It's the Beginning of a Great Adventure

The past few weeks have been busy ones.  All sorts of good things happening, good times and great adventures.  I got to make a whirlwind trip to California for Western States, Summer Solstice has come and gone and so has the month of June.

My experience at Western States was fun, energizing and yes, a Great Adventure.  To see all of these runners from the front of the pack to the back of the pack makes your eyes wide open in awe.  There's inspiration wherever you look - and I didn't have to look far while pacing Angela to yet another stellar 100 Mile finish.  The girl was tough, strong, steady and mentally solid.

She's Tough.  And Amazing.

My Banff friends Brenda and Ellie had great races as well, with Brenda cruising easily, confidently and happily to the finish line.  After a rough start, Ellie pulled out all of the stops and finished up her race in epic style blazing the last 20 Miles for the win.  The scenery also inspired - from the American River Valley to the high peaks of Truckee, Donner Pass and Lake Tahoe - this is beautiful country.

 

Team Banff Rocks!

Upon returning from Western States, I also had some inspirational visitors.  My home was abuzz with the good energy of Cricket Butler and Stephen Huddle - a couple of cyclists who were getting ready for a Great Adventure.  Cricket and Stephen are cycling the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route as participants in the Tour Divide - a self supported mountain bike race from Banff to New Mexico.  Cricket is going for the ladies course record - which is currently held by my friend Jill Homer.  How cool is that?  Needless to say, their energy and excitement was reverberating off the walls of Chateau Brodsky.  Keith and I have put the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route on our Great Adventure List. We love the idea of getting on our bicycles in Banff and touring down to Mexico.  Cricket and Stephen rolled out early in the morning of June 30th and we'll be cheering them on online with their efforts.

Bikepacking = Fastpacking  

Cricket is traveling light and fast!

 Off to Mexico
Pack your Light Saber.

Summer Solstice also came and went, the eternal change of season.  When you live in a place where seasons dictate the ebbs and flows of our day-to-day existence, it's not just symbolic of change - it's significant.  On that note, the end of June and the change of season brought with it some personal change in the world of Keith and Leslie.  Way back in the New Year - we were pondering life and actually decided to make a big change.  Keith called up his employer and told them he would be done working on June 30th - the end of his contract.  My hubby has always loved his job as a Sales Rep for Rocky Mountain Bicycles, but he decided that he was done.  He wants to take a few years off, spend less time on the road, work locally and seasonally and in between - take his wife traveling.  Sounds Good to Me.  He leaves Rocky Mountain as the top salesman in all of North America.  We decided, why not leave on top?  When your employer is happy and life is good.  We leave September 15th for 3 months in Australia.  Hello World.

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of attending our friends Geoff and Tracy's wedding in Jasper.  It was a beautiful way to spend Canada Day and I couldn't possibly think of anything more symbolic to celebrate the Beginning of a Great Adventure. 

It's the beginning of a Great Adventure

On that note, no trip to Jasper would be complete without actually enjoying a Great Adventure. We worked off our post-wedding indulgences with a 42km trip to Berg Lake - one of the most beautiful places on Earth.