Camping adventures

Last weekend Shelley and I went camping to Kananaskis, which is one of my most favourite places ever. I was working in Calgary the week before, and am still here in Calgary. Shelley packed up the camping equipment and the dogs, picked me up in my hotel, and off we went. We chose to take the scenic route out to Kananaskis from Canmore - in part because I forgot the dogs' leashes in my car and we had to buy news ones, and in part because the long and winding road up the mountains and around the sparkling turquoise crystal clear lakes is breathtakingly beautiful.

Despite a few hurdles (the entire provincial park was full and we had to pack up each morning and move to a different campsite), we had a fantastic trip. The weather was amazing, the dogs were a pleasure to have around (at least when they weren't trying to sleep on our heads in the tent), and life is just always better in the mountains. They are such a spiritual place for me. There is something about the way the peaks of mountains look against the sky - it's kind of like they don't belong there, but they choose to be there anyway.

We did a couple of great hikes - one up Mt Indefatiguable, and the other all the way around the upper lake. I've done both hikes many times before and love them. This is why I had to share them with Shelley - she loved them just as much as me, and that makes me so happy! The hike up the mountain gives you an incredible view of the valley below and the upper and lower lakes. On the way up we encountered a group of Japanese tourists coming down. One of them was trying to take a picture of the view, I assumed. I was wrong. She actually wanted a picture of Shelley and I with the dogs! This is the first time I've been in someone else's tourist pictures! It turns out that they recognized the Akita in Casper - a dog loved in Japan. We had a fun chat with the tour group, and then continued the grueling climb to the top. At the top we met three other couples who seemed to be amazing people. Both Shelley and I felt blessed to be in the company of such people. So often in the city all you encounter is snobby people, or angry people, or people who just want nothing to do with you for whatever reason. It is always a blessing to encounter people who are the opposite...

The hike around the lake always stuns me. You encounter dozens of different ecosystems on this hike - landslides, waterfalls, marshes, rain-forest-like terrain, old forest fires, and on, and on. It's a good 18km, but every km is beautiful. It's just a perfect mix of all the elements and leaves you completely renewed by the end of it.

Geez I'm tired.....bedtime for this girl.