On the Road: Oh, Canada!

 Staying home is comfortable. Everything that I need is right at hand -- books, computers, sewing projects, all those kitchen necessaries. So why is going on the road so attractive?

We paired a week in Banff to celebrate a family reunion/50th wedding anniversary with a meandering trip across Canada, winding up in Vancouver, our home for the rest of the month. We camped in hotel rooms, hiked when we could, ate some of the wildest food (bison while we're quasi-vegetarians!), and appreciated every moment of being in the Canadian Rockies as we drove from Banff through Yoho, Glacier, Revelstoke, and finally to British Columbia.

There's something about being out in the wilderness, even when we walked along Marble Canyon with hundreds of other tourists.  The loud rush of the water down that narrow gorge. The smell of sharp, clean air, and pines and moss.

Yes, there were tourists, everywhere we went. Yet there were quiet times as well as we sought out those less well-traveled places. We did see a grizzly, out in a wide field, munching away on his meal of grasses and dandelions. A gray wolf sprinted along a steep hillside just as our car rounded a turn. He was too big to be a coyote.

And those mountains. That moment very early in the morning as the sun came up, bringing light to snow-topped rocky craigs, just outside Golden. 

The raven that touched down briefly just a few feet away from our patio table. 

The challenge of walking (with our hiking sticks) over stones in Rock Garden, finding the path . . . slowly. 

The laptop awaits as do writing projects. Tomorrow we begin our month in Vancouver, our apartment just a few blocks away from Stanley Park. A highlight? A corner nook that will serve as my office. Vacation begins!

May your summer be filled with family and fun, busy with all you care for and about, and quiet time as well.