In 1982 (I think), I went on a road trip with my brother. We drove from Vancouver through the Fraser Canyon, past Kamloops and up the Yellowhead Highway. We hiked into Berg Lake and spent a day exploring there, then out and on to Jasper. We camped at the Whistlers Campground in Jasper and the next morning the skies opened. Our tent soaked through in the downpour but at least we were travelling by car.

We drove down the Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise, where we set up the soaked freestanding tent and strung it up on a line between two trees to dry. On the drive down though, we made lots of stops to look at things. We knew we'd done this trip at least once before with our parents, but didn't remember stopping. Our parents didn't do stuff like that--stopping--unless the car needed gas.

It was somewhere along that road that I decided I'd like to cycle it someday, take in the sights slowly. The dream.

I haven't done it yet. The logistics have always eluded me. It's difficult to get to Jasper from Vancouver without a car, and riding BC highways doesn't appeal to me. I've driven a lot of them, starting with an epic trip from Hinton to Vancouver when I was only 6 months old (I wasn't actually driving, my Dad was) so I've seen the sights. Mostly trees.

This year, though...