Favourites from North America.

Canada and the US are enormous Countries and we saw and experienced a lot.  Our driving trip across the Continent started in Collingwood, Ontario, then up to Whitehorse, Yukon and then ended in Los Angeles, California. 

Memorable moments and places...

Tobermory and Manitoulin Island, Ontario.
Excellent camping opportunities on Lake Huron.  Had great times at the Lands End Park and Providence Bay Tent & Trailor Park.

Duluth, Minnesota. 
A great city built on rolling hills on the western shores of Lake Superior. Has an excellent Train Museum. Definitely avoid Little Angie's Cantina And Grill, it had terrible food!

Fort Peck, Montana.
Incredible camping and free!  The State of Montana itself is fantastic, Big Sky Country!  So flat in the East, then gets progressively mountainous in the West.

Glacier National Park, Montana.
The Park is fantastic.  Try driving up to Logans Pass.  We had amazing accommodation at the General Store.

Drumheller, Alberta.
The Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum was particularly amazing.  We did not enjoy Fort Calgary in Calgary, avoid it. It was awesome to spend time with my Sister, Meghan and her Family Rob and Nox while in Calgary though.

West Edmonton Mall, in Edmonton, Alberta.
The Mall is a crazy place to spend some time.  Tonnes of rides and they pack a lot of things inside, including a wave park!

Muncho Lake, BC.
It's postcard perfect!  An incredible place to stay is the Northern Rockies Lodge, it's pricey but worth it. There is tonnes of wildlife in Northern BC, Bison, Elk, Moose, Bears...all can be seen while driving along the Highway.

Liard Hot Springs, BC.
When you go to Heaven, it might look like the Liard Hot Springs.  Probably best experienced during the low season when there are few people there (we went in October).

Carcross and Watson Lake, Yukon.
Carcross is a tiny, quaint town near Watson Lake that has snow capped mountains and a desert!  The Signpost Forest in Watson Lake is an interesting sight and we had good accommodations at the hotel called A Nice Motel.  As for Whitehorse, not much there but you can at least say you've been there.  The Skyy Hotel offers up some good accommodation.

Northern British Columbia.
It's sooooo remote!  But incredibly beautiful.  Bison are known as the "speed bumps".  Stewart, BC and Hyder, Alaska are quaint places to visit (especially the drive into Stewart, awesome!!).  Stayed at the Bell 2 Lodge on the Stewart Cassiar Hwy. Be prepared for long drives with nothing but wilderness to see. The rivers have Arctic Grayling and are easy to catch (use a small Panther Martin spinner).  The City of Prince George is not overly fantastic, however, the Nortan Ranch is absolutely top notch accommodation while visiting there.

Whistler, BC.
Tonnes of things to do (it's not just a ski town!) and places to see like Nairn Falls and Joffre Lake. Whistler is bustling with activity and surrounding beauty.  The drive into Whistler from the North on Hwy 99 is absolutely spectacular (even better than the drive South into Vancouver!). Also not to forget is the nearby town of Squamish

Vancouver, BC.
It could be the greatest Metropolis in Canada.  Why?  Probably because of it's geographical location, and my Aunt Lorraine lives there!  We did find the traffic to be very bad though.  The waterfront area is fantastic and great spots to visit are Stanley Park and Granville Island.

Mount Saint Helens, Washington State.
Stunning and absolutely worth visiting, especially on a sunny day. A very well maintained road gets you to the Johnson Ridge Observatory for the amazing views.  The big City in Washington (Seattle) is also worth a visit.  A great place to visit is the Chihuly Garden and Glass as well as Pike Place (where the original Starbucks is).  Beware of the super expensive seafood though...and why? the ocean is right there!  The Seattle Space Needle is...well...not as good as the CN Tower in Toronto.

Crater Lake, Oregon.
A bucket list item!  Obviously best seen on a sunny day (we got lucky). The State of Oregon itself is a must visit and seemed to have a lot to offer like great wineries, beautiful Pacific coastline, oysters, and even a kiwi farm.  The major City, Portland was a nice spot and has Powell's Books, the largest bookstore in the world.

California, USA.
Ok, I've saved the best till the last. Of all the places we've visited in North America during our trip, per square meter, California had the most memorable places.  This one state has a higher population than all of Canada!

The huge redwood trees in California are an amazing site and we were able to camp among them at the Big Basin Redwoods State Park as well as drive through one at the Chandelier Tree. The coastal drive on Hwy 1 might actually be a bucket list item. If you are ever in Loleta, check out the Loleta Cheese Factory.  We had a fantastic time riding the Skunk Train at Fort Bragg.  The Aquarium in Monterey was one of the best we've seen.  Hearst Castle in San Simeon was very enjoyable. The seaside towns of Mendocino, Carmel and Cambria (the FogCatcher Inn was great!) are definitely worth visiting. Sacramento was a wonderful city and had an excellent train museum, called the California State Railroad Museum. We also had a great meal at Cafeteria 15L in Sacramento.  Very memorable for us was getting Bennett to trick or treat in the town of Turlock.

Catching largemouth bass on Lake Casitas in Ventura was a definite highlight for me, you can rent a boat from Lake Casitas Boat Rentals.

Tricia's Aunt and Uncle, Catherine and Al gave us great hospitality at their beautiful home in Ojai (as did cousin Rachel as well!). Don't forget to stop by Al's Free Hug booth at the Ojai Farmer's Market on Sundays! Check out Meditation Mount in Ojai in the evening for a beautiful sunset view of the Ojai Valley.

Not to be missed when visiting LA is the Griffith Observatory where you get great views of LA and the famous Hollywood sign.  Although I hate to admit it, we had an incredible time at Disneyland California, in Anaheim. You are made to feel like a kid again! In Long Beach, the Queen Mary is docked which was nostalgic for me because my Grandmother and Father came over on it to Canada in 1946.