Adventure Traveler Garry Sowerby in his own words:

Thursday, September 30
Yellowhead Trans Canada Highway

Environmental Initiative #59
Environmental Route Planning

In 1991 I drove a truckload of children's books from London, England to Moscow. While the official paperwork for getting the 4,000 books through a half dozen countries that were in the process of throwing off the yoke of communism was somewhat sketchy, I managed to maneuver my GMC Sierra pickup through the tangle of red tape. The books, English grade school texts, were turned over to teachers and librarians who were delighted to have them for their English language curriculums.

The only travel visas we could get for that trip dictated entering the Soviet Union from Czechoslovakia into the Ukraine where we would motor northeast into Russia and on to Moscow. Maps of the area were vague at best, and coupled with the fact that most of the road signs were in the Cyrillic alphabet, we were left with basic trip planning resources.

The sun, barely visible through dense smog, provided an inkling of direction that could be corroborated by our wobbly dash-mounted marine compass. But most of our navigation was accomplished by following the roads with the freshest, darkest oil stains. We figured most of the leaky trucks and bent Ladas were on the way to major cities that would link us to Moscow.

Not much of a route plan. And not exactly environmentally sound, considering we had logged about 25% more kilometres than was necessary. During the anxiety that surfaced when we didn't know where we were, the importance of route planning hit home.

Fast-forward to the present and a critical effort of Mission Green's objective to visit 85 Canadian environmental initiatives in two-and-a-half months has been the plan itself. Not only what we'd see, who we'd talk to, where we would stay and the effect of all that road food and seat time on our bodies, but the route we would drive to pull it all together.

Our vehicles, the Chevrolet Hybrid pick-up truck and the Iogen Eco-Ethanol ä - powered GMC Yukon, were a good choice considering what we would be carrying and the off-the-beaten-path locations where our mission would lead us.

We did not leave Halifax with a chiseled-in-stone agenda. We wanted Mission Green to be flexible. We didn't want to identify every initiative before leaving because we knew ideas would surface while we were under way. So route decisions have been an ongoing process revisited on a daily basis.

As a result we decided to salute Route Planning as Environmental Initiative #59. And it was our drive along sections of western Canada's alternate Trans Canada Highway, the Yellowhead Route that runs between The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba to the west coast through Saskatoon, Edmonton and Jasper, that tweaked this idea.

The Yellowhead Trans Canada Highway 16, sometimes called the Park-to-Park Highway, follows the routes of nomadic hunters, fur traders, missionaries, railroad builders and fortune seekers. It encompasses five national parks, 90 provincial parks and three national historic sites as it carries travelers west across the great plains into a land of cattle ranches, lush orchards, rushing waterfalls and the majestic Rocky Mountains. It's a little longer than the Trans Canada Highway #1 that runs a few hundred kilometres south.

We dropped into the town hall in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, a prairie city that sits right on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border, and met with Mayor Ken Baker.

Alderman Alan Cayford, who also represents the Yellowhead Highway Association, filled us in on the benefits of traveling the Yellowhead. A lower elevation and more gentle grades through the Rocky Mountains arguably make it a viable option. Less wear and tear means a longer life and less non-scheduled maintenance on vehicles, translating into a positive impact on the environment.

We left Lloydminster considering the benefits of a trip plan. Even on short day-to-day around town errands, a plan can be beneficial. Multi-task for example, get it all done in one trip. A little longer route might involve less stop and go traffic. Even skimping on left turns can add up to fuel savings, unless you're in the UK, Japan or Down Under. Think about all that stuff you are dragging around. It's all weight, and it takes fuel to drag unnecessary weight around.

So whether you are considering the Yellowhead #16 versus the #1 Trans Canada route across western Canada, or trying to figure out how to get the kids' basketball team to practice across town, think about your route plan.

And who knows, that plan might just involve letting the young, lanky ones hoof it a few blocks.

http://www.yellowheadhighway.com/content/tourism/index.htm
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Yellowhead Highway

	Once we got close to Moscow at least some of the road signs were readable.
	The Yellowhead Route provides a northern alternative from near Winnipeg to the west coast via Saskatoon, Edmonton and Jasper.
	It's an easy cruise through the Saskatchewan section of the Yellowhead.
	Lloydminster's Mayor Ken Baker welcomed us to the only Canadian city that straddles a provincial border.
	With an ethanol plant about be built in Lloydminster, Alderman Alan Cayford and the Mayor were particularly interested in our E-85 Yukon.
	We left Lloydminster considering the environmental benefits of a good trip plan.
	Grain trains are a common sight along the prairie stretch of the Yellowhead Highway.
	Mission Green's flexible schedule has made us continuously adjust our route plan over the past two months.