The Mountain Road - Across Canada, Day 16 of 92

The Smith Dorrien Trail (actually a gravel road, highway 742 in Alberta) cuts between the Kananaskis Trail and the town of Canmore. This route was a new discovery to me, and it would become a favourite drive in this part of the Canadian Rockies. Mostly gravel, but wide, well-graded and easy to drive in any vehicle (depending on the weather), this lesser-traveled "back road" winds gracefully through the mountains and passes forests and lakes and fields, all under the ever-present purview of lofty, snowy peaks. Though there are always vehicles on this road, it can feel very lonely very quickly: before long the sense of isolation creeps over you. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that there was a Tim Hortons less than an hour away...