On Saturday I drove from Vancouver to Priddis, Alberta. In all it was 989km.
We (well, “I”) stopped at the Cloverdale Bakery to get some Danish pastries for the trip. I love actual Danish pastries because I grew up with them. This bakery is the only place I know where I can get them, but it is so far away I can only do so when I’m on a road trip. The weinerbrod was amazing; it was still warm from the oven. I also wanted to get my mother’s opinion on it.
The next significant stop was in Sicamous. I figured we were close to the Okanagan valley, so we should try and get fresh fruit. I had Catalina on fruit-stand spotting duty, but she totally dropped the ball in Salmon Arm. Still, we hit Fruit World and were able to pick up some cherries, strawberries and significantly overpriced peaches. Next door there was a dairy farm with a petting zoo. They even had pheasants and peacocks to look at. I think their money-maker was the ice cream they sold. They had a large flavor collection, and I would have loved to go to town on it, but I was the driver. I did get a very good chocolate raspberry milkshake. Very driver-friendly.
I noticed something fairly soon after entering Alberta from British Columbia. The memories of highway driving in the prairies came flooding back. The drivers from Alberta drive differently than B.C. drivers. Now, don’t get me wrong, B.C. drivers are terrible, especially in the lower mainland. But past Hope, there is an evolutionary pressure on them that does help.
In Alberta, there are long two lane highways. Inevitably, clumps happen as one slow driver tries to pass another slow driver. Slowly. Other cars get backed up behind the slow moving obstacle. It’s annoying.
That doesn’t happen in B.C. In the mountains, there are a lot of one lane highways. Occasionally, for a few kilometers, they become two lane highways and suddenly it is a speed race as everyone has a vested interest in trying to pass the slow drivers in the limited time they have available. This makes people very efficient at passing. In Alberta, the two lanes last forever so they feel no rush. Hence the clumps.
We stopped in Banff for gas. There were advertisements for the Banff marathon the next day. I probably could have done well in it, but I think I would need more warning than twelve hours.
We had thought about having a dinner in Banff, but it was like every other ski-resort town I’ve been to: no convenient parking, and no drive-thru. If you want to eat, you have to pay a lot to park and you will be sitting down. We subsisted on the snacks we had in the car.
2019-6-18 14:52