The Sixth Level of Existance

The next set of photos is from the first of three days riding on the Icefields Parkway. Once again, I posted them in reverse chronological order so you can follow along during the day.
The first day of riding on the Icefields Parkway was not what I expected. Instead of feeling joy and triumph, I felt very low key, super peaceful, almost a melancholy feeling. I think feeling melacholy is probably the natual state of the soul, a resting spot for the soul between the highs and lows. Melancholy to me is feeling both happy and sad at the same time.
Maybe it was just a serene sense of relief the the tour was almost over. Or perhaps the accomplishment over the last 6 weeks that all the training and preparation paid off and I had pulled off the trip. I had been training and preparing for this tour since late in 2006. Preparing for being away from home for six weeks as well as all the training influenced so many decsions about what I had to do over the last six months. Many tasks and other activities were put on hold preparing for this tour. This tour simply loomed so large ahead and dominated just about every thought or action I had since the beginning of the year. Or maybe I was simply exhausted from the extreme effort from the day before riding from Radium Hot Springs to Lake Louise.
I felt happy, but sad the tour was now almost over with. I was not really thinking about anything at all, my mind just kind of wandering. I felt like all the hard work is done, you made it, but it's not really such a big deal after all. I felt good physically, mentally, and emotionally. Perhaps it was the release of emotions at Moraine Lake the evening before that put me into this state. Or maybe it was just being among such beautiful scenary. I suppose it was all of these thoughts together. Whatever put me into this state of mind, it was one of the most peaceful days of my life.