Strayed a bit from my regular beat to write about an interesting Cdn community: Stuck north of a closed border, Canada’s full-time RVers are facing an unfamiliar foe: The Canadian winter https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/09/10/stuck-north-of-a-closed-border-canadas-full-time-rvers-are-facing-an-unfamiliar-foe-the-canadian-winter.html

Canadians who live in RVs normally drive south to the US for the winter, but that's not possible this year because of the COVID-enforced border closure. Many Canadian campgrounds close in October and RVs weren't meant for sub-zero living, so 1000s of RVers are in a tight spot.

Many RVers are heading west to Vancouver Island, where the milder weather means that some campsites stay open year-round. "It’s like a mass exodus of Canadians that are all driving across Canada," one full-time RVer told me. Spots are limited, however.

In addition to being stuck in colder weather Wendy Wood, who lives in her RV with her husband and 3 young kids, said they will miss meeting up with like-minded families south of the border, as they normally do.

"We have a big community (in the U.S.) and that’s been really hard for us to be separated from," Wood told me. "We don’t live this lifestyle because we want to live in a trailer. We live this lifestyle so we can be free to live and explore."

Trudy Higgins told me she swapped her Mississauga condo for an RV after retiring for health reasons and she's hoping to get as much travel and hiking in as possible while she can. Now she's facing a long trek over the mountains with a heavy RV so she can see out the winter in BC.

So in addition to all the other groups adversely affected by the pandemic, spare a thought for Canada's full-time RVers, who seem like an adventurous and free-spirited bunch. I hope they all stay safe this winter.