On Living With The Seasons | Bye for now, Summer

Film photo from Jasper National Park, Alberta

This week felt truly like the end of summer, it’s a little fresher at night, I put my fans away, the fruit stand guy packed up & left town, and I’m slowly wearing my dresses less and less.

We’ve still got some solid sunny days coming up, which you bet your ass I’m going to make the most of, but it’s got me ready to shift into a new season.

I’ve now lived in Canada for 7 years (I’m from NZ, if you didn’t know!), and every year I’m reminded to soak up each season as it comes, because soon enough we’ll be onto the next one. Where I’m from in NZ, we do have seasons, but not like British Columbia. They’re truly SEASONS here, all four of ‘em.

The summers are hot and we get to make the most of the incredible nature we’re surrounded by, the winters are snowy-ish, very cold, and probably rainy as shit if you’re in the lower south west corner of the country… And spring & fall are slapped in the middle of those two, to ease us in and out.

I’ve been living with the seasons, and leaning into it more and more each year, but this year it crossed my mind to do a proper lil send off, in my own way, for summer. It’s my season, I absolutely LOVE IT, and I’m also ready for fall.

In this post I thought I’d share a round up of some of my favourite photos from the summer, alongside some of the stuff I did, and what I’m thinking about as we roll out of the sun into the season of cute layers and hot chocs and rainy adventures.

Feel free to take any of these prompts & use ‘em as your own, too.

Let’s start with recapping what happened… No judgement. Just a bunch of shit I remember about summer.

Camping in the forest, above the river, for my annual first trip of the year. 🏕️ Getting my solo road trip mojo back, driving almost 1,000km in one day, solo, to get to Jasper. 😊 Landing in a place where I had zero doubt I was exactly where I was supposed to be, in the Rockies. ⛰️ Swimming in a lake in the Rockies for the first time ever, in Jasper. 🏊‍♀️ Almost coming face to face with a Grizzly… in the middle of a campground. 🐻 Launching this blog! ✍️ Launching my podcast, Pivot Playground. 🛝 Swimming in the ocean a LOT. 🌞 Launched the Summer Design Club, and had sooo much fun with it. 👌 Spent a couple weeks hanging out with my mum. 🙏 Donated almost 100% of the ‘self-help’ books in my house. 📚 Upgraded some pieces in my closet, and found some new ones that I love, that feel like me. 😍 Made choices in my business that support my lifestyle. 👍 Went on a group sailing trip that I was kinda nervous for, and had the best time, and met some awesome people. ⚓️ Navigating sticky-ish situations in friendships. 🙃 Taking an un-intentional break from my movement routine… and then wondering why I lack energy, focus, etc, lol. 😆 Checking out the butterfly garden on the island. 🦋 Day tripping to the lake. 🐟

Sailing, out of Vancouver, BC, on film.

Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park, on film.

What was the most memorable?

Jasper.

I wrote about this trip here and shared a lot more photos, but this trip felt so pivotal for me personally, and I guess spiritually to be honest… And, the fact it was hit by a huge wildfire one month after I was there was also just… a lot to process. This might have been my favourite solo road trip I’ve ever done, and I can’t wait to go back.

Being in the ocean.

A lot. Towards the end of last summer I found a new spot I can swim in the ocean, away from the crowds, and I knew going into this summer it was going to be my spot — and it was. In peak summer I was there multiple times a week, because it’s just so fucking good. And although I’m very lucky to live somewhere that we have multiple bodies of water to choose from, the ocean is always my number one.

Exploring new places on Vancouver Island.

I haven’t shared a blog post from these adventures yet, but I did a couple road trips to the Sooke area on the Island, and damn it’s a nice spot. I had no idea how insane some of the beaches are over there, even if the water is COLD as fuck. It’s a rad place and I didn’t get to see half as much as I wanted to, but that’s just an excuse for future adventures.

Launching really fun shit in my business.

Between the Summer Design Club, the podcast, this blog, and then the Layout Library, all of this feels SO good in my business. It all feels easy, and like it’s totally aligned with where I want my brand to go. And I’m stoked to roll on with these vibes for the rest of the year.

Sooke, Vancouver Island

What didn’t I get to do, that I wanted to?

And… is there still time or space for it? This question popped into my mind as I started to feel kinda sad there was stuff I missed out on, but isn’t there always?? And then, I realised there’s still a good amount of shit I wanted to do, that can still happen… Sure, full sun and hot days would be good for the stuff I’m thinking of, but they can happen anytime, too.

I have a couple day trips I didn’t get to that I might do soon, but I’m not gonna share my own answers to this one. 😉

A mid-summer day trip into the mountains of British Columbia.

What’s the vibe for next season? What’s feeling good? And what’s not?

There’s a lot of other shit you could ponder in reflecting the season that’s ending, but for the sake of keeping this post short-ish, I figure I’ll move onto the next phase of this whole thing, and that’s looking forward.

I find sometimes it’s easy to get into the weeds with this stuff too early in the process, so for the sake of keeping it light and fresh right off the bat, I don’t want to overthink this too much right now in terms of actual planning and setting dates etc etc… Just roll with it. What feels good, and what doesn’t. Simple. The time for making moves can be later, for now it’s just getting all of the shit out of your head, I reckon.

Here’s some of mine…

What’s feeling good?

• A solo trip to Tofino.

• Making really, really good food… Even if it takes longer than usual.

• Making art. Not for my business, just for me. Maybe it’s more photography, drawing, collages, clay stuff, something new, who the fuck knows… Just making art. Yep.

• Getting back into a regular movement routine.

• More walks outside. Even if it’s just 5 minutes around the block.

• More sharing & promoting of the stuff I’ve already made (alongside the new shit).

• Consume more art. Books, galleries IRL, movies, whatever. Just bring more creativity of all forms into my life.

• Building out my new design course, Layout Legends. BUT, doing it in a way that feels like a full, 100% fuck yes. Not rushed. Slow and steady.

• Letting my brand evolve, trusting that I know best for me, and I can do whatever I want in my business.

What’s not feelin’ good?

• Forcing anything. Getting stuck in how I think things should be, or how I’ve done it before.

• Spending too much time on Instagram. It’s not a source of creativity for me… And it doesn’t feel good.

• Getting lost in the sauce of negativity, either my own, or from other people.

• Overthinking what I want to share online. Discernment is key, but I don’t want to hold my voice back because of fear.

I think it’s so key to stop and take stock of all of this shit, especially if you’re running a business and your work is very much aligned with you & your life — because this is how you run a business that feels aligned and grounded, and is unique to YOU. You gotta stop, get the fuck away from all the noise, and ask yourself where you’re at, and where you want to go next.

Sailing in Howe Sound, British Columbia, Canada

So this one isn’t a total solo mission, but I went to this group event by myself at the end of June, not knowing anyone, and it was such an awesome time.

It was a photography tour called Go Sailing, with Natural Freedom and Taylor Burk, and we went out on the Providence Sailing ship, which is apparently Canada’s oldest passenger ship… and it was so rad.

I’ve been following both of these guys for a while, really wanting to go to either or both of their events/workshops, then as soon as I saw they launched one together and I was all-in.

This event was only a couple days after I got home from my Jasper trip, this whole week just felt like it was full of adventures and doing cool shit, so after a what felt like a long time of not doing a whole lot, I was throwing myself back into it with full force, and it was kind of awesome.

The weather ended up being half-decent most of the time, and by that I mean it wasn’t pissing rain, and it also wasn’t fully sunny, lol, but it sure did make for some sick & moody photos. We all scored a rip out on the zodiac to get a view at the boat from the water, and I didn’t realise how friggen cool this thing looks until we got out there… Tell me that ain’t a pirate ship though??

Honestly, I don’t even remember the last time I went in solo to a group event like this, not knowing anyone, and I was a lil nervous and anxious about it…

But everyone was literally so chill and awesome, it was such a rad group of people and obviously I had a solid time, doing something I’d never done before (being on a sailing ship, and being out on the water in Howe Sound).

Both of these guys, Dominique & Taylor run some really cool events & workshops, and they’re also just the most chill, kind people. If you’re in British Columbia and you wanna get out there and do stuff like this, go check ‘em out.

‘Til the next Solitude Sesh,

All photos shot on my Fuji XT-30.

4 Days Solo in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

I just spent 4 days hanging out in the Canadian Rockies and holy shit, if there’s a place that can bring you back to life and re-invigorate your creativity and sense of adventure, that’s it right there.

But let’s take it back for a second, because I wanna share some context for this trip, and what it meant for me, because it didn’t feel like just another, normal solo road trip.

These kinds of trips aren’t new to me — I’ve been doing them since I was living in Australia in 2010-2012 (ish), and it was actually blogging about them way back in the day that was what kick-started my entire soon-to-be entrepreneurial journey, but I’ll save that story for another day… point being, this shit is what I do, just grabbing my camera, throwing all of my stuff in my car, and getting out there…

Well, until last year.

After going to the Rockies almost every year since 2017 (when I moved back to Canada, from NZ), I just didn’t feel like it… It didn’t sound exciting to me, and being that far away from home wasn’t a vibe. What I now realise was most likely depression, felt like it took one of the biggest things that made me feel like me, away from me — even just temporarily.

Cut to May 2024, starting to feel more like myself again, and the idea to go hit up Jasper landed. Instantly I was stoked as shit even just at the idea, so I knew it was time to make it happen.

This time, I was camping (a whole new experience for me in the Rockies), and I also stayed at two of the coolest lodges/places I’ve ever stayed in my life.

I knew this was going to be one for the soul… No laptop. Deleted the Instagram & Threads apps off my phone. Not messaging/texting people the whole time. Turned on the Out of Office Email, the whole shebang.

A true Solitude Session.

The first place I stayed was the Mount Robson Mountain River Lodge.

I booked it on a whim when I realised I actually didn’t want to be camping for 100% of this trip, lol, I really wanted it to feel restful and chill, so I booked it for my first night, knowing how good it would be to have a proper bed and shower after a long-ass 8-9 hour drive.

And… it was fucking incredible. I genuinely don’t know how this place wasn’t at least double the price, considering the views directly out of my bed & balcony, to the absolutely massive Mount Robson (the biggest peak in the Rockies, at almost 4,000m, it’s insane).

It was maybe the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in, and genuinely the best sleep I’ve had in months. It’s also right on the river, so leaving the balcony door open for that fresh mountain air & the sound of the riv was just perfection. This felt like the place you dream about when you’re stressed, or anxious, or in desperate need of a nervous system reset… There was such a sense of calm, and knowing that’s exactly where I was meant to be, that I haven’t felt in a long time.

Onto Jasper.

On my first day full day I ended up going for a rip a short way down the Icefields Parkway, because the weather wasn’t too bad and I wanted to really get into the mountains and just feel that sense of awe & wonder, and well the Icefields Parkway is the place to go for that. This is honestly one of the best drives in the world (I’ve done the full drive a few times now), it’s absolutely wild.

Since I’ve done this drive a few times before I wasn’t too focused on getting a bunch of photos, but here’s a few…

Camping time, at the Whistlers Campground in Jasper.

I genuinely only started camping in the last few years, so this was my first time camping in the Rockies, which felt like a pretty awesome experience that I was stoked for. With camping solo, I much prefer to stay in public campgrounds, because it’s where I feel the safest, knowing there’s other people around and I’m not completely out in the middle of nowhere totally by myself, which doesn’t feel like my thing, at least right now.

This place is absolutely insane, it has almost 800 sites… Like WTF??! Being from little ole’ New Zealand, seeing campgrounds on this scale (and the massive rigs people have) is absolutely mind blowing, even though I’ve now lived in Canada for almost 7 years. And I guess in the Rockies they really go hard or go home, lol.

One of the coolest things about this campground is the wildlife that cruise around, especially the elk that are EVERYWHERE, all the time.

And then I saw a grizzly. Cruising the campground for it’s evening stroll.

For some reason I wasn’t really expecting to see a bear, yes OF COURSE I know they are around, but with the size of the campground and the amount of people, while I was still being extremely bear-aware, the moment this guy walked around the corner from behind the trees I was STARTLED, lol.

I was far enough away & close enough to a toilet block I could have gone into, but honesty it didn’t seem at all concerned with any of the other people around. It wasn’t walking towards anyone, it was just cruising, and then went off into the trees.

I genuinely don’t know where else you could have this experience, other than Jasper, of a fucking Griz just cruising around the campground and it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal? Where I live there’s loads of Black bears, but not the Griz. I don’t know how the Park Rangers usually handle them, I’m sure sometimes they try to re-direct them out away from people, but I didn’t see any of that — everyone just kept their distance and watched it walk past… It was fucking incredible. Bears, especially Grizzlies are such amazing creatures.

Staying at the Whislers Campground was such an awesome experience — from the wildlife, to the mountain views, to just the general vibe of being around so many other people that are out to explore and adventure, is pretty cool.

And it feels so quintessentially Canadian, lol, which I bloody love.

There’s something about Jasper that feels very different to Banff, to me.

If you’ve been to both maybe you’ll know what I mean… Both towns are kind of the main tourist hubs of the Rockies, but after spending a bit of time in both I now MUCH prefer Jasper, by a landslide.

It’s more remote, it’s much smaller, and it just has a different vibe to it. Yes, it’s still extremely touristy, but if you go at the right time, it doesn’t feel like it. (For reference, I was there June 23-27, 2024). You’ll feel like you almost have the whole place to yourself, which is a pretty rad experience. The two days I was hanging around town and the local lakes was so chill, there was very few people and I got a carpark everywhere with zero probs.

In contrast, Banff is almost always an absolute gong show, probably because of it’s proximity to Calgary and just the fact that it’s basically right on the main 1 Highway Route across the whole damn country. (Side note, but I do really love Canmore, which is 20 mins from Banff. Less touristy, way better vibes).

Anette Lake, Jasper National Park

Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park

Anette Lake, Jasper National Park

The one book I took with me was Women Who Run With The Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, which is an absolute classic and seemed like the only choice for a trip like this.

The whole section on solitude really resonated, and was a pretty big inspiration behind me starting this new blog, too. Here’s a section from it…

“The psyches and souls of women also have their own cycles and seasons of doing and solitude, running and staying, being involved and being removed, questing and resting, creating and incubating, being of the world and returning to the soul-place.”

After taking such intentional time away from daily life and the noise of the internet, I feel so much more me, and SO much more creative. While there were moments of total exhaustion during my trip, there were equally as many ‘fuck yes’ moments where I was in my zone exploring and taking photos, or dreaming and scheming about the new creative projects I want to bring to life. I don’t think you can find this feeling in the day to day, and she talks about it in the book — you have to take intentional time away to allow the big questions, and the big answers to reveal themselves.

Instead of camping (like I was planning to) for the last night, I ended up ditching that and booking a night at the Pine Bungalows lodge.

I was going to be leaving early the next morning to drive home, and there was a thunder storm and a lot of rain on the incoming which I was not interested in being in a tent for, lol. So I found & booked this place on a whim, much like the Mount Robson Lodge, and holy shit, this might have been one of the coolest properties I’ve ever stayed in my life. No exaggeration.

And I’m already dreaming about when I can go back.

If I could try to describe this place, it’s probably the most Canadian Rockies, summer-camp, cabin-vibe property you can dream up. I sent some videos to my fam in NZ, and they all said it looked like I was in a movie set about a summer camp, lol. And it felt like it.

(The weather wasn’t super great while I was there so my photos aren’t as good as I’d want them to be, but you’ll get the idea!)

I could write an essay about why I loved this place so much, so lemme try to keep it brief and give you the top level notes lol.

Right off the bat the woman at the front desk was hands down the most chill check-in person I’ve ever met… She was so helpful and awesome, and she let me check-in early which I was super grateful for. But before I even got to her, when you walk in the main reception you’re given a welcome drink, which was the best strawberry lemonade I’ve ever had.

The property itself is on about 11 acres right on the Athabasca River, and it’s stacked with cabins, and a lodge with hotel-like rooms (where I stayed). It originally dates back to 1936 when the first cabins were built, and over the years different owners have managed to keep the original vision of this land alive, keeping it as a place of solace and peace, for everyone that chooses to spend time there.

I could go on forever about this place, and I will probably write about the branding side of it more in my email newsletter/main blog, because there’s some cool shit I want to show you there too, but here’s some photos, and all I can say is this place is incredible, and if you have the chance to stay here, do it. (Their website and their Instagram don’t do the property justice tbh… but maybe that’s a good thing, so you can discover the magic for yourself).

I spent the last night of my trip eating pizza in bed, and sitting on the front porch watching the lightning storm & the elk running through the forest.

It was a pretty magical way to end the trip, one that I didn’t see coming at all. And honestly, the rest of the trip was so awesome — from discovering the River Lodge, to camping and seeing the grizzly, to swimming in Edith Lake, to the absolute magic of Pine Bungalows, it might go down as my favourite solo trip I’ve ever done… maybe because I didn’t even know how much I needed it, until I was on the road.

I’ll leave you with this short paragraph from Women Who Run With The Wolves, from the Solitude section, which inspired this new blog, and so much more for me…

“The taking of solitude can be used to assess how we ourselves are doing in any spehere we choose. The measurement used in assessment is simple: What needs less? And: what needs more?

We are asking from the instinctive self, not in stilted logic, not ego-wise, but Wild Woman-wise, what work, adjustments, loosenings, or emphasizing needs to take place. Are we still on proper course in spirit and soul? Is one’s inner life showing on the outside? What needs battening, ballast, or weights? What needs to be disposed of, moved, or changed?”

Until the next Solitude Sesh…

All photos shot on my Fuji XT-30, and my iPhone.