Seattle to Banff

We had been looking forward to an epic camping road trip for so long, and it was what kept me alive during finals, knowing that there were good things ahead (like sleep and campfire food and long drives through the mountains). It was a frantic few days of catching up on work and errands before leaving for two weeks, but there's nothing like the feeling of finally being packed and pulling onto the highway with a tank full of gas.

We got a pretty late start on our first day, so we camped at Larabee State Park, not far from Seattle. The next day, we met up with friends in Vancouver for breakfast, then coffee, and lunch (phew!), and continued our drive. Talking about the trip got us even more excited.
Out of Vancouver, we took Highway 1, which would eventually get us to Banff, our first destination. At the beginning of a road trip, we always stop way too much for photos, not knowing how much amazing scenery lies ahead. That was exactly the case. Every mountain view and motel sign and country cafe looked amazing. We happened upon a flea market on the side of the highway, and did some browsing through antiques. We made it to Kamloops and did some grocery shopping to fill up our coolers and get us hungry. By the time we got to Kamloops, it was dark, and we needed to find a place to sleep. Instead of driving out to a campground, we found a random place in the foothills outside of Kamloops popped up our rooftop tent. It was pretty spectacular to wake up in the morning and realize what a beautiful place we had chosen to park in the dark.
The next day we had breakfast in town and continued our drive. We raced a brightly colored train along the highway, jealous of the train's views along the banks of a river and through rocky mountain tunnels. At some point we got hungry, and made lunch and a fire near a lake. Life slows down when your home is your car and you have no appointments to make. You can even make a fire during lunch.
That evening, our car's brakes went out. And just a couple days into our trip, the adventure got a lot crazier. But I'll save that for another post.
- Julia

We found a random spot in the foothills outside of Kamloops to park for the night.

Not expecting this scenery in the morning!