I appreciate this month’s Photo Blogging Challenge theme reminder to be present. It’s especially timely because our 25 year-old is working hard on limiting phone screen time. So I’m also thinking hard about when and where I spend time online. Travelling for part of the month helped with this reset.

Holding the exhortation to be present in my subconscious has spilled over into the travel experience: 1) trying to line up a guided walking tour in each new town/city to better appreciate what we’re seeing; 2) more taking things in and less taking of photographs (I may regret this as I start blogging about our trip); and 3) seeking out less “familiar” experiences (e.g. more local food options).

Anyhow, thanks to PBC host PJ for selecting such an impactful theme. Here are my five photos for be present:

1. Be Present With Nature

I’ve blogged many times about how spending time in Nature is net positive to my life. Kayaking is a great way to deepen your Nature connection. This month, while paddling Vermilion Lakes in Banff, we had the privilege of observing THREE bald eagles, while they occasionally cast a seemingly disinterested glance in our direction. Here’s Mr GeoK working on some eagle portraits.

2. Be(ar) Present!

Looking out for bears is a requirement for cyclists in the Bow Valley. Ideally, you’ll spot a bear well before rolling past, with enough time to stop at least 3 bus lengths away. Riding the Bow Valley Parkway this month, I was in the lead when I spotted a black bear just off the right hand shoulder.

We immediately stopped, at a great enough distance to take a few photos (telephoto lens). The bear kept ambling towards us. When it halved the distance, I called out, “yo bear” and “hello bear, we’re right here!” It heard, and headed into the woods. After a few minutes, we safely rode on. Yes, we carried bear spray, but we’d always prefer any bear encounter to go as well as this one did.

3. Be(es) Present

We noticed bee hives on the roof of one hotel in Norway. Bees swarmed the entrance later in the day. And then a breakfast, one frame from the hives was integrated into the buffet display, along with a pot of honey! Excuse the photo quality; this one was taken through a highly reflecting window.

4. Watch Your Step

Our local guide in Bergen highly recommended a hike that we’d already bookmarked. So on the one day break in the rain, we headed out to hike the Vidden trail, traversing 3 of 7 hills surrounding Norway’s second-largest city.

Most people take a cable car or funicular to start the hike. We didn’t check the cable car start time, so ended up climbing 1331 steps instead. Our choice aside, this is “easy access hiking” so it’s overused and under maintained. Add to that several days of rain, and the trail was muddy going. There were too many stretches to count where we had to hop from rock to rock to avoid the worst. Even so, this was one of those hikes where you get home and step into the shower fully-clothed, boots and all!

5. Keep Your Head in the Game

We planned the driveway portion of our Norway trip to include Loen Via Ferrata. Orders of magnitude more challenging than the Mt Norquay route we did almost 10 years previously, this experience required 6 hours of paying close attention. We consider the day a highlight of our trip,

Early in July I’ll pop over to the host blog, A ‘lil HooHaa, to see how everyone else’s did with the be present theme. And to learn the theme for next month. See you there?