Tuesday, August 26, 2014

North, south, east, or west??


"There are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroad; afraid, confused, without a roadmap. The choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days. Of course when faced with the unknown, most of us prefer to turn around and go back."

I'm not one hundred percent sure where this quote originated, but I love it - it really resonates within me. It makes me take a step back and remember not to be rash when life feels all but right side up. It is a good reminder that when faced with adversity, it is perfectly okay to take a bit of breathing room, and to not make ANY decision at all if the necessary facts just aren't in place. I think that many people lose sight of that, and they hastily settle on what is often the wrong path.... either that or they do a one-eighty and go right back to the safety and security of where they came from.

I've never been a huge risk-taker per se, but I also have never been one to back down from a challenge. I actually quite love the adventure of the unknown, always have. Which is a good thing, because there are many unknowns in my life right now! But I am confident that I will make the right choices, and I am so looking forward to where new roads are going to be taking me.

It's all good. Life is good!



Thursday, August 21, 2014

Shu-swap-dee-bop and other fun stuff....


Holy. Moly. What a crazy few weeks this has been! Work work work, and then play play play... There just never seems to be enough time to do everything! But I continue to try to squeeze in as much outside time as I can, and so far, it's working out alright!

After a hellish work stretch at the end of July and into the first week of August, I was able to score a few super fun days at Shuswap Lake. A whole pile of awesome peeps were at the Cooke family's cabin, and we boated, partied (of course!), played horseshoes, hiked, golfed, and I even learned to wakesurf! Wicked cool!


Captain Norm!

The party barge.... LOL!

The young ones making us jalapeno poppers.... yum!!

Michelle and Norm


Here are some of the various water activities that ensued:

Ready for some tubing!

Haha - you just know they're going to try to dump us!

Their faces say it all!

On the new kneeboard.


Jenn rips it up!

Wake surfing!

My new favorite water sport! Huge thanks to Daron
for taking us out on his Wakesetter


And some of the non-water activities:

And who might have thrown that ringer?
That's right - that was ME!

Loved this gorgeous little hike!



Such a cool cedar forest!


Margaret Falls


Gnarly trees, everywhere!

Boat access to the golf course!


Beauty views of Mara Lake
from Hyde Mountain Golf Course.

I think I lost about five balls on this hole....






The Shuswap scenery is much different than where I've been hanging out most of the summer, but it is still amazing.





I had to go back to work for a few days (to rest up - LOL!), and then I was able to enjoy some time this week on terra-firma.

Caroline, Tim and I did the most awesome scramble I've been on in awhile - we traversed Mount Indefatigable from north to south. It definitely had some intimidating sections (like the north summit approach gully!), but it was fabulous and I'm so glad we decided to try it!





The wildflowers were unbelievable!




The north (true) summit - we made it!


Yippee!




The traverse was challenging at times. This would NOT have
been a good place for a slip or trip.....

The view from the south summit.



Yesterday, my weather luck finally ran out. Sheila and I drove west in an attempt to outrun the clouds and rain.... and we were successful for part of the day.... But a sudden downpour turned us around from our original objective of Bow Hut, only to be followed about half an hour later by sunshine and blue skies! Oh well. As my Dad said, a day is always what you make of it. And we made the best of it, for sure!





We were THIS CLOSE when the rain started!


Soaked, we turned around....

And then.... there was SUN!






The forecast is appearing to be soggy for the next while, so I'm not sure what I'll get up to. I'll be in Red Deer for a couple of sleeps, as I have a few shifts to work next week, but other than that, I'm free to be a slave to the Rockies! LOL! How's that for a paradox! Love it!!

Cheers!