Out of curiosity for the scenic beauty of the country that has four seasons, in mid-July my family and I took a road trip to explore the Trans-Canada Highway for more than 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

This distance can be covered in 36 hours if you drive non-stop or do 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 from the western province of Canada.

There is also another route with a shorter distance of about 3 hours, namely through the United States, namely Michigan, then crossing by boat to Milwaukee-Minnesota-North Dakota and entering on Canadian territory in the city of Regina. After that proceed to Saskatoon City, Saskatchewan Province and approximately five hours later arrive in Edmonton City.

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But we chose the Canadian crossroads which went through the Ontario region, which passed through the city of Sudbury, Thunder Bay, then entered the region of the province of Manitoba in the city of Winnipeg, continued to Saskatoon City, Province of Saskatchewan, then stopped in Edmonton. It is normal for this route to take two to three hours longer than the route through the United States rather than having to wait a long time to undergo an inspection at the immigration station in Uncle Sam’s country. In addition, the road infrastructure that connects provinces across Canada is smooth and safe from criminals.

Dananu and the Kanola Farms stretch. Photo/Achmad Faisal Nasution

Anyway, we deliberately traveled during the day as many wildlife such as moose (big deer) 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. Local authorities have posted warning signs along most of the Trans-Canada Highway from the province of Ontario to Saskatchewan.

With a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that I was driving, we left Toronto a little later than planned, as I took my eldest son to the dentist and had to finish some things first. When the sun is directly overhead, we begin 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 for a few minutes in the Etobicoke neighborhood of Toronto, we then entered the street.