I have heard people say, when heading to the east coast, that Alberta is boring and driving seems endless. While that may be true, travelling north has to be several times worse. There were hardly any points of interest, endless miles of farmland and no people to be seen.
When in Nova Scotia, we observed that there was no where to throw garbage. Alberta’s rest areas provided garbage bins, but lacked washrooms.
It felt like tourism is not Alberta’s priority as even their camping facilities have to be done in advance by phone. That wouldn’t be so bad in itself if the booking offices weren’t closed outside of regular business hours.
Everything changed as we crossed the Northwest Territories border at the 60th parallel. Rain replaced sunshine, and the endless farmland transformed into miles of burnt forests. We soon learned about the wildfires that had ravaged the region. A local resident shared her story of losing her home in a fire just six months after moving from Ontario. The scale of the devastation was hard to grasp. Eighty percent of the town of Enterprise was descimated.


As we drove along, one side of the road, showed signs of recovery, while the other side remained a charred landscape. This stark contrast served as a reminder of the fires’ severity.
We did make our way to what was our first intended destination of Hay River and found a lovely camp spot beside the Great Slave Lake.


To add a third dimension to the contrast we visited Alexander Falls and Louise Falls just two of the many waterfalls that make NWT a waterfalls wonderland!


Our journey continues….
I’m glad things finished up on a positive note. The falls are gorgeous.