One Million Kilometers

Road Across Reed Lake - Click for larger

That's how many I figure we have driven so far in our lives. If you calculate mileage for the average vehicle we've driven, it costs about $10 for every 100 kilometers for gas. So let's do the math... that's $100,000 spent in gas. I have spent another $100,000 or so for the purchase of the vehicles. Add in the service, insurance and upkeep and we are probably looking at $250,000 so far. How about the cost of flying, ferries, train rides etc?

Old Truck - Click for larger

It costs a lot to travel. Time, money and wear and tear on your body add up over the years.

We make our decisions about how we travel based on costs and practicality. Could we afford an RV or a truck camper?

RV at Summit Lake - Click for larger

Yes we probably could. Would we be more comfortable with something like this? Of course we would. But it would triple the fuel used. All this weighs heavy on my mind. I don’t know a better way to do what I do: making photographic images of Canada. We drive and camp in a van sacrificing a bit of comfort for the sake of gas mileage. But is that enough? I love to visit the wild out of the way places we find in Canada. I wonder though at the impact we are having on the earth. My images, so I’m told, encourage and inspire people to travel.

Highway 60 - Click for larger

But do my images inspire them to preserve and protect the environment? We all want to have our cake and eat it too. I hope someday soon there will be a solar powered 4X4 pickup truck capable of hauling a camper while rolling down the highway at 120 kph. Until then we will need to make the best choices we can.

Muncho Lake Campsite - Click for larger

So what else can we do? My vegan friends tell me that reducing the amount of meat I eat will reduce my negative effect on the environment much more than driving less. But after giving up meat for a few years I found myself craving steak. I don’t want to eliminate meat altogether again but certainly could cut back.

Cattle - Click for larger

We have made changes at home. Our new high efficiency furnace uses much less natural gas and with a tankless water heater we only heat water when we need it. New widows in the basement and second floor have also improved the energy efficiency of our house.

Abandoned House - Click for larger

Maybe we should go back to travelling by bike. I could get a trailer to carry the camera gear although it might be tough on mountain roads.

Nanjing, China Street - Click for larger

We will continue to travel and work. It’s what we do. At the same time, we need to find new more efficient ways to get to where we need to go.

Keeping a Journal

I was going through some stuff from our very crowded closet. I guess the only way to put it is - I’m a pack rat. Most of the stuff was junk but there were a few nuggets kicking around. Not that anyone else would find them interesting. But for various reasons I still value many of the things I have kept. Not the TTC transfer from 2003 or the faded gas receipt from 1999. No, those can go. So can the notebooks from college. But I came across some journal entries from previous years. Reading about what I was doing 20 years ago when I was at the beginning stages of my photography career is interesting to me!

Do you keep a journal? It's a wonderful way to bring back memories. I can smell and taste the place. The sounds, how I felt at the time, it all comes back to me when I read my journals. It's funny how many bug entries I make. Canada is a buggy place!

Journals or diaries can be very personal. Most of my entries are simply a record of where I was, what I encountered that day and a record of the weather. For a nature photographer this can be a great resource from year to year. What time of year did I photograph Orchids in Newfoundland? What was the weather like in Labrador in July? All I have to do is look it up in my journal. Sometimes if I'm alone or if I have had a bad day, writing down my thoughts can be very helpful. Just by writing things down, I seem to be able to deal with issues a whole lot better.

Road south across Reed Lake from Morse- Click

Here is a typical journal entry for me:

"Day 12 May 31st 2006 - Morse, Saskatchewan
Got up at 5a.m. and poked my head out of the tent. It's warm. Great light! Drove south of the Chaplin Lake area and looked for Owls. Found a young Great Horned Owl in a tree near a barn. Walked with the 500 over my shoulder. Tried to not make eye contact. I did the "walk sideways" thing until I could see it get uncomfortable. Got a couple shots before it flew."

Great Horned Owl - Click for larger

"Feel kind of self-conscious walking on private property. The house is abandoned but the barn is still in use. Light is still good so we head back to the lake and look for shore birds. Shot birds for a while and then worked a slough. Yellow Headed Back Birds, Eared Grebes, Ruddy Ducks filled my frame."

Male Ruddy Duck - Click for larger

"We eat some cereal in the van, no eggs. We are still hungry. On the way back to town I spotted a ground squirrel by the side of the road. Shot for a while. A second one showed up and then a third (see post "The Waiting Game"). Got some great shots this morning. The restaurant is closed, not sure why. We eat cheese and crackers. We make backups and pack up. We drive Highway 1 to Swift Current and pick up supplies. We then head up to Sask. Landing Provincial Park. I decided to take the night off but the light didn’t cooperate. I shoot landscapes until the light is gone."

Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park - Click for larger

The above is an example of a good day while on the road. Below is an example of a bad one from the same trip.

Saskatchewan Old Building - click

"Day 85, Aug. 12th 2006 – Grasslands National Park
Raining. We sleep in yet again. 5th day in a row we have woken up in a tent to the sound of rain. We get up, pack up and eat. It has finally cleared so we head into the park to look for (burrowing) owls. We see none. We drive east on Highway 18. I spot a Loggerhead Shrike but I can't get a (good) shot. I try every trick I know. Nothing. After 3 hours I give up."

Best I could get of a Loggerhead Shrike - It's an endangered species!

"I'm so tired and sleep deprived, I feel very depressed. I just want to find a beach by a lake and have some down time. There are only salt pools around here, no lakes or beaches. I need to make backups – it never ends. We drive north to Morse and get a campsite."

Reed Lake Golf Club in Morse - click

"I'm about to loose it. After a couple of beers I start to come around. Pushed it way too hard this time."

Ah, life on the road! Without the bad days, you can't really appreciate the good ones. After you're home for a few weeks, even the bad stuff is filtered. Funny how you only really want to focus on the good stuff... It’s only through my journal entries that I bring it all back to life.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog - Click for larger

Our tent at Muncho Lake - Click for larger

We are in the planning stage for a very big trip this year, maybe the biggest of our lives. Writing has become a very important part of my life. So both Lori and I will be writing on a daily basis during our trip and sharing our experiences with you as we go. More to come on that...

If you do not currently keep a journal, try it for a month. I bet you will be hooked for life!