Eric Whitehead’s 21st book, Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast, Volume 2 – Westward Ho!, covers northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia
Through his travels and honest, conversational writing, author Eric Whitehead, who is known as the Road Trip Guy, gives travellers a lot to consider when planning their getaways.
His 21st book, Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast, Volume 2 – Westward Ho!, covers northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia and its islands, and is available now.
Like the majority of his other publications, Westward Ho! is travel-oriented and follows the first volume of Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast.
“It’s almost impossible to pick a favourite place, but I will say this … Karen (my wife) loved Crowsnest Pass on the Alberta-B.C. border, and I have always had a fondness for the high mountains in B.C. So head for Alberta and B.C. first on your travels west,” Whitehead said.
Each chapter includes a QR code, which redirects to a video on YouTube.
“What’s included in the videos is short clips from locations and events in the chapter. There’s a fair bit of driving and some hopefully nice — royalty-free — music,” Whitehead said. “My favourite part of sharing the videos is I think they significantly enhance (the) enjoyment of the book.”
The “obvious answer” to why people should travel west is the scenery, he said.
“It is absolutely stunning the farther west you travel,” Whitehead said. “There is also a very noticeable First Nations/Indigenous cultural pride evident everywhere you go. For me, it’s the people, and the only way to meet them and talk to them is to travel. The people are our strength in Canada. Unfortunately, there are a lot of terrible people in this world, but there are far more wonderful people, and that’s what gives me hope.”
“Some of the nicest people on earth are to be found in Canada,” he said.
The book celebrates Canada and the value of travel, Whitehead said.
“If I had not travelled as much as I have, I would be cynical and intolerant of people who need our support and encouragement so very much these days,” he said. “There’s a lot of negativity out there, and travel helps one cope and deflect a lot of it.
“When our children were growing up, we’d take them out of school for three weeks in October because I knew they would learn more by travelling than anything they could be taught from a book.”
While the book is not specifically about Canadian patriotism, nor is it influenced by the current political climate, Whitehead concedes it “actually dovetails quite nicely with the current state of affairs.”
He said that anyone who enjoys travelling — or thinks they might enjoy travelling — is his target audience, with aging baby boomers as the most relatable group.
Here is a passage from Chapter 4: Alberta, Wild Rose Country:
The tiny hamlet of Cadomin is about 50 kilometres south of Hinton along the McLeod River in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. We were headed to the front ranges of the Rocky Mountain Natural Region and ultimately the Great Divide at Cardinal Divide. Well, that was the plan and you know what they say about the best laid plans. One thing was certain, this was a delightful, gorgeous drive.
If you know us you’ll know a Whitehead vacation always entails some adventure, not always what people would consider normal. Our trip to Cardinal Divide was alas, not meant to be. The road to Cadomin is gravel and sand as you leave the main highway. About 20 kilometres in the road deteriorated to very sharp rocks and stones. It was an unassumed road to say the least so I knew CAA would not come to our rescue for a tire change. Besides even if I did it myself that wheelbarrow replacement tire they call a spare wouldn’t take us five kilometres on this road.
In spite of these worries we forged on. Our previous kilometre had taken about 15 minutes and we still had 14 klicks to go. That was only part of my concern. There was no other way out so if we made it to the divide we would have to make our way back over this same road. We stopped to chat with a passing motorist (the only one we saw on this road) heading back to Cadomin. I asked what it was like at the divide. He smiled and said it was a pretty view, lots of snow on the mountains, a lot like what we had seen so far. As we talked he kept looking at our tires. We asked if he thought this car would make it. Again he smiled and said it depended on our confidence level and added you might need to change a tire or two. I feel it important to mention he was driving a full-size four wheel drive SUV, filled with camping equipment and about 25 gallons of gasoline in several jerry cans strapped to the back of his vehicle.
He added this was still the “good” part of the road and there were sections ahead he had trouble with himself. As we parted company I thanked him and said we’d probably turn around. He seemed to indicate that was a sound decision as Karen chimed in, “we WILL turn around right now”. We always like to take the road less travelled but this was not a good idea.
We deduced it would take two and a half to three hours to go the remaining 14 kilometres then a few more hours to return, maybe in the dark by then so it was an easy decision to make a 15-point turn and head back to Hinton. About 10 minutes after we bailed the scenery made us happy we had.
Whitehead prefers to keep chapters at a similar length, so readers can comfortably read a chapter, enjoy the photos and watch the corresponding video in an hour or less.
“The photos are of paramount importance to my books,” he said, explaining he does not offer his books via Amazon as they print photos “on the same stock as text, which is not sufficient for the photo quality.”
“That’s a shame because it sure would solve my marketing and shipping issues,” Whitehead said.
It took about one year to write the book. He uses journals written on his travels to construct the draft of each chapter, which usually takes six to eight versions to achieve the final copy. There’s also photo and video sorting and editing to be done, along with research of the places visited.
His books are printed by OJ Graphix in Espanola, Ont.
“Living in Gilford definitely influences my writing process,” he said.
Whitehead goes for a walk shortly before or after sunrise before writing for the rest of the morning.
“It’s very quiet and there is no one else around, leaving me alone to think. I often dictate notes to my phone at this time to be transcribed later.”
He spends the afternoons editing photos and videos.
A third volume in the series is already in the works.
“We have visited the Yukon and Northwest Territories before, but still need to explore more, so we’ll be off to NWT next year. This past June, we finally got to Nunavut. That was a milestone because it was the only place in Canada both Karen and I had not visited,” Whitehead said.
Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast, Volume 2 – Westward Ho! is available for $35, plus shipping and handling fees. Save those fees, however, by meeting Whitehead in Innisfil. To arrange a meet-up, email [email protected].
“Many people who have read my books comment that they make them feel like they are there on the trip with me, and the actual reading experience is like talking to me directly,” Whitehead said. “Some have even said the books allow them to travel vicariously through me. I suppose I can’t expect a better reaction than that.”