The Most Unexpected Souvenir from our Canada Roadtrip

Travel is made special by the people you meet along the way

When we arrived at the seemingly deserted campground about halfway between the Yukon and Vancouver, the sun was just beginning its descent over the beautiful scenery below us. Snowy mountains, a roaring river and a deserted highway were all we could see.

The past week had been difficult. Many campgrounds and national parks were still closed due to snow and general cold weather conditions and finding somewhere to sleep every night had been a hassle. Most days, we had to set up in the dark.

A few campsite owners had shaken their heads at us — who goes on a road trip to the Yukon in May. It’s way too cold. Well, we only had May to explore that part of Canada and were determined.

So, we didn’t have high hopes when arriving at this campsite. Google had been unhelpful in determining whether it was open and no other campers were anywhere in sight.

The only glimmer of hope was the open gates, flanked by two old houses. After some knocking, a woman with her dog approached out of one of them.

My friend disappeared with her for a while, trying to figure out whether we could stay the night. When they returned, she introduced herself to us as the park host.

She said the campground was not officially open and they had just arrived a few days ago to start preparing the grounds for the upcoming season. She then explained in length how she and her husband had spent the morning smoking weed and that she was extremely high at this moment in time. Which, if you know Canada, is actually a fairly normal occurrence no matter where you are.

Honestly, it was pretty funny. She was slightly out of it but extremely friendly. She let us into the campground and even provided free firewood and a toilet to use — more than we had had at many other sites.

She managed to lift the mood through her out-of-pocket responses to any conversation and we had a place to stay the night. It was great.

Come next morning, she came back (sobered up, or so she says) and reintroduced herself. Her husband belonged to the local First Nation and she married into the community a few years ago. She says she has since been learning about the culture, the issues indigenous people still face and the history.

It was incredible to be able to talk to someone from the First Nations and get a glimpse into their culture, history and traditions which have been passed down for generations. The campground even had its own small museum, full of artefacts from the local First Nation. This included traditional fishing gear over the years, photos of life many years ago and even a big family tree.

We also touched on the topic of the mass graves of indigenous children found at previous residential schools, which is still an ongoing topic today as more graves are found. She talked of the pain this is bringing to the community and the troubles they still face in talking with politicians about what went wrong. She said they ask for answers and solutions to support the indigenous communities going forward, which they had yet to receive.

We probably spent over two hours with her, learning so much about the local area and residents. When we had to leave, she was adamant to give us a parting gift. She had taught us a lot about the local way of catching and preserving salmon, so her gift of two glass jars of local smoked salmon was such a special moment.

To this day, I think that is the coolest souvenir I have ever received or bought.

I will never forget that campground and its incredible hosts. These moments are what makes travelling so special — listening to the locals and learning from and about them. There are so many stories to tell, I am glad she decided to tell us hers.

One of the biggest reasons for our Yukon trip was the goal of seeing the Northern Lights (which we eventually did, in Whitehorse). Learn more about the incredible lights dancing across the sky in Canada from Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages:

If you ever plan your own Yukon road trip, you will need Linda Ng’s guide on staying warm in the cold — it was absolutely freezing: