We spent a week at William Watson Lodge, a ‘resort’ in the Kananaskis Country of southern Alberta. It was designed to serve people with disabilities, so everything is wheel-chair accessible. One advantage of being a senior is that when the cottages aren’t booked up, we get the next dibs. William Watson Lodge, in the southern-most access of Kananskis, is definitely off the beaten path. It is remote enough that cell-phones don’t work and there is no TV reception. This is an ‘unplugged’ stay. The forest surrounds the cottages and main lodge, a lake beckons a short walk below them, and trails for cross-country skiing. snowshoeing and hiking lead in all directions. Peaceful. Quiet. Restful. Inviting. Reminding us of how to BE. Just BE, instead of frantically DOING. We took our own food and bedding, books, crossword puzzles, cards, and a Scrabble game. We took a portable DVD player and a few unopened DVDs, but we didn’t watch one. We preferred to share a read-aloud book, which we could pick up when we felt like it. We completed a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle at the main lodge, walked a lot, snowshoed a bit, ate healthily, slept soundly, and grew close. We were inspired to see skiers with disabilities (blindness included) navigate the trails, with support from volunteers. It reminded us how fortunate we are to have our health and be able to enjoy the outdoors in a safe invigorating way. Very nice. An affordable place to go (only $30 a night) within 2 hours from Calgary. Now that I’m back home the calendar is filling up. That’s good too, but we have rebooked for a week at the start of April. There we will balance our busy-ness with rest.
Words By Montgomery 