travel canada – A Pursuit of Life – Barefoot& High Heeled

Highlights Of An Impromptu Reunion Weekend In Vancouver

Vancouver is such an awesome city. It has good vibes, mountain views, sea views, and endless things to do and see. I always had a long time love of Vancouver, but as I hadn’t been there in years, my recent visit totally served to rekindle my love for it.

Considering it was an unplanned weekend pit stop, I didn’t really have anything major in my mind to do or see. It was more of a go with the flow kind of weekend. I was more excited that it was turning into an unexpected reunion weekend. Those sometimes are the best though! No expectations, just open to whatever adventure arises.

For a spontaneous Vancity girls trip, I was pleasantly surprised. Here are a few highlights from what was an absolutely top notch reunion weekend.

Taking in the views of the city itself are fantastic from all angles. Even with overcast it didn’t make it any less serene.

I was loving the little Ferries cruising the bay, and eagerly anticipated getting on one. Not like I haven’t sailed across the Atlantic ocean a few times, or spent years sailing and being on water in general. It’s simply just the little things sometimes, and I just happen to really enjoy being on water.

The girls and myself decided to take a leisurely cruise over to Granville island to check out the sights and indulge in a few classy glasses of vino.

Once again, the sights of the bay were superb! It brought me back to my time I spent in Miami. Cruising all over the city on yachts. Nothing like a good reminisce session.

It is such an energetic area, full of life. Living in that area must be so nice.

The small house boating community we cruised by caught my eye. I have a big admiration for house boats. I always thought it would be so awesome to own one of my own – and this trendy little community is pretty appealing. Houseboats and stylish tree houses, two things that totally intrigue me.

Vancouver has such an awesome beach life as well. I was loving it. Everyday there was a new beach to check out. The sun was shining and the weather was ‘oh so sweet’.

Wreck Beach pictured in the photo below was my first experience visiting a nude beach. How do I sum that up……. Birthday suits all over the show! What could one expect really, it is a nude beach. Once you become accustomed to it, it’s pretty cool to see people just being free with no sort of attachments to it. I suppose I can check nude beach off my bucket list. Even though I didn’t know it was on my bucket list. Check, check, check.

We did a day trip to Chief mountain near Squamish and and enjoyed a good leg burning hike.

When I say leg burning. I mean LEG BURNING!! Most of the hike is going up stairs, and when the stairs finally end, you are going up more stairs that have been dug into the mountain walls. Tough! Especially when you indulged in a bit of vino the night prior. What an incredible view though. It is all worth it. I do love a good calorie burn.

Vancouver has a bit of everything and more, and I can absolutely see why it is such a sought after place. It’s a new happy place of mine – that’s for darn sure. Impromptu weekend adventures for the win.

It Was A Walk In The Bush

February in Northwest Territories usually means -30 degree Celsius temperatures, and 10 layers of clothing to protect from the very real potentials of frost bit and freezing to death. However this year the weather has been so unpredictable and up and down, every week we have something else. Lately it even go in the the plus temperatures. Of course that’s pretty awesome if you want to go on a nice bush hike and be out in nature. Not sure if its best for the environment up here though.

That being said, it was an absolutely stunning and warm day, so I decided the best way to spend it would be hiking out in the bush, and seeing what mother nature had on offer this particular day.

The surroundings themselves are absolutely beautiful. Winter wonderland is the exact description I would use.

The snow was pretty deep in lots of area’s, every time I would take a step, it would go straight over the top and straight into my boot.

Just your typical ‘Snow booter’, no big deal… Scoop that right on out and keep trucking along. Ok, well it was a bit of a chilly deal after the 10th one, not gonna lie.

The scenic view kept changing, which kept the walk enthralling.

We are so lucky in this area of the world that one of the most sought after medicinal mushrooms in the world grows wild. The Chaga mushroom.

There is an ample supply of birch trees here, in which host the Chaga mushrooms. Chaga mushrooms have the highest number of antioxidants of any food, incredible immune boosting properties, anti-inflammatory, as well as anti-viral and cholesterol lowering effects to name a few. It is a powerhouse of a healer, that’s for darn sure.

When your out on the land here, it’s always prime time to do some Chaga hunting.

We were not super successful this day, but we did find some. There are times you find a area covered with Chaga. Even finding a nice chunk is awesome, and you can cut it off and take it to make some super healing tea. Yum! Health taste’s so good.

I also came across a spruce tree that was oozing with sap.

Alright, well perhaps I should say it had oozed with sap, as the sap was hard. When I was a child growing up in the bush, I spent quite a lot of time out on the land a lot. I always loved chewing on spruce sap, I called it tree gum and/or bush gum. It is also full of healing qualities and vitamins, as it comes straight out of the tree, it kinda like tree blood.

I was pretty excited when I found the sap, and straight away cut a piece off and tucked right in.

I love the taste! It definitely has an earthy taste, similar to a tea, however I love those types of flavors. I suppose because I grew up with them, so my pallet is accustomed to them. Of course a few beautiful flashbacks from my childhood came flooding in – which was absolutely wonderful in and of itself. This day had proved a be a massive success, and probably one of the best ideas ever.

Let’s not forget one very important detail. Being a lover of grounding and tree hugging, there was absolutely no way I could be out there without giving a tree a hug.

The energy exchange is undeniable, and the healing benefits are amazing. Nature always fills my soul.

After a couple hours of adventuring around, we decided to head back and end this nature filled day the only way that seemed to be the cherry on top. A good ol’ bonfire.

Not before taking in the spectacular sunset though.

It was such a fabulous day out in pure blissful nature, it was too great not to share.

What can I say, don’t underestimate the soul soothing, energy topping abundance of a day in mother natures playground. Get out there and go bask in it. Heck yes to being awesome in nature!

NWT – Beach Vibes On The Shores Of The Great Slave Lake

Northwest Territories, sun, sand, beach, and fall weather – I love all of those things. The NWT continually has unique beauty on offer. Summer comes to an end so fast here. When she goes, she goes. It’s essential to enjoy as much of the sunshiny outdoors and beach weather as possible before the Arctic freeze takes over.

So a sunny warm day in September, means it has to be enjoyed!

My hometown of Hay River is situated on the Great Slave Lake, the tenth largest lake in the world.

At first glance you may think the water looks a little murky, being brown and stuff… But it’s as fresh as they come, being a fresh water lake, and the fishing is fantastic. The water can be chilly, but us Northerner’s are used to it, and our blood has no problem adjusting. Really though, it’s not bad at all. Once you hop in it only takes a minute to adjust.

Now even though there is also a very large amount of driftwood, don’t let that deter you either.

The more driftwood the bigger the beach bonfires.

I love when myself and friends get together and crack some cold ones on the beach while enjoying the crackling of a bonfire.

I would call it pure soul food. It always varies with the drift wood situation, sometimes there is loads, other times not so much.

It was a stunning autumn day – warm, sunny, calm winds, absolute perfect day to enjoy some outdoor bliss. Not to mention I had scheduled a date with myself. You know, epic ‘me time’, where I bask in my own awesome company, and re-charge.

One of my favorite past times. It also gives me the opportunity to reflect, and get my creative juices flowing. I decided what better place to go then to the beach on such a miraculous fall day.

The water was ridiculously calm, not too cold, and the sun was as bright and lovely as a ever. I brought my blanket, and had some chill time. It was truly blissful. I have a massive appreciation for this part of the world. Perhaps I am a bit biased because this is my home, but it speaks for itself really.

My awesome energy was once again on full form so I could venture back into the world and share it with as many people as possible. Taking time for yourself is a gift that everyone deserves. Not to mention, taking that time to appreciate the beauty you have surrounding you exactly where you are. So what are you waiting for?! Get out here and enjoy some of that epic ‘me time’. You should also plan a trip to the alluring Northwest Territories.

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