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Hillis Vassilas

Hillis Vassilas

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    • There and Back Again
      'Sea to Sky' waterfall
      Viewpoint from 'sea to sky'Cool rock on cable bay trailPacific estuaryBlue heron!Farmship doggyEllie loves dat mossDesire path tree crossing1Found a stick: named it 'Ogg'1

      From sky to sea to island

      Jun 17–Jul 1, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

      We woke up very early on the 16th with barely any sleep from our shared night in Donnie and begun our trip down the mountains and to the Pacific.

      Other than our overnight stay in Kamloops the first half of the ride was uneventful; the second half took us through incredible forested mountains until we reached whistler and from there we stopped at two waterfalls that were sensational. Reaching the Pacific was so cathartic; I couldn't believe we were looking at an ocean and not a lake. We had finally made it all the way WEST!!!

      We stayed a night at our family friend Anna Kalfa's home in Vancouver and got the ferry to Vancouver island the next day and arrived at Isabelle's farmship co-op exhausted and really glad we were done travelling for a while.

      Madeleine was still feeling under the weather from our time in Jasper but me and Ellie got started the next day farming our little hearts out. Isabelle's farm was by far the most efficient and industrious of all the farms we had been: there were around 8 fields and 5 greenhouses filled with every vegetable you could imagine. We harvested, weeded, transplanted alongside a crew of 8 wonderful full time employees. The schedule was great: 4 days on, 3 days off.

      So on our day offs we went for walks: one was the cable bay trail which took us through some beautiful old growth forest and ended on a coast that faced Gabriola island. We saw a hilarious interaction between a big dog named Jasper who just wanted to play with a sea lion who was hanging out on the shoreline.

      Another was a wild bushwhacking hike we improvised from an estuary to a waterfall. We felt like we were in a video game, trying to find the right path that would move us forward. Eventually, after much plank moving and generic video game shouting, we found an old desire path and followed it up to a small waterfall; we saw incredible foliage along the way and we're proud that we powered through the muddy and muddled start.      Read more

    • There and Back Again
      2
      1

      Jasper

      Jun 13–16, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

      Next up we arrived at our campsite in Jasper- just as beautiful and less touristy. Usually when we went driving, there would be a lineup of parked cars, watching some animal do it's thing at the side of the road! This is where I FINALLY saw bears which was a Canadian bucket list item ticked off! 

      Activities included some free tours of Maligne Lake and the Columbia Icefields that were gifted to us by a friend of ours previous WWOOF host. We walked the through the Maligne canyons, and pretty much spent our time walking around and marvelling at the natural splendor around us. 

      However after the heat of our previous WWOOF we were humbled by the cold of being so far above sea level and so far north. We had nights of camping in -5 which we were pretty unprepared for because we didn't have internet to check the weather. The next night all 3 of us bundled up in Donny with every layer we had and newly purchased hot water bottles  and huddled up like penguins.      Read more

    • There and Back Again
      1

      BANFF

      Jun 12–13, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

      Ok ok so I know it's been an age since we last posted- if you don't know why already, the reason will become clear in a later post. So after leaving our second WWOOF and their gorj lake house, we drove to pick up Mad and a friend she made while WWOOFing (Nele) and drove to Banff. 

      Banff is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Canada/ the world and for good reason; it's a town surrounded by mountains, lakes and forests of the most picturesque variety. 

      The first thing we did when we arrived (after getting acquainted with our hostel) was do a short hike. Turns out it was a short hike IF you drove to the trailhead, but seeing as we walked all the way there too, it was a bit longer than expected. Luckily the views made up for it (we even found the Canadian lawn chairs that I love so much!) 

      After the hike we had dinner out, found the place serving the cheapest wine (a bottle of 'Gemma de Luna' definitely qualified!) and danced the night away! 

      The next day with slightly sore heads, we hiked up Sulphur Mt which I thought would be the thing that finally humbled me by legit killing me (8,041 ft climb!) but I lived to see some of the best views of my life AND baby mountain goats. Yay!

      After essentially floating back down to Donny, we started the journey to Jaspar which was an incredible drive, weaving between mountains and lakes at golden hour. GOOD SHIT ALL ROUND.
      Xoxo- Ellie      Read more

    • There and Back Again
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      The laziest lake you've ever laked at...

      Jun 8–11, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      If you are ever in the kootenays; visit lazy lake. It is serene; and we were lucky enough to stay at the most beautiful property on the lake, the iconic forest green A frame.

      Our day began with a sunrise hike that brimmed with potential. We drove down to pick up Madeleine from her wwoof and headed straight for the lake. We were open mouthed when we walked out onto the patio.

      We stayed on a tent on a tiny island right across from the house and canoed and kayaked everyday across the lake to a small beach that became our little cove. We ate hot dogs and bison burgers and listened to old cassettes that the previous owner had collected and Steve and ally had added to over the years (special shout-out to 'collection of acid jazz volume 2').

      The serenity spoke to Ellie and I and it was the most beautiful place we had been to thus far. Thank you ally and Steve for sharing your amazing space with us and the hundreds of other wwoofers before us. We'll be back...      Read more

    • There and Back Again
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      123Us with Ally!111312

      Getting to work in Wycliff

      May 26–Jun 5, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      Our days with Steve and Ally at our second WWOOF were never dull- filled with hard work in the garden, games of Sorry and bocce balls (bowls for the British among you), live music and beer. Lots of beer.

      Jobs and activities included:
      - staining the railings of their deck
      - removing invasive species from the property
      - weeding the vegeteble beds
      - brushing the dogs
      - digging up soil and building a raised bed for a hugel mound
      - planting the year's veggies
      - cleaning windows, inside and out
      - baking bread and muffins
      - LOTS of washing up

      We were rewarded for this work with delicious meals, hikes, mountain bike rides and picnics in the wild flowers!

      The closest town- Kimberley has been voted the best small town in BC and is surrounded by beautiful mountains and populated by lovely, warm people. How lucky we are to spend 3 weeks as part of the community!      Read more

    • There and Back Again
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      111Madeleine excited to be at the gas station!Postcard perfect2Hot springs!!!

      Into the Rockies...

      May 23–26, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

      We awoke early on the 23rd, eager to begin what everyone had told us is the most beautiful part of the cross-canada drive.

      It was ... Gorgeous. We just passed Banff when I realised we needed to fill up on gas and I had no idea when the next gas station was. Coincidentally, it happened to be at the lake Louise exit (a lake I had literally been recommended by every human in canada) and we impromptu realised we had time to kill so we decided to go see it!
      I had thought that it would be expensive but I was suprised to see the day pass was only $22 for the three of us! So we parked by the entrance and were feeling bless until we found out the parking was $36.5!!! That's where the bastards get ya. But it was a lovely lake and I thoroughly enjoyed the hour visit we had.

      It was cloudy at first, but the sun soon burst through and the valley that the lake was nestled in-between was truly gorgeous. We sat and chatted and enjoyed the view for as long as we could, before heading onwards to our respective homesteads: we dropped off Madeleine just beyond Golden and drove through the kootenays all the way to Kimberley and found our hosts, celebrating at a local brewery.

      Our hosts are a lovely couple: Ally and Steve who have lived on their land for coming on to 12 years now. It was Steve's 40th birthday the day we arrived so the festivities were already in full swing and upon arrival we found out that the whole weekend would be celebration vibez!
      Friday we went for a hike up to some hot springs with Leo, a Wwoofer who had already been here for a month and who was leaving the next day. The hike was gorgeous and the hot springs divine: a perfect 38-45°C so you could stay in there for hours (which we did)!
      Saturday was Steve's 'party' where we helped prep hummus, salad, bread and the lot for his family and friends who were lovely, funny and very chatty! Ally plays the fiddle and her band performed just two doors down at a neighbours home. We all migrated there for a great show of folk and country tunes. We returned for a big bonfire and spent the night sitting around the fire drinking and chatting with everyone. It was truly a fantastic introduction to the kootenays and ended the weekend feeling blessed to be in this beautiful area of BC.      Read more

    • There and Back Again
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      2We played darts to ward off the creepy vibes (Ellie won)

      Calgary and Madeleine!

      May 21–23, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

      After visiting the conservation site, we rushed over to a local bar in a small town to watch the Vancouver vs Edmunton ice hockey game (we have truly gone native) in the dingiest and creepiest bar we've ever been to (good fried chicken though!). Then we found our free campsite and settled down in Donnie for the night.

      The next morning was straight out of a low budget horror film. THOUSANDS of bugs covered every inch of the grass surrounding us, the car and the stuff we had foolishly left outside for the night. It took us over an hour to get as many as we could off and get the hell outta there. (We still have no idea what they were; they could fly but didnt sting. Any ideas?)

      Our moods very quickly improved after a Timmie's breakfast and a visit to Dinosaur Provincial Park- it had amazing views and we were sad not to hike around but we had to be on our way to meet mt sister Madeleine, who'se joining us for the rest of our time in Canada! We picked her up from the the Calgary airport and took her to our hostel in the city. Hillis sat very patiently while Mad and I spoke approx 10,000 mph catching up.

      The next day we explored Calgary. Its my viee that your opinion of a new place is completely dependent on the weather when you visit- Calgary was very grey and rainy. But as we found the right side of town that suited us (bookshop, plant shop, spice shop and local brewery), the sun came out and we ended the day with beer and cards.

      We're so happy to have a new addition to the travel team (or Donnie and the Darlings as we know it).

      -Ellie      Read more

    • There and Back Again
      121111

      Bye bye Manitoba - Hello Saskatchewan!

      May 19–21, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

      With Donnie all packed and ready to go, we left Roseisle, and began our journey through the Prairies.

      The first day of driving was completely uneventful, but we were once again dazzled by the kindness of strangers when the park managers, Brian and Louise in Ceylon provincial park, invited us to have dinner with them, and join them for breakfast the next morning! We graciously accepted and were warmed by their hospitality.

      The next day, Donnie informed us he needed an oil change, so we swung by moose jaw to change our oil and just so happened to pass by a giant moose, with whom we had to get our pictures taken.

      Once we got back on the road we pushed on westwards. We were hoping to visit the 'Old man on his back prairie' which is a nature conservancy of Canada heritage site which is home to a herd of plains bison. Back in Toronto I fundraised for the NCC and specifically told people about this heritage site as a success story of protecting endangered species in Canada. We almost turned back because the road to get there was pretty muddy but I'm so glad we pushed on because it was so rewarding and fascinating to see the place in person!

      We walked 10 or so minutes to the top of a hill where we could see the entire horizon for as far as you can imagine. We sighted three bison just on the other side of the hill and holy shit are they massive! They trotted and jumped around the land, grazing as they went. It was wonderful to see them in their natural environment and to see this place that I was working towards in the flesh!

      We learnt a lot from the land manager who we were lucky enough to drive past and gave us a tour of the visitors centre. The ranchers in the 1900's had brought a lot of invasive grass species over and it was only with lots of work that the next generation of ranchers were able to revert the damage done and return wild prairie grass to the land and eventually, a herd of bison.

      Thank you Nature Conservancy of Canada for protecting this land and before that, to all the ranchers and land managers who worked to bring wild prairie grass species and bison back to it.

      - Hillis      Read more

    • There and Back Again
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      11A better photo of the owl we saw!12

      Roseisle Sauna 14-19th May

      May 14–18, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

      The second half of our WWOOF passed peacefully: we were properly settled and working away to help the family maintain their property. Some highlights include:

      - once the hosts got to know me better, they suggested that we destroy a small shed that they no longer needed. A bump on the head later, we conquered the beast

      - A new WWOOFer unexpectedly joined us! Thea was a german student that we immediately got on well with. The tasks became that much more fun with someome new to chat to and that much simpler with her German problem solving skills.

      - On a day off, the three of us attended an Indiginous Pow-Wow in Winnipeg which was a beautiful celebration of Native dancing and art work

      - After working all day to take apart pallets to salvage the wood, we threw most of it on a bonfire because the wood was, as it turned out, unusable

      - Luke, the smallest of the two dogs fell head over heels in love with Ellie (and it was definitely reciprocated)

      - we watched spring properly arrive on their beautiful property; the leaves finally populating the barren tree branches. Canada really knows how to build anticipation for spring and then deliver something spectacular as the forest bursts into life.      Read more

    • There and Back Again
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      Such Silence

      May 10, 2024 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

      As deep as I ever went into the forest
      I came upon an old stone bench, very, very old,
      And around it a clearing, and beyond that
      Trees taller and older than I had ever seen.

      Such silence!
      It really wasn't so far from a town, but it seemed
      All the clocks in the world had stopped counting.
      So it was hard to suppose the usual rules applied.

      Sometimes there's only a hint, a possibility.
      What's magical, sometimes, has deeper roots than reason.
      I hope everyone knows that.

      I sat on the bench, waiting for something.
      An angel, perhaps.
      Or dancers with the legs of goats.

      No, I didn't see either. But only, I think, because
      I didn't stay long enough.

      Such Silence - Mary Oliver      Read more

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