Surrounded by the sound of rain and even hail, I’m not so sure I want to go outside for long right now. Luckily, I can just look back at my memories from last week. From Tuesday through to Friday, my class went on a camping trip to Jasper. We had amazing weather, a wonderful time, and rare experiences. One of such experiences was seeing a total of 6 bears! Three out of six were seen from the safety of our Traxx bus, one of those being a Grizzly. The other three, however, we saw fifty meters or so off the trail where we were hiking! Even more exciting, these three were grizzlies! After being warned by some hikers that had passed the section before our group, we got to see a mother and her two cubs. The group of 12 or so that I was with snapped tons of photos, making the 37 other kids super jealous :). Since we were hiking with a guide, after the picture-taking, we made noise so that the Grizzlies wouldn’t approach us. Although the experience was fairly brief, it’s one I will never forget!
Along with rare experiences like seeing the Grizzlies so intimately, we also got to experience the underestimated beauty of nature. One of my favourite examples is the wide array of flowers that were blooming along the trails. Of these, the ones that I have always loved most are crocuses. They are early bloomers, and such a precious, awe-inspiring creation of nature.
Although the recent weather isn’t really on our side here in Calgary, take whatever chances you have and get outside. Explore nature and the world that is already here and has been here long before you and me and us existed. Explore Spring and all it has to offer. Frequently, these treasures are hidden. I challenge you to find them 🙂