The Final Tally of an Epic Summer Road Trip!

A summer road trip (or any trip) does not have to be planned or foreseen. The best adventures are those that are unexpected or unanticipated. Surrender and let your heart and the road take you. This is where the wind took me this summer… Going the distance….

• 10 000 kilometres
• 10 weeks
• 10 states – Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon
• 3 Gulf Islands – Vancouver, Denman, Hornby
• 6 vehicle ferries

Home is where the backpack is, or van in this case….

• 6 lakeside camps
• 5 riverside camps
• 3 oceanside camps
• 2 city parks – Douglas, Wyoming and Clatskanie, Oregon
• 1 canyon camp – beautiful Canyonlands, Utah
• 1 wildlife refuge camp

 Ollie’s Maintenance…

• 1 flat tire (day one of my trip)
• 3 windshield chips/cracks
• 2 oil changes
• 1 mechanic visit – new front brakes

Social times…

• 1 great community with Mudgirls (the natural building workshop I took) with many new friends
• 1 delightful traveling companion
• 1 home invited into with 1 cooking extravaganza to assist a new friend with the Denman Island Saturday Market – what a blast!
• 1 music festival
• 5 brewpubs plus 2 restaurants
• too many beer too count
• myriad of enchanting people that blessed my journey whether it was a brief connection or an extended converse – thank you
• and many many landscapes to say hello to

Essential Camping Gear…some of it at least…

• 1 pocket size cook stove (see photo)
• 2 or 3 gas cylinders for stove
• 1 headlamp and extra batteries
• 1 water bottle (1L)
• 1 water container/canister (20L or 5G)
• camp chair
• lighter/matches
• sleeping bag and/or tons of warm blankets (wool and flannel are warm)
• locals maps – get them free at every visitor’s centre or ranger station
• swiss army knife
• axe or hatchet
• cast iron pan and/or metal pan
• all natural, completely biodegradable soap (bar is more versatile and better for friction)
• a toque and sunhat (be prepared for all climates)

….And always a good sense of humour with heaps of learning, growing, and evolving. Living life.  

                        ~ Life is an adventure. Live it ~