Mother Daughter Road Trip

'No one realized there was two girls in the truck.'

Kyra & Stephanie; selfie supplied by them

Stephanie Pituley began driving truck more than a decade ago. She’s hauled oil and grain, and worked in all four of Canada’s western provinces. Today she’s a mother of five who resides 45 minutes outside of Winnipeg.

As the western arm of the Freedom Convoy approached in late January, Stephanie and her daughter made a snap decision. They needed to be part of it. And they needed a truck.

Explains 14-year-old Kyra: “When we got home from school, we went to the shop where the truck was. We cleaned it out and got it ready, and we left the next day” just as the convoy was passing through.

Their chariot was massive and red, with a sleeper cab (photo here). They were bobtailing, without a trailer on the back to add weight and stability. The weather was less than ideal, and Stephanie drove with care. In her words:

You just take it easy. We took the north route, Highway 11, I believe it is. And we did come across a few accidents, so that held us up a little bit. You just park the truck and wait it out.

There was a few times that I was honestly intimidated a little…When we’d get to a rest stop, I’d make a joke out of it. I go back to the guy behind me and I’m like, ‘look, buddy, if I’m going too slow just go around me.’

And he’s like, ‘Oh, no, no. It’s OK!’

Google maps screenshot.Click image to enlarge. Winnipeg is on the far left. The northern route, from Thunder Bay to Cochrane via Highway 11 is shown here.

At one point, there was some good-natured razzing on the truckers’ citizens band radio channel. Recalls Kyra:

The speed limit was 80, but we were going under that because the wind and everything. She was getting a little bit uncomfortable driving. And there’s people on the radio telling us to go faster and stuff.

So I just ended up turning it off. I’m like: ‘Don’t listen to it. Go with what you’re comfortable with.’

The morning they left Cochrane, Ontario an Alberta trucker who would soon become a dear friend stepped up to their open window. Recalls Kyra:

He popped his head into the truck and he was surprised that there was two girls in there. No one realized there was two girls in the truck.

read more about Stephanie and Kyra:

• Prairie Protesters

• Dear Beautiful Stranger

• Mother Daughter Road Trip

• I’m at the Front of the Line Here

• Roses and Steak Dinner

• The Milk Jug Boys

• The $10k Coffee Fairy

• Leaving Manitoba, Leaving Ottawa