Bluebird

There's nothing like a Bluebird day in the Rockies.  There seems to be some magical co-relation between cold temperatures and clear blue sky's in our corner of paradise.  When it's this cold, it's frequently a clear blue sky.  This morning, I was solar-powered.  It's a beautiful day!  The sun is out!  I thought to myself.  I was dressed and ready to go for my run before I checked the temps.  When I opened the front door and got a blast of Arctic coldness, I retreated with my tail between my legs to re-think my wardrobe and add a few layers.


Still, it was a beautiful day for a run.  There's nothing like running in winter to generate heat and warm-up quickly.  On this day, I had about 7 minutes of "urban" running before I hit the trails.  It was an exceptionally gorgeous day to be outside.

I love our new bridge.  It's a great addition to town and it means I can avoid people and roads and civilization altogether when I'm out for a run.  You also get great views of Banff's most famous landmarks:  Mount Rundle and Cascade Mountain.


Today I got thinking today about when and why I started this blog.  2007!  Holy Crap.  Mostly, it was to share this fantastic place with people. 

When I started trail running, my mind was getting blown by Mother Nature on a regular basis.  I never carried a camera and I was pretty focused on staying in motion.  Picking up a camera changed everything.  It slowed me down a whole lot and honed me into the art of observation.  I see a lot on my day to day runs.  I've been running around the woods and taking photos for 9 years!

Bliss.

Despite the cold, it was a good day to commune with Nature. I'm heading off for a month in New Zealand to find some new beautiful trails.  But I love me some Banff.  It's always good to come home.