Opportunity

We were given the opportunity to visit the Banff Centre to attend a play reading and were able to expand the trip by driving there from here. The weather was unbeatable for the whole 6 days which we came to understand was unusual given the rain and hail that had gripped Banff for days just before our visit. Because it hastened our drive, we crossed the border at a different spot, more rural, and along the way there passed some absolutely beautiful agricultural valleys which continued for miles and miles into Canada. Not to be outdone, our next encounter with beauty came in the form of the Shuswap area which is anchored by a huge long lake/river system bordered by mountains on all sides. It was at this point in our drive that we stopped and stayed overnight in a small lakeside town which boasted a resort sensibility and economy but encouraged an appreciation of nature. There, we were able to walk along the lake and out onto a long pier from which we watched not one but two osprey nests built by the town which both contained this year's clutches of 3 nestlings. From a mere 25 feet away, we hardly needed the binocs to watch feedings. How marvelous!
The next leg of the trip introduced us to the mountains of British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies to Banff, Alberta. I ran out of adjectives on this day. The landscape was so breathtaking and mammoth and unique that it made us silent for hours. We had everything to say and no words to say anything. That remained the case for our stay at the Banff Centre where we saw and heard such sublime performances of musical expression that we could only shake our heads in response.
The only time we really spoke a lot was on a hike at around 7500 feet and the reason for such chatter was amazement that we both made it and lived to tell the tale! I daresay that we were overawed the whole trip and for various and sundry reasons.
The only drawback to the whole trip was the sight of the many forests decimated by the very opportunistic Mountain Pine Beetle. This insect, prior to the 1990's, was usually killed off by the blisteringly cold winters (- 30 degrees Fahrenheit). In fact, according to one forest worker we spoke with, the Spruce Beetle was the former villain of the woods. When the Spruce trees were killed by this pest, planting companies changed the nature of the woods to Lodgepole Pine trees in the hopes of stopping the devastation. At the same time, however, winters warmed up enough to allow the Pine beetles to thrive. With the ample food supply, their colonies spread probably better than wildfire and the evidence of their work is plentiful. Opportunity comes to many living things it seems.
Pictured is Banff from our hike above and a lovely tree bark and fir needle arrangement.