Travel journal: A quick travel update
Day 1: Saskatoon to Edmonton
August arrives for the Kellenbergers with a Canadian road trip of epic proportions. We’re traveling the Trans-Canada highway from Saskatoon to Smithers BC to attend my friend’s wedding in British Columbia. I flew to Saskatoon yesterday to meet up with my husband and his five-year-old son Caleb. They drove up from Iowa to meet me at the airport.
I was supposed to be in Saskatoon by 1pm, but my connecting flight in Toronto was delayed by almost five hours. John and I had planned the first part of our trip out with very little time to spare. We arranged to do the bulk of our sightseeing after the wedding on Saturday, so the airport delay put a major dent in our travel time. I arrived in Saskatoon at 6pm, a full five hours later than we had originally planned.
We didn’t waste any time getting on the road, but that also meant we couldn’t waste any time in Saskatoon either. No matter. The terrain is as flat as can be and you can see for miles. Besides, it means we get to come back.
Although I didn’t get a chance to see Saskatoon, I arrived just in time to enjoy Saskatchewan’s epic sunsets. The sky was a smear of gold and pink, and as the sun set on the prairies, the fields looked like they had been washed in gold.
From Saskatoon, we drove straight to Edmonton, stopping only once along the way to chow down on a pizza in a parking lot before hitting the road again. We arrived in Edmonton shortly after midnight and checked into the Westin Hotel in downtown Edmonton.
This was also the first time I’ve seen my husband in over a month. We decided long ago that the best thing for us to do when we come back to North America is to spend time with our families. I saw John’s family at the beginning of our trip and John will see my family just before we head back to Taiwan at the end of this month, but the time in between is always so long. We’re used to living out of each other’s back pockets, so trips home to North America are always a challenge for us. That is why we are doing this road trip. It shortens the amount of time we spend apart and simultaneously satisfies our love for travel. We’ve talked about doing this trip ever since we got together in 2004, so it’s been a long time coming. I’ll continue to update our travel journals as quickly as I can.
Stay tuned for our day 2 update on Jasper National Park.
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Sounds like fun! Roadtrips are the best.
Is the picture taken on your trip? Are poppies still in bloom in Canada? (We had one month of poppy flush in june, but they might be a different species from the Canadian one)
Hi Kim,
Sorry for the delay in responding. Travel really gets in the way of replying to emails, Twitter updates, and comments. Yep. This photo was taken in Canada. Poppies were in bloom in Ontario in the latter part of May and early June. In northern Canada they bloom a little later in the summer. The variety of wild flowers on offer during our trip was amazing. I snapped dozens of photos. Nothing makes me happier than seeing fields in full bloom.
Thanks for the post. I’m going to share it with my wife. I hope I can make the same trip with her some day. Travelling alone across Canada from Ottawa to Vancouver by train was one of the highlights of my teenage years.
Seems you guys had a great trip… I love to see the Saskatchewan’s epic sunsets as well..