Today was a bit of a mess! After meeting Doug and Michelle in Sault Ste. Marie, I knew I wanted to get halfway to Thunder Bay in order to get to do the Sleeping Giant hike on Sunday. That meant a bit of driving but I got a little down when I realized I didn't have a parking permit for Lake Superior for a hike I wanted to do during the day called Orphan Lake Trail and the service wasn't good enough to book online. But hey... you can also call! So I found some service, called and was able to book the hike. That led me to my first swim in Lake Superior! Later in the evening I met two wonderful young women, Liza and Gaby, and stayed the night in Marathon (where apparently there is very little free wifi). Here are some other thoughts from my day too!

Spending a lot of time alone makes you start to realize small things throughout the day. Some of these things might be whether or not I'm allergic to apples. Others are whether or not beef jerky is actually an elite snack food, am I drinking enough water, and is the impact on small towns COVID related or because of something else? Make sure to follow me on Instagram @lukeblessed for daily video content!

I wanted to do a little "Ask Me Anything" episode where I field questions from my IG followers about my trip and collect them into a little podcast. So... here is episode 1 of this series! The questions I answer are below:

I will be in Alberta in August. Can we meet up?

Are you planning to grow a travel beard?

What’s your biggest fear regarding the road trip adventure?

What are you scared of the most for this adventure?

How long ado did you know you wanted to do this?

How often do you plan on calling your family?

What’s your biggest fear in life?

Why did you decide to do this adventure now?

What made you wanna go cross country? I want to know what sparked it!

One crazy thing you really want to do on this trip

Why are you so hot?

Where do you poop?

What did you learn about yourself during the pandemic?

What is the weirdest/craziest thing I've experienced so far?

Enjoy! And make sure to follow me on IG @lukeblessed if you want to ask questions in the future.

Picking between driving for most of the day or hiking most of the day is a real challenge. Hiking at night is buggy and driving at night can be frightening with all the turns and trucks and darkness. But that's part of the fun! It's given me a new appreciation for those who drive long hours, especially at night. I'm also have fun games of "how many bugs can you kill at night" at so far I'm winning.

I am sore. But I am happy. After hikes in Killarney, Tobermory, Mono and Manitoulin Island, I might need a rest day. I also talk about some scary driving - both weather and because of darkness. I think it's best that I just drive during sunlight from this point on... especially when parking in spaces I am unfamiliar with.

And shoutout to my friend, ex-coworker, talented musician and number one fan, Trisha, for writing the new intro and outro song for the podcast! She's always been so supportive of me and I knew she'd be able to encapsulate the theme of this podcast. You can check her out on Spotify too with her new song https://open.spotify.com/album/51CfPxCWhAl1Sd6rjPsdEd?si=2oelCW5rTN6lCTDZnNXlXwanddl_branch=1 (VHS) under her name, https://open.spotify.com/artist/7I5JZPven6JKD6nelIvMTv?si=VLgnpTceSUqGQaqFpubsmQanddl_branch=1 (Trisha Armena).

Interviews with a Stranger (or IWAS for short) is a new series I'm going to start while I'm on this trip. Whether I meet people on hikes, in McDonald's or wherever, I will try to get mini interviews with those that stick out and share stories of people beyond just myself. Welcome to the everyday person.

And shoutout to my friend, ex-coworker, talented musician and number one fan, Trisha, for writing the new intro and outro song for the podcast! She's always been so supportive of me and I knew she'd be able to encapsulate the theme of this podcast. You can check her out on Spotify too with her new song https://open.spotify.com/album/51CfPxCWhAl1Sd6rjPsdEd?si=2oelCW5rTN6lCTDZnNXlXwanddl_branch=1 (VHS) under her name, https://open.spotify.com/artist/7I5JZPven6JKD6nelIvMTv?si=VLgnpTceSUqGQaqFpubsmQanddl_branch=1 (Trisha Armena).

One thing I've noticed on my trip is that most people are not hiking or travelling alone. They've either got friends, partners or their family. Being out here by myself has its pros, of course. I get to move at my own pace, not have to wait for anyone, pack lighter, not have kids bug me and more. But am I supposed to be doing this alone? That is one of the questions I set out to explore on this trip and I'm starting with this episode.

Remember to follow me on Instagram @https://www.instagram.com/lukeblessed/ (Lukeblessed) for daily content!

I've had lots of DM's, texts and questions about what made me quit my job and decide to drive across Canada this summer. I thought it would be best to explain my choice here! Overall, it was a collection of a few important crossroads:

Driving across Canada had always been on my bucketlist

I had paid off OSAP and my debts and was living at home. This time made the most sense both financially and in age

I was reading the book Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey when I got the motivation to go all in on the trip

I am not a fan of repetition in my life and feel a constant desire to push myself and be uncomfortable. I didn't feel like my job and life was creating this for me.

As always, follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lukeblessed/ (@lukeblessed) for vlog type material and daily updates!

Day 1 of my trip and I've already made tons of mistakes. Those include not registering for park access, not know the difference between the national parks and provincial parks, organization of my SUV for lowest amount of effort and more. Because of this, I now have to add about 6 hours of driving to my trip, but hey... I got nothing but time!

Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lukeblessed/ (@lukeblessed) for daily content, vlog material and more!

During the summer of 2021, Luke West is driving across Canada while living in his SUV. This is a podcasts that will highlight his events, voice memos, interviews with strangers and more over the course of the next two months. Make sure to follow on Instagram https://instagram.com/lukeblessed/ (@lukeblessed) for vlog type content and daily updates.

With the podcast being called "Across Countries" you might be wondering why it's only about Canada. Well... that's because Luke is hoping to highlight his travels over the course of his life. It won't just start and stop with Canada.