"Back to the future"
I suppose as part of the 'Circle of Grad School', another one of my travels this year was to back to the location of my first roadtrip as a PhD student, the resorts of Banff and Jasper, situated in the heart of the Canadian Rockies.
To be honest, I have seen more spectacular natural beauty in other parts of the world, but for some reason, the Canadian Rockies still appeal to me... Canada is home, and we are lucky to have such raw, untouched beauty within driving distance of Vancouver.
Ironically, during my first road trip, there were 13 of us who made the trip and this time there were 13 people as well... the only difference being was that 10 of us were newcomers, and some of the newcomers were 'new' to the concept of camping to say the least.
It is kind of funny, but in a way, this trip was disaster after disaster... there seemed to be some sort of mishap every day, and its lucky that no one got injured over the course of 4 days... and yet for some reason, amongst all the chaos, I still had a really fun time... the first time, it was an adventure due to NEW experiences... this time it was an adventure due to UNFORESEEN experiences... and of course, the chance to learn new things... to always carry dry wood to a campsite... to ensure there is gas in your car... and yes, even to learn that when you go somewhere as a group, make sure everyone actually STAYS in the group, are the things I learnt, just to name a few...
Sometimes, it isn't the destination, but the people who make the trip, and I am lucky to have found an exceptional bunch of people a second time around to make this trip just as memorable as the first.
To be honest, I have seen more spectacular natural beauty in other parts of the world, but for some reason, the Canadian Rockies still appeal to me... Canada is home, and we are lucky to have such raw, untouched beauty within driving distance of Vancouver.
Ironically, during my first road trip, there were 13 of us who made the trip and this time there were 13 people as well... the only difference being was that 10 of us were newcomers, and some of the newcomers were 'new' to the concept of camping to say the least.
It is kind of funny, but in a way, this trip was disaster after disaster... there seemed to be some sort of mishap every day, and its lucky that no one got injured over the course of 4 days... and yet for some reason, amongst all the chaos, I still had a really fun time... the first time, it was an adventure due to NEW experiences... this time it was an adventure due to UNFORESEEN experiences... and of course, the chance to learn new things... to always carry dry wood to a campsite... to ensure there is gas in your car... and yes, even to learn that when you go somewhere as a group, make sure everyone actually STAYS in the group, are the things I learnt, just to name a few...
Sometimes, it isn't the destination, but the people who make the trip, and I am lucky to have found an exceptional bunch of people a second time around to make this trip just as memorable as the first.
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