If you come drown through the Okanagan, your kids might like to see Mascot Mine in Hedley. www.mascotmine.com - especially if they are boys. It's straight up a mountain. You can check distances etc. using www.drivebc.com

The Okanagan Valley (turn south off Highway 1 towards Salmon Arm, Vernon, Kelowna) has some great attractions - beaches, lakes, boats, parks, steam trains, wineries, mini golf, water slides. A tourist Mecca. We've spent some time in the Summerland-Penticton-Oliver-Osoyous area in the last few years and found lots to do with our (albeit younger) kids.

From Edmonton, I'm guessing you'll take highway 5 though Clearwater? If you head south to Calgary first, then you can head along Highway 1 through Banff, Yoho and Glacier National Parks before hitting the Okanagan.

One more route to consider is to head down through Invermere to Cranbrook and then along through Nelson and Osoyous along Highway 3. We did that route last year on our way back from Regina (well, actually we came through Lethbridge and Fort McLeod, stopping at Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump) and there is lots to see and do along that route as well, but it would be a bit longer.

Edmonton to Vancouver Island in 3 days would give you some time for site-seeing, as there is an incredible amount to see, so plan carefully.

Your best route may be west to Jasper on Hwy 16, then south to Lake Louise on the Icefields Parkway. That could easily take 1 1/2 to 2 days with a small number of stops.

Then from Lake Louise, just head west on Hwy 1 to Cache Creek, a short jog north will get you on Hwy 99 to Lillooet, which will take you through Whistler and end up at the B. C. Ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay.