I drove 15,590 km over the last two months. That’s a lot of kilometres of deep thoughts. I drafted various versions of summarizing my deep thoughts about it all, but it is all so personal, I can’t word it in such a way that makes for good reading.

At the core of it though – I loved every moment of it! I was full of happiness and love. Love for our big country. Love for every small town. Love of my truck. Love of my husband back home who was supportive of my adventure.

I never once got tired of driving. Well, maybe tired from driving, but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat! I love camping and exploring and visiting new places! And showing a friend some of my favourite places across the country was a ton of fun!

I was given an incredible gift from my employer. Take 2-3 months off every 5 years. Go do something. Get off your computer.

So I did. I didn’t even bring my laptop. I blogged every night with my iPhone.

What would I do differently?

I wanted to do more hiking, birdwatching, and more exploring everywhere I stopped. That would have been much easier if I had two nights in each location. That wasn’t possible for this short timeline. Maybe when we retire?!

I also thought I’d be able to do more camp cooking along the way, but that didn’t happen either.

I wanted to pick up gifts everywhere too. Wouldn’t that have made Christmas easier? I didn’t buy a single one.

For a long time I’ve debated if I should look up my old friends along the way and pop in for a visit. Are old friends meant to stay in the past with your fond memories? As it turned out, no! I had a wonderful time visiting with old friends along the way. But I had so many, many more that I could have visited. I could spend a year doing so! And maybe some year I will!

On this trip I gained a sense of confidence that I’ve been lacking. I think this came from making so many decisions throughout each day. Where will I stay tonight? How do I get there? What will I eat? Do I have enough gas? How’s the truck running? It’s a thrill, really.

I could have spent many more weeks visiting my family and making more memories with my nieces and nephews. But quality over quantity will have to do!

And now, a week after returning home, we’ve had our first snow in Dawson City so I guess it’s time I wrap this all up and return to work on Monday. It feels like I’ve been off work for years!

Here’s a quick recap of some of the memories!