's 10 Awesome reasons to head outdoors!
Written by: Angelica Ciochon
There are 2 types of people, in this world. Those that like beaches and those that like mountain ranges. Then there's the few that fall somewhere in the middle and are happy with either or. "10 Reasons to Get Outdoors" gives you 10 reasons why you should stop day dreaming about beaches at work and create your own getaway on the weekend to the mountain ranges. Stop waiting around for time and money to go on an expensive trip somewhere and take advantage of what's right in your backyard!
1. Fresh air - Get away from that nasty pollution of Calgary and clear your lungs with fresh mountain air. Have you ever seen a pinkish, yellowish cloud in the distance at night as you're driving back towards Calgary? Well, that my friend is a not as pretty as you think because it's a nice big cloud of pollution. It's what you breathe in day to day living in the city. Seeing that should make you want to turn back and head straight to the mountains!
1. Fresh air -
- Get away from that nasty pollution of Calgary and clear your lungs with fresh mountain air. Have you ever seen a pinkish, yellowish cloud in the distance at night as you're driving back towards Calgary? Well, that my friend is a not as pretty as you think because it's a nice big cloud of pollution. It's what you breathe in day to day living in the city. Seeing that should make you want to turn back and head straight to the mountains!
2. Clear your head. Stretch your legs - Nothing like taking a break from the technology that is slowly taking over our day to day lives. We spend so many hours working and sitting that it's good to get our faces out of the computer or TV and move our body.
Food for thought - Studies have shown that after sitting for more than 4 hours (whether at school, work, at home or in the car) your body sends harmful signals affecting the amount of glucose and fat in your body. The more time you spend sitting, the higher the increase in risk of death (ScienceDaily).
3. Enjoyable exercise - A more exciting alternative to staying active and being healthy. Sure the new TV at your gym can be exciting for the first week, but eventually staring at the same people and same machines in the same environment can be a bit of an over kill. At least outdoors you get different views, fresh air and try something different. There's nothing like breaking a sweat on a trail to reach that gorgeous waterfall at the end.
4. Get some peace and quiet - Spending too many hours in traffic can leave you feeling a tad overcrowded. With the amount of people always rushing everywhere in the city, it's refreshing to get outdoors in the wild nature that hasn't been tainted by civilization yet.
5. Live the Experience - Staring at a picture of a man on the summit of a mountain OR getting yourself to the summit of a mountain and seeing it in person? I don't think anymore needs to be said!
6. See wildlife for free - Save yourself a trip to the zoo ... go see wildlife ... bears, deer, elk, moose, goat, fighting marmots...(not even kidding)...hopefully not too close to certain wildlife! There are no guarantees that you will some awesome, exciting wildlife every single time you go out, but with the amount of goats and deer, you are bound to see at least some of those for sure!
7. Mini Get-away from home - Make it a date or family trip outing! Spend quality time with the people you care about the most.
8. Mountains...A Grown Man's Playground - There are endless activities to do in the mountains. With 5 National Parks in this mountain range, choose hiking, biking, camping, fishing, white water rafting, scrambling, climbing and so much more all within a couple hours from the city.
9. Memories - Create moments that will last you a lifetime. Having fun stories to share with friends and family or fond memories to look back at in photo albums to share is always worth a trip outdoors.
10. Explore! - Find serenity and bliss amongst what's considered nirvana for backcountry and outdoor enthusiasts - The Rocky Mountains. There's something that captivated the early explorers and years later this mountain range is one of the most magnificent mountain ranges in the world. Head outdoors and explore the mountain peaks and waterfalls and other amazing natural attractions that people travel long distances to experience.
Journal Reference:
Risk found to be independent of physical activity level. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100722102039.htm
