More than 1,000 Canadian towns in 106 days: that’s the epic scale of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.

Sheryl Crow must have known something about the drives in Canada when she wrote her famous tune–"Everyday is a Winding Road"–now a karaoke staple. Winding or not, one thing is for sure. These next five Canadian drives will take your breath away. Fill up with gas, pack a picnic, get some good tunes and forget the GPS. Getting lost is the best part.

“Expect the Unexpected” wasn’t a slogan written anywhere in the countless tourist brochures we received about Dawson City, Yukon.  I’ve checked. 

It’s Saturday night in Dawson City and the seemingly clumsy teenager population has doubled since yesterday. There were also more tents pitched on the outskirts of the Dawson City Music Festival grounds, and groups of people were dancing around makeshift drum circles inside the beer tent. 

I prepared myself for the six-hour journey to Eagle Plains by stuffing myself into the most stretch-receptive pair of pants, and by layering tanks with sweaters.  I also pulled my hair in a bun and checked the make-up bag where it belongs, in the backseat.  I’m a rebel woman of the tundra, hear me roar!  Or so I thought.

I’m not sure if you realize this, but it is possible to get a locals-know feel for a city in less than a week. Even in as little as 12-hours.  We’ve mastered it– I mean–we’re travelling across the country in less than 8 weeks! 

The first time I slipped on a SKOOKUMbrand anorak was like donning a second skin: it’s that comfortable. As a long-time northerner, I’ve worn my share of parkas, but this wasn’t the cumbersome Arctic creation I’d come to expect.

“Please tell Ms. Revay and Ms. Weldon to meet the Air Canada Concierge Agent at the gate,” said one flight attendant to another. (I overheard them, as I was exiting the plane this morning.)

Whether you’re destined for Canada’s Arctic in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories or the Yukon—or a taste of all three—Canada’s North is expansive and wi