In the field

In May, I was offered a position as an indigenous reporter for paNow.com, part of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. Since June, I've been writing for our website and doing radio pieces pertaining to First Nations, Metis, and environmental issues.

As a member of the Penticton Indian Band, I have paid close attention to First Nations issues over the years. As a First Nations / indigenous person I have always felt we have never had a true voice in the media. Things are changing now, but there is still a long way to go in my opinion.

I'm doing what I can in northern Saskatchewan to contribute to positive change by listening and trying to make connections with the people I talk to.

Moving to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan has put me back in a part of the country I love, and where I have a lot of roots. The 306 will always have a special place in my heart and I'm incredibly happy to be back in a new part of the province, meeting new people and learning about the different cultures our province has to offer.

This post will feature some of the best stories I've worked on over the last five months as a reporter, along with a few interesting shots I've taken.

Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation hosts Inaugural Two Spirit Parade

Beardy's and Okemasis councillor Kevin Seesequasis presented Chief and Council with an idea of hosting a two spirit parade in their community, which was widely accepted.  As one of the first openly gay councillors in Canada, hosting a parade / pride event was very important to Seesequasis.

The event was an overwhelming success. A huge procession marched between the Beardy's gas station to the band office where various speakers spoke of their challenges growing up as an LGBTQ or two spirited individual in post-residential school Canada.

Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation councillor Kevin Seeseequasis during the First Nation's inaugural pride parade on June 9, 2016. Photo credit Bryan Eneas

Residential School survivors find comfort and healing in each other

The residential school era is a dark and shadowy history in Canada. The effects of the schools have left a profound impact on this area of the country. The Prince Albert Indian Residential School was one of the last to close in Canada. First opening in 1948, thousands of students were educated in the buildings that are now the Prince Albert Grand Council. 

Three people decided to organize a walk between the former school and their home community of Stanley Mission, Saskatchewan (about 490 km North of Prince Albert). The walk was designed to start or move along the healing process. 

Tom Roberts, a former CBC Radio personality and now a residential school support worker helped organize the event. We had many interesting conversations leading up to this walk; as an "intergenerational" residential school survivor, being able to cover this walk from start to finish meant a great deal to me. 

While I didn't walk with the group, I made trips to La Ronge, and then Stanley Mission to see how they were doing. After four days on the road, they made it to La Ronge. Donnie Roberts, pictured below, walked all four days, going a total of 106 kilometers of the 240 between Prince Albert and La Ronge. 

Roberts survived the residential schools but he was walking for his best friend, who commit suicide while the pair were in residence together. 

Donnie Roberts, in La Ronge. June 26, 2016.

A few in the group ended their journey in La Ronge. Many continued to their home of Stanley Mission. 

Stanley Mission used to be a fly-in community. Many of the survivors who walked this far were forced to stay at school 10 months of the year, which for some, created a disconnect between culture, family, and community. Returning home by their own means was a big deal for some of the survivors. 

This was my first time visiting this beautiful community. The people were so welcoming to my presence. Tom Roberts took me on a small tour of the cultural grounds, a small island which the people traditionally inhabited pre-colonization. I was shown a large rock face hunters used to shoot arrows at before hunting season. The story was, the higher your arrow went on the face, the more successful hunts you would have. It was quite an honour to see these grounds and learn the story behind them. 

I put together a video of the walkers entering Stanley Mission. It was a powerful feeling to be a part of the group as they went through a major step in their healing processes. The link below takes you to the article which was published at the end of the journey.  

Residential School survivors make the walk back home

Going Home On Our Own

On The Powwow Trail: Drumming with the Whitefish Jr's

2016 was my true introduction to Powwow, and I fell in love. I've been producing a number of articles for a series I've started called On The Powwow Trail. 

This was my third article in the series, which I could honestly write for the rest of my life.

The Whitefish Jr's were on of the first drum groups I found on Youtube while exploring powwow singing. Harvey Dreaver's voice is mesmerizing and unlike any other I have heard live or over the internet. After learning the Whitefish Jr's were going to be host drum for the weekend made the opportunity too hard to pass up. 

It was an incredible honour to sit down with "the man of 5000 songs" as he was dubbed by the powwow MC. He had only just recently fully recovered from an illness and rejoined his champion drum group. Hearing them drum together live was an experience I will never forget. 

Harvey Dreaver, at the Witcheken Lake powwow. July 21, 2016. 

Saskatchewan's oldest church still standing strong

In my first adventure to Stanley Mission I got to see the oldest structure in Saskatchewan. Erected in 1856 after four years of construction, the church has undergone many facelifts. 

I got to sit down with curator and historian Joe Roberts to talk about the building and what's in the works for the church. 

The graveyard around the building has headstones dating back to 1850. These headstones are the oldest recorded written history of Stanley Mission according to Joe. Everything which predates the headstone is oral history. 

The church was declared a national historic site in 1982. 

The Holy Trinity Anglican Church resides on the Stanley Mission cultural grounds. The graveyard in the church has some of the oldest recorded history in Saskatchewan on its grounds. July, 2016.

The Husky Oil Spill

Oil Spill 'disastrous' according to Chief Bobby Cameron

Easily some of the most important writing I will probably ever do in my career. 

In late July, a Husky Energy pipeline running underneath the North Saskatchewan River burst, leaking at least 200,000 litres of oil into the river, according to Husky. (I don't buy it, they retracted a statement saying the pipe had burst 14 hours earlier than it really did after being grilled by almost every Saskatchewan news agency via a press conference)

This spill has turned into a saga to say the least. I have spent a lot of time writing about the spill. Prince Albert was placed under a water advisory for most of the summer as our intake just happens to be in the North Saskatchewan River; the oil floated right past our treatment plant. We ran two separate pipelines to different water sources to supply our city of 40,000. 

Grand Chief Bobby Cameron, from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, surveys the now polluted North Saskatchewan River. July 25, 2016. 

A month after the oil plum drifted through our city, oil was found on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, in James Smith Cree Nation territory. People along the South Saskatchewan River were promised the oil wouldn't cross into their river where the North and South Saskatchewan meet, but it did. 

Chief Wally Burns from the James Smith Cree Nation had taken proactive steps to set up oil booms along the river, but he could only do so much. He had pulled $17,000 from a community fund which was meant for a water pump to purchase the booms. Chief and Council had been taking independent water and sediment samples for testing to find out what exactly was in their river. 

James Smith Cree Nation wants Husky to do right

I spent a morning walking the shores of the South Saskatchewan River with Chief Wally Burns. He told me one of his favourite things to do as a youth was to swim across the river, and to look for crawfish along the banks of the river. Sadly now, the only crawfish we were finding were dead, or in terrible shape. There were no birds or wildlife around the river bank. Things were deadly quiet. 

Chief Wally Burns overlooks the South Saskatchewan River. He single handedly set up this oil boom, one of six set up along the Cree Nation's lands. August 25, 2016. 

This is where it gets interesting. 

More Traditional grounds affected by oil slick on the Saskatchewan River

After meeting with Husky officials, the community was told "wait until Monday" for any official comment. From that point forward, the James Smith Cree Nation has been told the oil could have come from a car in the river, the oil could have come from machinery working near the river, it might not even be oil, and a wide variety of excuses from all forms of government, and Husky Energy. 

After another month, Husky finally deployed oil sniffing dogs to the Cree Nation. The dogs were trained to identify Husky oil, and had been used near the origin of the spill to track down oil on the shores. Those dogs found oil on the banks, in piles of driftwood, and all around the South Saskatchewan River in James Smith Cree Nation lands. 

Pepper, one of two oil sniffing dogs used on James Smith Cree Nation traditional lands to locate Husky Energy oil. September 29, 2016. 

One month later, I made a phone call out to the band office in James Smith to see what's new. I was thoroughly disappointed to find out discussions have hardly happened since my last visit to the Cree Nation. 

'We're at a standstill in negotiations' James Smith Cree Nation's clean up woes continue

After discovering oil on the banks, Husky's clean up team removed small pieces of driftwood or riverbank affected by oil. They left behind 27 large piles of driftwood that was unsafe to removed, and deemed the clean up "complete" and decided (without the Cree Nation's input) the remaining oil was to be left. The decision was made because the remaining oil would be "cleaned up naturally." 

To my knowledge, discussions between the Cree Nation and Husky Energy have not taken place in over a month. 27 piles of oil covered driftwood still remain on the river banks. I will be continuing to follow this story as it plays out in the next few months and even years. 

Family of Montgrand still seeking answers almost 40 years later

Imagine not knowing what happened to your grandmother, mother, aunt, daughter, or grand-daughter. Unfortunately that is the story for hundreds, if not thousands of indigenous families across Canada. 

I've been looking into some of the murdered and missing indigenous women in Northern Saskatchewan. It's meant some rather depressing days in the newsroom, reading old articles, sifting through forums and speaking with families, but it's important work. These women never received true justice, so I'm doing what I can to make their stories known. 

The niece of Mryna Montgrand, Myrna Laprise has taken over the search for her aunt who went missing in the 1970's. I can't even imagine what her family has gone through. Read the article above to learn more about both Myrna's. 

If you know anything about the disapperance of Myrna Montgrand, please contact the RCMP Historical Crimes division in Saskatoon. 

On the Powwow Trail: Howard Walker, Master of Ceremonies

Howard Walker, in my mind, is the voice of Powwow. The man has spent almost 50 years announcing powwows all across the country. He speaks seven different indigenous languages, and English. His voice is so memorable, and I have learned a lot listening to him speak. 

It was an honour speaking with him in Mistawasis, and picking his brain about why he does what he does. He may be slowing down, but he still plans on doing what he does until he can't anymore. 

Howard Walker, and his granddaughter at the Mistawasis Traditional Powwow, August 28, 2016. 

Treaty rights on clearcutting allegedly overstepped

After reading a confusing press release from the Council of Canadians, I was given some contact information to put me in touch with Sylvia McAdam Saysewahum, one of the co-founders of Idle No More. 

Sylvia had been camped out on her traditional lands, trying to defend them from clearcutting. She had inherited the lands, and the fight to protect them, from her father. Various logging companies had slowly been working their way towards her traditional lands, and she was afraid the clearcutting would decimate them. 

She wasn't wrong. 

We spent an afternoon together, walking her lands and talking about the struggles of being a land protector in a cowboy province. She is passionate about her lands and her fight. I have learned a lot from our discussion on her lands. I feel her fight is an important one, and even though many of her trees have been taken, she still stands strong on her lands. I have a great respect for what she does. 

Sylvia McAdam Saysewahum, on her traditional lands after the clearcutting started. This photo has since appeared on Indian Country Today Media Network, uncredited but it was exciting to see it show up elsewhere. August, 2016.

Deaf Hoop dancers breaks through barriers

I first met Burton Bird when I visited Montreal Lake for the second time. We met outside the band office, when my out of province licence plates caught his attention. After finding out he was mostly deaf, I was amazed to learn he was also a hoop dancer. 

This intrigued me, and we spent a number of months trying to align our schedules so I could see him dance, and we could do an interview. Things finally clicked during the Prince Albert Grand Council's culture festival!

Through his translator, I learned so much about Burt and the work he does advocating for deaf youth in Northern Saskatchewan. Burt has overcome many barriers to be where he is today, and he is one of the most cheerful and positive people I have met so far. He is quite active on Facebook, and he is currently in Standing Rock (I'm super jealous!) supporting the water protectors and their fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. 

Burt Bird, a hoop dancer from the Montreal Lake Cree Nation. Bird was born almost entirely deaf; he uses the vibrations of the drum to time out his dances.  September, 2016.

"They don't see how important this is to us," NORTEP-NORPAC looms on the verge of closure

For almost 40 years the NORTEP-NORPAC programs have provided Northern Saskatchewan residents with educational services to provide the north with trained professionals in a variety of careers. 

Now, in it's infinite wisdom, the SaskParty has decided to pull 3.7 million in funding from the program. Come July 2017, the program will no longer exist as NORTEP-NORPAC. 

This is a story I was given by one of the students, and has since made waves around the province. It's really neat to break stories and see them travel south in Saskatchewan. 

After chatting with the NDP's advanced education critic, I was given a document which showed the SaskParty had given the program a glowing review. 

For the students and faculty of NORTEP-NORPAC, I sincerely hope the government reverses their decision. 

One of the final pages of the NORTEP-NORPAC study conducted by the SaskParty. The NDP's advanced education critic Warren Mcall passed this along to me to show the public. They had obtained this report through an Access to Information Act request. To read more about the report, check this link here. 

On The Powwow Trail: The Spotlight Special

Prince Albert's Northern Lights Casino competition Powwow has a unique component, the Spotlight Special. 

Dancing for a whack of cash, men's fancy bustle dancers compete in a tournament style dance off with the lights turned off in the arena. The drama made for photographic gold, and amazing written content. 

Patrick Mitsuing won this year's Spotlight Special. He was dancing in part for his father, who had passed away earlier this year. October, 2016.

Patrick Mitsuing, during the Spotlight Special. Mitsuing thanked his family for making the regalia he was wearing. October, 2016. 

Lac La Ronge Indian Band looks for long term solutions in response to crisis

There is no doubt about it, northern Saskatchewan has been hurting through October. Six young girls under the age of 15 have tragically taken their own lives. I can't even begin to express how badly this hurts me as a human being. 

Our provincial government continues to fail our northern residents with essential services. Chief Tammy Cook-Searson is looking for long term solutions to the problems within the Lac La Ronge Indian Band's mental health problems. 

Writing about suicides all through October has been troublesome and weighed me down a little. It was uplifting to hear how Chief Tammy is looking into this issue. I'm glad leaders in the north are being proactive to end this crisis. 

Chief Tammy Cook-Searson of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band speaks to journalists from across the province at the Reconciliation and the Media Conference I attended in early October. It was an honour to meet my peers in indigenous reporting, and I'm glad I was invited to attend. 

The community of La Ronge came together in a show of support directed at the youth in the community. Over 250 people turned out two nights after the fourth young person in the community took her own life. November, 2016. 

These are a few of the stories I have written over the last five months which I feel are important. If you want to read more of my work, please bookmark this link which will take you to my author page. 

I've learned lots in the short time in the field. Each and every person I've spoken with has taught me something. I look forward to continuing my work in Prince Albert, and in Northern Saskatchewan. A few big stories are in the works, and I've got a lot of ideas to pitch for stories. We'll see what the next little while has in store for me in the journalism world! 

Watch around the end of the year for my Sweet 16 for 2016, which will be a collection of 16 photos I've made this year which I really like! Until then, thank you for reading, and following my work folks! 

-- Bryan 

2015: In Review

Tis the season for reflection... 2015 has been a wild ride from start to finish. I met a lot of interesting people along the way! I graduated college (what the hell? four years ago if you told me that was a possibility I'd have laughed.)

Yet again, I found myself in a new city, in a new part of Ontario. I miss Bellevegas a lot more than I realized I would. It had it's quirks, it had its characters. I met a number of incredible skateboarders, made a lot of friends, and I had a lot of good times there. When it's time to go, it's time to go though. I'll never forget y'all!

I had some interesting experiences behind the lens and personally, and I feel to an extent that I have grown from them all. That's what we're all after right? Personal growth? I'll celebrate that as a win.

My 5D is currently with Canon, getting repairs done to the hotshoe and a few of the buttons. I've been encountering a lot of problems lately with my flashes not syncing correctly with the shutter, which has taken it's toll on my shooting. Right from the end of May until now I've been regulated to one flash, on my camera body in order to achieve high speed sync shots. There have been a number of times this year where this was incredibly frustrating, and ultimately I chose to dedicate my summer to filming two video projects.

As I did a year ago, I'm gunna make a list. This year however, there are my most memorable experiences from the past 365 days (In no particular order.)

Cirque du Soleil was simply one of the most incredible things I've ever had the privilege to shoot. Being asked to cover such a big event as an intern was a little nerve wracking at first, I'll tell you. As things got underway all self doubt left and I had a blast. The colours of Varekai were amazing. The acrobatics were mind-bottling. Being able to tour the stage and speak with the performers and some of the people in charge of the production was incredible. It's events like this that remind me how lucky I am to use a camera every day.

 Ahhh.. Banff. More specifically the Johnston Falls. Easily some of the purest oxygen I've ever inhaled, along with some of the most dynamic scenery. In my second day of traveling across Canada I took a shorter driving day in order to make it to these falls. I made my way rather slowly through the Rockies, stopping at my leisure to photograph the sights. Making the falls just before magic hour only left me a little bit of time to shoot so I tried to make the most of it. After discovering a strange looking trail off the main paths I mosied my way down to this little spot.

 Getting to meet up with Jesse while I was in BC was a great time. It's always awesome to get to explore new places to skate with homies! Kelowna was a blast, and despite a papering of no skateboarding signs we managed to get in some great shots and do so relatively hassle free. I can't wait to get back out west and see ya again dood!!

Long Beach will always be the best place in the world to me. I'm not a beach person at all either; I just think that the forests surrounding the wild Pacific ocean, and the smell of salty air  is the most amazing environment to wake up to every day. It was also great to see Spenser Smith, my oldest friend, and shoot together like we used to 10 years ago. The waves normally get wild, and the tide is usually a lot closer than it is here. It was nice to see a father taking his young one to enjoy the natural beauty before we eventually destroy it.

This photo will forever remind me how insane a journalists life can be. In one day, I went from shooting a beer fest, to taking photos of kids and rubber ducks, to sitting in a court room listening to the verdict in a double murder trial. I'll always have a soft spot for photojournalism, even if it doesn't end up being my career. 

TPR you crazy bastard. 306 Rooftop Tour is basically what happened when we met up this year. I'll never forget it, that's for sure. Shout out to you too, Chevy. You're a natural born killer! Keep at it!

A large older dude didn't like the fact we were skating on this schools roof, and he felt the need to be vocal about it. I played deaf up until he was literally right behind me yelling about damage and hurting ourselves or some such bullshit. After he insulted our collective intelligence (as this frame was being made) I'd had it. Being the only guy on the ground sucks, but I'll stick up for my homies. We aren't stupid, we know the risks of what we do, and I'm pretty sure we aren't five year olds with mommies who'll sue the daylights outta anyone. Fuck off and let us do what we do.

More TPR on more rooftops. Noseblunt Pull, at a spot a lot of people have dreamed of skating.

Try it, you never know what'll happen!

This was one of those awesome wake up at 5am to go skate sessions. It was a blast, and I could never ask for a better way to start my days.

Bellevegas. 

This was an idea I had actually come up with in the Spring of 2014. As I found issues with my camera, I adjusted to accommodate. There was no better year to get started on filming this project that had been floating around in my head! I actually filmed this simultaneously with production of That Life 2.0, so that gave me a challenge. After countless hours editing, I produced a full 22 minute video on DVDs for the homies to watch and enjoy. Once the fatigue from that project wore off I began working on a shorter web edition. I couldn't be happier with the results!

Filming was a new challenge to me, and one I'll always enjoy. My passion lies in still images though, so as my gear gets back to 100% I'll move my focus back to stills.

I've been messing around with some architecture stuff here in St. Catharines. I'm working a full time job in a greenhouse now, so I'm free to shoot some of my other passions. I haven't gotten to do any skating here yet outside of filming with Connor, but I hope to meet some people once the snow melts! There isn't a lot of street skating here sadly, a lot of guys go up to Hamilton for it I guess. We may see what's up there next year!

Until then, keep it real my friends. I miss you all, even if we don't talk much anymore. Life's a trip, make it a good one.

On the Open Road

Between May and June, I made a trek across Canada basically starting in Tofino, British Columbia, and ending in good old Bellevegas. I was fortunate enough to come into a vehicle while in Penticton, and I appreciate the opportunity I got to make this drive.

With my Mamiaflex TLR, my 5D, and my 50D by my side the entire drive, I got a chance to document a small portion of my adventure in many different ways. The film portion of my trip will come soon, I'm still developing rolls of film that I shot along the way. I'm really excited to see the final products, based on what I've gotten back I couldn't be any happier!

For the digital segment of the trip I've chosen some shots from a few stops along the way, and anything that caught my eye for one reason or another. I hope y'all enjoy em as much as I do.

Starting off at the Hope Slides Memorial between Princeton and Hope along the Crows Nest Highway. One of my favourite drives in the country; there's an amazing view around each (treacherous) corner. These speed signs are to be treated with the utmost respect.

Tofino Roadtrip 

I picked up Spenser in Nanaimo on my way to Tofino from Ladysmith where I visited my grandmother for a few days. From there, we made the drive to the far west coast, and easily the most beautiful place on earth in my opinion.

Ever since visiting Tofino for the first time many years ago I've always felt this draw to it. Maybe it's the coast, maybe it's the pounding waves, maybe it's all the hippies and locally owned / run business....

All I know is one day I'm gunna end up living here for some time to keep documenting this amazing region of Canada.

I shot this in MacMillan Provincal Park, or Cathedral Grove, which is an ancient forest located on Vancouver Island located between Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni. We made a stop here to stretch our legs and explore the olds woods a little bit. 

I don't think there are many ways to show just how towering these trees really are... You've gotta stop by and see it yourself for a real experience.

 Once we arrived at Wickaninnish, the first beach we were going to visit, Spenser and myself got a thorough soaking in a 15 minute downpour as we walked down the beach. Once we found shelter under some trees and shrubbery, the rain started to subside. I was making some 120 shots when Spenser wandered down onto the beach to see what he could see, and I spotted this. 

After eating lunch in Tofino, we went to Long Beach. This rock is the first thing you see once you walk down the path to the beach, and it became the subject of many photos produced by myself and Spenser. I noticed this father and son playing around while we were exploring, and they decided to walk out towards the rock and get one last look before they made their trip back home. 

On a side note, out of all the trips I've made here in my life I haven't seen this rock with the tide out so far. It was interesting pondering if a walk / swim could have been made out to it. Nasty undertow here though, not worth the risk getting sucked out this time around. 

The Long Beach waves, before we made the trip back to the eastern portion of Vancouver Island. 

Tofino happened on my second day visiting the Island. The very next day I made a trip to Victoria to buy 120mm film. Fun fact for you fellow photographers, Vancouver Island is pretty hurting on Camera stores. If you ever want to buy film, you're pretty much limited to Victoria or Vancouver. Keep it in mind if you're going to shoot on the island! 

Deciding I didn't want to waste a trip down the Malahat for simply film, I stopped at Goldstream Provincial Park and found this towering fall. 

Cross Country Touring

The next portion of my road trip would span roughly 2/3 of Canada. It totalled out to be just shy of 6000km when the whole trip was wrapped up at my driveway in Belleville, Ontario.

I was ready to go in the Red Ranger with the entire cab filled with gear, clothes, random gifts, and odds and ends for me take home to Bellevegas. 

Starting in Ladysmith, I traveled the Hope/Princeton Highway back to Penticton and spent a final night at my grandparents house before making my way to Banff, Alberta. I chose Banff for its abundance of Provincial Parks. I would have loved to go for a proper hike but running into a few bears down some backroads made me reconsider my plans. Next time I'll be out there I'll be fully prepared to deal with the bastards if I need to! 

I stopped in Revelstoke, British Columbia for my last official stop in British Columbia. The view was amazing, I'd give anything to live in a little town like this. Being surrounded by mountains has never tripped me out! I love the sky that the prairies have to offer, but this is truly home to me. 

This was also composed as a 120 shot, the frame came out gorgeous in my opinion! 

The Lower Johnston Falls, in Banff, Alberta. Water is coloured due to being glacial run off! It was such a neat pale grey / green to see. This will certainly be a stopping point next time through, I missed out on the famous Inkpots due to time constraints! 

The middle falls, another pretty scenic view point along the trail to the upper falls. Still can't get over the colour of the water! I also composed this in 120mm, the negatives look pretty awesome! 

Ah the ever present random rock structure / inukshuk. Seriously, who the hell builds these things? They're super interesting, and I'd really like to meet someone who does build them. These are a portion of the upper falls, the single fall at the very top wasn't as photogenic as these guys. 

Magic Hour. In the Rockies. Nothing more to say. It was an incredible 40 or so minutes of driving. With the sun setting behind me, the golden light cast on the mountains was one of the most awesome spectacles of nature I'd seen in awhile. My only regret was not pulling over with a better view to make a film image. I'm still beating myself up over that... but what's done is done! 

Waking up early in Banff was a good call, I caught a little bit of snow along the way, and I found Canmore, where my dad will be stationed for the near future. Congrats on the promotion dad, I'm really happy for you! I'm also incredibly jealous of your new digs, the view was amazing from every part of the little community. 

After successfully navigating Calgary traffic (post rush hour) I cruised through the rest of Alberta fairly uneventfully. At last! The homeland! 

Driving out to Cupar, spotted a group of cyclists coming while I was watching the sunset, made for a more interesting photograph I think! Human Elements turned into an interesting challenge for me while driving across the country. 

Spent time in the 306 working with these homies, climbing anything and everything in sight to make the 306 Rooftop Tour... Photos to come, got three videos and photo edits I'm working on as well as finding a job. 

The land of the Living Skies... I love and miss it so much! Fisheye, to capture the entirety of the sky that was around the sunset. Somewhere off of Highway 11. 

I didn't get the clearest skies to shoot any star photos, but this right here sure as hell compensated for it. 

After spending a quick four days in Regina, I had to get back on the road to Bellevegas. I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to see, nor did I get to spend as much time with everyone as I wanted, but I had a good time none-the-less! The Saskatchewan / Manitoba border crossing. Dryden bound! Three provinces in a single day, quite the trek. 

Too bad I ran into engine problems between Brandon and Winnipeg. The folks at the Portage la Prairie Ford dealership got me up and running on the road after a three hour delay, thankfully it wasn't anything major. This delay, along with going in and out of rain prevented me from taking many photos in Manitoba.

Upon entering Ontario, the scenery change is dramatic from the three prairie provinces. The rocks and trees are refreshing after a long drive through flat land. On highway 17 just outside of Dryden this structure stands along side the highway. After catching a fleeting glimpse, I decided to turn around and investigate. 

After not getting too many photos the day previous because of weather and then hitting Ontario in the dark, it was nice to get out and get some shots. what wasn't fun was driving between Dryden and Sault Ste. Marie. I'd recommend it for those trying to get across Ontario quickly, but beyond that don't do it. It's long as hell, and you miss a lot. I wish I could have made more stops! 

Making one stop outside of Thunder Bay, I found this crazy structure at a rest stop. No idea what it's used for but this architecture was too crazy not to take a photo of. 

If anyone's read Stephen King's Cell this makes me think of that book. Nothing else about this really. Day three of driving put me between Sault Ste. Marie, and Bancroft Ontario. Took the backroads home, because there was no way in hell I wanted to deal with Toronto traffic with my truck packed. I pretty much hate the place, and ever since being in Ontario I haven't been too stoked on driving into the city. I'll do it to skate! 

After stopping and spending a night in Bancroft it was finally time to get to Belleville. It was an awesome stay in Bancroft! Thanks for the hospitality Alyssa! 

Highway 62, in between Bancroft and Bellevegas. 

I love this country, and my travel needs are more than satisfied by journeying around it and finding spots that interest me. Traveling around the world would be amazing, but right now I'm satisfied exploring the vast differences and the many similarities from coast to coast. Canada is amazing. If you ever get the chance, see as much of this place as you can.