Never Ending Canadian Rockies
“Large numbers of strangers can cooperate successfully by believing in common myths. Any large-scale human cooperation – whether a modern state, a medieval church, an ancient city or an archaic tribe – is rooted in common myths that exist only in people’s collective imagination.”
As usual, prior and during my new journey, I've read some books that made me think, change, re-consider. I truly don't get it how the universe matches books to my destinations. But it is always a perfect match. In a very short period of time, I've read Permanent Record by Edward Snowden, Sapiens by Harari and started to read his second book Homo Deus. To say I got influenced is to say nothing. I actually removed myself from social media and Google, at least for now, while I am deciding what my life is exactly.
Thoughts about freedom of privacy, becoming a data cow for Zuckenberg and Google, for government, all of it just turned me up side down. I truly needed a break from the digital world where we are not free anymore, we are just not. Suddenly I felt myself a sheep in a field. And the feeling is terrifying. I’m surprised to know how many people even don't understand the scale of this problem. And this is a problem, a humanity wide problem. The way we solve it will identify our path to the future. Do we really want to ignore all of it, to exchange our freedoms for comfort and free technology? Well ‘free’...we pay with our data allowing the elite to earn billions off us, off who we are (our dreams, our thoughts, our feelings). They monetize us like we are not humans anymore but some kind of free properties and almost nobody says anything. I know, you might think now, why should I worry about generations to come, but I do, and I have no idea why. I am just tired of lies. The last 4 weeks without Gmail, Chrome, Google search, Google map, social media, ads were amazing. Fresh. Less trash funneling to my brain, more thoughts instead. After all, whoever owns your time - owns your mind.
Anyway, enough of depression for now...
For our 10th wedding anniversary we went to cold and snowy Canadian Rockies. Cabins, fire, wine, snow, bears (yep we saw a black bear), blue lakes, winds, glaciers, colorful forests - all of these spoke more closely to our hearts at that moment than warm waters and colorful fish.
Again, I don't want to share a lot of details about our trip as I do believe each of you should discover your own Canadian Rockies when you go there, but I feel like I should say a few things.
First, please let me tell you all the truth about Lake Louise (the one and only disappointment of the trip). That blue lake you see on many Instagrammers’ photos, that blue lake that comes to your mind first when you dream of the Canadian Rockies. I had really high expectations for Lake Louise, so this is what we did on our first morning after we arrived in Canada. Before sunrise we went to see this magical lake. And, oh well, when I showed up there with my camera thinking that I would be alone there with maybe couple of other photographers, I was stunned, shocked, killed. The amount of people and noise was like a tunnel full of fast-driving cars. There is this huge Fairmont hotel right on the lake. Huge expensive hotel. And there were these people who worked most likely 24/7 to earn their big salaries so they could afford the room in this Fairmont hotel and join the massive zoo tribe. Really? This is what we believe in? Money can buy us what exactly? I can't understand why we the people are so foolish. We are. We destroy our lives, we kill nature, we kill the spirits of mountains, because we think we need more - more money to spend on more stuff, more luxury experiences. We don’t even stop and think how damaging this is to all the virgin corners of planet Earth. In short, it was disgusting. I took a couple of photos on auto-mode and left. I cried in the car. How come so many people believe in this myth that money buy you happiness of spending? Who created that myth and why? So many myths are now out there created to control crowds of people for somebody's else agenda. It was too painful. It was painful to see nature destroyed, but also it was painful to see humans being so degraded with their cup of coffees, loudly talking and laughing during the most magical moment in nature - sunrise over the mountains and lake. Like really? I wanted to shout: "Shut up, people!"
I had a list of places, well, a list of lakes I wanted to see. After visiting Lake Louise that list was immediately destroyed. I wanted to be lost. I wanted to escape, run away. And this exactly what we did. No maps, no lists. Just going. Going into directions with less or no people. And we got lucky to have some of the most beautiful places to ourselves. In silence. In their real condition.
We visited 5 national parks: Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Glacier. Banff is crowded and forever in my list "do not come back here", Jasper and Yoho were spiritual and magnificent, Kootenay is truly quiet and Glacier is a beautiful land of snowy peaks.
We very much enjoyed our romantic stay in Storm Mountain Lodge & Cabins, cute cabins far away from crowds, close to nature and all the national parks. Huge thanks to their chef for delicious and creative dinners.
Our stay in one of the Nipika eco cabins was quiet, secluded and truly relaxing as long as you don’t think too much about the neighborhood black bears, one of whom we met (believe it or not.) Unique place, locals' favorite. My dream about my own cabin in the mountains became even bigger. There is something about a little space in the middle of endless wilderness, a little space with walls made of wood, with a fire cracking in the fireplace, with an old-fashion kettle whistling on the stove, with crisp air and snowflakes beyond the window with a view off snowy peaks and horses, simple food, warm socks, and just you know... life.
Overall, the Canadian Rockies impressed me with their beautiful and stunning never ending mountains ridges. I just hope humans will leave the remaining wilderness alone. Let Lake Louise be the cautionary victim in the name of saving all the other beautiful and special spots of this beautiful Canadian corner.
