From the Q&A mailbox:
Question: E. L. McLean writes: We live in Washington State and wish to spend ten days driving in western Canada, with emphasis on the mountains. Please suggest a route.
Answer: (from AAA Washington travel counselor Jeff Howe):  Choosing where to drive in western Canada is about as easy as selecting the best option on a dessert buffet; it’s all beautifully presented and will leave you immensely satisfied at the end, but how to attack it? I've put together a TripTik routing for you, complete with maps, directions and distances between places, click on the map below to see it and here are my observations and advice regarding this route:

Leaving Vancouver eastward, one can take Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway, into Hope, where three major arteries (Highways 1, 5, and 3) diverge. Head south on Highway 3, the Crowsnest Highway, though Manning Provincial Park. Partly attached to Washington State’s North Cascade National Park, Manning is full of BC’s diverse flora. Rhododendrons and orchids, as well as Douglas firs, western red cedar, spruce, and pine, among others, inhabit this great park just three hours from Vancouver.

Highway 3 all along the southern part of the province into Osoyoos is a scenic highway, crossing several mountain passes (Allison Pass at 1,352 meters inside the park, plus Richter Pass (682 meters) west of Osoyoos.

Osoyoos sits on the edge of Osoyoos Lake, with 12 miles of sandy beach. The town itself teems with cultural centers and museums, including the Osoyoos Desert Centre. You didn’t know there was a desert in BC? Oh, yes! It is part of the Great Basin Desert, which is part of the Sonoran Desert that stretches from Washington into Mexico. In fact, Osoyoos reminds many of Spain, thus a lot of the town’s architecture reminds one of Iberia.

Head north along scenic Highway 97, through Penticton and view the SS Sicamous, the last steam-powered stern-wheeler to operate on large Okanagan Lake. It likely had to dodge the Ogopogo, Canada’s version of the Loch Ness Monster. This one reportedly possesses the head of a horse, goat or sheep and could be up to 70 feet long. Perhaps the regions rich agriculture inspired it to hang out.

Continue along 97 along the western side of Okanagan Lake into Kelowna, one of the larger towns in the Okanagan Valley (and home to a pretty decent Western Hockey League franchise). Nearly a third of all apples shipped throughout Canada come from Kelowna. Gardens dominate, with the area festooned with orchids. The Okanagan Valley is a popular--and growing--viticulture area, and some fantastic wineries dot the landscape.

Keep on headin’ north, curving with Highway 97, rising to meet Highway 1 again and its scenic drive east through the Monashee Mountains. They are a smaller chain of mountains, crouching in the shadows of the Canadian Rockies just to the east.

Highway 1 takes you through Glacier National Park--the Canadian one! Cross tall Rogers Pass as you twist through the park, the scene of desperate struggles by engineers to control winter’s havoc and cut Canada’s first transcontinental railroad through the Columbia Mountains. Avalanches at speeds in excess of 200 mph were known to tear up the tracks.

Climbing through the Columbia Mountains along Highway 1, you approach one of the largest park complexes in North America--Banff and Jasper National Parks, which hug the sides of the Canadian Rockies. Through the town of Golden, you enter the park, surmount Kicking Horse Pass, and reach Lake Louise.

During winter, Lake Louise freezes solid, allowing for ice skating, hockey, horse-drawn carriage rides, cross-country skiing, and more. On its shore, the gorgeous visage of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise rises from surrounding trees and the glacier-carved mountains. The AAA Four Diamond rated Fairmont hosts a plethora of conferences and events, but simply relaxing outside the stunning resort with a cup of hot chocolate after skating through a castle made of ice blocks is one of the most memorable winter activities around.

Head south along Highway 1 about an hour or so to the quaint town of Banff. (Beware of moose!) Banff is one of the cultural, sporting, and shopping hubs of the southern section of Banff National Park. Its gondola takes you up among the peaks of the Rockies to survey the surrounding peaks and valleys of this imposing range. Plus, Banff has a small yet decent mall. For a step into the past, amble into the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and soak in the Scottish-inspired architecture. Don’t be surprised to hear bagpipes in the distance.

If mountainous views out your car windows lead you to travel nirvana, then you must drive north back through Lake Louise and up highway 93, the Icefields Parkway into Jasper. More than 200 miles of exquisite vistas stretches out ahead of you, touching the rocky horizon and gripping your soul with rare beauty. Near Sunwapta Pass, turn off to gaze at Athabasca Glacier (before it is forever lost to global warming), plus the area’s waterfalls. Mount Edith Cavell rises 3,363 meters just north of there. Honestly, an entire article alone could be written--several, in fact--just on Banff and Jasper National Parks, but this is more a post about a great drive route, so we shall motor on.

After Jasper, head west on scenic Highway 16 and onto Highway 5 south, just into Tete Jaune Cache. Continue down Highway 5 (the Yellowhead Highway) once again through the Monashee Mountains and crossing back into the lower lands of the Okanagan Valley into Kamloops. Take some time, if you have it, to hop aboard the Spirit of Kamloops, a restored steam locomotive. Finish the tour with a sojourn down Highway 5, now called the Coquihalla Highway south of Kamloops back into Hope. Finish with Highway 1 back into Vancouver, then south back into Seattle.

You can’t imagine the rugged wonder of British Columbia and Alberta until you have crossed their breath-catching passes and skirted their pristine lakes.

How long can one expect to take on this drive? Ten days to two weeks would be optimum, depending on weather, traffic, and just how long you stand outside your car and wonder at it all. Definitely bring a camera and a memory card with a lot of space ... you will need it.

And I mean it ... watch out for moose.