Things that go BOOM!

Today Sheila and I zipped into Boom Lake. She had to be back for work early this afternoon, so we left Canmore at the crack of dawn..... okay well not quite the CRACK of dawn, but shortly after..... and we were rewarded with having the entire trail and lake to ourselves! It was incredibly peaceful.

What on earth is THIS?? Anyone? Anyone?

 

My foot gives perspective with
respect to the size of the.... fungus??

The gentle hike was a nice precursor to the stupid-busy, albeit short, week ahead of me, which begins Sunday morning at work. However, I'm able to keep it all in perspective - because by this time next week, I'll be filling up on Oktoberfest beer and sausage!! Oh yeah baby! Bring it, I say!! LOL!

Cheers!

Lucky me!

I know I've said it before, like probably a hundred times..... But I'll say it again..... The mountains are my happy place!

No matter what is happening in my personal world - it could be crumbling down around me - and even if the weather outside is complete crap, as soon as I roll into Canmore, I am instantly soothed. Instantly. Every time. There is something so incredibly calming about being surrounded by all of the gorgeous rocky peaks. They are like the giant, welcoming arms of a much-needed hug. I love it!!

And I am grateful for any opportunity I get, to be out enjoying the fun things available to me in my own back yard.

I am also super grateful for all of the amazing people that I've met and for the new great friends that I've made! We've spent many fantastic days outside together and have had tons and tons of laughs..... Caroline, Sheila, Megan, Linda, Tim, Shawn..... It has been an awesome summer and I'm excited for the good times to continue!

Cheers!

The Road Not Taken

Choices - we're faced with them every day. Some are inconsequential: Do I wear the brown sweater, so it hides the coffee I'm likely to spill all over myself? Or how about the green one, because it matches my eyes.... LOL! But there are times in life, when a conclusion we must come to is very  consequential. And that my friends, is where I was this past week.

A little background for you:  For me, the last couple of years have been extremely interesting, both personally and professionally. Over the course of the last four or five months especially, things have happened and opportunities have arisen, all of which have driven me into a serious state of self-reflection. I typically go about my life on a day-to-day basis, never giving much thought to 'x' number of years down the road, and I usually turn to Expedia for comfort during stressful times (as opposed to ice cream - LOL! - booking a plane ticket is the best stress relief I know!!). It is super easy in my world to just lock the door and leave.... and ha ha ha isn't THAT an appropriate analogy..... Oy!

Anyway, back in May, I applied for a job with a different company. And for the record, it was NOT because I don't like where I'm at.... it just happened to be a combination of life events and timing, as well as my thoughts on lifestyle in general, etc... So I submitted my resume... and the closing date came and went, months flew by, and I didn't give it another thought until.... I was offered the damn position a week ago!

Now, I don't need to bore you with specifics.... but carefully, closely, in painstaking detail, I reviewed and compared and considered all of the options.... back and forth, back and forth, I was like a freakin' indecisive cat at a door on a cold day... and yep, for a day or two, I really, truly, thought I was going to go for it!

In the end however, I declined. And it's all good. I love my life and I love where I'm at. It was the right choice for me, right now.

No regets. No 'what-ifs'. No second-guessing. It is simply one of the roads not taken.




A little voice inside my head said,
"Don't look back. You can never look back."
- Don Henley


Cheers.

Fifty Years!

Whoa. Half a century - that's how long my Mom and Dad have been married. Whoa!

Their anniversary was actually in March, however timing-wise it worked out better to have a big party in September. And a big party it was! The weather was perfect and we ate and drank like.... well, like we always have, here on 18th Street! We had way too much fun!!

I think they even still like each other!!

Fifty years of marriage. That's quite a milestone! Now, it's not one that I have any hope of achieving, that's for sure - LOL! But I am certainly proud to have been part of their equation for 44+ years.

Thanks so much to everybody who joined in the celebration - it was a most fantastic day!!

Rooftop antics - anything to get the pic...

Cheers!

In the words of Shrek.....

"Change is good, Donkey!"

Truer words have never been spoken. Not only is change good, change is inevitable. Change is healthy. Change is invigorating.

And a really BIG change is in the works for me here shortly.... I'm not going to say alot more than that at the moment however, because all the details haven't quite been sorted out yet.... but I'm very excited about it and I think it is definitely time.

Okay. So. Back to the fun stuff!! I've been able to spend a few days out in my happy place this past couple of weeks....

You've seen this view before.... Spray Lakes, from West Wind Pass.

Gorgeous afternoon at West Wind Pass!

Chris's first summit! Nice work!

Wind Tower Summit

The usual feet shot.... LOL!

Making the best of a rainy day at Consolation Lakes.

This coming weekend, we are celebrating my parents' 50th wedding anniversary - wow, that's impressive hey!! I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends, and perhaps I'll even get to squeeze in another day in the mountains, before returning to my crazy busy job.

And, stay tuned for further info about the changes my world is about to undergo..... I will know more next week and will definitely provide an update. I'm stoked!!

Cheers!

The Great (and sometimes white) North

Wild. Serene. Vast. Gothic. Mystic. Peaceful.

All of the above are perfect descriptors of the Tombstone Range.



The classic peak of the area - Tombstone Mountain

What a place! The Yukon definitely has that totally untamed feel.... and the fact that you can drive for hours, without seeing another vehicle or any real signs of civilization, is unnerving and thrilling, all at the same time.

Temps were much chillier than I expected (we had one night of -10C - brrrrr!!). However, the upside to said coolness is that there were no bugs! And, since we were above the 64th parallel, I should not have been surprised at the fall-like conditions.

Okay, so are you ready for this? I am going to bombard you with around 100 pics from my trip, in the attached slide show.... sorry, but that's what happens when I'm out of cell range and don't have a computer for 10 days.... heh heh.... Note that if you think it looks wintery in any of the photos, well your eyes are not playing tricks on you - we had rain, fog, snow, 60km/hr winds, and, mixed in with it all, we even had a bit of sun every so often.

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I'm back to work tomorrow for a short week, which is the start to a busy, busy month. My Sista is coming for a visit, and then I have to get cracking on the planning of my Europe trip.... Oh, the fun never ends! So exciting! Love it!

Hope all is well with everybody!

Cheers.