Last year I traveled somewhere I have NEVER traveled before- Alberta, Canada. I was instantly charmed by the french-canadian words on the products at Walmart. Or that instead of the sign saying “Bathroom/Restroom” it said “Washroom”

I jumped on WestJet (first time traveling on this airlines!) to visit my sweet and talented ceramist friend, Jessica Brandl. She’s a total go-getter and world traveler, would go where the art is. This life might seem super glamorous, but it takes hard work and focus to live this lifestyle.

What’s a Texan to do in the upper Rockies? Hike a mountain of COURSE. Jessica drove me to a cute little peak in Kananaskis county, and taught me the ways of a true mountain goat. We yelled “Nunavet” to ward off bears as we followed the trail up.

I distinctly remembering the dizzy-gut curling feeling all the way up, as the altitude was crushing my joy. The beautiful range views around us were surreal. Every step I took, felt surreal. Am I really doing this? We reached the upper most portion, with the summit insight. At this point, I was on all fours crawling up the gravel-like mountain substrate. It was steep, I mean STEEP. I doubted every single step I took, wondering if I was making an ill choice. But as I looked ahead, with Jessica blazing up towards the summit, I knew I could keep going. She turned around when reaching the summit, because the gravel became very visibly unpredictable. Sliding rocks on either side? No thank you.

The whole decent down, I was dreaming of these delicious chicken wings Jess told me about. You can find them in Calgary at Mug Shotz Spots Bar & Grill. Seriously, you could go to Calgary JUST for these wings. Haha

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this sweet friend and beautiful views… oh and the wings. The wings were outstanding.