When I haven’t posted, or written a blog post in a while, I am suddenly overwhelmed with things that have happened, or we have witnessed while we have been on the road. Stories come flooding to mind like watching a dog fall over a waterfall (she was fine), or having a hummingbird trapped in Moon, or the fact that we almost got stuck trying to drive a 4X4 Medano pass of over 9000 foot elevation in Colorado. Nevertheless, and first of all, readjusting back into Moon is wonderful. Of course we have some challenges and mishaps, like having to change our own oil, building a new closet just before leaving Colorado, or driving down the highway in a cloud of smoke because we’ve left the wood stove door open but life is good. Life feels good.
It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to feel as though one has taken back control over ones life. To have the freedom to wake up in different parts of the country, unsure of what lies ahead throughout the day. We are all such different, unique beings, who find joy, pleasure, and adventure through a variety of different things, and although some people just may not quite understand, living in a camper provides that opportunity for me to feel alive. I find myself stopping in so many different moments, when I see or hear a mountain bluebird, or watch a butterfly, or besides a slow trickle of a stream and fully immersing myself into the moment and my surroundings. When I wake up in the camper, I’m able to look out of our wide mirror at the front, and sometimes we can watch deer grazing in the rising mist of morning, or hummingbirds stay motionless despite their thundering wings and peer in. Things seem to stop in Moon sometimes; they allow reflection, thought, and true appreciation. I’ll be a little bit vulnerable here, and let you in on a little secret. Sometimes when we are driving in Moon and we are accenting to a high snow coveted peak, or descending along the Colorado River with towering sandstone cliffs surrounding us, I cry. I can’t help it. Tears flow, and I am suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of appreciation and love. My mind begins to flood with questions of the area, and I have to sometimes remind myself to stop, take a breath, and just enjoy the moment and what’s before us. We have witnessed some amazing views and travelled to some pretty incredible places throughout this trip throughout the United States. The states are cool! I don’t know if you’re aware, but we were originally planning to travel to Alaska this summer and in the last moment, we decided to travel across the lower 48 states, and we are extremely happy with our decision so far. I still dream of Alaska, and I hope that someday we will make it there, but this journey so far has brought us through the late winter storm in Michigan, the springtime in Wisconsin and the thousands of lakes in Minnesota. We travelled across South Dakota watching the bison nurse their young ones, and through the sun and moonlight of the Badlands and Black hills. We then traversed up and down Wyoming, feeling as though we were going through different seasons almost every day and losing count of the amount of white tail deer and pronghorn antelopes along the way. To beautiful Colorado, surrounded by snow capped peaks but sand boarding in shorts and a bikini top and now to Utah, where I find a new sense of love everywhere we go. We entered through Hovanweep and Canyons of the Ancients, and there are so many different ancient pueblo structures and stories, its quite amazing. We then travelled to Natural Bridges National Monument, where we snuck Beanz in his pack and we all hiked the three natural bridges hikes, Siapapu, Kiachina, and Owachomo. We sort of travelled very quickly through Moab and Arches National Park, as it was so overwhelmingly busy with Memorial Day weekend. We just went to Capitol Reef National Park yesterday, and were quite disappointed that Beanz was only allowed on one very short (under 1 kilometre) walk by the campground. Now, we are sitting in Dixie National Forest waiting for the espresso to brew before hiking to a small waterfall nearby to bathe and shower before heading to Bryce Canyon, and Kanab. The opportunity to be active is also something that I cherish. Almost every day we hike, sometimes twice, sometimes three times. I love being able to wake up in the morning and open my door to the outside world, breathe in some thick-forested air, and say good morning to the world. One thing that we have been a little disappointed and confused about though during our trip throughout the United States though is how so many National and State Parks, and National Monuments do not allow dogs to walk on their trails? It’s even more confusing to us when the trails are man made paved trails… Dogs were born outside. They were wild beings before domestication began, and do we ever make the necessary connection between canines and wolves? Why isn’t a dog allowed outside to walk with their owners? Is it because it is a government-controlled location that is strife with rules and regulations that demands control because we as a society cannot control our animals or ourselves? Beanz and I were brutally attacked by a dog last year. I understand owners who do not have control of their animals, but to say that they are prohibited from all trails in a National park? This seems quite ridiculous. It’s the middle of May, it’s becoming extremely hot in Utah, and there is absolutely no way that we are ever leaving Beanz in Moon. For the most part we try and sneak him outside in his little carrying pack, however, when confronted, many of the responses when we question and ask park staff is that “we should have just left Beanz at home, or we can take him home and then come back ourselves”. I usually smile… and point towards Moon in the parking lot and explain that is our home. Another response that we have gotten, for example when we were at “Bear’s Tipi”, or the colonized name ‘Devils Tower’ in Wyoming, is that it is “sacred Indigenous site”. We usually understand that, Matteo and I both try to critically educate ourselves on the stolen and appropriated lands of different indigenous communities and their strength and resiliency across North America. When we travel through a state, we always try and read different indigenous stories and perspectives about the area, its past, present, and future. Therefore, our response is that if the National Park Services of the United States of America and Canada recognize that this is sacred indigenous land, why is it not returned to the Creator instead of owned and profited from? Where are the indigenous speakers and varying indigenous knowledge’s about the land (and I don’t mean a small interpretive plaque that provides little specificity and detail)? Also, there are many animals, such as deer, elk, and bear that walk through these lands as they always have; am I really not allowed to bring my dog? Even if I keep him on a 6-foot leash? There has to be alternative influences and motives behind this, and if anyone knows, or has some advice, please let us know. I don’t mean to sound rude; we are just confused as to why we are finding this a reoccurring theme (among others) in regards to national parks and would like to learn more. For now, we are recognizing that maybe we should just stay away from national parks all together. I wrote a piece last year about national parks and the inherent connection to colonization and ongoing influences of colonization and neoliberalism through continuously funding privatized interests in the name of logging and oil and gas companies. So maybe this is it, although national parks have some of the most beautiful land in their possession, maybe we will just re-route around them from now on. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. There are lots of beautiful area’s around national parks, and it seems as though in some states, especially in Utah, that there is so much BLM (Bureau of Land Management) around to explore and camp on. Also, wildlife is not solely segregated to national parks (although I do feel the bison population is heavily controlled by them) and one can still witness and hear the call of the mountain bluebird, or watch a young moose trudge through a nearby marsh with lily pads hanging from his lips in so many different less populated areas. All in all, actually I don’t know why I said all in all, because I find it extremely hard to try and generalize our experiences in Moon into short concluding sentences. I mean how do you include so many stories, laughter, and love in just a few short lines? Ah, I will try. For now, I have never felt more content or at peace with my life and where it is. Sure, I have a Masters in Education degree that I don’t essentially use currently, but I learn each and every day, from those around me, and the land that I walk upon. I feel a sense of freedom after being in a formal school system for almost 20 years. I feel an appreciation for my life and a new sense of love for who I am and who I am becoming. Its important to feel empowered, and in this little home on wheels, with a loving partner, and a loyal dog beside me, I feel extremely powerful and motivated to not only live our lives how we wish to, but do so in a positive way that provides support and love for our shared environments, and for those who we meet and encounter along our journey and lives.
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When we first traded our vehicle for Moon and brought her back to Orillia for the first time, our families and friends showed a lot of interest in our ‘new project’ and our travel plans. However, it seemed as though many were not fully aware, or could comprehend that this wasn’t going to simply be a small travel plan or a short-term idea. This was our life, we were beginning to shape and mould the basis for how we wished to truly live our lives, breaking free from society’s unrealistic and unfair expectations of us to continually work endless hours, disconnected and severed from the necessary and essential ties to nature and our surroundings. Although we did spend endless hours working anyway… on our sweet Moon… a project that we wanted and ultimately had control over (sort of…). Moon was our opportunity, freedom to ultimately live our lives how we wanted, to make our own decisions about how we wanted to spend our days with one another, where we wanted to wake up in the morning, and essentially learning ways to enjoy this beautiful yet threatened planet.
Similarly to when we first brought Moon back to Orillia, when we are travelling on the road, or simply parked in a driveway or parking lot, we get asked quite a few different questions (most van lifers may experience some of the same questions). Therefore, here is a short overview of a sample of questions that we seem to get asked on a daily basis:
There are a variety of different reasons that come to mind that have influenced our decision to live life on the road and ultimately downsize the materialistic aspects of our lifestyles. Ever since we first started dating a few years ago, we have immersed ourselves in different conversations about life, travel, and adventure. In a short period of time we have travelled to and swam with whale sharks in Los Cabos, rented a van in Costa Rica, backpacked across Thailand, and visited family in England and managed to surf the cold seas of the Atlantic Ocean. Every time we returned back to our small apartment downtown Toronto, or our parent’s basement back in Orillia, we were left feeling humbled, and thankful for our experiences. However, we yearned for more. We didn’t want this to be a fleeting feeling; we didn’t want an escape from the stresses and anxieties that standardized North American living were causing us ‘every so once in a while’. We didn’t want to wait 40 years working endlessly for a corporation until retirement to ultimately enjoy this life with one another. Why would we want to wait until the later stages of our lives (if we even make it there) to enjoy this life? Why not try and create a life with one another that we have control over? Why not start living right now? We want to create a life of consciousness, a life in which we have some sort of control over, a life in which we could open our front door to nature, and a life in which we would spend most of our time outside. We knew that this life would not be perfect, and that at times it would be challenging, but we are now so grateful for taking this leap. We use to get mad at society’s standardized norms of gender, employment, and ultimately life, and we still do… however… we realize that in some sort of sense... they pushed us towards this direction. The resistance and strength that we began to find with one another is something that we truly cherish and hope will continue to grow. “Power to the People. Stick it to the Man” Also… if you haven’t already seen the movie Captain Fantastic, well… I highly suggest it. And it will answer this first question beautifully in about an hour and a half. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1kH4OMIOMc We traded our vehicle for Moon in March 2017 and began work right away. We had to gut the entire inside due to extensive mould and water damage. Moon wasn’t the only thing gutted…we were gutted also… however, after about 3 months of endless hours working away, installing new insulation and panelling, laying floor, painting, grouting, and ultimately making a home, we were almost there. Although we still had a few more projects to complete (like the compostable toilet and solar panels) we hit the road anyway. Our Toyota headlights pointing westward, our destination was as far West as possible on Vancouver Island and everywhere in between. We lived in Moon for the entire summer, returning in late July for Matteo’s mom’s 50th birthday and to visit Lauren’s family in England and celebrate her aunt and uncles silver wedding anniversary. Since then, Lauren has returned part time to her job as a front desk coordinator at a local salon to try and save some money and pay off some of her school debt. We have stayed around Orillia since returning from out west, spending time at Lauren’s parents house while the cold Ontario winter hit. However, within the past few months we have installed a small wood stove into Moon and sealed a lot of the vents and installed a lot more insulation. Since then, we have been able to enjoy winter camping in Moon at a variety of different places in Ontario, for example; Algonquin Provincial Park, Arrowhead Provincial Park, Bass Lake Provincial Park, and Blue Mountain in Collingwood. Staying in Orillia for the past 6 months or so has allowed us to complete a lot of our initial projects with Moon, such as installing a compostable toilet and installing our wood stove (and we are currently beginning to install our solar panels in a few weekends). Currently, we spend the weekends, Mondays, and Tuesdays in our sweet Moon while Lauren works the rest of the week in Orillia. We always find the concept of ‘normal’ a funny thing. What is normal? Who defines our understanding of normal? We have both always been considered the odd balls in our families, goofy smiles with alternate and activist views of peace and love, and simple living. And this alternative way of thinking and being has followed us to where we are now. There are so many of us that do not necessarily fit into the prescribed boxes that society expects of us, and I believe that our shared differences are what truly makes us beautiful. When Matteo and I first started dating, although we lived in a ‘normal’ apartment downtown Toronto that we paid an incredibly insane amount for rent, we always had this sense that we wouldn’t necessarily live a normal suburban life together surrounded by four walls, manicured lawns, and fancy cars sitting in the driveway. We dreamt together, we dreamed of being outdoors, on a constant adventure, enjoying our life together, and caring about our planet and those around us. Therefore, when we are on the road, I can’t say that we essentially miss the ideal of a ‘normal’ home because we don’t necessarily agree or believe in the term normal. If ‘normal’ consists of working tireless and endless hours for other people or other businesses, or spending the rest of our lives in debt, or spending our time watching mind numbing and controlled mass media, then I guess you could say we’d rather be different. We chose to have control over our own lives, and the things that we wish to put forth our passionate energies towards. The question of how we continually afford to travel is quite a re-occurring question for us. Even before trading one of our vehicles for Moon, and during our short time dating, we had already found a deep-shared love for travel. I had previously backpacked across Europe with a few close friends after my university year and Matteo has always been the adventurous kind. The first trip we ever went on together was to an all-inclusive resort to Los Cabos for just over a week, and it’s probably the most we have ever spent on a trip together. We of course enjoyed our time in Los Cabos and specifically La Paz where we were able to swim and snorkel with the gentle giants, whale sharks, however, we vowed that we would never stay in an all inclusive ever again. It’s just not worth the money for us; we spend most days out of our hotel anyway, trying to explore local restaurants, stores, and communities. After that, we travelled to Costa Rica together for over a month where we rented a van together and travelled the whole Pacific coast and Osa Peninsula. The trip was life changing, and that may even be an understatement. We spent our days travelling, hiking, surfing, and waterfall chasing, and cooking dinner with one another beneath the stars. This opportunity allowed us to see what was important in our lives together, and when we returned back to Ontario, Canada, we found it hard to integrate ourselves back into normalized Western culture of greed, ignorance, and individuality. “Pura Vida” and the concept of a simple happy life has continually followed us to where we are now and is currently shaping the path we are on, even if that path consists of detours, constant stops, and endless adventure. When we divided the costs of renting the van for a month, it was about 80$ US a day. This may seem quite a lot at first, but we only filled up gas a few times, and most of the time we ate fresh fruit from the mango trees and coconut trees around us, and visited local villages for our vegetables. Other than our round trip flights that we found for approximately $300 Canadian each, the cost for the van was really our only expense and that provided us with our travel and our accommodation. Other costs included entry fees into national parks and other excursions like our visit to an animal rehabilitation center in the Osa Peninsula but that is money that we chose to spend and wish to invest our time in. I believe something that we spent the most amount of money on was dog food; there is a serious issue with stray dogs in Costa Rica, as they seem to be everywhere. Every time we parked for the night, or stayed in the same location for a few nights, we found ourselves surrounded by wagging tails and smiling faces, despite their skinny ribs protruding through their skin. We would make sure they had breakfast and dinner and would always leave food with people who were around us so they continue to feed them. We’d also spend hours pulling the hundreds of ticks from their fur to hopefully provide them some comfort. Our hearts remain on those beaches and the streets of Domincial, especially with Azul and Pinto. Our next trip was a backpacking trip to Thailand for about 7 weeks and the costs for this trip was quite a bit more than what we spent travelling Costa Rica. First of all, we were there for a few weeks longer, and we had to pay for our travel and accommodation across the country (although we did travel on local trains for most of our trips – about 1$ for trips that consist of over 4 hours or so). The flights to Thailand were our major cost, close to $1000 each. Nevertheless, once we arrived in Thailand, we chose to stay in hostels by using hotels.com and hostelworld.com, gaining points and free stays as we went. Although there was a lot more of the country to explore, we felt as though we covered quite a big portion travelling from Bangkok, to Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya, Lopburi, Phetchaburi, and then to the islands of Koh Tao, Koh Samui, Krabi, and many places in between. We found taxis and ferries were usually the most expensive form of transportation, and we used them only when absolutely necessary. Trains were also one of our main forms of transportation, and we usually opted for the local train, which was very affordable, and although it stopped in every small community (about every 10 minutes or so) we enjoyed the unique cultural experience and opportunities to speak with locals using the same method of transportation, and trying all of the different local foods vendors were selling. Other expenses included the night market… and man… we loved the night markets. It seemed as though everywhere we stayed, there was a night market, and one could lose themselves for hours wandering through the many stalls, with a chang (beer) in hand, trying differently seasoned grasshoppers, scorpions, or mealworms. There are of course other more satisfying treats, but the curiosity overwhelms one, and you’ll soon find a skewer in hand with different critters to try. In total, we probably spent about $3500 dollars (this includes our flights, accommodation, travel, food, and all of our other expenses, and also our volunteer program with Elephant Haven in Kanchanaburi for a few nights). In comparison, this price may be similar to what a couple may spend at an all inclusive resort somewhere like the Dominican, Mexico, or Cuba for one single week… Therefore, we can afford to continually travel because we chose to travel wisely and in an affordable way. We know that we do not need the luxuries and amenities of all-inclusive resorts, and we chose to not spend our money for a fake and reconstructed view of what life in that country means, but rather for the real, sometimes challenging viewpoint. If you chose wisely, and spend your time searching different avenues and comparing the prices between different hostels and methods of transportation, you could find yourself being able to travel a lot more frequently. And you could find yourself in a small local restaurant at the very tip of an island, being cooked for by the owner while sitting with her children, and enjoying fresh caught fish from the surrounding waters, and you will smile to yourself and feel a sense of inner peace. This is what we found happened to us at “Sang Ga Ou Viewpoint Seafood Restauarant and Bungalows” with their sweet and kind owner, Moon (a major influence for the name of our current home). We have tried to apply these concepts and the things that we have learnt to our new life on the road and our last trip from Ontario to Vancouver Island and back. For example, we chose not to shop at big privatized food stores but rather opt for small local markets. When we were in Kelowna we went cherry picking, and I believe we left with two huge boxes of fresh kale, fruit, and vegetables for under $40, and this happened in other little towns such as Nelson, and Kaslo in British Columbia. I don’t eat meat other than fish, and although some people may find it cruel that we fish, we only eat any sort of meat if one of us is successful in catching a fish. We never over consume or take more than we need, in actual fact; we are lucky to even catch one fish most of the time. Nevertheless, we always make sure that we are knowledgeable about the fish in that particular body of water that we are fishing, and what kind are in season, or spawning, etc. The biggest expense for us while we are on the road is gas. Gas in Canada sure isn’t cheap, and although we had joked about running Moon on vegetable oil in the start, we now wished that we had been a little bit more serious. Moon can be a gas-guzzler (not as bad as an GMC Sierra but still…), especially going up those long mountain roads, and this is a concept that we do not necessarily like. When we are on the road, and when we were travelling across Western Canada last spring and summer, we averaged about 17L per 100km which may seem high, but with the amount of weight we carry, and the fact that every time we stop we have our entire ‘home’ with us, we try and balance this out with positivity. In regards to finding campsites and accommodation for the night, we opt to find free campsites, usually through the website freecampsites.net or our friends Eric’s econeato.org, or simply pulling up to park for the night and making sure that there aren’t any ‘no overnight camping’ signs around us. Last spring and summer when we travelled across Western Canada and back to Ontario, we spent less than $100 on campsites. We stayed in some of the most beautiful and remote locations, next to waterfalls, beaches, deep badlands, on the Pacific Coast, for free. We didn’t really run into much trouble, when we were in a larger town on Vancouver Island we had the police called on us while we were eating ice cream, and they simply told us that we couldn’t overnight park there, but they did get us advice on an even nicer more secluded spot about 20 minutes away. Not so bad for getting the cops called on us! The money that we did spend on campsites was when we found ourselves in national parks, we stayed in Whistlers campground in Jasper, which was pretty cool, as elk roamed freely around us, and we paid for the overnight camping in Glacier National Park. I mean come on… who wouldn’t want to fall asleep and wake up next to the Athabasca Glacier? It was well worth the $15.70. All in all we try and keep our travel costs as low as possible, and the recent adaptions that we have made to Moon have proved to be helpful, such as our wood stove, compostable toilet, and our current project… solar panels! What we do for work is another question that we get asked quite a lot. While I was in university and grad school I worked as a research assistant for a globally funded research project that investigated the necessary and important connection between deep consciousness and media and political literacy within North American educational systems. I also wrote a lot about anti-war, colonialism, and racism, among a variety of important societal issues and challenges. I was still working as a research assistant when we travelled across Costa Rica, and some days I would just simply have to stop in a local café with wifi for a few hours to make sure that I got the necessary work completed. Typing next to the sound of ocean waves, or the subtle sound of rain falling on palm leaves around me provided me a new found passion for writing and research. Although not entirely agreeing with the industry, for quite a few years, Matteo worked in an underground mine in Northern Ontario before breaking his back. We believe that our previous working experience has also shaped us to where we are now; living life on the road and this new freedom to roam provides Matteo with the opportunity to stop and rest when he needs to, walk when he needs to, and just ultimately live his life, and our lives the way that we wish to, comfortably. To be honest, while we were on the road last spring and summer, we really didn’t work… I had worked as a front desk coordinator to try and save some more income before we left, and we truly travelled on a budget. However, travelling on a budget did not deter our happiness whatsoever, and we actually found that we spent less travelling on the road than we would have if we had stayed living at either of our parents house in Orillia (and most definitely cheaper than living in our old apartment downtown Toronto). Since last September, we have stayed in the province of Ontario, and I have returned to my position as a front desk coordinator at a local salon for one of my close friends and have been using my passion for arts and crafts to supplement another income. Every Saturday for the month of November and December, Matteo would help me sell my crafts at our local Orillia farmers market. Thankfully due to this opportunity, I have received many craft orders this winter. We have been saving every penny made from our arts and crafts in our big mason jar, and we also have another travel jar that all of our spare change and small bills go into. As my time at the salon is coming to a close, I am super grateful and humbled to always have a place that I feel welcomed and loved. The money that we have saved throughout the past 6 months or so will be used while we are on the road. While we are preparing to leave at the end of March, we are thinking of different ways that we can make money will we travel on the road. I am hoping to possibly find a small time writing job online possibly about education, social justice initiatives, and our travels. We will keep you updated on what happens in the foreseen future. It is important to note though, that we both do not necessarily believe in one singular career for the rest of our lives. Our passions run deep, they intersect and overlap, and we want to push ourselves to the limits of what is possible. We ultimately want to create with one another and those around us in a variety of different ways, we want to enact meaningful change in our own lives and others, and we just want to live. Live this life to the fullest, live as though every day may be our last, and to live with unfound passion, joy, and adventure. How do you stay clean and watch your dishes? I don’t know why this question makes me chuckle, but it does, and immediately sends me back in time to last summer when we were both sitting outside of the Glacier Skywalk at the Athabasca Glacier. While we were sitting waiting for our shuttle back to Moon, we overheard a conversation between a few young women questioning how people in RV’s must shower, and how it must be absolutely disgusting. We quickly sniffed our pits…. Could they smell us???? We kept quiet for a little longer, and then of course, felt compelled to humbly say our part. We explained that we use a variety of different resources for gathering and using water. A lot of local community parks have free drinking water where we fill up our big water gallon tanks and Nalgene bottles, and in case anyone hasn’t noticed… there are quite a few different waterfalls across Canada, big and small, and we usually take full advantage of mother natures shower. Lakes are other big bathtubs that we tend to use often, always using biodegradable soap and shampoo. Okay… so you may get a few odd looks while a family is having a picnic and your scrubbing away… but seriously who cares, we loved this new sense of freedom, and who wouldn’t love a shower and a swim?! As for our dishes, we do have a sink, that doesn’t work. But we do have a small sink tub that we fill up and use with biodegradable dish soap. This past winter though Matteo has fixed our sink valve, so we are hoping to be able to use our water system while on the road this upcoming spring. A better question for where we park is where do we not park, and the answer is campsites. We typically do not use campsites, unless we find ourselves in a predicament within a national or provincial park. There are so many free places to park within Canada, down dirt roads, beside lakes and waterfalls, really anywhere… We use the website www.freecampsites.org, and our good friend Eric has created a North American map with free campsites at www.econeato.org/camping-and-overnight-parking.html For us, anywhere that doesn’t have a “no overnight camping site” is fair game, and if we are asked to move, it’s simply just that, and we quickly pack up, which only takes us 5 minutes and we find another spot. We have had the privilege in staying in some of the most beautiful spots across Western Canada for free, and of course there have been times where we have been tempted, for example we spent $15 to overnight camp and wake up next to the Athabasca Glacier, and to camp at Whistlers campground in Jasper to watch elk roam freely around our sweet moon warrior (as mentioned previously). People often ask us if we stay at Wal-Mart’s, or when we stop to ask locals where we could possibly park, the answer tends to be Wal-Mart, however, we don’t find the necessity or desire in parking on concrete in an empty lot… Unless you’re in Nelson and have friends on a beautiful property there (thanks Teya and Brian for the wonderful spot next to the chicken coop), then we highly suggest staying at the Wal-Mart, because it sits on and overlooks Lake Okanagan, and its quite spectacular. Its also a short but steep climb to Baker Street. Since we’re on the topic of Nelson, we absolutely loved visiting, and its somewhere that we could possibly see ourselves settling down for a while. If you find yourself in the area, we highly suggest taking a walk down the market on a Wednesday or Friday as the streets are lined with talented buskers and local vendors. The Fisherman’s Market has awesome fresh fish to buy, and you have to try the tacos made from fresh local ingredients at ‘Cantina del Centro’. We do not necessarily have a favourite campsite that we have stayed at throughout the past year or so, and we don’t necessarily believe in choosing favourites and listing things in hierarchical order. Everywhere is different, with different sounds and animals, and we try and appreciate the beauty in every place that we stay. Nevertheless, one particular campsite that immediately comes to mind is called “Behind the Rock” campsite in Horseshoe Bay just outside of Vancouver. Before catching the ferry to Vancouver Island, we looked up potential places on www.freecampsites.net and found an amazing spot. Off the highway on your way from Squamish to Vancouver and behind an enormous rock is a short road that offers you pristine and amazing views of Gibson’s Bay and surrounding mountains. As I’m sitting here trying to think of other places to name, it is truly too challenging. I feel as though throughout the past year with Moon, and regardless of our wintertime spent in Ontario, we haven’t really spent more than a few days in one singular spot. We park next to waterfalls, lakes, parks, and really anywhere that we feel comfortable and as though we aren’t going to be bothered. Wherever we stay and park for the night, we always spend the first hour or so collecting garbage and litter from the area, and we NEVER leave any garbage behind when we leave. We have a pretty open mind when it comes to campsites, we know we are never going to always be rewarded with the most beautiful location, and sometimes we may have to sleep down a lonely dirt road, or in a spot that isn’t essentially ideal, however, we believe this attitude has shaped us into more humble beings. Where are we headed to next seems to be the most common question that we keep hearing lately, and the answer is… ALASKA. We don’t essentially have a plan, just like our previous trips across Costa Rica, Thailand, and Western Canada. Nevertheless, we are starting to read, research, and write (taking notes) and formulating ideas and small plans in our mind. We know that we want to spend a lot of time this spring, summer, and fall in Alaska and British Columbia. Our dream is to take a ferry from Vancouver Island, to Haida Gwaii, and then up into Alaska, we are just hoping that this is possible and not too expensive. We know that we typically do not have a plan, however, we feel as though Alaska is the kind of place that demands some sort of plan, so we are currently in the early stages of planning our route, and applying for a visa (Lauren is a permanent resident in Canada and requires a visa to travel to the United States). There are also lots of funny rules about transporting food and products such as rice (one of our favourite foods!) so we need to figure out how we can restock and replenish once we are there. Stay posted and we will start writing a short blog soon about our potential plans in Alaska. Our little snippet of advice for anyone who is thinking about making the conscious decision to move your life into and live in an RV, camper, or van full time would be just do it. If its something that you’ve been thinking about for a while, and something that seems to be constantly nagging at the back of your mind, then just do it. Don’t stress about it, just make the first step and start consciously downsizing and minimizing the possessions that you own. Second step, start searching for a vehicle if you don’t already own one. We would say shop around and take your time, but Moon was one of the first campers that we looked at… You’ll know if it’s the right camper for you. The harsh truth is that if you buy an older RV than you may run into quite a few problems. But problems that can be fixed! We had a lot of water damage in Moon, but we are thankful because it forced us to do a complete renovation and we are so happy with our results and having a home that is essentially ours, built from our own blood (those damn hammers...) sweat, and tears. Lastly, once your renovation (if needed) is complete, then just go. Pack up, and go. The freedom to roam, the freedom of the road will present you with unfounded new opportunities and happiness. Of course there will be bumps along the road, you’ll get lost, things will break, but you’ll find the ability to solve these issues either by yourself or with your partner will work to strengthen your relationship and bond with one another, and your home. I’m having a hard time trying to write this last little piece of advice and how to word it into a short paragraph. Here it goes… I’m not saying that this life is for everyone. It offers opportunities for such a variety of people, their careers, and their differences; however, I do believe that this essential shift in lifestyle requires care and consciousness. We made this shift because we felt compelled to make instrumental change in our own lives, and in the lives around us. We spend our time researching and learning about so many social injustices around this world that it makes our hearts ache and our eyes water, but this opportunity to take ownership and control over our own lives, rather than being dependent upon technology, governance, consumerism, and privatized interests of profit and greed. By installing a compostable toilet, implementing a wood stove instead of propane for heating and cooking, and using solar power, we believe that we are creating the opportunity for ourselves to decrease our ecological footprint and negative impact on this earth. This past weekend we decided to take Moony to Blue Mountain for a few days, and we couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out. Even though we have wanted to spend the weekend together at Blue Mountain for a few years, we have been deterred because of the price of rentals for chalets and cabins, and ultimately the price of food at restaurants. Therefore, we came up with a plan. Why not just spend the weekend in our Moon? So that’s what we did.
After work on Saturday, and a quick change into some warmer clothes, we started the journey to Collingwood. It’s only about an hour and a half drive from Orillia, although some may argue it takes a little bit longer in our 1991 Toyota. We got to the village just after dark, and found our friend Renae, who was joining us to camp. As to be expected on a Saturday night, the overnight parking lot was quite busy, however, we found a nice secluded spot for the night near the trees and began setting up for the night. The first thing we do is start the wood stove, the weather wasn’t too chilly, but it’s definitely necessary to get that fire started as soon as possible. We had previously covered most of the windows in Moon(with the exception of the window next to the table, as we still enjoy looking outside while we eat) and added a bit more insulation, so once parked there wasn’t much for us to do but relax. A few drinks were cracked between the three of us, and we started to catch up on what’s been going on in our lives while we prepared a few snacks. The snow was falling all around us, and it began to feel as though we were in a magical winter wonderland. After a few snacks, we bundled up in our snow boots, winter coats and mitts and headed to the village to explore. For me personally, there is something different about visiting places at night, especially during wintertime. The streets were aligned with fairy lights illuminating the snow as it was falling, little campfires were ignited all around with Muskoka chairs, and you can hear the joy and laughter of children and adults playing around you. We embraced our inner child, stuck out our tongues to catch snowflakes, and made snow angles in the snow. The nightlife was quite busy at the Village during the night, and the line for Kaytoo Bar, which has a lot of pub fair, was fully booked, so we decided to try Copper Blues. After spending around $40 on three drinks, and deciding not to spend $165 for a shared platter, we decided to enjoy our walk back to Moon and cook dinner over the wood stove (which we were planning to do originally). We cooked a healthy meal, saved quite a bit of money, and kept cosy in our camper while listening to old school music and watching the snow fall around us. Thank you Renae! It’s always such a pleasure to catch up with one of our closest friends, and we are super humbled by her willingness to just pack up and meet us crazies wherever we decide to go. The next morning, unfortunately Renae had to leave to prepare for work on Monday. After a hearty breakfast together and a snowy goodbye at the bottom of the mountain, we decided to drive up to the top of the mountain to explore the Scenic Caves. Although the caves are closed during the winter, they have a variety of different snowshoe (10km of trails) and cross country skiing trails (http://www.sceniccaves.com). They also have a lot of equipment to rent if you do not posses your own. We prepared ourselves with some snacks and some water and headed off to the trails to snowshoe. We arrived just after lunch as we had hoped this would provide us with enough opportunity to explore most of the trails. We were lucky enough to be able to complete almost all of the snowshoe trails and we had an absolutely amazing time strolling through the deep woods with one another, walking along the flowing creek, hiking along the ridge top trail and exploring Ontario’s longest suspension bridge. As our day at the Scenic Caves began to close near, and the snow began to fall heavier around us, we stopped to chat with a few of the employees before leaving. Their kindness and advice was heart-warming and it was humbling to sit and talk about the life that we have begin to choose, our sweet moon, and our plans for the future. They advised us to try and park across the street, at the top of the mountain, by the Bruce Trail for the night. So that’s where we headed, and although it was a little chilly at the top of the mountain, it was such a perfect spot. We tucked ourselves away near the trees and pulled forward so that we could have a perfect panoramic Birdseye view of Blue Mountain. We started the woodstove and took a nice little hike around the trail, and stopped to watch the snowboard and skiers fly down the mountain below us. We were planning on skating the Woodview Mountaintop 1.1km Trail, however, unfortunately the trail closes at 5pm on Sundays (https://www.bluemountain.ca/things-to-do/activities/woodview-mountaintop-skating). We didn’t let this disappoint us, so we began making a delicious Mexican five-bean soup, and man was it ever delicious. We warmed our hearts over a bowl of soup, playing cards, and talking about life. After dinner, we pulled out our books and began reading (I’m currently reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***” by Mark Manson) and falling asleep to the sounds of the nearby coyotes. We woke up a few times to stock the fire and keep warm, and then fall back asleep to the howling sounds of the winds and wild dogs around us. We woke up early and heated up some breakfast before heading back down to the mountain because we had big plans. It was SPA DAY! I couldn’t have been more excited as I have wanted to spend a day at the Scandinavian Spa at Blue Mountain for as long as I could remember, and after hiking so many trails the day before, my sore body was quite excited. We got to the spa as soon as they opened at 9 in the morning and were delighted to see that there were only a few people there. The fee to enter the baths was $60 each and then an additional $14 for robe rental. We had previously looked up the prices, so we weren’t too shocked, and we had discussed that despite the price, this was something that we wanted to treat ourselves to. We changed into our robes and headed out into the baths. Magical, peaceful, and serene are a few words that first come to mind. We were advised to spend time in the thermal hot pools, and then quickly jump into one of the cold pools, and then head into one of their sauna or steam rooms. There are a number of different thermal pools and cold plunge baths ranging in different temperatures, as well as cold showers, Nordic waterfalls, eucalyptus steam bath, Finnish sauna, and an infrared sauna https://www.scandinave.com/blue-mountain/en/experience-blue-mountain/). There are also different warm rooms with reclining Muskoka chairs that look out into the surrounding forest where you can relax, nap, read, and rejuvenate. We spent the morning exploring the different baths and soul renewing rooms before changing and heading back to the camper to heat up our lunch. We were very thankful to the staff for understanding that we weren’t actually leaving the property, just merely popping out to our home in their parking lot to eat lunch. We warmed up with a bowl of leftover soup before heading back into the spa. They do have lunch available there, different sandwiches, soups, and warm beverages, however, we usually like to prepare our own food which is dairy and meat free. We spent the next 4 or so hours at the spa, reading our books and feeling the energy return to our physical and mental bodies. One of our favourite baths was the Eucalyptus Steam Bath. In the oval room it’s hard to tell how big it is, or whether there is anyone else in there as the steam can be so dense at times. You are forced to calm down, to take note and control your breathing, and you are ultimately rewarded with the sense and feeling of toxins literally leaving your body. The Scandinavian spa is open until 9 o clock at night, and although we could have stayed there all morning, afternoon, and night, we wanted to head back to Orillia before it got dark. Moon drives surprisingly quite well in the snow; however, we do not like to drive her during the night (especially since our heater isn’t currently working…). So we showered off in their lovely change room, they have shampoo, conditioner, body wash, different types of lotions and hairdryers so one does not have to freeze upon leaving. We absolutely loved the whole experience at Scandinavian Spa and would highly recommend it for anyone who is looking to get away, relax, and rejuvenate their soul for the day. One tip of advice though! Get there as early as possible, or as soon as they open, or visit during the week. We visited on a Monday, getting there as soon as they opened, and it was a magical feeling to be alone in the baths without the crowds of people. Thank you Blue Mountain for such a stellar weekend! We didn’t even bring our snowboards this time and we had such an amazing time with one another in this special place in the heart of Grey County. Due to a few mild days during December, we were able to finish installing our little wood stove into our sweet Moon (our 1991, 21ft restored Toyota Winnebago). Since then, we have been able to enjoy winter camping in Ontario on a much deeper level, as we are still able to travel off grid, yet stay cosy and warm. We wanted to celebrate this new achievement, so we decided to plan a weekend camping in two relatively close provincial parks in Ontario, Arrowhead and Algonquin. We have travelled to Algonquin together to canoe, portage, backcountry camp, and for simply a drive with one another many of times, however, we had never camped there during the winter. Arrowhead was a place that we had only visited once before and this was during the warm summer month of July. So myself and my partner, and our small shorkie dog(Beanz), were extremely excited to visit during the winter and to observe how the snow and ice overtake the waterfalls, huge pine trees, and land we had previously witnessed.
Since I work on Saturday, and then have a few days off, we decided to head to Arrowhead for Sunday night, and then Algonquin on Monday night, this worked out hugely in our favour as we found that there were little to no tourists. We arrived at Arrowhead and we were a little disappointed to find out that they had nowhere for us to park. We were under the impression that winter camping meant that we were able to drive and park there to camp, however winter camping for Arrowhead is merely renting a few of the yurts and camp cabins that they have available there. Although the camp cabins there were lovely, we love our sweet Moon, and the point of our camping weekend was to enjoy our RV, which is essentially our home. Therefore, we paid to enter the park to hike around for a few hours and then drove to a nearby lake to park for the night. We’ll keep the location of the park a secret for now, as it was a wonderful opportunity to camp for free only a few minutes away. In the morning all three of us enjoyed a nice long walk on the lake and then headed back to Arrowhead Provincial Park because we wanted to skate! Arrowhead has a variety of different winter activities to enjoy, for example there is a 1.3km skating trail through the forest and 15km of trails to snowshoe or cross country ski. If you don’t have skates or skis, equipment can be rented for a reasonable price. We decided that we first wanted to skate the trail, we parked Moon, started our wood stove, enjoyed breakfast together and then laced up our skates and hit the trail. It does say that dogs are not allowed on the trail, but we have a small bag that we use for long hikes with Beanz, so we nestled him into it with some blankets and he enjoyed a nice ride also. We spent a couple hours skating around the trail, enjoying the mild day of only -2 degrees Celsius. After our ankles became a little tired, we decided to trade in our skates for snowshoes. We had previously hiked the trail to Stubbs fall in the summer time, but exploring it during the winter is a completely different feel. We walked below the hanging canopies of white clouds of snow and listening to the crunch of the fresh snowfall beneath our wooden and metal snowshoes. Iced beauty was everywhere that we looked, and as we descended down to the falls, the many grey jays and chickadees alerted the forest to our arrival. You can explore the area around Stubbs falls for a while, walking over the large sheets of ice and snow that cover the rocks beside the falls. There are also a few snowshoe trails that you can take around Stubbs falls, and one will lead you directly back to Arrowhead Lake. We snowshoed around for hours, enjoying the blissful nature around us, and stopping to take in the many different sights and sounds. We headed back to Moon to warm up and prepare some late lunch before having one last skate on the trail. Its only about a 45 minute drive to Algonquin Provincial Park from Arrowhead but it took us a little closer to an hour and a half, as our Moon doesn’t go very fast, and due to the fact that it was getting dark. If you’re travelling North up highway 60 towards Algonquin and through the park, many residents know that it can be quite dangerous from dusk to dawn. We drove slowly through some thick snow on the alert for wildlife, and we are lucky that we slowed our speed, as we saw two large moose on the side of the road about 10 minutes away from Mew Lake (our destination for the night). We made it to Mew Lake at about 7 o clock and met in with our camp host who directed us to a wonderful little camping spot nestled between the trees. When we first arrived there was one other couple that had rented a yurt, however, when we woke up, it seemed like we were the only people for miles. We took a nice stroll around the campground and spent the morning snowshoeing around Mew Lake and feeding the many grey jays and chickadees, stopping to watch the pileated woodpecker take flight and feed. After a relaxing morning cooking breakfast over our wood stove and exploring around our little campsite, we decided to pack up and head to a few different winter hiking/snowshoeing trails and enjoy a nice slow drive through the park looking for wildlife. Track and Tower is an absolutely great hike in both the summer and wintertime, it’s a 7.5km hike, which leads you to a stunning lookout over Cache Lake. Peck Lake trail is a much easier hike, consisting of a 2.3 km loop trail, which leads you entirely around Peck Lake. Another one of our favourite winter hikes is Mizzy Lake, however, Mizzy Lake is a 10.8 km trail that is quite difficult and definitely requires an early start and a full day to complete. As we arrived at Mizzy Lake part way through the day, we thought it would not be wise to start hiking. Therefore, we drove up part of the logging road until we were no longer able and parked Moon to begin cooking lunch. It’s a well known secret that if you drive up the road towards Mizzy Lake and park where the logging roads begin, you can literally stand for hours and feed hundreds of birds, ranging from grey and blue jays, boreal chickadees, American goldfinches, red breasted nuthatch, and American tree finches, and be sure to keep your eyes open for wild turkeys and black backed woodpeckers! We love sitting quietly with our camera nestled close by just patiently waiting to observe the beautiful natural moving colours of the forest and the beautiful choruses that follow them. After we enjoyed a late lunch we decided that it would probably be best to head back to our home base in Orillia, so off we set, nice and slow with our heads perched closely to the windows, eyes peeled for any sudden movement. We didn’t see much big game wildlife on our way home, just a small red fox darting through the trees either in search of food or warmth. Nevertheless, we had an amazing time together winter camping in both Arrowhead and Algonquin Provincial Park, and would highly recommend choosing either, or both, for your next weekend getaway. Trust us, you wont be disappointed J Also, just to let readers know, Algonquin holds the Winter in the Wild festival every year on Family Day Weekend (mid February) and welcomes many visitors into the park and activities include guided bird walks, guided snowshoe excursions, guest speakers, skiing, skating, winter camping, food, and an evening event J Throughout the past few years (6 to be exact) I have been trying to learn as much about the different indigenous histories and knowledge bases throughout Canada, specifically Ontario, as possible. In addition to the many influences and concurrent effects of colonialism in past and present forms and the resistance and strength of indigenous communities across ‘Kanata’. It is vital to continuously learn the different histories of our intertwined pasts in order to decolonize one’s mind and to join across differences to fight the necessary fight, the fight against oil and gas companies, logging, and the continued devastation upon land, life, and water that affects each and every one of us.
Since we have travelled throughout countless national and provincial parks while we were travelling in Moon from Ontario to Vancouver Island, I had to begun to make the necessary connection between colonialism and national parks. A lot of the places that we have stopped to hike and camp could be described by national geographic terminology as remote and ‘untouched wilderness’. In fact many of the advertisements regarding Banff and Jasper national park describe opportunities for people to explore the untouched wilderness of Canada. Although we may even personally describe some places as the ‘wilderness’ as we could go for days without seeing another human body, it is necessary for us to acknowledge that many places in national and provincial parks are sacred lands for indigenous communities. For centuries, before the colonialization of Canada, thousands of different indigenous communities existed and thrived across Canada, within “national and provincial parks”, with their own distinct languages, histories, and cultures. It is necessary to acknowledge that the land that is now described as untouched wilderness within national and provincial parks are actually parcels of land that indigenous peoples have been violently and forcibly removed from. In the article “Canada’s National Parks are Colonial Crime Scenes’ (https://thewalrus.ca/canadas-national-parks-are-colonial-crime-scenes/) by Robert Jago (2017) it is highlighted that indigenous lands have been continuously robbed through different forms of public works, military use, privatized interests and ultimately “green colonialism” in the forms of “ecological preservation” and national and provincial parks. We found it absolutely appalling that while we were travelling through different national parks, such as Ram Falls and Shannon falls that our paths and hikes were stopped by dangerous oil and gas pipeline signage. Oil and gas pipelines are everywhere through national and provincial parks across Canada. In addition, we lost count of the numerous logging operations that were being orchestrated throughout “protected” lands. There are enormous amounts of logging roads woven throughout so many different national and provincial parks (this is a topic that Bill Bryson talks quite a bit about in his book “A Walk in the Woods”). Logging, gas, and oil companies have a free hand within national and provincial parks to use and abuse as they wish. How is this possible? It can only be possible if national and provincial parks are connected and linked to neoliberal and private interests of greed and profit, which they are, such as the ever-famous gas company ‘Shell’. How is this not harmful to wildlife, plant life, land, and water? How is this ‘protecting’ land and lives? It is absurd that provincial parks can allow this, when they have been known to make statements about treaty rights and the allowed indigenous hunting rights as “a threat to wildlife”. I’m still learning more about this; I’m still trying to expand my knowledge and attempt to decolonize my mind in different ways. I’m a white female who has experienced privilege a lot throughout my life; I will be the first to admit that. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t care, that I urge for change, and that I’m not willing to come together to discuss, learn, and fight together. This isn’t easy. Learning about the many social injustices that are continuously happening around the world isn’t easy, being the person within those situations is most definitely not easy. Yet, it is absolutely necessary to become involved, to become conscious and to start taking action towards changing our world for the better, for our children, and our grandchildren. I’ve been thinking a lot about the people who we have met on our travels, and not just the lovely people that we met while we were travelling across Ontario, the Prairies, and out West, but those who we have met while we have been in Thailand, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Over the past two years we have met some incredible people and are so humbled that we keep in contact with many of them. It’s not as if I’m anti-social, because I’m not, I love humans, just as much as I love animals, plants, and being outside. However, as I have weaved my way through secondary school, post-secondary school, and then graduate school, continuously learning about the devastation and injustice present around the world due to human influence, I began to feel sad, angered, and lose hope. I started learning about corruption in the government, the way wars are funded and orchestrated, the influences of whiteness, white superiority, and privilege that are laden throughout our governmental systems, policies, schools, and institutions. I began to feel such anger, such hate, such demise towards our neoliberal and corporate state. I began to feel anger at one another when I would travel on the public transport system, only to see the faces of mobile phones, rather than the smiles of my fellow passengers. I began to feel anger when environmental disasters hit, and many that western societies chose to ignore or refuse to acknowledge in any critical way. Plainly, I began to loose hope. I lost hope that there are decent people within this world; I started to contemplate the dire circumstance of our planet and blame humans for their influence and complacent part in it. But then I must blame myself, and of course I do. Of course there are ways that I need to change to become a more holistic and conscious person. However, sometimes I feel stuck. As though my actions are not big enough to influence the larger sphere and emit real, concrete, and critical change. Nevertheless, the people who we have met throughout our travels have reinstated our faith in humanity. It is not healthy to lose that. For hours, with many different people, we would sit and talk about the state and situation of not only Canada, but also that around the world. We discussed the government and politics, often concluding that their needs to be a serious dismantling of governmental parties and their interconnectedness to privatized and neoliberal interests of greed and profit. There is a reason why our mainstream media news outlets have covered many of the environmental disasters such as hurricane Irma, Ophelia, or Jose, but not made the necessary and critical connection to climate change and what needs to immediately be done to counter-act such devastation. Those in power do not want us to come together, to discuss what we can do and how we can work together to change the system of abuse, wealth, greed, profit and corruption. As the current president of the United States had recently been inaugurated into the white house, he also found his way into our conversations. We were careful only to give him a little bit of space as his rhetoric and actions are so harmful, however, we were able to discuss the crazy and absurd happenings of our world in concrete and critical ways. I believe we gave each other hope that there are similar and like-minded people who do see what is going on, who don’t wish to remain blind to what is happening in their own lives and those of other people. We want to feel empowered that we have control over our own lives, we do not want our taxes to continuously fund wars; we do not want our daily actions to increase the number of environmental refugees. We want a place for our children to grow and flourish, to be able to witness and climb glacial mountains, to hear the call of the songbird. I believe that people meet for particular reasons. We may not know that reason right away, or in a week, or a month, but we will figure it out one day. Our souls meet other souls to replenish and fuel one another, to feel that energetic charge that ultimately makes us family within this world. We met the people that we have on our travels for particular reasons and we are so thankful for these opportunities to expand our mind, to converse, and to ultimately sit and have a critical conversation about what is happening, what are we doing, and what can be done. Here is a picture of Moony with her long lost Toyota cousin. While we were checking out the Aguasabon falls and gorge we met an awesome couple from Australia who had bought their RV to travel across Canada and the United States and then they were going to sell it and fly to Thailand. We discussed travel trips as we had recently returned from a month or so travelling across Thailand. Moon was very happy to be beside one of her family members so we let her rest and chill for a little while.
Today has been interesting to say the least. Yesterday, while watching a momma black bear and her two tiny cubs from our car, cautious to keep our distance, we had to yell at a tourist to stop running towards the bear and her cubs with his camera. There were multiple people outside of their car, attempting to take pictures. I do understand that people travel from all over the world and they may never have experienced an encounter with wildlife, especially bears, however, I believe it is critical that if you are going to visit mountain national parks and wildlife area’s that we are conscious of what we are doing and the impact that it has on the wildlife and land of that area. Wildlife is WILD, and needs to stay WILD. Human interaction and our behaviours ultimately affects the survival and safety of not only ourselves, but maybe more importantly that of the wildlife.
Today has been extremely difficult. As we were driving out of Jasper and through the Icefields, we saw about twenty cars stopped on the side of the road. As we had just seen some bighorn sheep a few minutes prior, we believed that maybe people were out of their cars watching a sheep. As we approached closer, we noticed that there was a small black bear lying in the grass on the side of the highway. Using common sense, we immediately knew something was wrong. People were literally one foot away from the bear, taking pictures, and seeing how close they could get. It was obviously a very sick or injured bear, and we literally could not believe our eyes as people seemed to have no regard for the wellbeing of the bear, and many people were actually trying to take selfies with the sick or injured bear. He or she was so little, and in obvious signs of distress. People looked at us perplexed as to why we were telling them to get back into their vehicles, and could not understand our level of anxiety and stress, as we had no service to contact Parks Canada. We managed to get a few people to leave the poor animal and return to their cars, but the crowd remained, so we drove as fast as we could to the nearest information centre to let Parks Canada know of the situation. We drove to Sunwapta falls just a few minutes past, and quickly got the staff to call Parks Canada, and we were ensured that the right team would be there as soon as possible to assess the situation and ultimately help the bear. It was heartbreaking. There are many information booklets and pamphlets provided to visitors of the park, stating that it is necessary to keep at least 100 metres or 325 feet away from bears, cougars, and wolves. Matteo and I understand that there may be language barriers and a lack of understanding for some people, but surely there is some common ground for people to think critically about their actions. To stop, pause, and consider what they are actually doing. It truly boggles my mind that people lack some level of common sense to realize not only when another human is in need, but that of an animal. Do we truly lack the compassion to care about one another in this society? Today has just made it more evident that we lack the compassion towards animals also.
So Turtle Island is really only 150 years old? Wow. Matteo and I think not. It is important to acknowledge that myself, Lauren, is an English citizen who has landed immigrant status in Canada, and Matteo is a Canadian citizen, with family descent from Italy and Germany. We do not have any immediate family that holds indigenous status, however, we do realize that the land on which we stand and live on is stolen and often unrecognized indigenous land. When I moved to Canada about 13 years ago and began attending the formal education system, I was often very sceptical and cautious of the history and knowledge that was being taught or often dictated to students. It always seemed as though the history that was being taught was missing important perspectives and was often taught through Eurocentric and limited avenues. It seems as though the history of ‘Canada’ starts upon first contact between many different and varying indigenous communities and European colonization and fur trades. It seems as though this is where our history as Canada begins, 150 years ago, as a society often ignoring the dark and damaging impact that colonization has had. We often learn about residential schools and indigenous people as something of the past, located and kept in time and space. I personally think that this is wrong on so many levels. I understand that for many Canadians, it is a sense of independence and sovereignty from the United Kingdom in which lives were fought and lost for. For that, I am grateful, however, it leaves me questioning who is left out of the stories of success that are taught within classrooms in Canada? Although at some locations there have been small signs and little tid bits of information about the indigenous communities that use to, and still live in the area, their culture, and history. Nevertheless, it is important to question who writes this information? Are we creating a platform for communities to speak out, and teach us? Or rather are we continuously keeping indigenous people in the past? Rather than acknowledging their continued success and resistance against the colonial state of Canada? I do not celebrate Canada day, and I never have. How can we celebrate colonization? I guess if we are taught that colonization is ultimately a great thing, then we do not question this day of birth for this country or what it truly represents. As a European, I ultimately (try my best) to recognize the impact that my homeland has had upon this beautiful country and the attitudes and beliefs of individualistic success, profit, and resource extraction, among many. While we were travelling through some of the provincial and national parks (Ram Falls) we noticed many closed off roads that were owned by shell or petro Canada, stating beware “poison gas lines, proceed at your own safety”. Can the animals read these signs? And obviously the government of Canada and major corporations such as Shell go hand in hand. Neoliberalism is full heartedly in effect, we are no longer necessarily owned by governments but rather by the interests and attitudes of major corporations and their disregard for the effect that they have on lands, animals, and peoples. We are not wishing you a happy birthday Canada. We are refusing to acknowledge and celebrate what this day means for many people in Canada. It is my hope that as a society, we begin to critically think and critically attempt to decolonize our minds and our hearts. We have immense respect for the thousands of different indigenous communities across Canada and their resiliency to succeed and fight through circumstances and situations that many people in Canadian society will never truly know. We are sorry for the crimes and atrocities that our European ancestors have bestowed upon this land, my partner and I often converse about what we are doing, our levels of consciousness, and how we can act in a way that is humble, kind, and keep a mindset that is willing to continuously learn what we do not know. Peace & Love. DRUMHELLER & HORSETHIEF CANYON
We decided that we wanted to stay in the Drumheller area for another night instead of heading up to Rocky Mountain House. We felt that after quite a long journey across the prairies that it would be really nice just to relax and hangout and enjoy the landscape, rather than sitting in the car and driving for a few hours. After leaving The Last Saloon we headed a short ways up to the farmers and antique market there in Wayne. We picked up a variety of different books, young and old, and began reading them last night (I started reading a collection of stories by indigenous women called ‘First Lady Nation’). We then made our way to the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller but we opted out of paying to enter the museum and took Beanz on the interpretive trail, where we ventured of the main trails and explored the badlands. We always take interpretive trails at touristy destinations like the Tyrell Museum backwards, not many people start the trail backwards and we find we enjoy it more as we don’t necessarily follow crowds or groups of people. After a few hours exploring, and Beanz realizing that there is an endless plethora of tiny gophers to chase, we decided to make our way to Horsethief Canyon, where we were hoping to be able to stay for the night. It is such a spectacular spot which breathtaking views of the Badlands wherever you turn (and Beanz thought he was dreaming as there were even more gophers here than the museum!). We took a few moments to try and take in the rugged landscape of the Badlands, inhaling deeply and slowly and attempting to show our gratitude for the opportunity to witness such great views and then settled in for the night and began making dinner. After taking our meal to the edge of the cliff, taking bites, and watching our feet swing beneath us, we went on a short little hike to try and gain different viewpoints of the region. There are tons of little trails dotted along the landscape, however, be careful if you decide to do this in the rain because it can be extremely slippery and dangerous. After endless hours of Beanz chasing gophers and his tired body just needed some rest, we settled into bed with our books, our eyes darting from the words on our pages to the vast and natural beauty around us. The next morning, we took the Bleroit ferry (just a short minute ferry ride) across the Red Deer River and an amazing thing happened to us, and we couldn’t quite believe our luck. As we were on the ferry, we noticed a helicopter hovering over the Badlands in front of us, and before we knew it we were watching a newly discovered fossil (a dinosaur head) be flown out of its excavation point and it was heading to the field right before us! We learnt quite a bit by talking with and conversing with the ferry driver, and I can’t wait to share with you some of the pictures that we snapped (as we were the only people there and the other person with a camera was part of the archaeology and geologist team). We then headed towards Ram Falls Provincial Park and found a quiet little fishing hole to sleep around Elk Creek Fish Pond Recreational area. It poured. All day, all night, non-stop, haha. We were actually quite scared that our little Moon wouldn’t be able to make it out of the mud and up some steep cliffs but she pulled through! We enjoyed a wonderful hike and tried to take in the beauty and vastness of Ram Falls, we saw wild horses, about 20 big horn sheep, and so many deer that we lost count. Due to the weather, we didn’t travel much the next day and found a little spot to camp at just outside of Ram Falls and settled in for the night. The next day we were up early as we wanted to head along highway 93 to the Icefields Parkway. It’s a beautiful drive and we finally made it to the Athabasca Glacier, after stopping along the way to see different waterfalls (Bridal Vail Falls and Panther falls). We drove our car to the toe of the glacier and walked Beanz up to see it, walking through hundreds of inishnuks dotted around. We then paid about 15$ to stay at the overflow parking lot at the glacier, and although it was a little nippy, it was quite incredible to waking up to look out of our bedroom window and witness ice, snow, and a huge glacier in front of us. The next day we drove through Jasper National Park, stopping at little creeks (Tangle Creek is quite stunning) and waterfalls along the way. We witnessed a black bear and her two baby cubs, and too many cow elk, big horn sheep, and mountain goats to count. We camped at the Whistler campground, which we paid about $45 for two nights, and it was wonderful to see the cow elk roaming freely around our campsite, munching on grasses and flowers. We explored the town of Jasper the first day, visiting different little stores and stocking up on groceries. We also hiked up to the Jasper gondola (which is quite a decent hike) but we were quite disappointed when we did reach the gondola to witness that it would have been over a hundred dollars for Matteo and myself to go up to the 360 degrees platform and experience the 5 minute ride up and down the mountain. We opted out of spending our money on this and instead enjoyed a few Budweiser’s before hitchhiking a ride back down to our campsite. We then headed towards Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake before heading back through the Jasper National Park and the Glacier Icefields. We found a little secluded spot to camp out just outside of the National Park, and we met a great friend Thomas. We were surrounded by views of the Mountains everywhere we looked, and had a wonderful view of the lake and subalpine. Matteo, Thomas and myself all cooked dinner together, discussing and conversing about many relevant topics. As Thomas is a French citizen who resides in the USA, our conversations consisted of, do I dare say his name…Donald Trump, Marie Le Penn, and whether or not we truly live in a democratic system here in Canada and the United States, among many other issues. Its ultimately refreshing for me to have these kind of critical and in depth conversations, and reminds me and grounds me that there are people with similar minded views who think consciously and critically. We woke up a little late, maybe after indulging in a few too many vodka and orange juices and then made our way towards Lake Louise. Driving through the park we saw a large black bear cross the road, and witnessed a golden eagle take flight and fly right over Moon. We figured that it was a Sunday when we arrived in Lake Louise that it wouldn’t be as busy and as packed with tourists, we were wrong. We had to park at a little picnic area before one of the lodges and walk, as all of the parking lots were full. We wanted to rent a canoe to paddle across Lake Louise but couldn’t believe that it was 95$ without tax to rent it for half an hour… Can people really afford this? I said to Matteo that we could literally buy a canoe for a few hundred dollars and that there was no way I was paying that. Nevertheless, it’s a nice little hike as they have walkways through the forest up to the lake, however, we snapped a couple pictures, enjoyed a walk around the lake, and made our way back to Moon. While we were at Lake Louise we met 3 wonderful and lovely bikers from Drayton Valley, we thank all of you for the kindness that you showed to us, and all of the great advice. We would love to meet up with Natasha and her partner, and friend once again, and maybe rip around their property on a few atv’s, haha British Columbia After Lake Louise, we decided that it was time for us to head into British Columbia, so we drove through Yoho National Park. Prior to our trip outwest, we had planned to visit Takakaw Falls in Yoho National Park but the parks ranger at the site informed us that a month or so an avalanche had struck and the road towards the falls was impassable. So we kept trekking, and found a little spot just past Golden, BC, in Blaeberry to camp for the night, thanks to freecampsites.net. Its quite a way from the highway but it’s a beautiful little spot on the Blaeberry River. We made some dinner and settled in for the night with our books, as we were quite tired. Matteo is reading a really interesting book right now called “More-with-Less Cookbook; suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world’s limited food resources” (highly recommended). After a great nights sleep, once again listening to the rush of water, and watching the sunrise above the mountains, we packed and cleaned up and are now heading to Revelstoke! Which we are pretty stoked about, as I am super excited to see my two good friends Sara and Hannah, and surprise two friends that we met in Mexico at their shoe store in Revelstoke! (We really need an oil change right now and are rushing towards the nearest gas station, so hopefully we make it!). Before leaving Orillia and before officially beginning to live in Moon, we tried to fix our propane ourselves (probably not the best or safest idea) but regardless, we could not get our propane to work safely and without leaks. We also still need to get a water valve, so we have started the beginning of our journey westward without any running water, or propane. The first three nights have been absolutely amazing regardless. We have been taking our time travelling through Ontario and we are so glad that we have done so, as we have stayed in some of the most beautiful spots that we never knew about prior to the beginning of this adventure. We didn’t leave our first day on Friday until quite late in the day, about 5 o clock or so, we drove North out to the Muskoka Lakes to Torrance Barren Sky Preserve. There is a parking lot that leads to a trail and a huge pond, but there are also various campsites and little spots all around. We settled in for the night at a little spot away from the parking lot, went on a little hike, and cooked our dinner over the fire, sipping on rum and cokes and enjoying the company of each other and the thousands of stars above us. We fell asleep to the pitter patter of the rain atop of Moons roof and awoke early to once again eat and continue heading North. The next day we made it to Massey along the Spanish river and found a perfect little spot to park and camp next to white and pink trilliums at Mouth Park, with a beautiful little beach and the perfect spot to cast a few lines into the water. It’s a great little spot to boondock as the water is perfect for swimming, and the park was wonderful for Beanz to play in and explore.
Driving through Ontario was absolutely breathtaking and we found ourselves stopping at multiple hikes and lookouts to take in some of the serene and natural beauty. The third night we stayed in Wawa, at the Scenic High Falls on the Magpie river and it is absolutely stunning. We had both never even heard of this waterfall before and had found this spot to camp on the website freecampsites.net (an absolutely wonderful tool to assist in travelling cheaply). While we were there we met a couple and their sweet daughter who had also found this great spot to stay on thanks to freecampsites.net and have been living in their 1979 motorhome for the past few years, spending the winter on Vancouver Island. We are extremely thankful for our opportunity to meet, talk with, and learn from Cody and Caitlyn and hope to catch up with them again in the near future. We had a wonderful nights sleep, opened Moon’s door in the morning and felt the mist from the falls upon our faces. The weather has been warm and sunny so far each day, another thing that we are thankful for. We continued West taking our time travelling across Ontario and found ourselves in Terrance Bay (another beautiful spot). We set up camp for the night in a little shaded nook of the parking lot, next to the waterfall and Aguasabon river gorge, and the Casques Isles Trail. There is also a beautiful and long beach there that Beanz absolutely loved exploring. We spent the night fishing in front of a bald eagle and made friends with our neighbours, the Jimmy Tri Tone Band (check them out on youtube J), a wonderful couple travelling and playing music together. It was great just relaxing by the fire, and venturing up the trail listening to the grunts and hums of the Northern wilderness. The next day we went to an incredible indigenous pictograph site in the Agawa Bay located within Lake Superior Provincial Park. It’s a great little hike down to the water, where you can hold onto ropes and walk along the cliffs and look up to the many pictographs. Although there were some signs and information provided, we had hoped that we could have learnt more about this special place from in a more in-depth and critical way. Once we find somewhere with wifi, I’m sure we will be trying to research and learn more about the history and different stories and narratives of the Agawa Bay region. We then headed to Kakabeka falls, and we had recently been told by some friends not to stay there, as they were told they couldn’t overnight park and camp by the park rangers. However, we parked far away from the information centre, right next to the village trail, and we settled in for the night. Kakabeka falls is something to be seen by everyone who lives in Ontario, and I am quite ashamed that after living in Ontario for close to thirteen years, that this is the first time I have seen this magnificent site. Matteo and I both said that we enjoyed visiting Kakabeka falls more than we had ever enjoyed Niagara falls (with the hoards of people, vendors, and endless lights of entertainment) and we later found out that Kakabeka falls is known as the ‘Niagara of the North’. There is wonderful history of resistance, bravery, and strength entwined within this landscape, and it is somewhere that I am already looking forward to visiting again. That night we went on a hike, and awoke a sleeping deer in the forest (which was pretty cool even though we didn’t mean to disturb its sweet dreaming) and went to sleep, once again listening to the sounds of rushing water. The next day was pretty interesting, because shortly after the joy of seeing our first living moose on the trip (we had seen two dead female moose the previous day), we got a flat tire just past Upsala. After waiting for a few hours in the basking sun, Matteo attempting to sell smoked fish along the highway and myself painting on the back of Moon, we had a new tire thanks to CalTire from Thunderbay and were on the road once again. That night (night number 6) we stayed at Raleigh falls, which isn’t a huge spectacular waterfall but it’s a small natural waterfall with rapids in a quiet wooded spot of the highway. It was the perfect spot to pull up to, clean off in the waterfall, cook some grub and head to sleep, both of us with our heads as close to the window as possible to fall asleep watching the bright stars and listening to the sounds of water flowing and rushing. It seems that our little adventure out West is already bestowing a sort of waterfall theme (we both absolutely love waterfalls and water) and I’m sure that this theme will carry on steadily. The next day we drove through Kenora and finally made it out of Ontario, and made it to Brandon in Manitoba quite late at night and stayed at the anytime fitness there where we had a quick workout and a wonderful and warm shower. The next morning we got up early and drove out to Oak Lake (a little outside of Brandon) to watch the storm across the lake and cook some breakfast. We travelled across the prairies a lot faster than travelling across Ontario, as our next stop for the night was in the little town of Morse (population 280) and we stayed at Reed Lake (we aren’t quite sure about its authenticity as a ‘lake’ and believe it may just be agricultural runoff) at a small lookout along the highway where there were hundreds of different birds flying around our windows all evening. We made homemade pizza dough with flour brought from the local grocery store in Morse and we cooked pizzas on our little barbeque in the wind. Although we enjoyed our little spot to camp, as we were driving out of Saskatchewan we stopped to make breakfast at picnic area of the highway just past Morse and just before the town of Herbert. We both said that it looked like a great free camping spot, as there were big areas around picnic tables, fire pits, and big grassy areas. As I’m currently writing this, it’s now Saturday June 9th and we passed into the Alberta border not too long ago and are now driving along what looks like the ‘prairies of Alberta’ toward the town of Wayne (Terry – Matteo’s stepdad insists that we have to stop in at the Last Saloon for a beer) just outside of Drumheller. ALBERTA – The town of Wayne We drove for what seemed like hours through wheat fields and grasslands witnessing more small oil rigs dotted across the landscape than I could even try to count, however, as soon as you drive down the hill and enter the badlands, you just know that you are somewhere special. Matteo and I were mentioning that it looked like the Land of Jurassic Park with rolling hills and unique scenery everywhere you look once you arrive in the valley. Once you enter the town of Wayne and drive past the sign stating the population of 28 year round residents, you truly know that you are in quite a unique place. Although the history that we learnt about last night only consisted of this region from about 1912 to this day, and we are unknowledgeable about the vast history of this land prior to the incorporation of the mines in Wayne, it was extremely interesting to sit in the Last Saloon last night, looking around at the many historical and unique artefacts on the wall, looking through an old donated photo album, and talking to the bar owner’s son and other patrons. We parked our sweet Moon in the back of the Last Saloon (they have a few campsites available in the back for $15). We had such a wonderful night, finally treating ourselves to some cold draft beers and relaxing our tired bodies from driving and just loosing ourselves to the sweet soulful music of the Jenny Allen band. We are super thankful for the hospitality of Wayne and the opportunity to sit with and converse with Jenny’s brother Peter last night during the show. We just woke, did some dishes, and are now making some grilled tomato and cheese sandwiches and heading to Drumheller and ‘Smashed in Head Buffalo Jump’ and then to Rocky Mountain House. All in all, thanks Terry for giving us the advice to hit up such a cool and unique spot for our first night in Alberta, and we are excited to learn more about Wayne and visit once again. |
AuthorsLauren Archives
March 2018
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