We headed out to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, in the Kananaskis region of the Rockies, to do some camping and hanging out with family.
There was plenty of wildlife in the area - there was enough bear activity that the (awesome) bike paths were closed and completely off limits. They were tracking bears right through our campground, and they came within 100m of our tent. At one point, half a dozen deer (that we hadn't even noticed in the bushes) scattered right behind our campsite. We have no idea what spooked them, but we didn't go wandering off to find out...
We spent some time on Lower Kananaskis Lake, and Evan got to try kayaking for the first time ever. He likes.
Then, we had to go for a bike ride. Because the pathways were off limits, that meant Evan and I had to ride on the highway. The narrow, almost shoulder-less, winding, extremely hilly highway. We wound up doing just under 16km, but with the hills we had to climb, it was much more demanding than it sounds. Beautiful countryside, and some good time for Evan and I to hang out together. The road we were riding on isn't far from the Highwood Pass highway that I rode back in June. Epic hills in this region. And Evan climbed like a champ. Impressive legs on that kid.
Then, back to Lower Kananaskis Lake for some more kayaking. The mountains make an awesome backdrop to the lake.
We also got to see some absolutely brilliant stars, like nothing we ever see in the city. We even saw the glow of the Milky Way - something I've only had the chance to see a handful of times in my life. Unfortunately, my iPhone camera wasn't quite up to the task of capturing that (not for lack of trying…)
The sheer scale of the mountains - both geologic and temporal - always seem to amaze me. Piles of rock, much larger than anything man-made anywhere on earth, pushed upward over the span of millions of years. It kind of puts everything into perspective, with the artificial urgency and inflated importance of the stuff that fills most of my days.