To be fair there is a fair few knob heads here no different to back home though I suppose. Too bad you didn't take the chance to give it a go instead of taking one man's experiences on board. There are thousands of Brits in Alberta who have made a good go of it and are happy here and I'm one of them. I do miss a lot of things from home though but I suppose it's the trade off you can't have it all.
I heard the train ride was a bit over rated, each to his own I guess. I know I would rather drive through than take a train as it gives you the freedom to be where you want when you want. Also a lot of the main tourist spots are accessible from roads not so sure if you get to see places as stunning as that from the train and it will probably be a lot cheaper. If you get to Calgary hope you can find time for a beer with a couple of Reds.
Very apt name for the weather you're having. We don't intend to do the whole trip on the train. Train from Vancouver to Whistler, a few days there, then train from Whistler to Jasper (depending on the price, we might sack that idea off altogether if it's too much and just get a car). Pick up a hire car in Jasper, drive around the Rockies, down through Glacier to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Then either make our way back to Vancouver through Idaho, Oregon and Washington or back up to Canada and find a route that way or even take a flight back from Calgary. A lot of miles whichever we do, but we drove just as far when we did California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. I fancy hiring a pick-up truck this time, although I've no idea of the prices, which might be restrictive.
I would say that you need a bare minimum 3 weeks to do that, but realistically a month. A couple of years ago we did a loop from Calgary to Montana, south west to Oregon , north to Washington and then to Vancouver and directly east back to Calgary. We took just over 2 weeks to cover the 3000 km (approx 2000 miles) and it was too rushed. Anyway, if your plans become a little more concrete, you know who to contact for a bit of advice.
When we did the USA trip we did it in 3 weeks and drove just over 3,000 miles. We stopped for a couple of nights in a few places, but mostly it was just one night. We obviously drove a lot, but planned it so we were never in the car for very long on any one day. Anyway, the driving is one of the best parts. The scenery is incredible, and once you get out of the big cities there's no bugger there. One morning we drove from Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, where we'd stayed the night, to Las Vegas. It's about 120 miles. Half way between the two is a town called Pahrump where we filled up the car and bought Twinkies. Between leaving the hotel and stopping at the gas station, a drive of about an hour on roads almost as wide as the M1, we'd passed one building, The Amargosa Opera House at Death Valley Junction, and seen one other road user. Not a car or a truck or owt, a bloke on a push bike. It was over 40 degrees Celsius. I have no idea where he'd come from or where he was going or if he survived the trip, but I do know he was bonkers. For the Canada trip I hope to do 4 weeks, but finances might dictate it can only be 3. Although the biggest outlay is the air fare and that doesn't change however long you're there. I intend to stop in fewer places this time and stay for a bit longer in each.
he actually wasn't the only one,there were half a dozen of his mates who I didn't know who had the same experience,I think it was a lot to do with living out in the sticks and the community being very tight knit. things probably would have been different at the time I was looking,in that the mine companies were struggling to get experienced men so had to come over here to get them. to be honest,theres many a time I regret not going,but theres not much I can do about it now,however one day I'd definitely like to visit the place.