When I said hello to 2020, I stated "I am ready to carry the love into 2020 in search of new & fulfilling adventures and I will find them one way or another"! What I found was unexpected in every which way! So many doors were slammed in our faces in the spring. I questioned it! I pushed back! I was upset! I cried! I felt alone! I was scared along with everyone else! When doors close, new ones open! It was time to force myself to find new kinds of adventures and to learn how to receive fulfillment from them.
The year was twenty-twenty!
Instead of picking my favourite photos for each month like I have done in years past, for twenty-twenty I looked for photographs that held some kind of meaning, that might not otherwise when times are good. Just going through this process brings me to having more appreciation for each of these "outs & abouts"!
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January
What is a winter without time to wander around Lake Louise? January is my favourite time of year to spend at Lake Louise in Banff National Park snowshoeing and X-C Skiing. I love the cold, the snow, the scenery, they all bring warmth to my heart & soul. Even the extreme cold conditions afford me a kind of warmth. The temperature was dangerously low on Thursday January 9th of twenty-twenty so about thirty minutes was all that was doable to be safely out & about. I have said often, the colder the temperature, the more beautiful the scenery!
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February
Happy places for me are plenty and being smack dab in the middle of the desert is one of those places. On Monday February 24th of twenty-twenty, I hiked up to this spot in the Superstition Wilderness near Fremont Saddle with Weavers Needle behind me. There was no one, it was mine to own 100%. I savoured being here solo and the silence that surrounded me. I flew back to Calgary early March with there already being a sense of something not so good in the air. I would soon find out solo & silence would become a big part of my life, at times unbearably so.
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March
I leaned against the railing at Glenbow Ranch during the early morning on Friday March 27th of
twenty-twenty admiring the view of the snow capped mountain peaks that stretched the entire width of my vision. It was an absolutely beautiful morning so I invested a little more time than normal taking this all in. At this time I did not know it would be my last visit to this Park or any other Provincial or National Park for quite some time. Later, on this day, the announcement came the Parks are closed!
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April
Spring time brings hope! This year's hope was of a different kind though. I lived at Nose Hill Environmental Park during the month of April while the Provincial & National Parks were closed. I have always enjoyed the time I spent up there but this month I grew to truly appreciate having this city Park so close to home. On this last day of the month Thursday April 30th of
twenty-twenty, the hills were alive with crocus wildflowers. They were bright, colourful, cheerful and brought joy to my heart and a smile to my face. Yes, there is hope!
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May
The Provincial Parks opened up with restrictions and I felt a freedom that I never expected I would have been without, especially in the country that I live. Appreciating the dawn of each day and the sunrise that comes with it was bringing me joy these days and I went in search of that joy at Forgetmenot Pond on Sunday May 17th of
twenty-twenty. With each dawn brought hope for a better day and a better world. Another sunrise brought a brand new day and near the parking lot this scene melted my heart, a brand new wild mustang. At this point my day and my world were better!
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June
The urge to live out of a suitcase was building stronger as each day passed. With the restrictions in place the options to where I could drag that suitcase were limited. I pondered, but not for long, then committed to a few nights in a cabin in Jasper National Park. The very quiet beautiful drive along the Icefield Parkway was perfect as was my sweet cabin. On Thursday June 25th of
twenty-twenty, I road the skytram up The Whistlers then hiked from the station to the summit. On that summit with this view, I felt that feeling of freedom that comes with living out of a suitcase!
Having a wonderful experience visiting Jasper National Park last month was my motivation to visit Waterton Lakes National Park. Motivation also came from the discounted offer on accommodations for Alberta residents. During these months I choose to look for the benefits in the restrictions that were put in place. My amazing experience hiking up to the Carthew Lakes from Cameron Falls on this Monday July 13th of
twenty-twenty might have been otherwise in a normal year. While taking time to enjoy this view of Alderson Lake on the way back from Carthew Lakes, I recognized what a gift this day was for me and the very few others who trekked up here.
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August
This was the year for dozens and dozens of Provincial Parks in Alberta to be "shut down" or "sold off" to save money. With so many restrictions in place this summer, the Parks People decided to keep those designated Parks open for this season. One of them is Little Fish Lake Provincial Park near Drumheller. On this Saturday August 8th of
twenty-twenty, I was feeling up for road tripping. Today was the perfect opportunity to visit this sweet Park before it becomes no longer. This has become the year for discovering that which is new to me!
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September
I was booked for a few nights of comfort camping at Dinosaur Provincial Park in June. I enjoyed this type of luxurious experience in this Park one time before in September of 2018. Unfortunately, I now know this will never happen again here. At the end of the 2020 season the comfort camping was set for permanent closure due to provincial cutbacks but closed early due to all the new restrictions. I love this Provincial Park and luck was on my side in securing a tent camping site for a few nights. On the night of Tuesday September 8th of
twenty-twenty, I settled in my lawn chair with beer and chips in hand, watching as the sun went down on this piece of paradise!
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October
I found winter! In Banff National Park! On Tunnel Mountain on this Thursday October 15th of
twenty-twenty! A beautiful winter-like day in autumn brings such beauty, a needed change and a sense of renewal. I went to Banff where all that was waiting for me! I found everything I needed in abundance. The only thing missing was having a snowflake fall from the sky and land on my nose. With a little toss in the air I made that happen, then my world was good again!
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November
Given the way of our world yet still into November, it was necessary to find a way other than the usual way to acknowledge Remembrance Day. Donning my poppy on top of many layers of warmth to battle the bitterness Mother Nature bestowed upon us on this Wednesday November 11th of twenty-twenty, I walked for a few hours in an area where there was no doubt this was my beautiful Canada. In the middle of those few hours at 11:00am I heard, saw and felt the military fly-by. Remember, be grateful, no matter what!
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December
This photograph is a great depiction for this year! What is shown here is very unclear. On this Tuesday December 8th of twenty-twenty, I hiked around Johnson Lake in Banff National Park. I could not tell what was ice, what was open water or what was water on ice. I thought about safety! Should I go, should I stay? I stayed where it was safe! It was not worth it to take the chance in finding out! Don't go! Just don't go! How often did we hear those words this year!
That's twenty-twenty
through my eyes...
...while being out & about!
