Ranch & USA Roadtrip

For me, things are slowly moving forward. Well, actually, everything has been going very fast. I spent the last four weeks at the Dane Ranch west of Williams Lake and enjoyed every second of it. The people there have become a second family to me, just like the animals. I have experienced and learned so much that I can't put it all into words. Whether it was chopping and stacking firewood for days, repairing fences, running after cows knee-deep in snow (yes, we actually had a few days of snow in October), or riding through the Canadian wilderness, it was simply incredible and unforgettable memories. I don't think there is a greater feeling of freedom than what I experienced there. But with this freedom also comes solitude. The nearest town is about 3 hours away by car, and neighbors are not necessarily within sight. I spent a whole month on the ranch without going to the city once, and I didn't miss it for a second. Out here, you have to love solitude, and I have definitely fallen in love with it!

A few particularly exciting events will always stay in my memory. For example, the 10-hour ride where we herded 400 cows and brought them home. At some point, it got pretty late and pretty dark, so only the full moon provided us with a little light. It was an adventure just as I wanted to experience it, and I can now check off "Cattledrive by moonlight" from my bucket list. Another day that I will never forget was our (horror) trip to Bella Coola. We had a day off and decided to take a trip to the coastal town of Bella Coola, about 3 hours away, with four people. We had a small, ancient Kia at our disposal. So we squeezed into this car, highly motivated, and set off. But we didn't get more than 2 km. On the gravel road, we took a curve too fast, and the Kia lost traction and skidded down a small embankment and through a barbed wire fence before coming to a stop in the middle of a field. Thank goodness everyone was okay and nothing happened (and thank goodness I wasn't driving). We quickly pulled the car out of the ditch with a tractor, and it actually still worked. Since everyone was safe and the car was still functional, it was decided to continue our trip to Bella Coola. However, after the shock, no one wanted to drive anymore. So somehow, it became my task. If I had known what was coming, though... The Bella Coola "Highway" is the worst road I have ever seen in my life. So, I fought my way through potholes, mud, fog, and snow showers for 2 hours before reaching the "mountain". The road becomes incredibly narrow and steep, with cliffs almost vertical on one side, and almost vertical down on the other side. I definitely worked up a good sweat, but I also mastered this challenge. Let's not even start with the return trip in the dark, when the headlights failed... In any case, I had an exciting and unforgettable time with great people and indescribably beautiful landscapes. I will really miss getting up early, being outside all day, and being productive. It's amazing what you can accomplish and build with your own hands when you really try. Saying goodbye was infinitely difficult for me, and I swore that I would come back. Whenever that may be.

On Thursday, my new road trip buddy Felix picked me up, and we started heading back towards Vancouver, where we had a wonderful evening with steaks and wine in a great restaurant with five people. There couldn't have been a better re-entry into city life. Even though my first two nights in the car were just creepy (cemeteries, fog, spooky trains, etc.), I slept surprisingly well and quickly got used to the nomadic life. On the third evening, I had my first encounter with the Canadian police. We were sitting in a small park with the people from Vancouver in the evening, next to where we had parked, when suddenly we heard a loud crash and a man ran past us. It didn't take 5 minutes for 3 police officers to be in the park. We approached the officers and reported what we had seen. It turned out that a teenager had smashed the window of an elementary school (for whatever reason). The police officers were incredibly friendly, typically Canadian. After that, we went back to the car/bed right next to the "crime scene" with a somewhat uneasy feeling :D The bad feeling was gone again in the morning. But the whole story was exciting.

After 1.5 days in Vancouver, it was already time to say goodbye again to the friends I had just reunited with, and we crossed the American border (quite exhausting controls with car searches, etc.) to Seattle. There, I watched my first football game, a really good NFL game. The atmosphere in the huge stadium was just so much fun, and the sport itself is really interesting. However, Seattle itself is only really beautiful when viewed from the Space Needle at night (see photo). From Seattle, we went to Portland, a really beautiful city where we mainly explored Forest Park the next day. We decided to do some adventurous hiking instead of following one of the trails, so we climbed up the mountain through a dry riverbed, over fallen trees, and so on. Things got really adventurous when we climbed back down. Hands scratched by thorns, clothes dirty, muscles aching, but happy, we arrived back at the car after 4 hours. In the next few days, we will continue along the coast to San Francisco and from there to LA, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone National Park, heading to Calgary or Banff, where I will spend the winter and look for my first job. As you can see, so many adventurous things have happened to me, and I am really enjoying my time here.

In such a short time, I have already had so many amazing experiences and met great people that I can't wait for the rest of my year here. Everything has been going really well so far, and I am so happy that I took this year for myself!