56 AMERICANWAY
JULY 1 2007
I hadmarched into the gift shop search-
ing for a keepsake by which to remember
that auspicious journey. Sweatshirts and
shot glasses just didn’t seem appropriate.
That Lladró bear represented Canada, if
only justa little, andhadapermanence that
bespoke a certain emotional heft; it would
remind us of our adventurous drive each
and every timewe lookedat it.
For10years, itdid just that.Aswemoved
fromour small condo intoour first house, I
carefully wrapped that polar bear in news-
paper and placed it inside a box for the
trip from onemantel to the next. And then
it disappeared. To this day, I don’t know
what happened to that box. I searched and
searchedbut couldnot find it.
Thus began a quest to replace it. But not
just any Lladró store would do, and I cer-
tainlycouldn’tpurchaseanotherbearalone.
Sooner or later, my wife and I would have
to road-trip throughCanada once again, if
only tovisit that gift shop.Not longago,we
finallydid just that.
ThE TRANs-CANADA hIghWAY
is a 4,860-
mile tongue of pavement that stretches
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It’s a
smooth thoroughfare with wide shoulders
that makes Canada’s open spaces and rug-
gedwilderness accessible toanydriverwith
a good set of wheels and a desire to put
them touse. Ihavedrivenon six continents
and indozensof countries since thathoney-
moon road trip, but none of those journeys
haseven remotelycompared.Andyet, Iwas
abit hesitant todrive inCanadaagain.
Why? Simple. The Canadian Rockies of
my memory were a pristine and inviting
wilderness, almost entirely devoid of tour-
ists and chains.What if theywere different
the second time? What if they were slick
and commercial anda little repugnant?But
I gave in to the allure of gazing once again
upon those unforgettable vistas — and am
glad that I did. The CanadianRockies had
grown up, to be sure, hostingmore ameni-
tiesandbiggercrowdsoglingthespectacular
emerald-colored lakesandominousglaciers.
But if anything, the mountains were more
wondrous than Ihad remembered.
So, worries quickly set aside, I began to
not just absorb the wonder and beauty ev-
erywhereoutside the carwindowas the trip
unwound, but also tomeditate on the very
nature of a great road trip. What compo-
nents set themapart andmake themgreat?
Here’swhat I cameupwith.
The figurine saT on our manTel for almosT a de-
cade. iTwas a small lladró polar bear, purchased
in a gifT shop jusT off The main lobby of The cha-
Teaulakelouise. lookingback, iThinkThaTbearcosTmeabouT$80,
whichseemedlikeanexTravaganTamounTaTTheTime.buT isprang
for iTanywaybecauseThaTday inlakelouisemarkedThelasT sTop
on a honeymoon road Trip ThaT had Taken calene and me from
vancouver Through The canadian rockies via The Trans-canada
highway, a sTripof asphalT Through Thewilderness ThaT is lined
wiTh soaringpeaksandwiTh ice-coldriversThaTrunclear.
The Fairmont ChateauLake Louise
