Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Yellowknife, NWT, Canada

There's no typo in the heading for this post. I am once again in Yellowknife. So much for sticking to the script.

I decided last minute (ok, last second) to cancel my journey to Whitefish with my family to instead go somewhere nice and toasty (-28 today!), like Yellowknife. It may not seem like the smartest plan, but it's been a great trip and looks like it's only going to get better. Anyways, we are taking a journey today to Fort Simpson, NWT and then to Muncho Lake, BC for a few nights (including New Years). Barring some unforeseen wifi, posts will be non-existent for a few days until I return to civilization.

Sorry for not having any pictures for you today. I'll have more for you after the next journey.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Saskatoon, SK, Canada


The 'holidays' have concluded and my first stop in Saskatoon will be ending shortly. I spent a nice relaxed Christmas with my immediate family, and will my dad's side of the family.

I spent some time watching Canada embarrass some unsuspecting junior hockey team from Latvia. It was nice to be back watching international for the first time in 20 years.


Next stop on my world journey, after much discussion, will be to Whitefish, MT. Just like I had originally planned. I know there had been talk about some crazy places like Cuba, Vegas, Seattle, etc. Sorry to let you down. I'll try to keep it a little more interesting in the future. I leave you tonight with a Saskatchewan sunset as compensation. Enjoy

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Saskatoon, SK, Canada


After a quick stopover in Sherwood Park, AB, I have said my final goodbyes to my previous life and I'm now moving onto more adventures. It's been hard to grasp the gravity of my decisions and the potential repercussions, but I believe that I made the right decisions, and hopefully I'll never look back.

My first stop is to visit with my family in Saskatoon for the holidays. I arrived on Dec 22, across some sketchy highways on some sketchier tires. I've been hanging out with family and friends ever since and will continue to do so until Boxing Day. My little homeless adventure is currently being graciously supported by my sister and her family.

The current plan for my next trip is to travel to Whitefish, MT, USA with most of my family. That being said, there is currently some work going on behind the scenes to sabotage (don't worry, I'm fine with it) my involvement in a trip to Whitefish. Until I learn some more, that's all I can divulge. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Sherwood Park, AB, Canada


My journey to the far north has now concluded and I have returned to Sherwood Park for a momentary stopover before continuing on my journey to the Motherland (SK). Before I came back to SP, I had another adventure filled day. I took a nice walk around downtown YK this morning because everyone else was stuck at work.

Later on in the afternoon, Brian and I got dressed up in the thickest jackets we could find and we went dog-sledding across frozen lakes and trails. We were both surprised to find out that we would both get to drive the sleds. Turns out it's a pretty easy skill to acquire.

My day finished with a nice dinner with Sue followed by some random driving around YK before begrudgingly heading to the airport. I definitely will need to plan a summer visit to the north. There is so much more to explore. I would like to thank Mother Nature for keeping the weather reasonable for my trip.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Yellowknife, NWT, Canada


Good evening everyone (and by evening, I mean it's 2:30am). I'm currently approaching my bedtime but I am due to provide an update on my first few days of travel. I have successfully managed to get myself into the territories for the first time. And so far I have been quite enjoying myself. This weekend I have been the house guest of the Coyne family who have been fabulous hosts. I always enjoy my time with my 'adopted' family. I got the first of many tours of Yellowknife on day 1 where I was able to the local wildlife and visit Pilots Monument to get a terrific view of Yellowknife.

YK is definitely different from anywhere I've ever been before. It has many quirks, like mostly above ground power lines (related to permafrost, I'm guessing) and peculiar speed limits.

Today (day 2), I successfully (I think) completed the task that originally brought me up here, which was to do family pictures. Generally I am against snow and winter, but it did make for some scenic family pictures.

And finally, tonight I was talked into going (ok, I wanted to go) on a journey to and from Hay River with Sue. This journey included flying from YK to HR, which meant we got to fly on Buffalo Airlines which is currently being featured on Ice Pilots NWT. This airline flies former WWII planes and they are awesome. The first thing we did after landing in HR was find our vehicle covered in 1cm of ice. I graciously took on the chivalrous task of excavating all necessary windows for the upcoming drive. After a quick stop for gas, energy drinks and Chinese food we drove around Great Slave Lake. All in all it was a 8 hour adventure with lots of photos, in-depth chats, and the renewal of friendship....and me looking like a creep.


Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Sherwood Park, AB, Canada

I'm still at home getting together final preparations for my trip. Looks like when I initially land in Australia I will be spending my first week traveling up the east coast with a friend. I will continue on my own up the coast until I've had enough, then I will either return to Melbourne or Perth to seek employment and a steady place to live for about 6 months. Stay tuned for more changes.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Trip Planning

This is the beginning of my travel blog. I'm going to be updating this site as I progress through my worldly travels. Recently I have begun to finalize some of my plans for the trip and this seemed like a good time to create this blog.

Here are my tentative plans as of right now. *Beware that these plans will change often and substantially.

1 night in Vancouver
1 night in Bangkok
1 month in Thailand
8 months in Australia
1 month in southern France
1 month in the rest of Europe