Week 1 is in the books! We’ve officially driven 1,820 kilometers, crossing from Calgary to Cypress Hills, through Saskatoon, on to Riding Mountain National Park, and finally arriving in Winnipeg — marking about one-third of our one-way journey.
The road has been long, full of fresh air, unexpected weather, quiet forests, and the hum of tires meeting new terrain. We camped in two beautiful campgrounds, surrounded by nature’s rhythm — waking with the sun, sleeping under stars, and bathing in silence broken only by birdsong or breeze.
Then came a pause — a few days of grounding warmth in Winnipeg with our relatives. After so much movement, it was comforting to find stillness, hot food, good beds, familiar faces, and laughter. It reminded us that “home” isn’t always a place — sometimes, it’s the feeling of being welcomed, of being fed with care and stories.
This first week was all about adjustment — to a new lifestyle, a new timezone, and entirely new rhythms of living. Every day asked us to tune into our bodies a little more. When it was too hot, too wet, or too cold, we couldn’t just hide — we had to adapt, listen, stretch.
One of the biggest lessons so far? We can’t always control the outer world — but we can choose our inner state. Whether the rain soaks our socks or the wind takes our shower pipe (still not over that one 😅), we’re learning to smile through it, or at least breathe through it.
More than ever, we’re realizing how much our environment shapes us. How easily we took warm showers and stable power for granted. How much sunlight, wind, and temperature now shape what’s possible in a day.
And yet, even in the discomfort, there’s beauty. Life has its own way of showing us gratitude — not through perfection, but through presence. Through people who open their homes. Through forests that whisper peace. Through meals cooked over fire and laughter echoing across a campsite.
We’re just getting started, but already, this journey is shifting something deep within us.
Life is beautiful — not despite the chaos, but because of it.
#9026 #Week1Reflections #VanlifeCanada #OnTheRoad #GratitudeInMotion #SlowLiving #FromCalgaryToWinnipeg #LifeLessons #VanlifeDiaries #CampMyMinivan #LivingWithNature #FindingHomeOnTheRoad
Thanks for sharing your journey Lyna! I love your line “we’re learning to smile through it, or at least breathe through it.”