In 2022, when I moved back to Toronto, I stopped in Thunder Bay to buy a GoPro to record the drive.
I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do with the footage. I had ideas about stories I wanted to share, and what that would look like, but it never really came together.
Now, 3 years later, and still a little buzzed after the gallery show (I owe you all a story on that too) I decided to finally take something I wrote and blend it with the footage and photos from that time.
It’s a small piece, but one I’m really proud of for a first attempt at this kind of thing.
I hope you enjoy.
The journey. Focus on the journey.
It’s just a few days.
It’s just a few days driving in winter.
It’s just a few days driving in winter in Northern Ontario.
In just a few days, I’ll be at my mother’s house.
A few days to think over three years of being away. To think of reconnecting and picking up where I left off.
I had heard all the expressions before.
You can’t go home again.
You can never step in the same river twice.
But that’ll be then. This is now.
Right now, it’s about the highway and the snow-covered trees.
It’s about stopping when I see something beautiful and trying to capture it to show others.
I had spent 3 years away from where I was born. 3 years that some would say changed me, but I think it just showed me a side of my personality I hadn’t fully embraced.
A side I am all too eager to keep exploring.
The highway from Winnipeg to Toronto isn’t a busy one in the winter, but it sure is something beautiful.
There are moments after turns on the highway where I had to stop and grab my camera. Rounding corners to find a moment in time worth capturing.
Soon enough, I’ll be going to my new job. Soon enough, I’ll see old friends, and we’ll joke about the last 3 years and catch up.
But that will be then, this is now.
Focus on the journey.
It’s quiet on the road. Quiet enough to pull over, run into the middle of the 2 lane highway, grab a few photos and stroll back to my car.
The winding roads. The snow covered trees. The hills and water.
3 years of embracing a person who hikes when it’s negative 20 degrees.
3 years of figuring out that I like the quiet night sky as you sit on a rock in pitch darkness waiting to see the Milky Way.
Or just constantly driving north until you can see the aurora and you just have to pull over quickly as you can.
But that was then, this is now.
Focus on the journey.
Slowly, the 2 lane highway grows to 4. The trees don’t show up as often. And the winding road starts to be longer stretches where you don’t need to touch the wheel.
And then it’s just highways, and cars, and traffic. There are no trees. Not like you’ve had for the past few days.
I look behind you to see if the person I’ve become has come with.
3 years after that trip, I continue to figure out who I am.
Focus on the journey.