BC or Bust!: A Roadtrip Update. . .
Woke up in Richmond, BC (a suburb just south of Vancouver) and had a wonderful breakfast with our AirBNB hosts. Before we left, I took some time to hurriedly email and call Craigslist posters who were advertising RV/Truck storage.
We managed to find one of the few U-Wash places in the greater Richmond area that can accommodate a vehicle of Lowly's size and gave the ol' boy a good scrubbing to clean off all of the road grime picked up on our cross-continental drive. Pictures don't do the level of filth justice, but here is a before/after combo:
![IMG_2071.jpg IMG_2071.jpg](https://expeditionportal.com/forum/data/attachments/333/333350-ececa354589c6b669de9fc02fdf2261c.jpg)
After a couple of mission accomplished photos with my dad in front of Lowly and a very satisfying high-5, we were off to the airport so he could catch his flight back down to Palm Springs (lucky snowbird!)
I then had roughly 5 hours to sort out storage arrangements before it was my turn to fly home. Thankfully I found a place between Vancouver and the US border that was the right price and location. Drove down, parked the truck in a converted pasture-now RV parking lot and public transported my way back to the airport.
I now am back at home, decompressing from the trip, playing with my boys and thankful that I don't have to spend another consecutive day staring at tarmac slip past my windscreen.
Here are some stats for our drive from Halifax to Vancouver:
Distance driven: 6237 km (3875 miles)
Diesel consumed: 1650.45 liters (436 gallons US)
Average fuel consumption rate: 3.78 km/l (8.88 mi/gal)
Days driving: 6.5
Guesstimated average of hours each day on the road (driving, fueling, eating): 15 hours
AirBNB/Hotel: 4/4
Breakdowns: 1
Out of or nearly out of fuel experiences: 2 (one at Halifax port & one in Manitoba)
Sphincter clenching near collisions: 1
Bowls of dill pickle soup consumed: 1
Impressions from the trip:
Having just driven along the immensity of its southern border and then looking at a map showing how far north it stretches, Canada's size boggles the mind. It is without a doubt a vast country full of wild, unspoiled places.
The province of French speaking Quebec should be a country of its own.
If every Tim Hortons in Canada was lined up end to end, we could have driven across the country on their rooftops. Yeah, there are that many!
Being an American it pains me to say this but, in general, Canadians seem to be a more friendly and helpful lot than their counterparts across their southern border (especially government official types).
The land along Lake Superior's northern shore would be worth exploring further
If you visit nowhere else in Canada, make it the Canadian Rockies.
Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island would make fantastic cycling destinations in summer/fall.
My next course of action is to begin dealing with US Customs (via a broker in Blaine, WA) to try and import Lowly to the US on a temporary basis (up to 3 years with extensions).
I sign off on this series of road trip updates with a picture taken in the Vancouver, BC airport where I intended to purchase EXPO member mog his requested donuts:
Sorry mog.
- Sheik