I "hitch-hiked" in Canada.🇨🇦

aka picked up Ted Bundy style 👀

It all started when I lost faith in humanity in 2016… you know- not the first nor the last just one of the times-

So this one time… It’s my first day in Banff, and I decide my first stop will be Two Jack Lake. As I’m waiting patiently for the free shuttle, this attractive gentleman pulls up and asks if I want a ride…

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Wait- let’s start with the fact that it’s the summer of 2017…

Instead of traveling overseas as planned, I decide to cancel everything. I now want to road-trip through Canada, starting with Banff, and doing it all alone!¹

Had I ever been to Canada? No. Had I known any friends who traveled there? No. Did I know anyone who lived there? No. Did I know Canada was celebrating 150 years and I’d get a free parks pass? No! Did I want to spend time exploring glaciers and hiking while crossing a breathtaking National Park off my bucket list and not having to accommodate or be responsible for anyone’s happiness but myself!? Hell yeah. 😎

Fast forward to me booking a week of Airbnb’s around Alberta, followed by me canceling them all 1 week before arriving, staying with strangers the entire trip, extending my one week to two, driving over 1200 miles, peeing underneath my first and very rare sighting of the northern lights, roadtripping to Vancouver, “hitch-hiking”…twice, getting lost in The Badlands, getting a creepy handwritten message while camping in my car at Peyto Lake, whale-watching in Victoria at the bow of a small raft, taking the train from Vancouver to Portland, losing my luggage, finding my luggage, and of course the biggest surprise of them all- me finding my faith in humanity again. All because of the kindness and generosity of strangers.