Quebec-Alberta via the United States
Both my parents were born in Quebec, while we currently live in Alberta, we often make the Quebec-Alberta plane trip to visit my grandparents. But this time, my father wanted to come back via the road, and it was then that my mother offered to buy a trailer to make the journey with him. My parents, who have crossed the country many times, quickly got tired of the lack of services and the boring and dangerous roads, and so for the past ten years (my mother convinced my father) they have been taking the United States highways to go home.
Longer in Mileage, but Faster in Time!
Indeed, if we look on Google Maps, crossing the Canada by the United States totals more kilometres. On the other hand, in Ontario, for example, the speed limit is 90 km / h while several US states allow 70 mph, which is about 110 km / h. In addition, there are services everywhere (gas stations, restaurants, toilets, hotels, etc.), which are missing for several kilometres (sometimes 500 km without services) in northern Ontario. Also, considering the price of gasoline, added to the CAD-USD exchange rate, the difference in the price of gas doesn’t account for much.
Bad luck Long Journey
Of course, long journeys like this can’t take place without a hitch. For our part, after driving only 500 km, our truck stopped after refuelling. At least we were already in a parking lot … But at midnight in the evening, in Ontario, it’s not easy! The CAA towed the trailer and the truck (good thing my mother had subscribed to CAA three hours before!) to a garage, and we were the first customers served the next morning thanks to them. We still lost a day waiting for the defective part. At the very end of the trip, just four hours from home, I threw up and soiled all my clothes, my car seat and the truck. When we got home, we went to the emergency room and found out that I had caught the hand-foot-mouth virus. Luckily, I was not sick in the United States … it would have been a little less funny.
Good to Know
What to do
How long to plan
Things to know
Tourist Trap
Cost
Message From My parents
If your children do not like to travel by car, have motion sickness and constantly fight in the back, DO NOT DO THIS! In the quickest of cases, you will spend a minimum of two days of non-stop driving (except pee and gas breaks), 3 or 4 days if you allow yourself to sleep and a week or more if you play at being tourists. We’ve never stopped at the Kalahari and Yogi Bear resorts in Wisconsin, but I think it’s really worthwhile to organize your trip in order to take a break in one of those fun centres designed specifically for families with young children. I would venture to Kalahari, which boasts the largest indoor water park in the United States. The highlight of our trip (for parents) was our getaway in the Niagara Region vineyards (read the article in Culinary Tourism).
