About
Oh, hello!
When I sat down to write this at my desk in Calgary in early January 2026, in between glimpses of a huge chinook arch stretching across the sky to the west and looking beyond to the Rockies, I thought about my most recent year of travel, trying to find a proper or at least a good analogy, to summarize what took place (of course, I was in the midst of planning my first escape in 2026, don’tcha know).
I picture a row of books–hard copy, hard cover and paperback–real, tangible books. Books filling a single shelf at home in my office/reading room, with stern-looking cast iron Abraham Lincoln bookends that belonged to my father holding them up. A broad subject area that in Dewey’s world are planted firmly in section 910 of a larger library (far away from the SciFi section, which is missing from my shelves, but close to fiction and cookbooks and biographies and children’s lit in my disorganized world–to hell with the system).
Just like a library, each book in my section 910 is different—some are longer than others, more involved, more deep; some I got more into emotionally and/or physically; some made me laugh and some broke my heart, but only a little. Some were delicious or beautiful and others were…blissfully ordinary. The characters came and went—mostly, but there are those—just a few–who will stay in my mind and beyond–forever.
All to say, every single piece of every single day I was away was magic in its own way. I learned a lot, about other parts of the world, about people, and about myself. I also figured out that there is so much I’ll never learn.
So I began to rethink N50–this site–and decided to try something a little different.
This new North of 50 is a place to learn, to share and to grow as travellers. Every two weeks or so I’ll throw out some ideas–about a place or the concept of a place (you’ll understand what I mean eventiually), ask for advice, and discuss useful products that make travelling just a little easier. You’ll see three columns- Places, Practicalities, and Products– and that’s where our stories will live.
So take a look, add your thoughts (and your photos!), and be part of the conversation. There’s an easy link to subscribe and places to follow on social media. So let’s give this a shot together and see what we can do!
