British Columbia wins the most beautiful drive on my road trip award. I’m not done with my trip, but I doubt that anything will beat driving along snowy peaks, mountainsides covered in trees, running rivers, and blue lakes. I felt like I was in a magical fairytale kingdom. All that was missing, was the fairy princess’s castle.

After leaving Banff, my next destination was Kamloops. I had to drive through Yoho National Park and Karan and Simar had recommended that I stop at Emerald Lake and Wapta Falls. They were quick, but beautiful stops. I had to hike to get to Wapta Falls and I only made it to the lookout point. I could have kept hiking all the way down to the river and gotten closer to the falls, but the hike was steep and I still hadn’t given my body all the rest it deserved, so I ate my lunch while enjoying the view from above.

When I got to Kamloops, I picked up sushi for dinner. When I was driving to Okoboji a few weeks ago, I was on the phone with my friend Monica, who had ordered sushi for dinner. I’ve been craving sushi since then and I was finally in a city that was big enough to have it. After dinner, I was so exhausted that I went to bed. It was 8 pm. I slept for 11 hours, so I guess I really needed it.

Kamloops was just an overnight stop on my way to Squamish, to visit my friend Alicia. She’s the one who recommended that I take the route that I took today, instead of a slightly shorter one. British Columbia has her to thank for getting the most beautiful drive award. I wish I could have taken pictures as I drove, but I had to pay attention to the windy mountain roads. The plan is to stay with her and her family for a few days, but I might end up staying forever. Her house has amazing mountain views and a hot tub, so I’m going to try to convince her to let me be her nanny. I’ll need to find a job at the end of my road trip, so this would work out very nicely.