Travel Journal 101 - Proof of Life

07/11/2023

Fallacy….this whole notion that you have to fill out the whole page in your Travel Journal with a sketch or painting.
You don’t!
Remember, there are no ‘Travel Journal Police’ out there telling you what you have to do.

Instead, think about doing small sketches and little watercolour vignettes as a way to trigger your memories.
They’re quick to do
They’re fun
They’re often simpler to do

Leave a comment and let me know what you think or ask a question. 🙂 ❤
Don’t get me wrong, do that full page sketch if you’re moved to do so…just don’t feel that you must. ❤

19/10/2023

Legacy…
Whether you know it (or even believe it) one or more of your descendants is going to want to know more about you…about ‘who’ you were as a person.

…and unless you leave somethng behind, they will never know you…
…never know what keen observational skills you had
….never know what curiosity you displayed as you traveled
….never know what a truly funny writer you are

I have seen this….I have had so many people in the Archives over the years asking about their ancestors….asking for ways to learn about ‘who’ they were.

You will bless their lives if you leave behind a Travel Journal….and that’s a true legacy. 🙂 ❤

13/10/2023

I truly believe you can up your odds of living forever….

I spent my career in the Museum/Archives field, and I can assure you that (for the most part) the only people who are ever remembered are those who wrote something down.

You can keep a diary…to be sure.
BUT what would the memory of you be like (for your children and grandchildren and/or great nieces/nephews) if you left them a Paddle Journal/Travel Journal?
Think how much richer your life would be if you great grandparents had left a Journal of their travels.
You would get a glimpse of ‘who’ they were….and, thereby, a glimpse of ‘who’ you are. ❤

Too often I have seem people in the Archives looking to find out ‘who’ their ancestors were (instead of just their birth and death dates)! ❤
They will LOVE you for leaving them your travel stories. 🙂 ❤
(And it’s just plain fun)
(This is a 2-week paddle trip in BC’s Kootenay Region)

07/10/2023

It’s rare that I use a whole page for a watercolour in my Travel Journals…mostly that’s becasue I find the small vingettes give me more range, are far less intimidating, and they are way quicker to do when you’re ‘on the road’.
(Mind you….you could leave the space and do the full page once you get back home). 🙂

Perhaps most important, the small sketches and little watercolour vignettes give me the ‘feel’ I’m looking for on the Journal pages - less formal, a bit more immediate, and they seem somehow more accessible within the Journal format. 🙂 ❤
- this is on the Missouri River on a stretch through the Gates of the Mountains….such a beautiful stretch of the river!
Go see it! ❤

27/09/2023

The fact you travel demonstrates that you have a strong sense of curiosity in your character!

…and you know what….when you keep a Travel Journal, that curious nature is going to start showing up in your Journal…
- in the things you write about
- in the little sketches you do
- in the little watercolour vignettes you paint

THE ART OF TRAVEL JOURNALS is a live Workshop I’ll be giving here in the studio in Kelowna (1090 Gordon Drive)
Sunday, October 1st (10am - 1pm)

DM me today and reserve one of the 8 seats available - and let me help you start that Travel Journal you’ve always wanted to do! 🙂 ❤

26/09/2023

Travelling seems to be an absolutely perfect outlet for your Creative Spirit…and years down the road that Spirit will shine through so wonderfully.

Think about this…
How would you feel if you had a Travel Journal from a Great Aunt or Uncle or from a Grandparent?
You would certainly know them better…and I’m guessing that, in some special ways, you would know yourself better too.

Keeping a Travel Journal is a wonderful and special way to honour that future you.

Join me for this Workshop on Sunday, October 1st for:
THE ART OF TRAVEL JOURNALS
From 10am-1pm in the studio here in Kelowna, I’ll guide you through some easy and simple ways to get you started on the legacy of who you are.
🙂 ❤

25/09/2023

Keeping a Travel Journal will change you…in some really good ways!

Seems we all learn new things when we’re ‘on the road’, and keeping a Journal is an ideal way for you to build your keen observational skills.
You will begin to see things in a new way…
You’ll hear the nuance in the sounds of the places you visit…
Your taste buds will love exploring new foods…

And all those keen observations will begin to show up in your Journal!
How good is that eh! 🙂

Join me on October 1st (10am - 1pm) in the studio here in Kelowna for a wonderful workshop to get you going:
THE ART OF TRAVEL JOURNALS.
DM me today for one of the 8 seats and start your very own and totally unique Travel Journal. 🙂 ❤

22/09/2023

The Art of Travel Journals - a Workshop

Are you going to travel this fall or winter?
You can come home with a cell phone full of random photos…or with a great Journal that captures and nurtures your creative spirit out there onthe road.

The focus of the workshop will be the ‘art’ side of things (versus the writing side), so you’ll come away with a great Workbook that you’ve done yourself and that you can use as a fun study reference as you fill your journal with your own unique style.

Join me Sunday, October 1 (10am-1pm) right here in the studio in Kelowna for a wonderful entry into the word of Travel Journals.

You’ve wanted to do this for years - now’s the time….DM me today and reserve one of the 8 seats. 🙂 ❤

20/09/2023

WORKSHOP: The Art of Travel Journals
One of the barriers people have with keeping a Travel Journal is - What do I put in my ‘Kit’?’
That’s part of what I’ll be teaching you in my new live workshop in the Studio.

Sunday, October 1
10am - 1pm
1090 Gordon Drive
Only 8 seats available.

DM me if you’d like to learn all about how to keep a Journal on your next vacation.
You’ll love having a tangible record of your travels versus a cell phone full of random photos.
See you soon! 🙂 ❤

12/08/2023

Visiting British Columbia’s historic Barkerville and catching a bit of the trip in my Travel Journal. 🙂
Seems like a big season for Paintbrush and Fireweed!

22/07/2023

The tiniest of sketches in your Travel Journal can bring back such rich memories - in this case, waiting on the riverbank for the thunderstorm to pass.

The photo that I have of this is great, don’t get me wrong….but the bit of time I took to do this little piece in my Journal seems to bring the scene back even clearer.

Lots of your memories will be lost unless you do something new… so start with a Travel Journal and don’t miss out.
Start learning more by joining the Facebook Group:Travel Journal 101

YouTube at: Travel Journal 101 for lots of simple sketching tutorials.

22/07/2023

The tiniest of sketches in your Travel Journal can bring back such rich memories - in this case, waiting on the riverbank for the thunderstorm to pass. (Athabasca River)

The photo that I have of this is great, don’t get me wrong….but the bit of time I took to do this little piece in my Journal seems to bring the scene back even clearer.

Lots of your memories will be lost unless you do something new… so start with a Travel Journal and don’t miss out.
Start learning more today. 🙂 ❤

20/07/2023

There were lots of wildflowers along the Athabasca River canoe route we travelled - and there seemed to be sooooo many paintbrush in particular.

I wanted to try something a bit different with them in my Journal….so just painted right over the writing.

This was a bit of a test….what do you think?
Does it work?

(I took a small solar recharger on this long distance canoe trip to do a blog wherever I could find wifi - DM me if you’d like the link) 🙂

18/07/2023

When you’re on the road crew for the day and driving through the woodlands of Northern Alberta, there is a distinct ‘look’ about those lands as they zip past the driver’s side window….so I tried to capture some of that in my Travel Journal…
I took a small solar recharger on the trip so I could write a blog about the journey - the blog for this long distance canoe trip is at:
Www.athabascariver.Wordpress.com
(I still have a few days to catch up on writing) 🙂 ❤

Learn more about keeping a Travel Journal at the Facebook Group: Travel Journal 101
Lots of simple sketching tutorials at YouTube at: Travel Journal 101

15/07/2023

Voyageur canoe Brigade on the Athabasca River. 🙂 ❤

07/07/2023

The Wordpress site is up at:

…a 200 year canoe adventure and celebration

07/07/2023

Getting ready to start the day’s paddle on the Athabasca River.
Whitecourt to Blueridge.
About a 3 hour paddle at this point.
14 crews
🛶👍🏕️

04/07/2023

Heading off tomorrow morning for 2-weeks paddling down the Athabasca River and North Saskatchewan River.

I’ll be taking my Travel Journal (of course) and doing a blog along the way…so watch for more.

To learn how to keep a Travel Journal, join the Facebook Group at: Travel Journal 101

YouTube at: Travel Journal 101 for lots of simple sketching tutorials.

29/06/2023

I’ve been working on this one for a while - one simple step you Cana take to get yourself started this summer! 🙂 ❤

The Weekend Travel Journal download PDF is here!

Follow the link below for a template that will give you a simple start at keeping a Travel Journal of any kind:
- Hiking Journal
- Nature Journal
- Paddle Journal
- Road Trip…

Here’s the link you can copy and paste:

https://www.traveljournal101.com/?r_done=1

Lots more to come from
Travel Journal 101! 👍😊🎨📒📖

“I had been looking forward to your presentation, and it was all I had hoped for and more. You are very engaging. The members' chatter as we pack up is a good indicator of how a speaker has been received... the more chatter, the more the speaker has "gotten to" them. You generated lots of energize...

30/05/2023

Lately I’ve been using these small 5”x7” Windsor Newton watercolour books for my Travel Journal/Paddle Journal/Hiking Journal etc.

They’re small, light weight, pretty descent watercolour paper, coil bound (so even more compact), and only about 15 pages. They’re cost effective too. 🎨

On the right is a small quick sketch I did hiking up a creek to do some gold panning with a few of the Grandkids…..great fun….and 50 years from now, they’ll have the Journal to show their kids what a legend their Gradndad was! 🤣🎨👍❤️
(BTW - I added the watercolour when we were back at the campground)

28/05/2023

Free Workshop…
We’re heading into a wonderful season of summer travel, and that’s a great time to get yourself going on the start of your very own Travel Journal.

You know, I could never see myself doing a diary or daily Journal kind of thing….but a Travel Journal sure does get me going.
Perhaps some of that comes from having seen some of those early Travel Journals in the Archives and Museums over the years. What a wonderful record to have (and pass on to your kids and grandkids)!
…and it doesn’t have to be some epic trip to Antarctica - it can be your summer camping trip, or a cruse, or a series of weekend canoe trips.

Please join me and get yourself started on a wonderful Travel Journal.
(Also, please share this link with anyone you think might get a kick out of starting their own Travel Journal - let’s have fun with this)!

Join Museum Curator, Artist, and Geographer, Wayne Wilson, for this fun and straightforward pathway into keeping your very own totally unique Travel Journal. The session will take you through several topics people sometimes bump up against when considering starting a Travel Journal. Wayne will walk....

27/05/2023

The ‘stuff’ you find along the way in your travels can make for some great fun when it comes to sketching in your Journal.

I found a HUGE centipede on the Big Island of Hawaii (we certainly don’t have them that big in Canada)!🌴

A Stonefly husk(?) on the Yellowstone River paddle trip…🛶

Fish heads and tails on other hiking and paddling trips.🏕️🛶

Write a short paragraph about where you were and who was with you etc….maybe just do it in point-form too.

Mostly….have fun with it.
(Remember - keeping a Travel Journal isn’t a ‘job’)!

Join the Facebook Group at: Travel Journal 101
YouTube at: Travel Journal 101 for lots of simple sketching tutorials.

24/05/2023

Not always…..but often, I find I get more satisfaction (and less stress) by doing small landscape sketches and little watercolour vignettes in my Travel Journals. 🎨👍
I have filled whole Journal pages, to be sure ….but more and more I’m opting for the vignette approach. 🏕️

….and a bonus is that I’ve used lots of these little designs on Art Cards when I get back home.

18/05/2023

In late March I did a Workshop for the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation on keeping a Travel Journal if you’re thinking of re-tracing parts of that epic Trail.
The Foundation’s Newsletter is out now, and there’s a great article on just how to go about doing that (lots of practical advice for any trip you might take)…and the author ended with a very nice pice about the Workshop itself.
Thanks, Gary Kimsey! 🙂

Lewis and Clark News

16/05/2023

Here’s a little sketching exercise for your Travel Journal…a feather that you might find along one of your beach walks.

Painting up the whole big blank Journal page can be intimidating….so just don’t do it! 🙂
Try these little vignettes about 4”x4” (size of a beer mat).

Give this a try and show me how you do…okay. 🙂 ❤
Ask questions…
Leave a comment….what do you need help with in your Travel Journal?
Or DM me.