“A Tale for the Time Being”

The title for today’s post comes from a scrumptious new book I picked up on my travels yesterday, called “A Tale for the Time Being” by Vancouver Island author Ruth Ozeki. I haven’t purchased a new book in such a long time and when I saw this title in the charming Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond yesterday, I picked it up and set it down about three times. A contender for the Man Booker Prize in 2013, Ozeki’s book takes you on a journey across three lives and two continents from Tsunami-swept Japan to Ozeki’s visceral Pacific Northwest, in search of the meaning of “being time” or “time being”, the Zen Buddhist concept of appreciating the here and now. I picked the book up after reading the dust jacket and I am now two chapters in and loving it!

The theme of appreciating the here and now resonates with my current journey in Western Canada. As you know, each Saturday I try to head to the hills in search of adventure on the roads that criss-cross Southern Alberta. Through experience and the passage of time, I may have finally learned that time, experiences, are ephemeral and worth appreciating as they are happening. I no longer wonder what the future might look like (that is so hard to predict) nor try to look back wistfully or with regret. I am where I am meant to be, right now. And how lucky is that?

Yesterday’s adventure was perfect in every way. The day dawned bright and sunny and at last, warm! I looked at my Southern Alberta map and wondered what road or roads could take me to new places. I plotted my itinerary and headed south. I found some new back roads near Bragg Creek that exposed the Rockies in all their glory at the end of vast prairie grasslands. I then headed south through the charming towns of Priddis, Turner Valley, Black Diamond and then Longview. Longview is aptly named as it rests atop a “bench” that looks out over ranch lands that stretch to the mountains. I turned my Jeep west and drove along the Kananaskis Trail and up into the Kananaskis Mountains. I found more back roads that took me deeper into the mountains as roads turned into trails. Here you cannot necessarily see the mountains because you are in them! I stopped by a rushing creek to have a quiet picnic before turning back (I reached the end of the road, still closed for the winter). I then turned back east and drove through Longview again on my way to High River. You will remember High River for last year’s devastating flood. The spunky town is still recovering, with signs of new life mixing with signs of high water. Just as I was leaving High River, I looked behind me and was startled by a fast-approaching storm that chased me most of my way home. You will see it in my photo above, taken just outside of High River.

I finished my day in the lovely Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond and started to head for home. Or so I thought…Once I reached the town of Turner Valley, the sun was again peeking out from behind the approaching mountains with a warmth on my face that I have missed. At the cross roads in Turner Valley I could have turned north for home but instead continued west, taking the winding road back up into the Kananaskis Mountains to its end in the stunning, wild Sheep River Provincial Park. This fantastic road takes you through wide, sweeping ranch lands, gradually winding up into the foothills moulded by the snaking Sheep River. The river banks still held their snow, despite the warmth of the sun. I was also treated to wildlife along the way, from deer to elk and even a black bear. The air was pungent with the smells of the wild: rich earth, snowy, rushing waters and rich evergreens. To say that I was experiencing the “here and now” is an understatement! Welcome to my tale for the time being! I hope to have another one to share with you next weekend too!

If you would like to see some snaps from yesterday’s adventure, please visit my Alberta Adventure Gallery here.

Enjoy your day!