Canadians Choosing Canada JE 5
Belle and Hanoch - Rocky Mountaineer to Whistler, BC
Canada for Home and Travel
Meet the Toren’s of Canmore… actually, the world.
They chose Canada for home and choose Canada for travel too.
Stoney Grass Dancer, honoring and preparing land for Teepee
I arrived to Canmore for friend visits and riding/hiking. I left inspired by a multi-cultural immersion, fantastic friend visits, breathtaking views, delicious food experiences and my longest (Legacy Trail) single bike-ride to date (recovery est. 4 days ugh).
Belle Toren (of Canmore) and I have been friends since our Haskayne School of Business days 2017 for our ICD.D course. Belle is a community champion - fundraising, volunteering and advocating for the things she loves about where she lives including: land development, the arts, nature and culture. She is also an explorer. She has hiked in the Yukon a few times, runs marathons and hikes the world over. Her partner in crime, Hanoch, is a lovely, gentle, interesting man of the same generous nature.
Belle and Hanoch have built a guest-stay suite for friends and family to share their view of the Three Sisters mountain range, and they invited me to be their guest. Their home is an endless art gallery of their adventures and keepsakes from their travels: African masks, banana wood carvings, sculptures from South America and more. I am still breathless for the most spectacular Italian murano glass chandelier the likes of which I have never seen.
Belle and Hanoch are of Jewish decent (USA and Israel) and their hearts and minds were wide open to my endless questions about traditions, faith, lifestyle, values, food and symbolism. I left with several audio book recommendations by Jewish authors in our shared love of Fiction (I.e.: Color of Water - James McBride).
Prior to arriving in Canmore, the Toren’s suggested that on the Saturday, we could witness the raising of the Teepee at the Canmore NWMP Barracks, home of the second annual summer of programming by the Morley People of the Stoney Nation, Treaty 7 Territory, Alberta. A warm summer day, sitting in the grass with friends, visitors and children, witnessing song and story, grass dancing and learning the traditions and roles of women in setting the home: vibrant colors, drum and song, story, children, beautiful.
Unexpected Canmore - Jewish Tradition, International Art Galleries and Ceremony …and I got to ride!
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