Reimposta ricerca
There and Back Again
Attualmente in viaggio
  • Hillis Vassilas
  • Ellie Stone

There and Back Again

Crossing Canada east to west, down the US west coast, across desert and then back up to Ontario Leggi altro
SeguiPanoramicaPanoramicaCalendarioCalendarioCondividiCondividiLista dei desideri
Prima i più vecchi
  • Ultima visualizzazione 💤
    Oggi
    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

    17 giu–1 lug 2024, 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.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    2
    1

    Jasper

    13–16 giu 2024, 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.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1

    BANFF

    12–13 giu 2024, 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    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1

    The laziest lake you've ever laked at...

    8–11 giu 2024, 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...    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1
    123Us with Ally!111312

    Getting to work in Wycliff

    26 mag–5 giu 2024, 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!    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1
    111Madeleine excited to be at the gas station!Postcard perfect2Hot springs!!!

    Into the Rockies...

    23–26 mag 2024, 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.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1
    2We played darts to ward off the creepy vibes (Ellie won)

    Calgary and Madeleine!

    21–23 mag 2024, 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    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    121111

    Bye bye Manitoba - Hello Saskatchewan!

    19–21 mag 2024, 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    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1
    11A better photo of the owl we saw!12

    Roseisle Sauna 14-19th May

    14–18 mag 2024, 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.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1

    Such Silence

    10 maggio 2024, 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    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    323131225

    Roseisle Sauna 8-13th May

    8–14 mag 2024, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Foreword: for the adventures at our Wwoof's we will be posting once every 3-4 days because our location isn't changing and we just aren't taking as many pictures.

    For the entirety of our first day we were tasked with harvesting and cleaning fiddleheads so we could have them as a side for dinner. We were guided in this task by Drew, one of Gerri's lovely sons, who taught us to cut 3/4 of the stalks and leave some so that the population can be sustained. Ellie also dug up burdock roots to make a broth that can be used to cook rice and in stews. Having our hands in the soil was a fantastic feeling and one we were about to get very used to. We ended the day with a lovely campfire with smores by the beach.

    The next day we harvested more fiddleheads and created a vegetable bed for squash and I made Briam and chicken for dinner! We also tried some lovely local beers that claimed to save a wolf every time you bought a beer.

    The following day we visited a cidery operated by one of their cousin's and boy do they make good cider. They had a rose variety and a lemon shandy cider which were my two favourites. We also caught the northern lights (pictures of which will follow in our next post)!

    Saturday we gave Donnie a big ol' clean and found a perfect piece of foam at the thrift store (is comfort a crime?) and had the whole day to ourselves as the family here had a gathering in Steinbeck. We made stuffed peppers when they returned with leftover Briam and rice which was yum.

    Sunday was sauna day, and I think I fed the fire a bit too much (Gerry said it was like an incinerator in there!). So after a lovely roast dinner made by Gerry we spent maybe 5-10 mins in there and then went for an ice bath in the nearby creek which was a real soup of sensations! All in all it was pretty fantastic and we have been really enjoying our stay here so far.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1
    11

    Day 6- Goodbye Ontario, Hello Manitoba!

    7 maggio 2024, Canada ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    We woke up in Thunder Bay and followed Barbra's advice and went to a sauna at the Finnish baths and had Finnish pancakes for breakfast! This was a perfect way to start the day and the sauna soothed the aches of camping for a week!

    Then we drove for maybe half an hour to Kakabeka Falls, a beautiful waterfall and landscape. We had a long drive ahead so couldnt hike around but we got the general idea.

    Then we said goodbye to beautiful Ontario that we have come to love and appreciate much, and crossed the border into a new province and time zone: we're Manitoba people now!

    A few hours of driving through very flat and sprawling prarie landscapes, we arrived at Roseisle Sauna (our first WWOOF) at around 8pm and gratefully collapsed into a bed that will be ours for the next 2 weeks.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1111

    Day 5 - Driving to Thunder Bay

    6 maggio 2024, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After a distinctly cold and uncomfortable night in Donnie Dodges belly, we decided to take the morning easy: we did sun salutations towards the sun and had lunch on the beach, before re-packing Donnie and heading out to Thunder bay.

    Before heading out, we got in touch with Barb; a friend of a friend who could potentially house us in the area. She told us she'd be happy to, but she recommended we don't rush the drive because it is a beautiful one- and boy was she right! The next 7 hours were filled with winding roads that went uphill and downhill; cliffs towered to our right and Lake Superior dazzled to our left. We stopped to get a picture with the world's largest goose🦆 but mostly did the 480km drive in one fell swoop.

    Barb turned out to be a delight, and brought so much excited energy to our trip. We pulled out the maps and showed her our route, and ended the night watching an episode of 'Midsummer Murders' as we fell asleep on her comfy couches. Thanks Barb!!

    -Hillis    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    1
    1121

    Day 4- Driving to Pancake Bay

    5 maggio 2024, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    After yet another delicious meal we packed up and said goodbye to Barb, Curtis, Randy, Nancy and beautiful Manitoulin Island.
    We drove 4 and a half hours to the 'city' of Sault St Marie and the vibes were seriously off. Maybe because it was a Sunday, maybe because it wasnt pedestrian friendly as we were expecting, maybe its just a weird place but we stocked up on groceries and got the hell outta there.
    It was another hour to Pancake Bay where we had a campsite booked for the night. We squealed when we saw our first glimpse of Lake Superior- Ontario is GAWGUS you guys.
    We set up camp (I.e moved all our crap from the back seat to the front and laying out our foam thats about as thick as a tissue), Hillis made us some dinner and we spent the final moments of sunlight drinking local beers at Pancake Bay and reading Mary Oliver to each other.
    Campfire, cups of tea, then bed.

    -Ellie    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    2121252

    Day 3 - Manitoulin Island

    4 maggio 2024, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We started our day with a hearty breakfast with our new friends and ventured out into the island. Within minutes the fog cleared and it was like we had travelled to a different manitoulin! Our two hikes for the day were:
    - A short trail that led to a roaring waterfall called 'bridal veil falls' (we ended the hike with an almond mocha fudge root beer float that blew our minds!).
    - Next, the cup and saucer trail! It was a short 2 hour hike, but we made it an adventure by taking the the 'adventure trail' which was a lot of climbing through rocks and boy did it make the view all that much better. From the viewpoint we could see the north and east side of the island all the way to the mainland and we sat up there for as long as we could.

    Once we had soaked it all in we returned back to our lovely hosts who had prepared a delicious dinner of pulled pork, mashed potatoes and Caesar salad! Randy even treated us to a ride on his ATV which was a real thrill and something we never would have done if we hadn't met them. We even saw 2 groups of 3 deer (they didnt enjoy the sound of the ATV!) We ended the day watching the hockey which was a good game, but disappointing as the toronto maple leafs lost in overtime. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow 😊😊.    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    136

    Day 2- Manitoulin Island

    3–4 mag 2024, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Ok buckle up, because day 2 was a day of miracles. It started completely unassumimgly; we were up and packed in time for the 8:30 ferry to Manatoulin Island. We bought ourselves breakfast and got to chatting to the couple sitting next to us, Barb and Curtis ... 2 hour ferry ride later and theyve invited us to stay at their friends house during our time on the Island! After quite a cold and stiff night in the tent we didnt need much convincing and gratefully accepted.

    We spent the first few hours on the Island visiting the Ojibwe Cultural centre (shoutout Darlene for the tour and examples of Indigenous crafts!)- I dragged Hillis for a small walk in the rain and he stuck it out for as long as he could (10 minutues) before driving us to visit our home for the night.

    After seeing deer and porcupine crossing the road (!!) on our journey we arrived at Randy and Nancy's place to see the lovely side house they had made up for us. We spent the rest of the day getting to know our lovely hosts, hearing stories of their adventures in Canada and getting recommendations for our next day on the Island.

    We cant believe our luck at meeting such warm and generous people- biggest shoutout ever to our new friends Barb, Curtis, Nancy and Randy!!! (photos to follow tomorrow of the whole gang together)
    - Ellie    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
  • There and Back Again
    122212114

    Day 1 - Bruce Peninsula

    2 maggio 2024, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Hello hello to everyone near and far! Here's your one stop shop for everything Hillis and Ellie for the next four months. Here goes:

    We awoke to a lovely sunny Toronto bidding us farewell and with giddy and nervous energy we packed the rest of our things and headed up the 400 north. Our first stop ended up being Timmy's, which did not disappoint. As we began our drive up to Bruce Peninsula National Park, we popped in a CD we picked up from the Toronto Island Bridge Boutique called 'Q Magazine's Essential Drive'
    It turned out to be the perfect starting music: a cool collection of alternative rock that felt like the kind of music our dads would have played in the car when we were young.
    We made a couple stops along the way: -Walmart for a charger and groceries
    -a dodge dealer to check if they had a spare spare tire (ours is a little old, and we don't know if it will hold up if we have to use it)
    -a junkyard who said they had a spare in alright condition (turned out to be in even worse condition than ours)

    By 14:30 we arrived at the park and began setting up camp. We did it as fast as we could so we could fit in a walk around the lake and to the bay before dark. And we are so grateful we did: it was one of the most beautiful walks I've ever been on. We walked the perimeter of Cyprus lake which was through lovely woodland area literally right on the shore. Then on our way to the bay we saw some crazy rocks that had these really distinct holes in them (does anyone know what this is???). We arrived at the grotto during golden hour and holy cow, the water was soooo beautiful and transparent. Georgian bay really giving Greece a run for it's money! The naturally occuring overhang was also pretty amazing and we sat on the beach wishing it was hotter and we could jump into the water. We made our way back to our campsite and the water on Cyprus lake was like glass. We watched the sun go down and paint the sky a ray of reds.

    We chose beauty over practicality because then we had to make dinner (luckily it was just salad) and a fire in the dark (lesson learnt!). We ended the day feeling excited for manitoulin and grateful that something we had worked so hard for was finally a reality (and, a little cold!).

    -Hillis    Leggi altro

    Guarda la traduzione
    Inizio del viaggio
    2 maggio 2024