June and July 2026

Timber and Tundra cross Canada

In June we put two Finnish Lapphunds in the car in British Columbia and drove east until the water turned salty. They sat for every sign along the way, so there is proof. Here is the trip in the order it happened.

  1. Timber and Tundra sitting between the rails of a railway line with hills behind them

    British Columbia

    Before the driving started

    Home, on a rail line near the house. Two dogs sitting exactly where they were put, entirely unbothered by what was about to happen to their week.

  2. Timber and Tundra sitting on a path in front of a Welcome to Manitoba sign

    Manitoba

    Welcome to Manitoba

    The first sign either of them sat for without an argument. It set a standard that did not entirely hold.

  3. One of the Finnish Lapphunds sitting on a rock in front of a Welcome to Ontario sign

    Ontario

    Welcome to Ontario

    Ontario is about two thousand kilometres across and takes days to drive. This is the sign at the beginning of it, photographed by people who did not yet understand that.

Tundra close to the camera and Timber further along a sandy beach beside a lake
On a drive this long the stops that matter are the ones with water in them.
Timber and Tundra sitting below a highway sign reading Atlantic Watershed

Elevation 466 m

From here all streams flow south into the Atlantic Ocean.

Somewhere in the middle of the country there is a sign on the shoulder telling you the water beside you has changed its mind. We pulled over for it, because how often do you get to stand on the line where a continent tips?

The coast

Lupins along every roadside, lighthouses painted the same red and white as the flag, and sand that really is that colour. None of these are edited.

  • Timber and Tundra sitting on a boardwalk to a lighthouse with lupins on both sidesThe lupins were out everywhere.
  • Timber and Tundra sitting on the lawn below a red and white lighthouseOne of several lighthouses.
  • One of the Finnish Lapphunds looking over the side of a green and white dory on a wharfGot in the boat. Would not be moved.
  • One of the Finnish Lapphunds sitting above a red sand beach with a sea cliff behindThe sand really is that colour.
One of the Finnish Lapphunds sitting in profile on rocks looking out over the ocean

The far edge

The other side of the country, salt in the wind, and a dog who sat down and looked at it for a while.

Both of us and both dogs standing on the gravel at the edge of a cove

Four of us went

This is the only photo with all four of us in it, which tells you who was holding the camera the rest of the time. If you want the next one of these as it happens, the Lappy Pack letter goes out every Wednesday.

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