“You Can’t Put Your Feet On the Ground Until You’ve Touched the Sky” – Paul Auster

When author Paul Auster wrote the quote above, I’m not sure if he had witnessed an Alberta sky but I’m sure that if he had, he would gasp. Yesterday I continued my new Saturday ritual: hopping in the Jeep, picking a road, a direction and seeing where that road might take me. The direction? South. The road? Highway 22, also known as The Cowboy Trail.

The day dawned sunny and as usual, the road and the immense Alberta sky beckoned. The drive south on Highway 22 from my new hometown of Cochrane is quite literally stunning!  The mountains frame your scene on the right, following your every turn. Wide open prairie dotted with horse farms and the odd oil rig complete the picture. And yes, the sky in this setting is the star. As you can see from my photo above taken just outside of Pincher Creek, it soars above you, ever-changing as it changes the landscape around you. One minute you are bathed in bright, warm sunlight and the next, you are chilled by a swift-moving cloud that darkens the vast prairie landscape. I must admit that while driving yesterday I felt an expansive feeling of freedom that I have not felt in a very long time. Unexpectedly, I was also quite often moved to tears by the sheer beauty I felt so lucky to enjoy.  Shhhhh….don’t tell anyone 🙂

If you would like to see some of the snaps I took along the way, from The Cowboy Trail to the sweeping expanse of Pincher Creek, all the way up to the soaring peaks of Alberta’s southern Rockies and the Crowsnest Pass, please visit my Awesome Alberta Adventures Gallery. As always, thanks for following along on my Vagabond Adventures!