wordpress... again.

okay okay, I know I've done this a million times, but I think I have finally achieved blog equilibrium. Audio and regular adventures can now be found in one place, and that place is natashaduchene.wordpress.com. seriously.

hitchhiking across Canada and new adventures

David and I have returned after hitchhiking from Vancouver to Montreal, and the trip was amazing. This country is so varied in culture and landscape, it's crazy. From the Gulf Islands, the desert in British Columbia, the Rocky Mountains and the prairies... it was just so incredible to watch this continent shift and change as we moved east.

We camped in the mountains on closed-off roads, next to the train tracks and truck stops, even in someone's backyard once by accident. For the most part people were kind and generous, one young guy working in the oil fields bought us a steak lunch, others offered to stop and let us take photos when we drove next to something especially beautiful, and we even got picked up by a family from Barcelona in their motor home! We got to see some old friends along the way, such as James, who took us to Drumheller and the dinosaur museum, and Alison, a girl I did an exchange program with in high school, and partied it up some old high school friends in Ottawa for a couple of nights on the way home.

Now that I am home my years of repressed wanderlust have blossomed into all-out recklessness, and I am saying goodbye to my beloved apartment in one month to go on a roadtrip through the deep south to the desert of southern California with a dear friend. When I return, well, we will see what happens.

Anyhoo, here are a bunch of photos from the trip. David took a lot of them. Mostly I got video though. Someday I am going to do something with it all and then I will post it here.



Ukelele in Whistler, BC



best fish and chips at Hungry Herbie's Drive In.



Setting up camp at Cache Creek, BC.



Plant life in the desert.



Leaving Cache Creek.



Weird water reserve thing just above our campsite in Sicamous. Our site was so awesome that we stayed two nights, roasted marshmallows and hot dogs on the fire, and got caught up with y'all at the local internet cafe.




Leaving Revelstoke for uh, Banff.



View from our campsite at Field, BC. It was kind of an undeveloped spot next to a road and the train tracks.



Field again.



Horseshoe Canyon just outside Drumheller, AB



Dinosaur Museum! can you believe they found most of those bones in the very place we were walking on? incredible.



near the legislature in Regina.



Salt flats.



Camping in Medicine Hat. we saw Dark Knight the night before a short walk away.



Camping in Sault St-Marie, outside Walmart. it was glamorous, let me tell you.



drunkenly singing along with the Streets of Fire soundtrack in Ottawa with Mark and Aubrey. someday the video of this will appear on youtube and we will become famous.

old friends and new adventures

I arrived at Robin's boat long after everyone else had left and found her asleep with the light on in a pile of maps. After tapping on the window a few times to no avail, I hopped aboard, bottle of wine in hand, and just as I reached to knock on the door it opened up and a bewildered head popped out, a little sleepy but full of smiles nonetheless.

Robin was my flatmate in first year, an adventurous spirit with an incredible sense of humor. She purchased a sailboat this summer and a few weeks ago bid apartment life farewell and has been living it up on the high seas ever since.

We polished up the wine below deck, telling stories and catching up after far too many years in our separate cities. I stumbled home at 1am wondering how I could be so lucky to have such wonderful people and experiences in my life.

Today David and I pack our bags and get ready for our grand adventure across the country. Tomorrow we are going to take the bus to Horseshoe Bay, hitchhike to either Pemberton or Whister depending, then camp out someplace beautiful. I am bringing my camera with me along the way, and hope to make a small mini-documentary about the trip upon returning to Montreal.

Vancouver

I'm in Vancouver for ten days, visiting friends, family, and the boy before we take off across the country. The city itself feels kind of like a new house - beautiful, but doesn't have the warmth of a city with a lot of history. The landscape, on the other hand, feels old and powerful. It's pretty incredible. I keep staring at the mountains in disbelief.

I've been reconnecting with old friends - people I have not seen in years but that it feels like we haven't skipped a beat, going for bike rides, and today I went to the aquarium with my brother and sister-in-law. It is great to be here, and I will have to come back again soon.

Multitasking

Time and time again I find myself with this feeling that there are all these people that expect so much from me, both socially and professionally, and I just say yes and yes and yes and then freak out, when probably a lot of those expectations were all in my head from the beginning.

Nova Scotia life

I'm in Nova Scotia, living a good life of music, theatre, friends, nature, family. In other words, there's pretty much everything I need to be happy here, though I do find myself missing the independence of living alone. Here are some photos of my recent adventures:

My first day here, Mom, Dad and I took the dog to Graves Island for a swim in the ocean.





The yard is very beautiful at this time of year.





Hiking with the dog near Castle Rock.





Canoing at Matt's Dad's place, there are baby ducks!



Life is quite lovely right now. Lots and lots of work to do though in between all the nature stuff though. Time to get practicing!

My hometown on a Tuesday night

Walking home in my hometown at 10pm, I'm taken aback by the sound of my own footsteps and breathing. I realize it's not the silence I'd missed so much as the quiet sounds I got used to not hearing.