Discover the magic of Canada’s West Coast gem, Vancouver Island! Where else can you find ancient rainforests, rugged coastlines, and the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean all in one place? This island offers abundant outdoor adventures and peaceful escapes. Vancouver Island stretches over 460 kilometers, from the charming capital city of Victoria to the …
About Canada Canada is a country in North America (and my home country–woo!). It is the second largest country in the world and touches three oceans: Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic. Canada is broken into ten provinces and three territories spanning over 9,000 KMs. It is home to a wide diversity of scenery, wildlife, and even …
North America is a continent in the Northern and Western Hemispheres. There are 23 official countries: Canada, United States of America (USA), Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and St. …
Evolving Pop Culture Guide to Canada Evolving pop culture guide on what to consume before or during your trip to Canada 🇨🇦. These are podcasts, books, and documentaries I have consumed and would recommend. You can learn more about each by clicking the links in the title. Learn about Canada’s Indigenous Peoples Listen to Podcasts …
Read more “What to Watch, Listen, and Read Before a Trip to Canada”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 19 It’s finally time to go to the Drumheller Badlands. The land of dinosaurs. This is something I’ve wanted to do for years. I’ve always found dinosaurs, interesting, so it’s cool to go to a place where they roamed. Early Morning in Canmore We woke up early and, …
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 18 Callum and I didn’t really have a plan for the day aside from meeting up with one of my friends in Banff in the afternoon, and Callum (my boyfriend) was still looking for a reflective lake to shoot astrophotography. Little did I know this day we would …
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 17 Folding Mountain is a 15.1 km out-and-back trail. The elevation gain is 1,125m and is considered a challenging route. If you make it to the top of Folding Mountain, and take a picture, Folding Mountain Brewery will give you a free beer. Today Callum (my boyfriend) and …
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 16 On our second day (first full day) in Jasper National Park, we did the Valley of the Five Lakes hike, visited Jasper Brewing Co., and Pyramid Lake. It was finally a sunny day, so I was feeling hopeful that my boyfriend, Callum, would have a clear night …
Read more “A Day in Jasper National Park – Valley of the Five Lakes & Jasper Brewing Co.”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 15 After a dreamy night at Wilcox Campground, my boyfriend, Callum and I had breakfast, and continued down the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper National Park in our campervan, stopping at Maligne Lake. The day was filled with a mix of planned stops, and unexpected encounters, showcasing the beauty …
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 14 The Icefields Parkway is an iconic Canadian drive that everyone should do at some point in their life. It was time to leave Banff National Park, and head north towards Jasper National Park. There was no cell phone service for the majority of our drive towards Jasper …
Read more “Driving Icefields Parkway: Banff to Columbia Icefields”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 13 Callum and I originally planned to do Moraine Lake early this day, but since we were able to do it in the evening a couple days ago, we decided to hike the Iceline Trail while looping through Little Yoho Valley and Yoho Valley. This was a trail …
Read more “What It’s Like to Hike Iceline, Little Yoho Valley & Yoho Valley Trail Loop”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 12 Today we visited the iconic Lake Louise. This is a moment I have waited for for nearly a decade. Given this is probably one of the most popular locations in the world, my boyfriend Callum, and I knew we had to go as early as possible. To …
Read more “A Day At The Iconic Lake Louise Plus Teahouse Hike”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 11 Today’s adventure took my boyfriend Callum, and I to Yoho National Park, specifically Emerald Lake in British Columbia (BC) with a surprise trip to Moraine Lake in Alberta! This was one of my favourite days of our whole trip. Emerald Lake Parking To visit Emerald Lake, it’s …
Read more “Emerald Lake Magic & A Surprise Trip To Moraine Lake”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 10 Known as the land of fire and ice, Kootenay National Park has it all. A land of contrasts with breathtaking alpine views, and vibrant blue waters rushing through a limestone canyon. This is my experience spending a full day exploring Kootenay National Park in British Columbia. On …
Read more “Kootenay National Park – Stanley Glacier Hike & Marble Canyon”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 9 It was time to hit the road again, but this time from Arrow Lakes Provincial Park to Kootenay National Park (where we actually had a campsite booked). Even though it was another longish driving day (3.5 hrs vs. the 6.5 hr drive the day before), the scenery …
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A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 8 A road trip isn’t complete without at least one long driving day, so we decided to make our driving day from Cherryville to Arrow Lakes Provincial Park even longer by taking the scenic route! This is a list with photos of every stop we made from Cherryville …
Read more “Where to Stop From Cherryville to Arrow Lakes Provincial Park”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 7 After our couple of days hiking the Sea to Sky Corridor (Chief & Garibaldi), we spent a few days in the Okanagan region with Callum’s brother’s girlfriend’s family, golfing and boating. Okanagan was the beginning of our campervan road trip. This ended up being a life changing …
Read more “Exploring Okanagan Wineries & Picking Up Our Campervan”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 6 I was originally apprehensive about hiking Garibaldi after hiking the Chief the day before, but I am very thankful I did it. Even though it was raining, the Garibaldi hike is one of my favourites I have ever done. The scenery is unreal. The wooded area is …
Read more “A Beginner’s Experience Hiking Garibaldi (in the Rain)”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 5 The classic Stawamus Chief hike is probably the most challenging hike I have done in my life. I have hiked a lot of places in the world, but the descent of the Chief was a challenge. At 702 metres above the town of Squamish, the Chief cliff …
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 4 I was pumped to go to spend half of a day in Vancouver. I’ve never been and have always wanted to go. Unfortunately this did not happen, because we missed our planned ferry to Vancouver. Tofino to Nanaimo It was a nearly 3 hour drive to Nanaimo. …
Read more “Vancouver Island to Vancouver by Ferry (I was not chill)”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 3 The goal of this day was to learn how to surf in Tofino. I tried surfing one other time, but I don’t really count it. I was 19, in Indonesia, and it was only for 20 mins and pretty informal. With a full day available, our perfect …
Read more “What to Do with One Day in Tofino – Surf in Tofino”
A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 2 After a good night’s sleep at Best Western Cowichan Valley, Callum & I woke up early so we could make the nearly 3.5 hours drive to Tofino (with some stops along the way). I really wanted to check out Cathedral Grove (they filmed some of Star Wars …
A theme was starting to form on our trip — maps were/are wrong, and the rough roads were causing significant delays. Knowing we had a seven-hour journey ahead, we woke up very early to hit the road to Tash Rabat. We wanted to drive the Pamir Highway, and decided we would do this from Bishkek …
History has interested me for as long as I can remember. How the human race has committed atrocities, and how we learn from the mistakes of others. How people are able to rise up against the odds, and prevail. KarLag is an example of one of these atrocities. What was KarLag? KarLag (short for Karaganda …
When most Westerners hear Kazakhstan, they think Borat (very nice, I like—hopefully you read that in a Borat voice). Borat was filmed in Romania rather than Kazakhstan and Sasha Baron Cohen’s character speaks Hebrew, not Kazakh. Safe to say the portrayal of Kazakhstan in the movie is very different than real life. All Borat aside, …
Nothing says relaxing vacation like driving a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder across unknown territory, avoiding potholes, sheep, and a tumble over the side of a mountain. Before deciding to rent a car and drive the Pamir Highway, I heavily researched the options. We decided to rent a car and self-drive Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan because: The first …
Read more “6 Things I Wish I Knew Before Self-Driving Central Asia”