Aide Memoire

I saw this poem on the shuttle on the way back from Mt Norquay. On the first read, based on the title, I thought it was an ad for a memory care facility. I don't have a lot of experience in mass transportation, and didn't really consider that there would be poetry on the wall of a shuttle!  As it turns out, according to what I looked up online, Glen Sorestad is a well regarded Canadian poet (and former teacher!). Anyway, take a read. It's a poem that I can't quite let go of yet. 

Aide Memoire, by Glen Sorestad

The world begins and ends in memory;

what I remember is what I am. 

Did that blade of grass I plucked

as a boy to vibrate with my breath

really burst the air with shrillness?

A remembered world holds truth

and realities far clearer than echoes.

In the cupped hands of remembrance

the thin green reed of what we are

trembles with a sound so rare. 

Aide memoire simply means a memory aid. But I found one definition that said "especially a book or a document".  Or a blog. 😊 It's true, I love to write. But even more, I love making these memories with my mom, and having a way to relive them after we are back home. 

And back home we are! We took three days to go home, and went drove through five National Parks. And, of course, there were adventures!

Our first stop was in Golden, BC. It took F O R E V E R to get there due to a car accident, but I think we were so eager to stop because we were so rummy from being in the car so long. In Golden there is a newish adventure facility that has ropes courses, zip lines, and two suspension bridges. I think they go over the Columbia River. We just can't shake that thing! ;)

It was SO HOT!!! My face turns a deeper red/purple in some later shots that you won't see... One of the highlights of this stop was a conversation we had with a woman from China (who was also resting in the shade). She and her husband moved from China to Calgary about 10 years ago in order to be able to have more than one child. They intended to have one more, to make a family of four. And then she got pregnant for a 3rd time. She talked about how it was hard to understand that an unplanned pregnancy could be a blessing, and not a curse, which is what she had been raised to believe. I mean, wow. We shared pictures of the coast with her, and she showed us pictures of her three kids and talked about where she was from in China. It couldn't have been more than 20 minutes, but mom and I talked about it for several hundred miles. Traveling always opens your world in ways you least expect it to. 

Our final stop was a last minute addition. We took a couple hour detour and drove up to Mt Rainier. We haven't been since I was small, and couldn't resist one last hurrah. We only had time to drive up to Paradise and do a short walk, but it was totally worth it. 

Mt Rainier is something else! We have been looking at ginormous peaks that seem higher than anything we've ever seen before. But...Mt Rundle sits at 9,672 feet and Mt Rainier at 14,410 feet. Perspective is everything! The mountains in Banff/Jasper seem to come straight out of the ground and go straight up; they tower over everything. Mt Rainier, while reaching much higher, makes a slow rambling ascent in foothills and forests, giving you the false feeling that it isn't as high. It was the perfect last stop for these summer vacationers. 

That's it travelers! We've been through Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Yoho National Park (YOLO - that's for you, mom), Kootenay National Park, Glacier National Park (the other one), and Mt Rainier National Park. We're happy to be home in our beds, and I think the car is equally happy to be parked in its driveway. Until next time!

💕