Thru Here

All you need is your two feet, a backpack, a hammock and a goal — that’s what Mathieu taught us. Mathieu partook on one of the most surprising journeys of season one. He hitchhiked across Canada. He came to Canada from Belgium seeking more experience doing stand up in English, but decided to make use of his working holiday visa and use it to check out what Canada had to offer, before heading to his eventual destination, Los Angeles. In this episode, we get deep. We chat about why we do the things we do, what influences us to prioritize travelling and what it’s like to hitchhike. This is Thru Here’s final episode of season one. It’s been a blast recording interviews, producing episodes and hearing the feedback on all the stuff we’ve created. Stay tuned to our social media channels for extended content in the coming weeks, including blog posts, Q&As and more. Thank you so much for listening this season. We hope to have a second season out by mid-September 2019. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

What started as a road trip across Australia blossomed into a two-year Pan-American van life road trip for the record books. Mattijs bought the pale yellow Westfalia he and Desiree call home almost immediately upon returning from Australia and set to work. No more waiting, they were going to do this thing. Mattijs fixed it up, banked overtime at his job and they went on a six-week test trip to Spain and Portugal where they met the true love of their lives, Paco. They figured out what worked, what didn’t work and they geared up for their big journey. We caught up with the three while they were driving through Riding Mountain National Park, and offered them a driveway to stay in for a night. We all huddled together inside the van and chatted all things van life, how long it took to start, how long they’ve been on the road, the struggles and triumphs along the way, and why they chose to ditch their old lives for one on the road. Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday. You can learn more about Des and Matt’s journey by checking out their website at http://www.dreamsonwheels.nl, or by following @dreamsonwheels.nl. Follow along on the rest of their 1.5 year journey! Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

A gap year was in order for Natalie when she graduated high school and realized she had an opportunity to do some travelling before starting years of university. She found a program she liked enough, but something wasn’t right and she wanted to get exploring while she still could. So, she made the decision, did some travelling and ended up in Vancouver with her brother, with the intentions of doing a cross Canada road trip. She ended up settling in Riding Mountain National Park for awhile, to visit family and make some money. We sat down in early fall to chat about all things gap year related, why travelling when you can is so important and what she hopes to have learned when the experience comes to an end in the spring. Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday. This episode features a quick mid-episode interview with our friend, Sam Cortes. She wrote a really cool book called Where We Feel Human. You can buy it online at Lonesome Cedar’s website, or you can email her at wherewefeelhuman[a]gmail.com to grab your copy. It comes out on Feb. 20, 2019. A book launch will be held that night at FortWhyte Alive’s interpretive centre in Winnipeg, MB, starting at 7 p.m. You can RSVP to the event and get more information here. This episode features an ad from our friends at 6tiles Media. In Exit the Echo Chamber, a podcast by 6tiles Media, host William Rhoda talks to people you’ve never met, with perspectives you’ve never considered. You can check it out on all your favourite podcast-listening apps here. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Brooke and Rebecca were sick of their day-to-day life and their desire to adventure was growing near-intolerable. They decided this summer was the summer for their cross-country road trip. They modified Franny, the minivan they bought for the journey, to the nines and designed every square millimetre so it had a purpose and function. In this episode, we sit down with the pair on a dock on one of the hottest days of the summer. Again, I lost some audio from the original recording where Brooke and Rebecca talked in detail about where they’d been so far. We talk about how they chose to modify their van, why they set out to uncover more of the country they’re from, and what they’ve learned from living out of a van. ---- Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday. This episode features four ads from some of our friends, they include: Create Simple is a community for those learning how to create a greener simpler tomorrow. It hosts workshops and has great resources for people who want to be a more conscious consumer. You can visit https://www.createsimple.org/ for more exciting information and resources. In Exit the Echo Chamber, a podcast by 6tiles Media, host William Rhoda talks to people you’ve never met, with perspectives you’ve never considered. You can check it out on all your favourite podcast-listening apps here. Bridger is a dystopian serial, with new episodes released weekly. Head to https://bridgerserial.com/ to learn more and to get reading. Where We Feel Human is a book by Sam Cortes which prompts a necessary dialogue about why it’s more important than ever to recognize the powerful positive effects nature has on our mental health. It comes out on Feb. 20, 2019. A book launch will be held that night at FortWhyte Alive’s interpretive centre in Winnipeg, MB, starting at 7 p.m. You can RSVP to the event and get more information here. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

A big adventure. It’s what Anne and Rob take their kids Rosie and Arlo on every year since before Rosie was even born. Once a year, they all pile into their car and travel for a good chunk of time, usually six weeks was that number if I remember correctly. In this episode, we sit down with the family while they were stopped in Riding Mountain in July. You’ll hear more from me than usual this episode because I spent the first half hour of the interview unaware that I had forgotten to hit the record button twice — meaning it wasn’t actually recording that whole time. We talk about their trip so far, what it’s like to travel with kids and how it changes as they get older and why it’s important to Anne that her kids experience the world through travel. In the later half of the episode, we catch up with Anne now and talk about the rest of the trip and how it went, and what’s in store for next year’s big adventure. Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday. In this episode, you’ll hear an ad from Thru Here’s friends at Create Simple. Create Simple is a community for those learning how to create a greener simpler tomorrow. It hosts workshops and has great resources for people who want to be a more conscious consumer. Its second workshop of the year is coming up quickly, sign up for “DIY Face Masks” on Feb. 3rd. Click here for tickets AND, you can visit https://www.createsimple.org/ for more exciting information and resources. You’ll also hear an ad for Exit the Echo Chamber, a podcast by 6tiles Media. Every week, host William Rhoda talks to people you’ve never met, with perspectives you’ve never considered. You can check it out on all your favourite podcast-listening apps here. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

A complete house that fits inside a single shipping container and can be built in just one-two months by a very small crew with little to no big equipment? Well, that’s what Kithouse is — and we might just call that revolutionary. It’s responsibly built using as little plastic as possible while also simultaneously integrating enough components that using solar panels to power the entire house is easily do-able, and makes the house net zero. In this special episode of Thru Here, Alyssa sits down with another local. This time, it’s Eric. He resides on the border of Riding Mountain National with his wife, Annik and two kids. He also developed and designed Kithouse, which you can check out more of at its website here: https://www.kithouse.ca/. We chat about how Kithouse came to be, what makes it different, the process of designing and making choices with building materials which are environmentally responsible and sustainable in the long-term, and what the future looks like with Kithouse in it. Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday. In this episode, you’ll hear an ad from Thru Here’s friends at Create Simple. Create Simple is a community for those learning how to create a greener simpler tomorrow. It hosts workshops and has great resources for people who want to be a more conscious consumer. Its first workshop of the year is coming up quickly, sign up for “Grow Winter Greens,” coming up soon on January 20. Click here for tickets or you can visit https://www.createsimple.org/ for more exciting information and resources. You’ll also hear an ad for Bridger, a dystopian serial, with several new episodes released weekly. Head to https://bridgerserial.com/ to learn more and to get reading. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4. Check out thruherepod.com for extended content and to learn more about Riding Mountain National Park. While you're there, sign up for Thru Here’s e-newsletter to stay in the know. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Things got real for Kevin on the road this summer — travelling can’t always be just fun and games. First, car problems. Second, more car problems. And then, a counter protest in BC where tensions were high and all he could think about was doing what he knew was the right thing. Kevin has been using destination weddings as an excuse to see the world for quite some time now and it just so happened that a wedding in Jasper this summer provided him with the opportunity to see more of the country he grew up in. Listen along as we go through the valleys and peaks with him just as his trip was coming to a close. We hear about the highlights of the trip, how shit got real pretty quickly, the downfalls of relying on a vehicle and why Kevin values travelling and thinks it’s crucial to do. Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday, but will be entering a mid-season break from Nov. 29 - Jan. 10. Tune in on Dec. 6 for a teaser preview of what’s to come in the latter half of season one of Thru Here. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4.

Check out thruherepod.com for extended content and to learn more about Riding Mountain National Park. 

While you're there, sign up for Thru Here’s e-newsletter to stay in the know. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Erika and Nicolas say if you’re thinking about taking a long trip, do it now. That’s what they decided when they realized they were just working and not really living. They found a modified Land Rover, drove it from their home in Switzerland to Belgium, and shipped it across the ocean to Halifax. They’ve been driving across North America ever since as part of a year-long Pan-American road trip. While they were in Riding Mountain National Park, we sat down with them on a dock near sunset to ask them about their journey so far. We talk about disappointments, Instagram, van life and how living in close proximity to each other is working out for them. Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4.

 Check out thruherepod.com for extended content and to learn more about Riding Mountain National Park. 

While you're there, sign up for Thru Here’s e-newsletter to stay in the know. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Three years ago at a BBQ, Eric met someone who had peddled across the country and from that moment on, he knew he wanted to cycle across the country too. This summer, he cycled from Tofino, British Columbia to Cape Spear, Newfoundland. We walked alongside him as he biked a trail in Riding Mountain and we talked about his journey so far, how biking across the country is different and more personable than driving and how a very long bike ride became sort of like a reunion tour for him. Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4.

Check out thruherepod.com for extended content and to learn more about Riding Mountain National Park. 

While you're there, sign up for Thru Here’s e-newsletter to stay in the know. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Patrick is a bit of a local celebrity in Riding Mountain National Park. He might deny that, but we see what happens when he walks down the street during the height of the summer season. We sat down with him around a fire to talk about why he chose to live near the park, how he got to be a Parks Canada interpreter and how him and his partner Sherry built a house out of straw. Yes, you heard that right. What leads someone to not only live in, but also build a house of straw? Listen along as we find out! Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday.  Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is also used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4. Check out thruherepod.com for extended content and to learn more about Riding Mountain National Park. While you're there, sign up for Thru Here’s e-newsletter to stay in the know.  Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Meet Nico and Sofie. They’re two friends from France who lived in Toronto for a bit and then decided to see the expansive country of Canada by van. They played it by ear and planned as they went, taking information from their hosts and people they met along the way. We recorded this episode in early June, when Nico and Sofie were passing through, with an end destination of Vancouver Island. It was kind of cold and there were a lot of bugs, but we had fun chatting about what it takes to modify a van, what it’s like to plan (or in their case, not plan) a cross-country road-trip and how learning by doing might be the best strategy. Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday afternoon. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here is recorded on Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. The land is used by Indigenous nations from Treaties 1, 3 and 4.

Check out thruherepod.com for extended content and to learn more about Riding Mountain National Park. 

While you're there, sign up for Thru Here’s e-newsletter to stay in the know. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Brian was travelling through Riding Mountain National Park in early June when Alyssa sat down with him to chat about his trip across Canada by bike. Listen along as Alyssa asks why he chose to bike to his friend’s wedding in Southern Ontario instead of just hopping on a place. We chat about the trials, triumphs and tribulations of life on the road and about the neat people Brian met along the way. 
 Thru Here releases new episodes every Thursday afternoon. Season one of Thru Here takes place in Riding Mountain National Park, a vast forested oasis among Manitoba’s hundreds of kilometres of prairie, and a destination for many travellers. Thru Here acknowledges that the land its recorded on is Treaty 2 territory. The land is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. 

Check out thruherepod.com for extended content and to learn more about Riding Mountain National Park. 

While you're there, sign up for Thru Here’s e-newsletter to stay in the know. Follow us on social media, we’re @thruhere on Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Thru Here is a podcast about road trips, people and places. But really, what is it? Who do we talk to? Where is it set? Hear all about it before we launch episode one on Oct. 25.