Happy Canada Day

I am not a very political person, and I haven't really followed history or world events but I am proud to be a Canadian. Unlike most people who can tell you all the wonderful things their country is known for, or the political viewpoints of their country I know very little of this...yes I was taught it in school but as we all know that was a really long time ago.

I have lived in a lot of places in my beautiful country and can't get over the beauty of it all. Growing up I lived in Ontario, and although I would never live there again unless I absolutely had to I loved it. Ontario is now very over populated and I am not a huge crowd kind of person. I love the small towns and the countryside, and in Ontario that country side is disappearing quickly. When I lived there in the 70s it was a nice place, a lot of people but nothing like now. We used to bathe in Lake Ontario, and sit across the road at my grandmother's house looking out at the water through the huge trees and it was a beautiful sight...one that no longer exists as my grandmother's house was tore down many years ago. Northern Ontario still has some beautiful sights from what I have been told but I haven't been there in many years so I can't say that for myself.

Then I moved to Alberta...I can tell you that anyone who has not experienced the majesty of the Canadian Rockies is missing out. When we moved to the foothills area, I was taken away everyday by the beauty. We were very fortunate to have a mountain view from our front balcony whenever the skies were clear...very similar to this but with some houses in the foreground...

The foothills were a beautiful place to live, you could drive very short distances to see amazing sites. We could drive 10-15 minutes outside of the town we lived in and be in Kanansis area which boast beauty beyond measure. Wonderful valleys, beautiful rivers and streams and of course an amazing view of the mountains...similar to this area called Sandy McNaab which we camped in for many years...

At 19 I decided to spend the summer working in the mountains in a town called Jasper. You were right smack in the middle of the mountains, they completely surrounded you. The views were amazing. I worked for this company that offered all kinds of adventures in the Jasper area, including boat trips out to Spirit Island on Maligne Lake. I worked in the gift shop looking out to this view every day...

I have seen a list of 15 amazing sites you should see before you die...this is actually on this list. I never actually made it out to this island but the beauty of it was never lost on me.

I then moved to Nova Scotia, now this was a change for me as I have never seen the ocean. I had lived in many beautiful places but the beauty of the ocean was something that I couldn't get past, blue for so many miles that you couldn't tell where the water ended and the sky began. The old light houses seemed so amazing to me standing as becons out to see. Where we lived it was only a 15 minute drive or so to the Bay of Fundy and you could walk the shore and pick up seafood, and see the deep clay left behind when the tides went out.

Nova Scotia has many beautiful places to see including Peggy's Cove (which became even more famous when a plane crashed near there), but the little town there is adorable, just a few hundred people max living in little boat houses and cottages along the ocean it is a beautiful sight. In 2004 I was able to travel through the mountains to Vancouver Island and was able to see the ocean on the other side of this beautiful country. It was a completely different experience as in Nova Scotia. In Nova Scotia the towns are smaller and more quaint, but in British Columbia everyone wants to live on the beach. In Nova Scotia what they consider a mountain is what those in British Columbia would consider a small hill. Both amazing views, but totally different.

The next place on my journey brought me to a different area of Alberta...Northern Alberta. Everything here is so different than the part of the province I grew up in, I can't see any mountains from here, I don't live in the foothills but the view is still spectacular. I like in the Lakeland area, and the lake the town is named after boasts the largest and deepest in Alberta...hench it remains very cold most of the year.

I have seen beauty beyond compare in this vast country of mine and I am very proud to say that these beautiful areas are part of the country I call home. I know that many other places are beautiful and one day I would love to see them but for now I am happy to live in an area that you can hope on a canoe and paddle your way out into the middle of peace and serenity and be completely surrounded by God's amazingness...