Perfecting The Mid Life Gap Year?

Another extended time of unfetered exploration has begun!

It is so hard to believe that a month has passed since we set off again; with very little in mind for a plan or timeline in place. Yet here we are sitting by a remote lake in Northern Ontario…working at perfecting our version of the Mid Life Gap Year.

Sam and I finished packing the last of our little bits of furnature and tools into a 10 x 20’ storage locker and as we did, the thought, “how have we been so lucky?” was front and centre.  

The reality is however, that this gypsy-like life we keep gravitating toward didn’t happen because of luck or some windfall. It is the result of our mindful focus on travel and exploration as well as a strong work ethic instilled in us by our parents.

We accomplish this by our willingness to live small with no debt and our ability adapt or change up our living situation to suit the next adventure.

From the outside, this might look spontaneous or unplanned and it could be a bit of that. In our experience though, it has been achieved through a combination of being financially and mentaly ready to jump on opportunities that come our way or make them happen. 

If you follow our blog you’ll know that in 2018-2019 we sold off our possessions and flew over to housesit and tour France, England and Ireland with our Ural sidecar.

Since then we have been longing for that free life and time together again.

We kept our options open when we came back to Calgary by moving into a small condo rental so we could just ‘lock and leave’ whenever opportunity presented. After a time, we bought ourselves a trailer to be able to haul our beloved sidecar ‘Sassy’ around and travel in North America. This worked for a while and we felt like our vagabond selves again but COVID had another plan for us all! Sam toughed it out for almost a whole year. She worked remotely at the kitchen table in our one bedroom condo while I slept off the effects of shift-work in the next room.

Not knowing how much longer the pandemic would go on for, we thought a house renovation would be a good investment.

We took advantage of the great interest rates at the time and managed to find the perfect 1000 square foot bungalow to redo. It would also give us a bit more space to live and work. Again, because we were open to the opportunity and willing to pull the trigger, we slipped our purchase in just before the real estate bubble started inflating prices in Calgary. And this house was our extra job for the next two years. Always in the back of our minds we knew this was not forever and just kept working and dreaming.

While we were working and dreaming we were also setting out a path for the next adventure.

There was no definate timeline in place but we wanted to be ready when the right time was upon us. Be it tomorrow or a couple years from now, the universe would let us know somehow. All while still living life to the fullest, like our quick two week trip to Europe in March for a river cruise from Germany to Hungary. The deal showed up and we grabbed it! Trip of a lifetime. I’m working on this video and a number of others to be posted soon to our YouTube channel. Link will be here.

With 600W of solar, an extra fresh water tank, underbelly insulation, a couple hundred amp hours of lithium and a 3000W inverter we should be comfortable and safe wherever we roll. Last summer we gave her the shake down, travelling all over Alberta, a bit into British Columbia and a trip up to the Northwest Territories. With stotage and organization at a premium in this little rig, I designed and built in some cabinetry and bought a commercial topper to help us store our necessary supplies and repair tools. I like to be as self sufficient as possible in order to keep costs down but also to keep us safe in the more remote areas we hope to travel.

So this brings us to the here and now.

Earlier this year Sam and I sold off our little bungalow renovation project, helped out our families with a few odd jobs, and after some tearful goodbyes, we set off eastward from Calgary with dreams of exploring Canada all the way to Newfoundland. 

6 months ago we had no firm date in mind but knew we would be on the road again. It was just a matter of time and being ready to make the call. This is how we approach our life, try to be open to change and agile to follow through. Some people have told us we’re crazy but i like to think we are just perfecting the Mid Life Gap Year.

What do you think? Would you do it, are you doing it? If this post resinates with you, drop in a comment below and tell us your thoughts. 

Take care and keep on travelling, 

Dan&Sam

12 Click if you enjoyed this post