RV Journeys

Hitting the road

Join a family from Alberta on their six-month RV trip through the U.S. and across Canada

by Kirsten Armleder

After months of planning, Albertans Calvin Boraas, his wife Louise Brenders and their sons Erik and Alexander, have embarked on their greatest adventure, to date—a six-month RV trip that will take them down through the southern states of the U.S., then up along the eastern coast of Canada and across the country back to their home in northwest Calgary.

On the road again: Before they left, (L to R) Erik, Alexander, Louise and Calvin were looking forward to reaching the warmer climates of the southern U.S. states.—Kerry Shellborn photo

Before they set out, the family was kind enough to stop at the office of RVwest in Cranbrook, B.C., to give us all the details of their trip.

Preparations for the journey have involved the purchase of a 35-foot Keystone Laredo fifth wheel and a new truck to pull it with. Calvin was especially proud of his Trailer Saver hitch attachment, which is equipped with an automatic leveling system and many other fancy features.

Like any major trip, the family has a number of specific places they want to visit, including Legoland and Disneyland, the redwood forest of northern California, San Francisco, the San Diego Zoo, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. They also plan to take a tour of the Keystone RV company’s facility in Elkhart, Indiana, and on their way back, to visit the Canadian legislature buildings in each province.

“In the early stages, we will go to theme parks and then we will get into nature and museums,” said Calvin.

Both Calvin and Louise believe the trip will be a fun, educational experience for nine-year-old Erik and Alexander, 11, who attend elementary school in Calgary.

Calvin said the boys will get to learn about travelling and the history and heritage of the U.S. and Canada. During the trip, Calvin will be helping the boys follow their school’s curriculum for the subjects of math, English, etc. Periodically, Erik and Alexander will be sending us reports about their adventures, which will be published on RVwest.com.

In this day and age, it’s refreshing to see a family that enjoys spending time together while embracing the wonders of RVing. We wish Calvin, Louise, Erik and Alexander all the best and look forward to sharing their stories with our readers.

Message: We set off in Nov. 2007 to do the exact trip these folks have planned. We were in New Mexico and on our way east when terrible weather hit all the states we had to drive through — tornados, flooding, huge winds, terrible rain and eeek! snow. We had a good talk with ourselves, decided our lives were not worth the risk, got out the maps and travel guides and spent the next 3 months exploring the southern US. That is the wonderful thing about RV'ing full-time- the ability to change your plans as the spirit moves you. We’ve had to stay home this year because of my husband’s medical situation but we are already planning on heading east across Canada in the spring, visiting the Maritimes and then heading into the Southern US in fall 2009. We also decided to live in our RV while we are home this year as we love it so much. Our home is rented and we have great tenants. This is the life!!! —C.M. Nanaimo, B.C.