Out of curiosity for the scenic beauty of this four-season country, in mid-July my family and I set off on a road trip to explore the Trans-Canada Highway which stretches over 3,300 kilometres. From the city of Toronto, province of Ontario to the city of Edmonton, province of Alberta.

Street scene in Ontario. Photo/Achmad Faisal Nasution

Such a distance can be traveled in 36 hours if non-stop driving aka does not stop. But we decided to stop and spend the night in the town which we reached after an 8 hour drive. This means that we only traveled during the day and spent 5 days to arrive at the city which is in the western province of Canada.

There is also another route with a shorter distance of about 3 hours, which crosses the territory of the United States, namely Michigan, then crosses by boat to Milwaukee-Minnesota-North Dakota and enters the territory Canadian in the city of Regina. After that continue to Saskatoon City, province of Saskatchewan and about five hours later arrive in Edmonton City.

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But we chose the Trans-Canada Highway which entered Ontario, namely through the city of Sudbury, Thunder Bay, then entered the province of Manitoba in the city of Winnipeg, continued to the city of Saskatoon, province of Saskatchewan, then stopped in Edmonton. It does not matter if this route takes two to three hours longer than the path that crosses the territory of the United States rather than having to endure long checks at the immigration post in the country of Uncle Sam. The road that connects provinces across Canada is smooth and safe from crime.

Dananu and the agricultural expanse of Kanola. Photo/Achmad Faisal Nasution

Anyway, we deliberately traveled during the day as many wildlife such as moose (moose) and deer often roam and cross the road at night. Because the path that connects the provinces of Canada and divides the pine forest rests only on the moonlight. A friend from Ukraine, Ilya said, several times the truck he was driving almost hit a moose the size of an elephant. The local government has posted warning signs along most of the Trans-Canada Highway from the province of Ontario to Saskatchewan.

With my Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) type car, we left Toronto a little later than planned, as I was taking my eldest to the dentist and had to finish some things first. When the sun was directly overhead, we began our journey. However, the problem arose when the Global Positioning System (GPS) I was using did not work, so the entrance to Highway 27 could not be found. After walking around for a few minutes in the Etobicoke neighborhood of Toronto, we then entered the street.