Tuesday, October 20, 2009

A full year on the road!

Today marks a full year of traveling since hitting the road last autumn. What a wild trip it has been.... many miles, incredible places and experiences..... and more photos than I probably know what to do with.  After such a long time living wanderlust, I've decided to settle back down in Ontario for the foreseeable future. Life on the road is grand, but a year is a long time to live in a van (especially by yourself!) ..... so I'm looking forward to being in one place for a while. I've rented a beautiful house near Georgian Bay and will be working on some cool projects,  getting my new photos into circulation and recharging my bank account (van repairs were damn expensive!). I'm particularly going to enjoy regular showers, home-cooked food and an indoor plumbing (versus always having to pee behind trees)!  

Thought you might be interested in a few basic trip stats from the year....
- 78,500 km driven
-  1,020 km waked carrying my camera gear
- 87,000 photos taken
- $16,500 spent on van repairs/maintenance
- 433 bird species seen
- favorite place: giant redwood forests of northern California
- 19,000 different blog visitors

If you've been following the blog, you'll be pleased to know that I did not break my 6 day record of wearing the same t-shirt. And I only ate 3 bags of Oreos during the entire trip!

How about my favorite photos from the past year? Here are a few that stand out in my mind:




Above photo: Star trails over Jumbo Rocks, Joshua Tree National Park, California


Above photo: The Subway canyon in Zion National Park.


Above photo: Salt Creek cracked mud, Death Valley National Park, California


Above photo: American White Pelican landing, Salton Sea, California


Above photo: Painted Bunting, central Texas coast.

So what are my next big trips? Aside from some shorter trips within North America, my top destinations are Madagascar and Australia. Those are fairly expensive destinations, so I'll be saving my cash for a while.... even if it requires surviving on dried cat food and cheap wine.

12 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:42 AM

    Welcome home Ethan!
    Thank you for taking us along on your trip, your photos are a work of art.
    Dawn

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  2. Ethan,

    I can attest to what a year living in a car can do! I did it for a year in Australia (2006-2007) and while it was a truly magnificent year and I long to go back, its a lot of time to spend alone. Fantastic group of photos and I can only imagine the catalog you must have. If you make it to Oz, let me know and I can pass along some tips as I dream of going back :)

    Drew

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  3. Gorgeous pictures! If you are going to survive on dried cat food, I think I'd splurge on the wine. ;-) I hope we'll be seeing more beautiful shots from your trip.

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  4. Very nice images and interesting stats :)

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  5. Glad you made it home safe Ethan! (I know all about those Westfalia vans ;-)

    That day at the Subway was a highlight of my year as well. And interestingly, we're heading to Joshua Tree this weekend! You made some wonderful images on your odyssey - enjoy the editing (and re-entry!)

    Russ

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  6. Anonymous11:28 PM

    Great blog Ethan. I have enjoyed your posts and photos.

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  7. Truly inspiring shots! Composition, details, light... Great work, indeed! Congratulations

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  8. Amazing stats Ethan.
    Need company on your Australian adventure?

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  9. Anonymous11:29 AM

    Welcome home Ethan.
    Thank you for taking us on your "freedom adventure" and the countless wonderful stories and pix.

    Have a Happy Birthday!!

    Shell&Chris

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  10. Carolyn3:12 PM

    Quite an achievement, Ethan. I look forward to the book that I hope you'll put together.

    Beautiful images!

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  11. Lovin the blog, fairly recent discovery looking forward to much more!current favourite the subway shot and I can certainly relate to vehicle maintainence cost albeit mine def aren't on such interseting journey!

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