We went.

But it wasn’t an easy decision, at least not for me. Erik’s mind was made up fairly early on - when Canada’s COVID curve was dropping and provinces were beginning to move into phase 2 of their re-opening plans - and we spent a dozen nights debating and discussing the risks. There were many reasons to stay put and delay our plans by a year. There were also many reasons to at least start and be flexible with destinations, adjusting as needed to stay safe and healthy. We went with the latter.

Thankfully, COVID cases have remained on the decline and we have seen some very creative social distancing measures at many stores, gas stations, and campgrounds. I particularly appreciated how a Tim Horton’s in Moosomin, SK told us to stand 46 Timbits apart. We were instructed to stand on the horse hooves painted on the floor of the western-themed ice cream store in Sault Ste Marie.

Our initial plan was to spend about 3 months in Canada discovering the prairies and western provinces as well as stretching North to the Arctic Ocean via Yukon and NWT on the Dempster Highway. As the weather got colder, we’d head South into the US and work our way down the Western states hitting many of the National Parks along the way. We had anticipated spending about 3 months in the US before making our way into Mexico. We are fortunate and grateful for the chance to travel the Canadian portion of our initial plan. Although we likely won’t make it fully to the Arctic Ocean, we’ll be able to self-isolate in Yukon and visit as much of the territory as we can in the time that we have available. With so many uncertainties still ahead of us, we are going to take each day as it comes.

We see this decision as in-line with our values - to teach our family to be open to taking calculated risks, and to have the courage to move forward even in the face of uncertainty.

Wish us luck!