And Then It Begins

Gail and I have done many lengthy road trips. They have taken us to ten provinces and 48 states. We have visited Alaska (not by car) and Hawaii (certainly not by car). Every road trip requires planning, some more than others, like the 14,000 km tour in a Mazda Miata sports car. The challenge of a long trip in a sports car is how to pack when there’s no room for luggage. The challenge for this trip Is the time of year. If you have travelled in British Columbia you will know there are mountains, mountains and more mountains, which may get snow any time after the middle of September. Consequently, B.C requires winter tires after October 1 when driving in the mountains. Tire chains may also be required. Well, the winter tires are on the car for the whole trip but if tire chains are demanded we will just take the civilized approach and wait until chains are not required or until spring, whichever comes first.

I seem to be the primary photographer on our trips, also the primary driver. It’s not that my wife can’t take a photograph and it’s not that she can’t drive, it is just how it has been. As a result of that and the fact that we are trying to travel as far as practical to get to Winnipeg in three days there will probably be few photos until we get across the prairies and into the Rockies. There will be a brief stop in Banff where we will try to find something of interest to shoot. So we will start with a few photos of possible interest and this offers an opportunity for a bit of a tutorial.

If you are using a computer or a tablet in landscape mode you should be able to see the thumbnails of the photos along the righthand edge of the page as you scroll upward. Clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them, then you can scroll through them using the arrows to the right or left of the enlarged photo. When you finish viewing the photos click on the X at the upper right corner. Should you be using a Smartphone or a tablet in portrait mode you will find the photo thumbnails near the very bottom of the page. Clicking on any photo will enlarge it and you can scroll by swiping left or right. Clicking the X in the upper right corner will return you to the thumbnails on the post page. When viewing photos in the enlarged mode you may find information about the photo by scrolling down and this will often include a map with a pin showing the location where the photo was taken.

Once the trip is underway these photos on the post page will be from the most recent day or so. If you go to the “Photo Gallery” menu and select the “West Coast 2022” item you can browse through the entire collection of photos taken on the trip as they accumulate. Once again, clicking on any photo will enlarge it and allow you to browse through the gallery as previously described. Watch for more selections on the “Photo Gallery” menu as the trip progresses.

Now it is almost time to drive away. That will happen Wednesday morning. If you now check the photos in the side bar you can meet the travellers, the chariot for the cross-country and a couple of stock photos of the Rocky Mountaineer, the gold at the end of the rainbow. The next post will likely be on September 7 or 8 from Sault Ste Marie or Thunder Bay. With some luck I will have a couple more photos to add.