I absolutely love road tripping.
Quebec is huge on its own, and I’ve driven through most of it, always a good time. Gaspésie is one of the most beautiful places on earth and I’d encourage everyone who can make it to drive around that area. Cote Nord is quite something also but with less people. Saguenay region is awesome as well.
Drove from Quebec to BC 4 times, once on my own. Beautiful in the summer, but a sketchy drive in the winter, especially solo. Driving through Ontario is super boring yet dangerous in the winter; almost 30 hours of pine trees and a slow driving limit (fuck the OPP who target people with Quebec plates also). The Great Lakes have this wierd micro-climate that brings a lot of extremes temperature-wise, so you have to be alert. I wouldn’t do it solo again though, it’s a long fucking drive that takes a lot out of you, I was a zombie for about two days when I got to BC.
Also drove throughout most of BC a few times, had I not had a time constraint the last time, I would have liked to drive up to Yukon, maybe some day. Lots of wildlife in BC, you have to be alert when you drive. Bears, moose, elk, wolves, rams, billy goats, you name it, it’s all there. Good fishing and amazing views everywhere. I love BC. Northern BC is so beautiful.
The absolute sketchiest drive I did in BC was driving from Fernie to Revelstoke, meaning I had to go through Rogers Pass in the dead of night alone during a gnarly-ass snowstorm. I thought I’d have a heart attack and was by far the most stressful drive of my life… I was so happy to make it to my buddy’s place in Revy. They closed the pass just as I got there and I was so burnt from that drive that I passed out after 3-4 sips of beer. The powder skiing was well worth it though, I have never skiied such deep powder. Pass was closed for 4 days due to avalanche warnings, got a lot of quality skiing done in those 4 days. Fuck those logging vans that drive unbelievably fast while I’m at it, they scared the shit out of me everytime.
I did Quebec to Florida alone twice to go meet up with my parents who were on vacation. When I came back up the second time, I stopped in NYC for a couple days. I’d park my car in North Bergen, NJ and slept in my car. I was told that was a dumb idea because North Bergen has some sketchy spots, but I didn’t know any better. Didn’t have any problems though. I always have my Buck hunting knife on me when I sleep in my car anyways so that always makes me feel a little safer. Drove throughout New England after, what a beautiful place in the fall. I’d love to have more time to explore Vermont.
When I was in Australia in 2010 I drove from the Gold Coast to Melbourne, then Melbourne up to Cairns with a friend. Stopped at a ton of cool little towns on the way, by far the most awesome drive I’ve ever done. I still think about it almost everyday and wish I’d be back there at that exact time.
Stopped in Nimbin and heavily stocked up on weed and edibles, we were flying high the whole time. We had no time constraints so we took our time, all of this was over a 5-6 week period. Went to Fraser Island, booked a sailing trip in the Whitsundays… man that was fun. Hit up every skatepark we could, got some good hiking in, partied hard, slept at girls’ places… Oh to be 20 with no responsibilities again. That’s actually where I bought my first car, an old beat up white ‘92 Camry with almost 400k KM and one red door on it for 1500$.
Next summer I want to hit up the Maritime provinces and I’d like to see Newfoundland, hope I can make it happen.
All of these besides Australia were with my old ‘07 Hatchback Impreza. It was so much fun to drive (especially in the winter), but was a real piece of shit at the same time, there was always something expensive broken on it. I drove that car to its death in Feb ‘20 and sold it for parts. Got a Corolla for now, but I might get a hatchback Camry next year… I’m starting to feel the road tripping itch again.
Apologies for the wall of text, I’m 3 cups of coffee deep, it’s raining outside and I love road tripping. I always feel nostalgic when I talk about it, and I get carried away when the subject comes along. The road has always been good to me.