I hope you have time to watch this three minute video from Travel Alberta . It is called “Remember to Breathe” and it won the Diamond Award as the best entry in the film and media competition at the International Tourism Fair (ITB) in Berlin. The video is wonderful, though I might be a bit biased because I was born and raised in Alberta.
My Alberta – it is the hay field across the road – where Hawks Soar and Moose Graze.
It is the farm of our friends where the Great Horned Owl patrols at night.
Alberta is the cattle country that bumps up into the Rolling Foothills.
It is the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains that form the backbone of the province.
My Alberta is the Little Lake near our cabin – home of frogs and snakes, and a magnet for little children.
And it is the Sweep of Snow across our back yard each winter.
And they say once you leave you can’t go home.
Well now, I disagree, though at times I might be a rolling stone.
But there’s something so special about the places you know.
Oh, there’s no place like home.
- Colleen Peterson (Song from Work of the Heart, Quartette)
cobbies69
/ March 21, 2012Fabulous title because it so breath taking it is easy to forget to breathe.. fantastic post. If money becomes more available Alberta could be on my list of to do’s..;)
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi Cobbies – Don’t forget to look at all the other great destinations in Canada too!
jwms1
/ March 21, 2012It is incredibly beautiful. I would say that you are a bit spoiled, because your everyday beauties are spectacular! By the way Tennessee has some pretty amazing sights, too.
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi jwms1 – We are debating about joining our daughter and son-in-law on their trip to Tennessee in June to ride the Tail of the Dragon by motorcycle. I’m sure we would have a wonderful time in your beautiful state.
jwms1
/ March 24, 2012You should come. Tennessee is so geographically diverse. Each area has its own special beauties. I am like you, I love to travel, but I love where I live. Let me know if you head this way.
magsx2
/ March 21, 2012Hi,
A very nice video. The scenery was spectacular, and I loved the wild horses, the dogs pulling the kids along in the snow, the music was very nice also.
Lovely photos, and your choice of quote also very nice.
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi Mags – I knew you would appreciate the video, but wondered if you had already seen it!
magsx2
/ March 21, 2012No, I had never seen it before,
Harper Faulkner
/ March 21, 2012That settles it! I’m moving on up. Build me a cabin. HF
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi Harper – you’ll have to build your own cabin, but I’d be glad to help you spend your money on some land. Mountains, foothills, parkland, prairie or dinosaur country – your choice!
Harper Faulkner
/ March 21, 2012Dinosaurs sound great!
Dor
/ March 21, 2012Oh – everything about this post is beautiful! The video is fantastic and even more interesting since my friend was living in Alberta for the last 3 years. Now I wish I had visited her there. And your photos are lovely as always.
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi Dor – visiting friends – that always is the best way to see a place, isn’t it!
Sandy
/ March 21, 2012I love the Alberta commercials. Almost as much as the Newfoundland and Labrador ones. I’ve only been west a few times and drove back from BC to Ontario passing through the Rockies and Alberta on the way. The funniest thing at the time is because of a refinery closure in Edmonton, gas was in short supply in Alberta and cost more than in Ontario. But we have family out there so one day will return to really discover the entire province. Love your pics.
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi Sandy – Yes, we may produce oil, but the price at the gas pump isn’t all that much different than anywhere else, even when the refinery is running.
I love the ads for Newfoundland and Labrador – a trip east is on our to do list.
pouringmyartout
/ March 21, 2012I am moving Alberta much farther up on my list of places that I must visit. It is simply stunning.
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi PMAO – Glad to hear the video has done it’s job. Give yourself lots of travel time – the province next door, British Columbia – is pretty stunning too.
deluxcanuck
/ March 21, 2012It makes me homesick! I miss having a majestic view wherever I look instead of all these trees around me. It makes me feel rather claustrophobic. At 2:19 is that the interpretive centre near your cabin?
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi Canuck – I sniffle a bit every time I watch the video – it makes me homesick, and I’m not even living out of country right now! And yes, I think the bit at 2:19 is on the hill above the river at the cabin.
composerinthegarden
/ March 21, 2012Margie, loved the video, the time lapse sequences and the editing from scene to scene were excellent, no wonder it won an award. But your photos are just as beautiful! I especially loved the ones with big cloud formations.
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi Composer – Montana likes to call itself Big Sky Country, but we think we have an equal claim!
Coming East
/ March 21, 2012Such beautiful country, Margie. Once George retires, we plan on taking a long road trip, and maybe we’ll get to see your Alberta.
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Hi Susan – If you ever decide to come to Alberta, let me know. I’ll send you my list of top places to see, and best time of the year to visit!
Coming East
/ March 21, 2012I would love to see your neck of the woods, Margie. I wish it wasn’t so darned far away!
Margie
/ March 21, 2012Think of the adventure, Susan. East to West across the US, then West to East across Canada…
Coming East
/ March 21, 2012Oh, I am willing, Margie, but the pocketbook is empty!
Mark Armstrong
/ March 22, 2012Superb video, though it woulda been nice to see real people not fashion models. I know they were models ’cause they all have that impossibly pretty look– like me… : )
We were lucky enough to see Alberta when we biked the Canadian Rockies. I almost felt I knew it already, at least a little, from Ian & Sylvia songs. Yup, it really is that beautiful, even without the slow-motion and time-lapse clouds. : )
Your photos were, of course, much more satisfying than the video. : )
Margie
/ March 22, 2012Hi Mark – maybe all of us in Alberta look like that! Oops – you’ve been to Alberta, so you know we aren’t all a bunch of fashion model look-alikes.
Ian Tyson lives on a ranch in Alberta and is still performing at the age of 78. His vocal cords have been badly damaged, but his audience doesn’t mind. He is still writing and singing the songs that tell his stories.
Another Alberta country artist is Corb Lund. If you go to CBC Music (http://music.cbc.ca/#/bands/Corb-Lund) some of Corb’s songs are in the right hand column. He does a duet with Ian called ‘The Rodeo’s Over’. My favourite Corb song (with his band, The Hurtin’ Albertans) is The Truck Got Stuck.
Mark Armstrong
/ March 23, 2012Thanks for the tip! The Truck Got Stuck. Excellent. I enjoy classical music… : )
Margie
/ March 23, 2012Classic lines, but you sort of have to live here to see the humour in it…
Carol R Craley
/ March 22, 2012Absolutely stunning video! And yes, I did need to remind myself to breathe… Great post, I’m ready to head north…
Margie
/ March 22, 2012Hi Carol – the video does a good job of showing Alberta’s seasons – Winter, and Poor Sledding.
Fergiemoto
/ March 22, 2012Oooooh, your photos are beautiful! I watched the video and I certainly see why it won the award. Looks like some amazing adventures. I especially liked the frames with the horses – because I just LOVE, love, love horses!
Margie
/ March 22, 2012Hi Fergie – Lot’s of horses in our province – four of them living right next door to us. Our county administration refers to them as manure units…
Lorna's Voice
/ March 22, 2012You have every right to be biased–you live in a sacred, beautiful place.
Margie
/ March 23, 2012Hi Lorna – There are so many wonderful places in the world, but there is always something very special about home!
yearstricken
/ March 22, 2012You are right to be proud. Wow! It’s breathtaking – no wonder they call it “Remember to Breathe.”
Margie
/ March 23, 2012Hi yearstricken – Yes, we have so many beautiful locations, mostly because we have a lot of land, and not too many people to clutter it up!
E.C.
/ March 22, 2012Breathtakingly beautiful video and photos!
Margie
/ March 23, 2012Breath E.C. Breath…
notesfromrumbleycottage
/ March 22, 2012I have always loved the idea of mountains jutting out of the plains.
Margie
/ March 23, 2012Hi Rumbley – I always enjoy the drive to the mountains – prairies, then a few foothills, then all of a sudden the jagged peaks. Of course, it isn’t ever a surprise, because if the weather is clear you can see the mountains long before you ever get to them.
dailydoseofentertainment
/ March 23, 2012Loved your post !
Margie
/ March 23, 2012Thanks Daily Dose, and welcome to my blog.
dailydoseofentertainment
/ March 23, 2012Thanks.
Amanda J Edwards
/ March 26, 2012In a word. Awesome!
Margie
/ March 26, 2012Glad you enjoyed it, Amanda!
boomeresq
/ April 11, 2012Pardon my typos please.
I don’;t know if Alberta is looking for any Yankee visitors, but running part of this as an ad for Canadian tourism in the US (where I live) would, I think, be effective—especially as a relief from all the rancorous political ads were and are enduring and will have to endure up until our presidential general election in November.
They should run part of this as a tourism ad in the US (where I’m from). They could resurrect the catchphrase they used to use on ads for Canadian tourism some years ago: “Canada: Friendly, Familiar, Foreign and Near” I thought that about summed it up!
Margie
/ April 11, 2012We’re always looking for tourists, so I agree they should be running those ads.
I love the catchphrase!