I'm standing on the side of a mountain, overlooking what feels like a good, solid chunk of Alberta.
It feels like everyone else is standing below me, and I feel like I'm on top of the world.
Well, almost the top of the world.
No, I'm not describing a dream I had once; I'm actually describing what I genuinely experienced just a few weeks ago on my summer break.
To close out the last weekend in June, I drove my brother and I out to Calgary to visit family, see some sights, and hopefully come back with some great memories. I'm happy to say that by the time we crossed back over into the 306 on that last day of June, it was mission accomplished.
We stayed at our brother John's home, and he and my sister-in-law Vaurie could not have been more gracious and welcoming hosts, cooking great meals and providing even better company during our stay. I was glad I'd chose that last weekend in June to go out to Calgary because I wanted to get in and get out before Stampede Week was set to start, which was just a handful of days after we'd gotten out of dodge. Hey, I dig the Stampede too; just not as a motorist trying to navigate around the city of Calgary when it's happening right then and there.
On the second last day we were there, John, Brendon and I drove out to Lake Louise and Banff to take in the sights. Man oh man, did we have some kind of invisible leprechaun providing us dumb luck on that day! Knowing that we'd all ready online that parking at Lake Louise was "full", we still drove into the lot like everyone else behind us.....and proceeded to find a spot maybe 30 seconds in, right by the pathway leading to the lake. WHAT?!? Taken!
I'd seen plenty of photos of what Lake Louise and the area looked like, and I was always captivated by the beauty of it. It looked pristine, it looked cleaner than any body of water I'd ever seen, and I told myself many times over the years that I wanted to get there and see it up close and personal.
On Sunday, June 29, I finally did, and it was better than I'd imagined.
Now, here's the funny thing that we humans do on social media.
Have you ever seen someone's own photos of their trips to such places? You ever notice that it always looks like they're the only people at that location?
Well, I'm only left to conclude that there's a sizable amount of airbrushing and photo editing going on, because Lake Louise was very, very, VERY busy with all kinds of tourists who were there to enjoy it just as much as we were. EVERYBODY'S taking photos, EVERYBODY'S grabbing selfies, EVERYBODY'S posing in "just that right spot" to get the best shot. But that didn't stop us brothers, as we went ahead and did the exact same thing. I think a few of them look pretty dang good, too!
After taking in the sights at the lake, we zipped across the highway and went to a visitor building, where they also had gondolas in operation that took you way up the mountain. That was my destination for part of the afternoon, so I left John and Brendon behind to relax in the main building and I went up, up and up some more.
I have to say, the scenery was incredible and those views are breathtaking.
It's the kind of thing that really opens the eyes of a guy from small town Saskatchewan. It reminds you that there's a whole world out there just waiting to be explored. I stood at the top there, looking out at the panoramic vistas in front of me, mountains at every which way and turn, and it blew me away that I was even there at all.
"Here I am, staring at the mountains in Alberta wild country while STANDING on the side of one at the same time. Tomorrow I'll be returning to those flat, never-ending fields of green and yellow."
And don't take that as any kind of dig or shot at Saskatchewan; this is home, and it'll always be home.
I just found it incredible how in the span of 24 hours, I went from standing on the side of a mountain, looking at some picturesque scenery all in front of me, to driving back home here through the prairies, with fields of green and yellow as the dwindling sunlight was starting to dissipate.
Best of both worlds.
That was definitely the most memorable trip out to Alberta I've been on in a very, very long time. I'm not sure anything will top it anytime soon.
The funny thing is that the Alberta trip was only the beginning of my summer break.
I came home and celebrated Canada Day the next day, followed by driving down to Moose Jaw for the day a few days later. I also went up to Candle Lake for three days, which was a very nice and relaxing time away from home. Finally, I had a family reunion over the July 11-13 weekend out at the farm west of Outlook that was a blast. We ate, we drank, we sang, rinse and repeat.
I was happy to provide some neat photography courtesy of my drone camera, which I immediately fell in love with immediately after purchasing it. I'm looking forward to shooting some aerial footage of Outlook that I intend to edit into a cool music video, so hopefully you can look forward to that on YouTube over the coming weeks.
It was a fun three weeks, it was a draining three weeks, but more importantly, it was a memorable three weeks. And that's kind of the point, isn't it? As long as you can return to work and look back on your time off and smile, that's the end goal.
I do look back and smile.
Now I'm just looking forward to the next week off at the end of August.
(laughs out loud)
For this week, that's been the Ruttle Report.
