After our recoop day at Rainbow Valley Campground in Edmonton, we decided to draw out our trip through Canada. We still have a deadline to be in Watson Lake, YT on Saturday (due to lack of cell service and interwebs along that leg), but this gives us a week to take our time and enjoy what Canada has to offer. We saw some people posting pictures of Jasper and got pretty jealous. It was out of our way and took us South instead of North, but holy buckets! It was truly awe inspiring. The force of nature in the forming of the mountains, the rushing rivers and water falls, the glaciers that have been frozen for thousands of years… the beauty of what this planet is made of…

Sarah is usually the one that gets philosophical and contemplative about life, love and the world… and I get excited about seeing bears. This part of the trip made me step back and take another look at what life is really all about (including bears).

I’ve thought very little about the job that I left at Sears in order to go on this journey. It was secure (somewhat…), gave us extra income, insurance and a savings plan. But what is the point if you cannot enjoy it? Yes, there are responsibilities, bills must be paid, mouths must be fed, our future must be thought of. But when do I actually get to live? I spent 10+ hours a day between commuting and work, then home to help get dinner ready while Sarah worked at her job. We would eat at 8pm, catch up from the day, wind down and go to bed to do it again. Not much time for living. My career used to be rewarding and challenging, but with the downfall of Sears, the moralle at the company declined as did my job (and personal) satisfaction.

My father was an adventurer. He went white water river rafting and SCUBA diving. He was a camper and a hunter. He traveled the world for work and for fun. While he would never define himself by any one or all of these things, they were ways for him to experience life and the world around him. When he died, I looked at many pictures of him throughout his life and wondered what had I done to maximize my life experiences.

So when Sarah presented this opportunity to me, I said “yes” and never looked back.

And this….. this is why. The pictures do not even do it justice, but it is a start.

(By the way, we did see a bear, but couldn’t get to a camera in time – this time)

I am not sure what I will do once this trip is done. I would like to think that I will find something that would allow me to feel fulfilled in a career and also allow me the freedom to live and experience life.

It’s a big world. In the wise words of a good friend, “Gimme!”

Jim