Beginnings

I’m an indoors person by nature. I don’t go camping or hiking. I don’t pine for “the great outdoors” or crave adrenaline rushes. That’s just not who I am. But this year, on the weekend of my 22nd birthday, I got out of my comfort zone. I signed up for the MacEwan Fall Road Trip.

The trip’s highlights, as advertised, included going white water rafting and horseback riding in Kananaskis. Originally I decided to go on the trip to have a subject to write about for my Literary Journalism class. I figured that I’d meet interesting people, get to try new things, and have a birthday experience worth remembering. Not only was I fortunate enough to be right, but I got to experience much, much more.

Onesies and the Open Road

On the first day, I was skeptical. I was still in writer mode, and I didn’t know anyone on the trip. Sitting in my bus seat, trying to take notes without looking (too much) like a weirdo, I couldn’t help wondering if I should have found myself a onesie. It was the trip uniform after all. Wasn’t I supposed to go into full emersion? Judge if you must, but I did not. Those who did were truly impressive though. In their colorful outfits, they had an air of carefree happiness in every move they made. They were setting the bar high for the rest of us. We had to rise to the occasion

I soon managed to get comfortable, and, before I knew it, I was watching The Mask and cracking jokes with my seatmates. I, shamefully, hadn’t paid too much attention to the schedule for that day. There was just too much to think about. What would my room be like? What countries did each of the numerous international students come from? How hard is horseback riding really? I had so many questions.

Wet and Wild

After several hours of driving, we came to our first main stop: Stony Nakoda Resort. It was time for white water rafting at the Horseshoe Canyon Rapids. I joked about the B-movie storm trooper outfits… I mean the proper rafting gear we were given. Yes you’ll look a bit silly, but it keeps you safe and you’d soak your clothes beyond belief without a wetsuit. I actually once thought the Grizzly River Run ride at California Adventure was an overly wet raft simulation and I’d confidently told myself, that’s not what it’s really like! I was right; it was unimaginably wetter and more exciting.

My favourite part to tell people about this trip is that I fell out of the raft. It was surely the worst case scenario that my cowardly heart could have predicted, but it happened and I was fine. I wasn’t even the only one that fell out. The dirty secret was it’s actually really fun to fall out of the raft and many people took a dip on purpose. I learned that the fear of getting hurt or looking like a fool was just that, a silly fear. The reality was everyone was prepared to keep me safe and nobody was trying to embarrass me. Besides, everyone had protective gear, and we’d been given a thorough safety briefing by our guides. It was okay to get a little wet.

I actually conquered a fear when I fell out, admittedly not by choice, so that’s something I gained from the trip that I’ll always remember. I think falling out of the raft, as cheesy as it may sound, was the best thing that could have happened to me. I enjoyed the trip so much more from that point on.

Dance Like There’s No (Early Morning Horseback Ride) Tomorrow

The soaking of white water rafting was followed up with a fantastic, if awkward, celebration at Tavern 1883. We, the bold adventurers of MacEwan, stayed that night at the Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge and walked into town for food and fun. Our accommodations at the Lodge were outstanding and comfortable, but I was so excited to be getting to know the awesome people on my trip that I barely noticed. Such is the result of telling people it’s your birthday. I have no regrets!

The strongest memory I have of that night is when I confidently told my new friends that nobody would be dancing tonight at this bar… only to be one of the first people that started a long night of dancing. For the record I can’t dance, but I still do and I try to maintain a smile in the process. Thankfully there are no pictures of that episode!

I had great conversations with my fellow students that night, learned about what life is like in parts of the world I could barely imagine (I’m no world traveler, so this international perspective was fascinating), ate a delicious lamb burger that I still salivate over when I think of it, and, most of all, felt like I was part of something special and once-in-a-lifetime.

Good Horse, Stanley!

Unfortunately, late-night fun and early-morning horseback riding are not the best of friends. For some reason though, I was still ready and eager to get going that morning. My group’s bus left at 9 am for Boundary Ranch, where I was determined to not fall off the horse (as someone had told me to avoid so flippantly before leaving). On the bus, we gave each other ridiculous nickname nametags and gazed off into the stunning view. It’s funny how easy it is to forget the beauty of the mountains, but the view was (again, pardon the cheesiness) breathtaking.

Boundary Ranch was the quintessential ranch. There were taxidermy animals all over the place, chili and beans were the main courses, and the women in charge of the horses were the real deal (straight out of some old Spaghetti Western). My horse, Stanley, was a gentle soul that usually did what he was supposed to. I was matched with him because I was a novice and, to be frank, a little awkward. I was warned that horses can smell fear, so I decided to not be afraid (you can do that, don’t question it). It was a long ride, and my city-boy legs were numb for about the next half hour afterwards. Still, it was a grand adventure through the picturesque mountain path, and I was laughing throughout at the mischievous antics of the horses. I knew that I would probably never get to do anything quite like this again, and I was grateful for the experience.

Saying Goodbye

On the bus ride home, we gave out awards to various students who’d gone above-and-beyond on our trip to make the experience awesome. I even got a shout-out for celebrating my birthday, which was unexpected and very kind. We were all exhausted and thankful that such an action-packed trip was possible, thanks to the efforts of everyone (including our friendly bus driver). This was a birthday I’ll never forget!

by Rodney Dennis, Bachelor of Communication Studies

Every fall and winter MacEwan Recreation send students on a subsidized road trip to the mountains for different activities including horseback riding, rafting, dogsledding and ski/ snowboarding. Visit our website for more Road Trip details.