Canada, by size, is the 2nd largest country in the world. How can I sum up my feelings for such a big amazing place, and all 30 million of it's people, in one sentence, or even one blog post. There was so much to see and there's so much I still haven't yet discovered. To sum it up, I was able to see what the western reaches had to offer, in both the provinces and the Yukon Territory.

Alberta

Alberta surprised me. Although I ran into some characters that were giving me a bad time, I also felt an enormous amount of hospitality and friendliness from the people that call the province home. My first real taste of the Canadian way of life was here. When I'd visited Ontario for season 4, I wasn't exactly staying with Canadian families or couples. I used Bunk-A-Biker for the first time in Alberta. I was shown authentic Canadian cuisine, I had my motorcycle cared for when I flew out of the country and back, and I was shown an amazing time by the Free Runners Masonic Order biker gang out of Alberta. I was given very valuable local knowledge of must-see tourist stops in the Yukon. 

Of course, like the Great Plains of the US, Alberta was a king-hell bitch of a time to cross. The lands are flat, windy, and don't have much to see. Later in the Yukon Territory, when I rolled into Whitehorse to replace my tires, the mechanic could see that my back tire was worn down in nice straight lines. Like an eraser head, the round tire came to a flat end.

"Driving on some grids, are we? Where have these been?" He asked. They'd been across Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Montana, and Alberta by the time I had them replaced. All states known to have vast flat expanses where the only curves are around rivers.

One day I plan on visiting Alberta again, to pass through the Yukon once more to take the Dempster highway to the Arctic Ocean again. When I do, I'll be passing through Banff and Jasper- the mountainous crown jewels of the province.

The Yukon Territory

Never before had I been to place to large, so remote, yet so fun to navigate. There are real feelings of isolation you get in being in a place so far north. Even time seems to work differently as the sun doesn't set. You learn to be flexible in creative ways- such as knowing cell service isn't common, credit cards aren't always accepted, towns go through planned power outages, and road conditions can change from tolerable to impossible on a dime.

The people of the Yukon were happy to see tourists back, that's for sure. I know I was one of the first tourists after a long Covid winter. Most of my fellow tourists were all people who had never been to those parts before, so you're all kind of experiencing the new arctic world around you together.

The people there know they're in a rough area and their personality reflects it. I know I'm speaking too soon to say that I could see myself living up there-- I have no idea how harsh winter can be with their lack of sun and agonizing temperatures. 

I just know that with the lack of good internet, abundant untouched wilderness, close connection with people, and the social circles that encompass whole towns-- I could see it being quite enjoyable for someone like me.

British Columbia

I had the honor of spending all of Saga 3 in BC. Good gawd. This place is massive. By the sheer number of roads, towns, and differences in regions, there's more to ride and see here than Alaska and the Yukon combined. The province offers quite a range of spheres-- it has its subarctic reaches, the islands and fjords of the coast, the indigenously-dominated interior, arid deserts, and the massive urban core of Vancouver and Victoria. 

I didn't even explore their wine country or more mountainous regions along the Alberta border.  There is just so much in BC.

Thankfully I did it justice and spent 26 days in BC and didn't skip the interior by paying for a ride down the coast. Even if many people had said it'd be worth the amazing views and relaxing cruise, I roughed it through the middle and even had to resort to hitch-hiking when shit went south.

It was BC that I got a real idea of what Canadian culture is like by cross-referencing it to what I've already experienced. I'm surprised to say that even with the differences in climate, geography, and politics, there is a base culture in Canada that seems to be shared across the country. I figured there'd be a huge difference between each of the provinces and territories but surprisingly the hospitality, the accents, the food-- it's its own world and they all share it up there.

In a nutshell, Provinces and territories that had folks thousands of miles apart from each other were more alike than some states that are only hundreds, or dozens of miles apart.

In blunt terms, Canada was good to me. I will be back.  Their future seems brighter and more predictable than my own country. I won't pretend they're perfect, but even the most divisive issues are met with good intentions when disagreements arise. More of my take on the political climate of Canada is posted to be viewed by Team TWOC (you can read it if you become a member of my Patreon!).

That's all for Saga 3, I can now bring it officially to a close. Onward to Saga 4, the United States' west coast as I travel down, ever southward, toward the bottom of the Americas.

-JT

9/30/2022