The headlights lit the area ahead, flickering from dim to bright
in an attempt to expose glassy black orbs in the ditch as our car hurtled along
the twisting highway. Mountains stretched up all around as we traveled further
towards the snowy caps and more and more deer and elk appeared on the edges of
the pavement, their tiny brains debating whether they could jump out before the
car or go bounding back into the ditch. It was a game of eye spy with my
dearest cousin in the passenger seat beside me. Brakes heated up as they were
pressed and the full car slowed to pass by daring animals, music blared through
the car to keep us alert and awake as we lost daylight.
Turning into the middle campsite out of the three we'd planned to
check out we came upon a pay phone, thinking we'd call and inform our parents
that we'd be going further into the mountains...because we just weren't far
enough. Excited, we jumped out of the car and took a few pictures by the lone
telephone before shoving a quarter into it and dialing the number, only to
remember it was long distance. Hanging back up we began to put more change into
it, getting a hold of the operator who informed us of the price to pay. Upon
putting money into the box, we found it was full and thus could not make the call.
Sighing we headed back into the corolla and headed back to the highway, only to
find a bar of service on Tess's cell phone not a moment after getting on the
highway. Pulling over we frantically called home and updated our location.
Within an hour we'd arrived and set up our tent. The clock struck
11:30 and we were bagged. Suddenly a fire didn't sound like the greatest idea
as the cool air nipped at our exposed skin and we began to prepare for bed.
Deciding to head out and find an outhouse I happened to peer up at the black,
starry sky only to be confused by the odd shapes across the sky. And then it
hit me. The Northern Lights flared up and roared with different colours,
covering half of the sky in a dance of ending flames of purple and green and
blue. We sat against the car watching the lights point towards what seemed like
a vortex point until our bodies forced us back to bed.
Needless to say we did not get the rest we'd hoped for. The frozen
air turned us into bags of hypothermia and we shivered under three sleeping
bags, our backs pressed against each other for additional heat. By the morning,
which one always expects to be burning hot in a tent, we were still frozen and
struggling to get out of bed to build that promising fire. Once we'd gathered the
strength to get up and get dressed we found our contacts not as malleable as
usual and sticking to our eyes like your tongue sticks to metal in below zero
temperatures. Eating a healthy breakfast of cherry campfire pies we headed out
to do some driving and hiking.
As we drove along the highway towards Banff though something was
spotted far ahead, "What out for that....thing." Tess exclaimed,
confused as to what the brown lump was. Pressing on the brakes hard we watched
as the animal ran across the road and into the trees. My eyes peered after it
attempting to make out what the strange creature was, both of us sitting in
silence as we tried to make sense of it. It was too large for an otter or fox,
not big enough for a bear...and then it clicked. The distinct brown and
silver markings, the way it ran like a weasel could only have meant one thing
it'd been a wolverine. Surprised we'd seen something so rare we trekked on only
to see three bears that day, big horn sheep (males) and many more deer.
The following night we bundled up in numerous layers in hopes we'd
get through the night with a wink of sleep. Which worked. At least for myself.
I slept through the majority of the night, only being bothered by my shoulder
when rolling over and the rest was history. Driving home today was difficult as
we both wanted to remain in the mountains, far away from civilization and the
conflict with our lives.
We were truly blessed however with all the wildlife and natural
events we saw this weekend. It couldn't have been better with the sunny weather
we had, the lack of rain, and the safe trip the Lord provided. I'm excited for
the next time I get to go out to the mountains with the rest of the Anderson
cousins and enjoy some time in a peaceful environment away from busy life.
Life is good.
