Alberta – Remember to Breathe (Video)

~ 'Amusives' by Margy

I hope you have time to watch this three minute video from Travel Alberta . It is called “Remember to Breathe” and it won the Diamond Award as the best entry in the film and media competition at the International Tourism Fair (ITB) in Berlin. The video is wonderful, though I might be a bit biased because I was born and raised in Alberta.

My Alberta – it is the fields behind our house where moose sometimes amble by and the neighbour’s horse curiously watches.

It is the field across the road where hawks hunt mice and deer feed.

Alberta is the cattle country that bumps up into the Rolling Foothills.

It is the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains that form the backbone of the province.

My Alberta is the Little Lake near our cabin – home of frogs and snakes, and a magnet for little children.

And it is the Sweep of Snow across our back yard each winter.

And they say once you leave you can’t go home.
Well now, I disagree, though at times I might be a rolling stone.
But there’s something so special about the places you know.
Oh, there’s no place like home.
– Colleen Peterson (Song from Work of the Heart, Quartette) –

51 thoughts on “Alberta – Remember to Breathe (Video)”

  1. Fabulous title because it so breath taking it is easy to forget to breathe.. fantastic post. If money becomes more available Alberta could be on my list of to do’s..;)

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  2. It is incredibly beautiful. I would say that you are a bit spoiled, because your everyday beauties are spectacular! By the way Tennessee has some pretty amazing sights, too. 😉

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    1. Hi jwms1 – We are debating about joining our daughter and son-in-law on their trip to Tennessee in June to ride the Tail of the Dragon by motorcycle. I’m sure we would have a wonderful time in your beautiful state.

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      1. You should come. Tennessee is so geographically diverse. Each area has its own special beauties. I am like you, I love to travel, but I love where I live. Let me know if you head this way. 🙂

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  3. Hi,
    A very nice video. The scenery was spectacular, and I loved the wild horses, the dogs pulling the kids along in the snow, the music was very nice also. 🙂

    Lovely photos, and your choice of quote also very nice.

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    1. Hi Harper – you’ll have to build your own cabin, but I’d be glad to help you spend your money on some land. Mountains, foothills, parkland, prairie or dinosaur country – your choice!

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  5. Oh – everything about this post is beautiful! The video is fantastic and even more interesting since my friend was living in Alberta for the last 3 years. Now I wish I had visited her there. And your photos are lovely as always.

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  6. I love the Alberta commercials. Almost as much as the Newfoundland and Labrador ones. I’ve only been west a few times and drove back from BC to Ontario passing through the Rockies and Alberta on the way. The funniest thing at the time is because of a refinery closure in Edmonton, gas was in short supply in Alberta and cost more than in Ontario. But we have family out there so one day will return to really discover the entire province. Love your pics.

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    1. Hi Sandy – Yes, we may produce oil, but the price at the gas pump isn’t all that much different than anywhere else, even when the refinery is running.
      I love the ads for Newfoundland and Labrador – a trip east is on our to do list.

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    1. Hi PMAO – Glad to hear the video has done it’s job. Give yourself lots of travel time – the province next door, British Columbia – is pretty stunning too.

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  8. It makes me homesick! I miss having a majestic view wherever I look instead of all these trees around me. It makes me feel rather claustrophobic. At 2:19 is that the interpretive centre near your cabin?

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    1. Hi Canuck – I sniffle a bit every time I watch the video – it makes me homesick, and I’m not even living out of country right now! And yes, I think the bit at 2:19 is on the hill above the river at the cabin.

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  9. Margie, loved the video, the time lapse sequences and the editing from scene to scene were excellent, no wonder it won an award. But your photos are just as beautiful! I especially loved the ones with big cloud formations.

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    1. Hi Composer – Montana likes to call itself Big Sky Country, but we think we have an equal claim!

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    1. Hi Susan – If you ever decide to come to Alberta, let me know. I’ll send you my list of top places to see, and best time of the year to visit!

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  11. Superb video, though it woulda been nice to see real people not fashion models. I know they were models ’cause they all have that impossibly pretty look– like me… : )

    We were lucky enough to see Alberta when we biked the Canadian Rockies. I almost felt I knew it already, at least a little, from Ian & Sylvia songs. Yup, it really is that beautiful, even without the slow-motion and time-lapse clouds. : )

    Your photos were, of course, much more satisfying than the video. : )

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    1. Hi Mark – maybe all of us in Alberta look like that! Oops – you’ve been to Alberta, so you know we aren’t all a bunch of fashion model look-alikes.
      Ian Tyson lives on a ranch in Alberta and is still performing at the age of 78. His vocal cords have been badly damaged, but his audience doesn’t mind. He is still writing and singing the songs that tell his stories.
      Another Alberta country artist is Corb Lund. If you go to CBC Music (http://music.cbc.ca/#/bands/Corb-Lund) some of Corb’s songs are in the right hand column. He does a duet with Ian called ‘The Rodeo’s Over’. My favourite Corb song (with his band, The Hurtin’ Albertans) is The Truck Got Stuck.

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        1. “We spilled genetically modified canola seed
          That was genetically modified for controlling the weeds
          And for big old yields and margarine oil, raised hell all over that native prairie soil
          Agriculture Canada is definitely gonna be looking for us.” Corb Lund

          Classic lines, but you sort of have to live here to see the humour in it…

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    1. Hi Carol – the video does a good job of showing Alberta’s seasons – Winter, and Poor Sledding.

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  13. Oooooh, your photos are beautiful! I watched the video and I certainly see why it won the award. Looks like some amazing adventures. I especially liked the frames with the horses – because I just LOVE, love, love horses!

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    1. Hi Fergie – Lot’s of horses in our province – four of them living right next door to us. Our county administration refers to them as manure units…

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    1. Hi Lorna – There are so many wonderful places in the world, but there is always something very special about home!

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    1. Hi yearstricken – Yes, we have so many beautiful locations, mostly because we have a lot of land, and not too many people to clutter it up!

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    1. Hi Rumbley – I always enjoy the drive to the mountains – prairies, then a few foothills, then all of a sudden the jagged peaks. Of course, it isn’t ever a surprise, because if the weather is clear you can see the mountains long before you ever get to them.

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  20. Pardon my typos please.
    I don’;t know if Alberta is looking for any Yankee visitors, but running part of this as an ad for Canadian tourism in the US (where I live) would, I think, be effective—especially as a relief from all the rancorous political ads were and are enduring and will have to endure up until our presidential general election in November.
    They should run part of this as a tourism ad in the US (where I’m from). They could resurrect the catchphrase they used to use on ads for Canadian tourism some years ago: “Canada: Friendly, Familiar, Foreign and Near” I thought that about summed it up!

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    1. We’re always looking for tourists, so I agree they should be running those ads.
      I love the catchphrase!

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