Never a Dull Moment

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. - Kahlil Gibran

This weekend my heart was definitely refreshed. I left on Thursday after work for a place called "Tangle" which is nestled in the mountains, close to the Columbia Icefields. Calling it beautiful is a huge understatement but I don't think any words would really do it justice. It is the kind of place that has to be experienced to be truly understood.

I am lucky enough to know a generous soul, G., who is currently working out there and invited me to visit for a few days. Although he's a fairly new friend, he was willing to give up his only days off in a long time to play host to me. We spent the days hiking in the sunshine, sitting beside waterfalls, glaciers, and mountains, and just talking and talking and talking some more. I had a fantastic time and am confident that this weekend was the beginning of a long friendship between us.

Tangle's beauty is truly overwhelming. In any direction I looked, there was something to be awed by. I kept saying "wow" because I had no other words to express what I was seeing and feeling. Hiking under the clear, blue skies did amazing things for my spirit. I felt lighter, happier, and more relaxed than I have for a long time. All of the stresses of my life seemed to just slip away. It's amazing that four days in the mountains can do such wonders for ones soul.

Now, before you get the wrong idea, it wasn't all calm serenity! On Saturday, G. made sure that I had my fill of adventure. After spending most of the day outside we decided to have a fire by the beach and sit under the stars. I went inside to get some provisions and G. went out to chop some wood. The next thing I knew, he was in the kitchen asking to go to the hospital because he had cut his hand quite badly with the axe! Now, given the fact that we were both psychedelically altered, this was a terrible situation to have to deal with. You never know how you are going to react in a situation like that but we both did better than I would have expected. G. handled the fact that he was bleeding profusely amazingly well and I was able to pull myself together enough to drive him an hour into town. He had to get nine stitches but it could have been much, much worse, so we both felt grateful that everything turned out alright. G. has a wonderful sense of humour...on the way back from the hospital he made up bad puns about the experience calling it an "ax-ident" and reminding me that there is never a dull moment at Tangle : ) Hehe.

I can't wait to return to the mountains for hiking or camping or just sitting in the trees. It was an excellent start to the summer...*insert happy sigh*