Backyard Beauty

My whole life, traveling was a distant dream. It was always "someday". Someday, I will visit Holland and discover my roots. Someday, I will climb mountains. I will see the rainforest. I will sleep in a treehouse. I will visit caves and cathedrals and Buddhist monasteries. Someday.

Then one day I discovered I can do many of these things and more without leaving my own back yard. I am fortunate to live in a land of majestic beauty. I spend my weekends hiking to the tops of mountains, snowboarding through some of the world's finest powder, camping where there is no cell service but a seemingly endless beach. I jump off cliffs into pristine glacial lakes and view wildlife from so close that binoculars aren't needed. I live in Alberta where the Rocky Mountains are my backyard and my playground. Without driving more than three hours, I can go caving, hiking, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, cliff-jumping, fossil-hunting, swimming and kayaking.

What I've come to realize is that you don't always have to go far to connect with your inner traveler. The spirit of the traveler is one of wonder and awe; it is one of love and admiration for the world we live in. For me, it's about connecting with this earth and the people in it. I am fortunate to live in a place of indescribable natural beauty and I refuse to squander the opportunities that presents.

I will never tire of discovering the hidden gems in my own back yard, but I am equally drawn to experience the back yard of others. There is plenty to enjoy and discover in my beloved Canada, but there is much and more in the world beyond.

It is time for me to begin that journey - to leave the familiar behind and discover new and interesting ways to come alive. For years I have said that nothing in this world compares to the majesty of the Rocky Mountains and it is time for me to prove myself wrong. It is time to take in the fjords of Norway, the Plitvice lakes and falls of Croatia, the northern lights from Scandinavia and the vineyards of Italy. Life is finite but its possibilities are not. So I will go out into the world with an open mind and an open heart. Who knows what I might discover?