stubsadventures

It wasn’t if Josh was going to come to Alberta, it was just a matter of when.

Although it seemed to arrive quickly, preparing for this trip was actually months in the making. I knew Josh needed to come to my site. His story is too interesting to not share, his attitude is infectious and his zest for life rubs off on anyone around him. Learning as much as I have about spinal cord injuries in the last few months, I’ve been passionate about spreading the word, educating people on how easy it is to end up on the receiving end of a spinal cord injury. One aspect of my job is to impress the importance of personal protection and I felt from day one that Josh could have a great impact on people and the way they viewed their personal safety.

From the beginning, the challenge was to pack in a big punch in a short period of time. The Rocky Mountains are vast and full of adventure, so it can be difficult to impress them upon someone in a short period of time. We were determined to have new experiences since his injury with Josh and it seemed natural to figure out a way to get him on an ATV. At first, the pictures can seem a bit crazy, even wreck less but in fact, we took a lot of time to figure out the safest way for us all to share this with him. We all went slow, chose appropriate routes and managed to have lots of laughs along the way. Dream big, that was the motto for this trip.

A trip into Banff and Lake Louise was also a must. I was thrilled to find out that the Banff Gondola was accessible, so what better way to get a quadriplegic to 7300ft, than a cable car to the top.

We then took a quick 900km road trip to Christina Lake, Alberta, which is where I work. Josh’s speech was to remind people what can happen to your job when you have an injury off the job, to share his experience and what he’s learned about spinal cord injuries throughout his journey thus far. It was received so well, I was thrilled. People were really floored by Josh, his story and his courage. I had dozens of people talk to me later about the conversations they had with their friends and family about Josh’s story and the dangers of diving head first into water.

Saying good-bye was bitter sweet, however, I’m fairly confident it won’t be long before he’s back putting the wild in the west.

Stubs.

After several weeks of craziness, it was time to get away and have some quiet time.

Emerald Lake Lodge had been on my bucket list ever since I had seen a picture of it years ago. The lodge itself is fairly pricy to stay at, so I had been waiting for the perfect occasion to go, and this was it.

Only about two hours from my place, it was a short but pretty drive through the mountains to Yoho National Park, BC. You can’t drive to the lodge, you park and then a shuttle brings you and your belongings up. Of course Caper dog was with me, she enjoys the fancy hotels the most.

The lodge itself is beautiful and the lake is something you would think a person dreamed up. The minerals in the lake make it a stunning emerald color. There’s a great trail that goes along the lake which we explored several times but the highlight was the several hours hanging out in the canoe. The shoreline is awesome and this time of the year, there is a layer of pollen floating on the top of the water that adds a beautiful artistic flare to the lake surface.

It was here in Emerald Lake, that I had the scariest experience I’ve ever had in the wild. Standing peacefully next to the lake away from the other tourists, I heard two, very clear, very distinct cougar growls. It was close, and it wasn’t happy and those were the only two facts I needed to get out of there. I’m not scared of much, and fact is, if you are loud enough when you are in the woods, most wild animals once they hear you will do their best to get out of your way. Cougars will hunt you. There are many cougars in the hills that I live in but have never had an encounter to date.

I’ve added a few other pictures, one of the bear that wandered into my yard a few weeks ago. A pretty big black bear and Caper was the first to spot him (or her)! The others are a few of the yard as we’ve been putting lots of work into making it more colorful!

Stubs.