University. Everyone’s been telling me that the next four years will be “the greatest adventure” of my life. In all likelihood that’s probably true, but I had another, much more cramped adventure with my family just to get there, one that took us across the Great American West.

I’m from Winnipeg, a city where the most beautiful place is where a muddy river meets up with an even dirtier one. So when I went to British Columbia last spring, the landscape captivated me: from the endless mountains of green that reached up to the sky, to the sapphire Ocean that stretched out forever. I’d never seen a place so beautiful, and after seeing UBC’s campus, I knew I had to go.

As August came around, my family decided that a road trip out west would be best, since my Mother couldn’t bear the thought of just sending me off on a plane by myself. We decided against the monotonous plains of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta—oh look, I think I see a tree over there! –and instead planned a trip across the far more interesting American Northwest.

We started by driving down through the Dakotas. At first, the flatlands looked no different than Manitoba’s, but after a couple hours of driving the landscape became far more interesting: broken valleys would appear out of nowhere, then change just as suddenly into lonely fields marked only by odd black rocks. We stopped in the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore. I wasn’t that excited for the four presidents, thinking we’d just glance at them, and then we’d leave. Well, that’s half true, but seeing the momuments of four of America’s greatest was quite humbling; I felt so small under their gaze. I guess it’s the kind of place everyone has to see once.

The next day, we drove into Montana’s rockies. Trust me, these mountains are nothing like the rockies we Canadians know. They’re far smaller, and very few trees grow on them, leaving mostly dead grass in its place. Still, it was a gorgeous and strange place, one of those places on the Earth no one ever talks about, but is breathtaking when they actually pass through it. Washington’s mountains, on the other hand, were far more like our own. The first half of the range was particularly dry; with it’s tiny green shrubs and arid mountains, I felt like I was in Mexico. After passing the peak, green infested the hills, as if a magic wand had zapped and transformed them. As if out of nowhere, we were on the West Coast.

Seeing a place like British Columbia, the magnitude of going away finally hit me. I left all of my amazing friends, not just for a vacation, but for months on end, and possibly forever. In Winnipeg, people only go away for school once in a blue moon, so most of my friends thought I was nuts for wanting to leave the Peg. For the first time, I almost agreed with them. I remember looking at my Mom and already feeling lonely—three days, and I would say goodbye to her. I wanted to turn the car around and go home.

Then the landscape started to take hold of me. The place carries a mixture of mystery and something inherently familiar for me. I realized this place was more like a home to me in the couple days total I’d spent there, over the eighteen years I had spent in Manitoba. Something about the place almost reminds me of Lake of the Woods; cottage country in western Ontario where I spent every summer. That thought always gives me relief.

We spent the next two days in Seattle. What a cool city! Its size is great, since bigger is usually better when it comes to cities for me, and has a unique flair, like if Vancouver met San Francisco. However, it’s not as beautiful as Vancouver is, since it’s lacking in the beaches and the massive mountains behind it. Plus, Vancouver’s Canadian which, ya know, automatically makes it better.

I’m finishing this right as we reach the Canadian border. In an hour or so, I’ll be in my new home. I hope my future blogs are mostly happy ones, where I talk about what a great choice I made in coming here. If not, well, that’s a learning experience right there, as my high school teachers would say. It’s still one great adventure.