We can’t be on the road full time, or even most of the time.  At least, not yet.  We go through episodes of distinct and strange yearning, similar to homesickness that pulls us towards the van every now and then, so we are lucky to have a quick hitch-hitch solution right at our doorstep; we are surrounded by the York Regional Forest, and try to sneak a walk in the forest whenever we can.

For us, a walk in the forest is a source of inspiration on many levels; aside from the obvious benefits of exercise and fresh air, void of the internet and Netflix, this is where our visions eventually align to create the magic of change and feed our wanderlust. It is also our planning headquarter, or our war room if you like.  This is where we had endless conversations that led to buying the campervan, where we conceptualize our trips, and where we sometimes have heated discussions about our (slightly differing) visions of our future.  You know, those important, life-changing decisions such as when to retire…

It’s a good thing that “our” track of the forest has few visitors and that wildlife can’t talk.

But the forest has its own magic and wonder.  It took us a bit of time to adjust to the lack of destination and to the idea of walking the same trails over and over again.  Unlike our hikes during travel, where a waterfall or a viewing point are the obvious destinations, and there are new vistas around every corner, these walks had the potential to be boring after a few times.

At first, our walks were about exercising Emma, or about the health benefits of certain hours of walking every week, but slowly, we started to appreciate the trails in a different way.  These same trails transformed during with the seasons, the light was different every day, a morning walk was different than an evening walk, there were different spring mushrooms and fall mushrooms.  Berries in the summer.  Different blooms.  Trees go up, trees come down.  Things to watch out for, like poison ivy in the summer, or ice in the winter. The trails changed and we learned to appreciate and look for these changes.

After Emma died, we had a bit of a hard time going to our go-to forest tract so we got into our car and headed to the next town over for a hike.  Uxbridge proudly named itself the Trail Capital of Canada, and regardless of the accuracy of this title, they do have many hiking and biking trails to choose from.  We just picked a trail that was close to town to explore.

We happened to stumble upon an event in progress: Durham region Walk & Talk for Mental Health, an event aimed at defeating depression.  How timely for us; it’s been a tough month and the gloomy cold weather did not help at all.

As we made our way through the forest and enjoyed the signage that was strategically placed by ponds, trees, and butterfly meadows throughout the forest:

What a great idea!  We needed that.

A more permanent feature of this trail is an art initiative featuring locations where artists were inspired to paint.

We also found a new stash of morels.  We know what we’re having for dinner tonight!

On the subject of food; we stopped at a local Mexican joint after our hike. We just can’t resist Mexican food.  The fish taco was great!

We drove back home and as we drove through Goodwood, we witnesses the hamlet transforming into Schitt’s Creek as they were preparing to shoot some more scenes.  Bob’s Garage and Rose Apothecary signs were propped up on the buildings, and the small hamlet was filled with black-wearing, movie types.

This brought memories.  We should tell you one day about our glory days as extras in a movie in the Philippines.  Good times!

It was a perfect day.  We could feel the layers of this past month’s stress falling off as we walked and talked, read the de-stressing signs, planned our next trip, and stopped to pet other people’s dogs (sigh).

This time, we didn’t have to drive long distances or seek incredibly unique experiences.  We created our own unique experience because wherever we go, there we are! We shared each other’s company, food, created a new recipe, had a good conversation, and shared some nostalgia.  We didn’t need more than that today.

We would love to hear about your de-stressing sanctuary or techniques.  Where you make important decisions, and how you create magic with your familiar, everyday routine, so drop us a line in the comments below.

A side story:

The confession:

We don’t really like morels.  There is something about the smell and taste that is a bit unappealing to us but we just couldn’t resist the huge stash that we found.  We decided to give it another try.  We went for soup this time, and it was amazing!  We are now hooked on morels and therefore the location of this stash remains secret.  Sorry.

The recipe:

• about 8 medium sized morels
• 2 medium yellow flesh potatoes
• any, or all of onion, leek, shallots, or green onion
• a handful of fresh cilantro
• a tablespoon of avocado oil
• a tablespoon of butter
• 1 clove of garlic
• a dash of allspice
• a sprinkle of herb de Provence
• salt and pepper

Saute the onions in the olive oil, add chopped morels, add garlic.  When all are browned add the butter and saute for another minute.  In a separate pot boil the potatoes in about 3 cups of water until soft.  Add the mushrooms and onion and some cilantro to the pot and blend with an immersion blender.  Adjust spices and simmer until you have the desired consistency.  Garnish with chopped cilantro, green onion, and if you like spice a dash of sriracha. You can add water or broth if too thick.  Enjoy!

You can play around with the ingredients and spices according to your taste, just keep a morel/potato/onion blend. Next time we will try adding a few different kinds of mushrooms (we have a lot of frozen bolets from last fall’s foraging) and see if the flavour remains as good.

Do you have a wild mushroom recipe to share?

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