the insurance company to court and explain to a judge why the insurance company owes you money.

My car's registration and my drivers license legally requires Manitobans to report changes of address within 15 days. These are important identity documents and if they are incorrect, it may look like you are trying to make yourself difficult to locate. American passports may have a similar requirement.

I doubt if your situation would cause you problems in Canada, but border officials can make life miserable. You will need your passport to get back into the States and the fewer the red flags the better. If it doesn't make sense to change the addresses, make sure that your story (if you need to tell it) is rational and your documentation supports it.

You're thinking some of the same things that I'm thiking. I'm actually going to call my insurance company tomorrow. As I see it, my options are, get an Alaskan tag, registration, and insurance for my car to matchmy driver license; I'll use my university ID to prove that I'm returning from college. Or B) get a duplicate copy of my Florida driver license.

I also need to ask the insurance company about the need for Canadian trip insurance.

 

[FL2AK-tdi]

When are you gonna have time for a brew? I'm leaving 31 May until 15 June for a wedding in the lower 48.

The new tentative departure date has been moved up a week to July 22d. So there is plenty of time and thre are still two weeks that mygf will be on the slope. (party at HER house!)

After some discussion of y our point on Eagle, we've scrapped that part of the trip. And no, I've not driven the Depster or the Cassiar.

Side story: I actually wanted to drive the Cassiar on the way up here. I stopped at an RCMP station near where there turn off is for the Cassiar and talked to some of the mounties thre about it. They saw my Jetta and siad "not in THAT car." So iI drove the Al-can instead. C'est la vie. Funny how, for a while, I was known here as the offroad person on tdiclub.

We've also decided to scrap driving part of the Canol as well. We're going to take about 5-6 days driving the Al-Can and then down through Jasper and Banff before going over to Calgary. Two days in Calgary, a half day at Batoche (I wonder if that is enough time) and then on to Winnipeg. (Thanks for the musuem links, Jack.)

We're tossing around the idea of driving down to Waterton Glacier peace Park on the National border, but I don't want to put in too many things. There is also a NWMP museum I want to go to as well.

From there, it'sd looking like we'll drive Route 1 across towards Montreal and Quebec.

 

[Mike in Anchorage]

It still sounds like a great trip. The Lake Louise Lodge is worth a historical look as is the Banff hotel. I was there in '88 for the Olympics, when Anchorage was bidding on the '92 ad '94 games. If you want to stay less urban, camp before leaving Canmore. From there to Calgary is not so lovely.

If you're tight on time, I wouldn't recommend the international peace park. Nice if you're passing through, but not really a reason for much of a side trip.

The Mountie was wrong. You could have done the Cassiar fine, unless it was frost heave/break-up time. I screamed through it in my '86 Saab with bikes on top & a laden trunk. As the saying goes, real men drive 2wd cars. d;=(0

Yeah, brew time could happen several times!