DRIVING THROUGH THE CANADIAN ROCKIES
A favourite drive becomes a road where Canadian identity is forged.
My Irish father, all bombast and hot air, told us we should travel our own country before we travelled the world, get to know its nooks and crannies and feel its flinty greys and startling greens become lodged in our souls. Of course, travelling Ireland (all 84,421 square kilometres) is an achievable goal. It’s not unvarying or unsurprising, but the scale is surmountable and a wholesale sense of belonging in its various parts is something most Irish people fully feel. Canada is another story.
Canada has been my home for 13 years and I don’t think I’ll ever claim to feel the same allencompassing sense of belonging here. But when I look back, certain places planted that first real sense of being a Canadian in me.
The first time I drove to Jasper was in 1999 — from Calgary in a borrowed old Ford Crown Vic. The car wheezed its way up through the foothills and disbelief clamoured my vision. Having lived my whole life at sea level, I struggled to breathe the air. I waited for a vista to open up so I could take it all in. But the mountains are not served in bitesized bits and there’s no way to savour every morsel. In the end, you surrender yourself to this ginormous landscape and that’s why it’s so utterly beautiful.
Over the two years I lived in Calgary, we drove the Bow Valley Parkway and Icefield Parkway many times. Wherever you live, you probably have a place in which to anchor your memories. And this is how I feel about the drive between Calgary and Jasper: it’s always a sort of homecoming for me.
I’ve just disembarked from the Rocky Mountaineer, which I took from Whistler, through Quesnel to Jasper. Now we’re driving back to Calgary in style — BMW has generously loaned us an X6 for the trip — with a stopover night planned at the Fairmont Lake Louise.
The car is the most luxurious vehicle I’ve travelled this road in. The autonomy you feel when you take the wheel, setting the pace, deciding your own stopping points, really marks driving as my favourite mode of travel. Driving a luxury vehicle can sometimes be like getting a massage from somebody who talks the entire time. But the X6 slips into the background of this drive, blending with the experience — subdued and dependable.
Far from staid or stuffy, the X6 exterior has a distinctive shape, with creased haunches that give it youthful zeal. My travel companion and I also love the view from inside this vehicle. Premium materials crafted in what BMW calls a “layered design approach” create an elegant and comfortable look with just the right dash of visual contrast.
On top of the stitched leather dash is a free-standing, 10.2-inch graphic display, accessed via the console-mounted controller. The car’s navigation system is easy to use and, although we know the route, the map screen is a steady, reassuring presence on the dashboard.
Although the car is big, in this landscape it feels just right. When needed, its power is easily summoned, eliciting a pleased chuckle when we get to open it up a little. The X6 accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds and overtakes tourist slowcoaches with efficient aplomb.
For this kind of sanguine travel, the roominess makes the car a lovely place to linger, go slow, even lounge after a challenging hike. After each stop, I find myself looking forward to returning to the X6’s cool cabin. Even our valet at the Fairmont Lake Louise gives over the keys with some reluctance.
Staying home for a summer vacation often means travelling on a budget, and it’s been luck and kindness that have taken me on this trip at all. There’s much to be said for doing your home country in world-class style and I might just run with this modification of Dad’s travel mantra.
Being back on this route also created another ring on the tree of my Canadian life. Since I first drove this road, I’ve built a fully fledged life here. The thrill hasn’t gone, but it has changed shape and hue, from that initial awe to a feeling of belonging and recognition.
To this day, my parents have never visited Canada. To them, Canada is a frayed postcard on the fridge, with snow-capped mountains glinting in the sun, and lakes of impossible hues. But I hope one day they’ll come and see what it is I’ve fallen in love with here. And if I get that chance, I’ll drive them down this road to help them understand.
This trip was a personal vacation, not funded by any third parties. BMW generously equipped us for the driving portion with an X6. They did not review or approve this article before publication.