On Driving 3 Provinces With 3 Kids

These pickles. They survived the road with me as the only parent for 3 days.

This is now the second time I’ve driven this long-Yellowhead-Highway trek with them, which is an impressive 1256 km long. One major difference made us all much happier this time around – we overnighted at Jasper Provincial Park. It was my Mum’s idea, and she met us there with all sorts of camping gear set up for us to overnight. Turned out so much better than the long drive from Edmonton to Prince George did last year! An 8 hour drive with littles easily turns into a 10-or-more hour drive with their needs, so Jasper, at 4 hours past Edmonton, was a perfect place to break.

So thrilled to be out of that confining car seat!

Camping with three 5-and-under kids is quite an adventure, but we survived and even enjoyed it. It’s always more fun for the kids than the adults, right? We had great neighbours to our campsite on one side – they had 2 kids, one the same age as Spencer. So of course they hit it off right away and played the whole time together. Super helpful. To the adults. And I love that he just got right out exploring, as it should be for a 5-year-old. Cassia tagged along as much as she could. Unfortunately she may have been the brunt of a couple ‘hide from Cassia’ games that she wasn’t overly fond of, but she enjoyed most of the playing.

The next day my mum took the two older kids in her car (HEAVEN!) and we headed in the direction of Prince George. We stopped in McBride for lunch, and just in case you ever drive through looking for a place to stop, they have a FABULOUS kids playground if you turn left at the only major intersection on the highway with the town. Head to the end of the road. Stop, kick the kids out, enjoy a little peace. You’re welcome. Oh, and don’t forget to fill-up your vehicle – the next stop with gas is Prince George, a mere 209km (about 2.5 hours) west.

On our way back we stopped at the Ancient Forest, which has dinky little signs that make it look like it’s probably a dive, but it’s so totally not!

They have a boardwalk that runs through this ancient forest of cedar trees – it’s an authentic inland rainforest, how cool is that?  Taking the stroller on the boardwalk was a breeze, and the kids were relatively confined to the boardwalk as long as they didn’t run too far ahead. It was A-MAZ-ING.

don’t mind the creepy half-body Cassia – that’s what happens with a panorama photo shot and they don’t stay still…

And a close up: 

Very much worth checking out if you have 30-45 minutes. There is a longer loop trail that does not have a boardwalk that leads to a waterfall, I would have loved to have done that, but just not really possible with the 3 littles unless it was boardwalked. Maybe when they get bigger. So much fun, great place to stop! They have outhouses if you need the loo.

And with that, we made it into Prince George. We’ve been here for over a week now and have had more adventures, more stories to come. Andy is holding the fort back home, complaining to me all-the-time about how hot it is (for the record, it’s not that hot here) and enjoying being kid-free for awhile. We’re keeping good touch, though!

Have you done long distance traveling with your kids? By yourself?

Related posts:

Wilds of British Columbia. And Kids. Kids and Safety Prairie Driving Protected: First Eucharist & Confirmation PLUS Farm Week