Two Weeks to Go

We have already been traveling east - towards home - for nearly two weeks. We are half way through the Canadian part of our trip and 8/9 of the way through our big adventure. The last week has been very busy but lots of fun (Rick posted lots of details!) as there was lots to see and do in Alberta and lots of fun to be had with the our friends the Knights. Hiking in Jasper, driving the Icefields Parkway, and visiting the Royal Tyrell Museum will certainly remain near the top of our list of favourite experiences for the whole trip.

The moment that Maya and Miriam were reunited in Jasper was a great one. They shared a ferocious embrace, and were inseparable during the days we spent together. I think their reunion helped me see how much returning home will mean to us. Each of us is enjoying every day on the road in our own way, but we are all missing something from our regular lives. We will all be just as thrilled as Miriam was greeting Maya when we get home. Seeing the Knights make me feel like the end of the trip is rushing towards us more quickly than I thought. The consequence is that now I have to force myself to slow down a little and not think ahead too much. Home will be waiting for us whenever we get there, and along with it our family, friends, bed, fridge, hot water, and so much more.

Traveling in Canada has been amazing so far. The landscape changes daily and is astoundingly beautiful. Even when we were on Haida Gwaii - the farthest distance from home for our entire trip - we felt at home. Maybe it’s the metric speed limit signs, maybe the reappearance of Loblaws stores and Tim Hortons, or maybe it is because the accents are more familiar...it’s really hard to say. Probably it is just the knowledge that we are in our own country that feels good to us, even though we are seeing so many things that are new to us.

As you may know from previous posts, I like to keep track of trip statistics. We have hiked nearly 300 km of trails on our trip so far. I haven’t included city walking in this number for the most part; I did include 4 miles of walking in San Fransisco that was definitely more like a hike than most of our city walks. We have hiked on forest floors spongy with pine needles, hard granite that was more beautiful than any countertop, smooth red sandstone, pebble beaches, forest boardwalks, and steep staircases. Our feet and our shoes have had quite a workout. Rick may wear through the bottom of his running shoes before we get home. I’ve already been thinking about how much we will miss being outside all of the time once we get home.

I have been keeping track of stats for each state and province in my journal. For each, I know how many km we have driven, how many km we have hiked, how many nights we stayed there, and have recorded a relative measure of how homesick we are and how well we are getting along with each other. All of this data is being recorded in a big knitting project. I’m knitting a blanket with yarn I’ve purchased from most of the places we have visited. It is a bit of a hodgepodge of colours, fibres, and yarn weights as I have tried to buy either locally spun and dyed yarn or yarn recommended by yarn store owners as being somehow special to the place we are visiting. I am reminded of the yarn store proprietor in Savannah, Georgia who steered me towards linen - ‘we don’t wear wool much here!’ - and another in Destin, Florida who found me a lovely lightweight blue cotton yarn reminiscent of the ocean. I have enjoyed the fun - and sometimes cheesy - names of the yarn stores: The Frayed Knot (Savannah), The Quarter Stitch (New Orleans), The Naked Sheep (Regina), Each state or province we have visited will have one square on the blanket with its trip statistics recorded using Morse Code. (Yes, I know I am a complete nerd.) I’m not sure if I’ll be finished by the time we get home, but I look forward to continuing my work on it, and I’m sure it will be finished by the end of the summer...or maybe the end of the year. :)

In 16 weeks we have grown really close to each other but we are also all itching for some space of our own. Some of us more than others. It turns out you can only sleep in the same room/tent as the rest of your family for so long (How did the pioneers do it?!? I used to think that Little House On The Prairie seemed pretty great. Now I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have survived it.) We will make the most of the rest of our days together. Hopefully we will be able to get the girls to each write another blog post or two before the trip is over. Miriam has a couple in the works and Lucy will certainly write another if she is inspired. At this point I am very happy that Rick has taken it upon himself to share his journal entries as blog posts so that you can all still keep track of our progress.

Sending love to everyone at home...It won’t be long now!

Maya and Miriam