Vancouver Island

(31st October  – 7th December, 2015)

After almost 7 months living like free roaming gypsies we felt that it was time to start thinking a bit about our finances. Our budget was pretty small to begin with and if we wanted to be able to travel longer we would need to sooner or later take a break from travelling and earn some money. Thankfully we (or more correctly one of us) was able to work remotely. Gary’s former employer Contens GmbH had agreed to let him work as a freelancer from time to time – naturally if they have enough work available. Gary had already contacted Contens and arranged work for November and so we needed to find a suitable and affordable apartment, which turned out to be quite a lot more difficult than we imagined. It wasn’t about finding a place in the perfect location or with super amenities or anything like that, it was more important to find a place that had a separate room so that Gary could work undisturbed. Of course and full kitchen and Internet were also a must. We searched the entire southern British Columbia online for apartments or similar only to discover that just about everything was way over our budget. It took quite a while until we finally found a relatively affordable place through AirBnB. Thankfully November is shoulder season so we were able to get a halfway good price too; that the apartment we found was on Vancouver Island was just icing on the cake – we wanted to spend time on the island anyway.

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British Columbia & Alberta

(07th. – 31st. October, 2015)

Saying our goodbyes to the Yukon on the 7th of October we started heading south on the Stewart-Cassiar highway. We didn’t want to drive too long after the late night the day before and it appeared as though we wouldn’t have to search for a wild camping spot either. We stopped at the Boya Lake Provincial Park, mostly out of curiosity, to see if the park was still open this time of year. As we drove the road leading to the park we spotted a bobcat strolling along the roadway; it was probably quite surprised to see tourists so late in the year and bolted for the woods before we had a chance to snap a photo.

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Yukon – Part II

(24th September – 7th October, 2015)

We, more me, were once again nervous with the upcoming border crossing into Canada, although this time not really without cause since my current visitor visa was set to expire in exactly one week. Of course we had looked into the possibilities of extending the visa but no one could guarantee us that I would be allowed back into the country with the extended visa anyway. Besides the processing time for an extension was around about 3 months, and you need to do all kinds of paperwork, provide biometric photos and then also pay 100 CAD. We hadn’t planned on being in Canada for another 3 months anyway so all the trouble of filling out the forms were really a waste of time. We figured we would just “see what happens” at the border crossing. The officer at the Beaver Creek border crossing was very friendly, though he did put on quite a strict face as we explained to him the situation. “Come into my office and we will see what we can do for you guys”, he decided suddenly. Naturally all manner of thoughts started flashing through my head as to what would happen if he said that I had to leave Canada at the end of the week….Gary, of course, was much more relaxed and convinced that that wouldn’t happen. After answering a number of questions about our trip, itinerary, finances and insurance he gave me another 4 month Visa. The officer wished us a continued safe and adventurous journey and we drove somewhat relieved for the second time into the Yukon.

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Dawson City – “Not the worst place to be stuck”

(21st August – 09th September, 2015)

“You’re in Dawson. It’s not the worst place to be stuck”, is what we heard from just about everyone. Apparently we aren’t the first to end up spending more time in Dawson than planned, whether by choice or not. “Some people planned just to travel through and they are still here.” We also hear. The town is full of such stories; and now we get to experience our own little Dawson City story. Read more

Yukon – Part I

(6th – 21st August, 2015)

Yukon was one of our biggest travel destinations and we have wanted to visit for a long time. Gary, since he was a small boy; and I’ve been excited to visit since we first started planning our trip. And now as we cross the border, much later than we had originally planed, into the Yukon greeted by glorious summer weather we are especially happy to finally be here. We are also excited about the experiences that await us…

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Northward bound – through Alberta and British Columbia

30th July – 6th August, 2015

After the 2-week pause in Edmonton, and what feels like months in the flat lands, we couldn’t wait to finally be in the mountains again. We had an almost homesick feeling for the mountains and were quite excited to finally be on the way again.

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Edmonton – “Pit Stop”

July 18th – 30th, 2015

We knew going into this trip that a big challenge for us, should something on the Land Rover break, would be finding parts. It’s not that Land Rovers aren’t sold in North America; it’s more that the Defender line was never sold so parts aren’t found just anywhere. You have to order them from specialty shops, and then wait patiently for the Post to deliver. Read more

Manitoba & Saskatchewan

(July 11 – 18, 2015)

Everything that we have heard so far about Manitoba and Saskatchewan is that it’s flat, there isn’t much to see, it’s a long boring drive and you are happy when you finally have it behind you. Well we certainly can attest to that it’s flat, but we definitely didn’t find it boring.

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Ontario

(June 18 – July 11, 2015)

We were welcomed to Ontario to perfect summer weather, ice cream, the first Tourist information center that was actually open and even higher camping prices than in Quebec.

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Quebec

(June 8- June 18, 2015)

After what has quite possibly been the longest winter either of us has experienced, the thought that we were now driving south appealed to us quite a bit. We realized that we really could use some warmer weather, and definitely could do with a lot less wind. It may have been quite intense and exciting in the North but it also took quite a bit of energy to be constantly exposed to the raw elements, and we both realized that we longed for some summer temperatures. Read more