This is the End
Brad and I leave Canmore tomorrow to head back to Brooklyn. Brad will be coming back here for another 9 days or so, but I’ll be (gasp) heading back to work. That thought makes me sick to my stomach. Regardless, it seems appropriate to do a little reflection.
This place is amazing. I see, now, why Brad loves it so much here. You are literally surrounded by mountains, and they are so very pretty, and scary, and brutal, and delicate, and so many more things. Being active outdoors is part of the lifestyle here—not going to a gym. And people do it, above all, because they love it, not to lose weight or to be healthy or to look good. The environment makes it easy to see why it is that way here, and it makes you long for that in your own life.
But let’s be real here, it is really hard. We have driven by so many people riding their mountain bikes up insane hills— each time I feel incredibly bad for them. ;) We’re not talking about 45 minute work-outs here. We’re talking about blisters, black toenails, tons and tons of bruises, millions of mosquito bites, scratches, aches and pains, and sometimes, ego-crushing blows. I seem to be in a constant battle between the devil on one shoulder that wants to drink and relax, and the angel on the other that wants to do something in the mountains. Actually, in some ways, I’m the devil in that scenario and Brad is the angel. Seriously, just try asking him for a rest day. :)
But there are so many good things that come out of these challenges, like feeling capable, feeling less afraid, capturing a view you never would have seen otherwise, being able to eat Pop Tarts because you just burned a million calories, drinking a beer that you more than earned, sleeping soundly because you exhausted yourself with activity, feeling proud. Those things keep you going back. Brad says it’s never fun while you do it, it’s only fun after you’ve finished it. That’s almost always true.
I don’t know where Brad and i will go from here. Our struggle between wanting the NYC life and wanting to be far away from it continues, and then of course, there is the distillery. I don’t know what vacation next year will bring, if any, considering the state of our bank account, but I am so very glad we came here and I experienced the Canadian Rockies. Maybe I’ll get you next time, Escargot Corner!
