What To Do With What You Got

Picture props to a fellow wanderer and a great friend. Thanks Jean-Paul Courtemanche!

Ever since I’ve gotten my new job spontaneously, my life hasn’t really stopped. To be fair, I like it better that way; there’s no time to be bored, but I make time to unwind. One of the biggest bonuses with my new job is that I get to travel the country every once in awhile to help out with our events. The latest one was a national youth forum that took place in Calgary. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen all of the East coast, but I had never explored the West; that is until then.

Though we were quite busy with the logistics of it all, my boss was trying to find a moment in our hectic schedule to break away and see the Rockies. After multiple attempts and the clock ticking down, we were left with one; hiking to a nearby park with the best view. So my boss, the president of our association and myself all hopped into our rental car and drove to Nose Hill park. It’s a pretty large park just outside the main city hub in Calgary. Lots of people go there for a breath of fresh air, or to walk their dogs on the many possible trails. There are different starting points, and all of them lead one way: UP. You don’t necessarily realize how high you can walk until you think you’ve reached the top, and discover that you’re still not there (flashback to hiking Glymur in Iceland where I kept apologizing to Gen while I got her hopes up). So we walked, and walked until eventually, after a solid 45 minutes, we were at one of the highest peaks. I kept thinking that the mounds in the distance, or strange looking clouds were the majestic mountains that rendered people speechless; and I soon learned that they were just that.

Up at the top of Nose Hill park, looking out into the distance rested the breathtaking mountains. Clear as day, wind howling, I stood there speechless. I easily understood how some people could pack up their lives and move out West just to be near the mountains. There was a kind of gravitational pull to them, and I was still roughly an hour and a half away from them.

It was a good little hike to get the imagination running, and the temptation rooted. I know that I want to go back, but it was just enough of a view to satiate the wanderlust so that I could focus on the intense work week I had ahead of me. After a few moments looking about, we made our way back down the hill, got in the car, and headed back to the hotel to greet the many guests that were starting to arrive. Though it was just a brief glimpse, I’ve come to realize that Moments of NOMADness don’t need to be stretched out over a weekend, but can happen over the course of a couple of hours, and start from a whim. So always take the time to see what you want; it’s the best way to avoid any regrets and to know that you’ve seized every single opportunity when they came to you. A little NOMADness never hurt anyone!

Kyla