Three Generations, One Road to Banff

Their story

The fifth wheel was Victor's idea. Bringing his mother was Iris's. Nai Nai agreed on the condition that nobody call the foldout sofa a bed. Their first summer, in 2019, the five of them crossed Ontario slowly, discovering that every fuel stop took forty minutes and that children will eat any food described as road food.

The 2020 season stayed close to home. Provincial rules changed, reservations moved, and the trailer became a place to breathe without pretending the year was normal. By 2022 they were ready for the west. They planned five days in Banff and stayed nine, taking early buses, packing dumplings for trail lunches, and watching Nai Nai outwalk everyone around Lake Louise.

Not every memory belongs in a postcard. Outside Winnipeg, a crosswind turned Victor's hands white on the steering wheel. In Saskatchewan, the slide refused to retract until a retired electrician from the next site found a loose connection. The family celebrated Canada Day in Calgary with grocery-store cupcakes because they had lost track of the date.

Their system now looks effortless only because it has been revised dozens of times. Shoes live in color-coded bins. Sophie checks the site dimensions. Max handles water bottles. Nai Nai supervises dinner and rejects campground rice as a concept. Iris says the real gift is not seeing more places. It is giving the children long, unhurried time with their grandmother. The map is impressive. The card games matter more.

Designing a trip for three generations

Iris stopped measuring successful days by how many attractions the family completed. A good day needed one shared activity, one reliable meal, and enough unscheduled time for Nai Nai and the children to move at different speeds. The fifth wheel made that possible because someone could rest without sending everyone back to a hotel room.

The family also gave every person a real job. Sophie read campground arrival instructions. Max checked water bottles. Victor handled hitching. Iris managed the route and food. Nai Nai kept a small pantry list and made sure the rice cooker was packed where it could not become a projectile. Shared responsibility prevented the adults from becoming a two-person service crew.