The Great Outdoors: Where Canadians Find Greatness

THE CANADIAN EXPERIENCE: OUTDOOR EXTREMES

They forgot to draw in the bear. source

Canadians love the outdoors. We love camping in the wilderness in triangular taco-like tents, daring grizzly bears and cougars to try out the chewy middle. We think that’s fun. We play hockey in -40*C at 5:00am, and wonder why everyone doesn’t do it. We sit in leaky boats in the November rain for a single opportunity to fire a handheld cannon at some unsuspecting duck. And when we bag nothing, we are still happy because it’s the experience that counts—yes, that experience of slow death by exposure. Our kids go to school in shorts and a tee in February, and they think it’s normal! We love the outdoors.

I remember one October night in particular, sitting with my mother-in-law in the pitch black at Centennial Lake. We watched the Northern Lights for hours as they swirled against the perfect backdrop of the Milky Way. No one cared that it was -10*C; it was a magical moment. We will brave mosquitos that could sink an aircraft carrier just for the chance at catching a large-mouth bass. We will swim in water so cold that it would be a heart-stopping experience for lesser mortals. We will play tennis in +40*C and consider it good training. Heck, women wear four-inch heels on ice-covered sidewalks and still pull off a confident strut! Canadians rock the outdoors and in return, the outdoors makes us Canadian.

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