Nothing beats the Rockies!

I'm just back from a fantastic trip to visit family and friends in western Canada - and as usual, a trip to the mountains always reminds me of how much I miss having them right in my backyard.

Landed in Calgary and headed to Canmore/Banff and spent several days in there with my sister and my brother and his family - we totally lucked on the weather and had hot temps the entire weekend, which was a good thing given the crazy weather that southern Alberta has been having all summer. Banff was its usual bustling hub over the weekend, packed with tourists and Albertans escaping the city. It's still so weird to see Banff these days - so commercialized and trendy and busy - I remember when Banff only had about two restaurants and one good bar that everyone went to, so you always knew where to meet up with your friends b/c it was the only bar in town! Plus, we always managed to cram about 20 people into a crappy hotel room and each pay about $20 - no such luck there now, with all the big hotels and lifestyles of the rich and famous. Now there are tons of ritzy boutiques and specialty restaurants and everything costs a fortune. It's just so different. Even Canmore is growing - there is even a Starbucks there now, which generally signals the end of anything quaint and original. When we used to go to Canmore when I was in university, there was one little coffee shop (which thankfully is still there), a couple good ski stores and a couple of motels.. This time I saw a real estate listing downtown for a trailer up in one of the mountain suburbs for $400,000!!

However, the mountains stay the same, year after year - and every time I drive through the flat prairies of southern Alberta and get closer to the foothills, I always wait with anticipation to see the first mountain peeking from behind the clouds. At least I'm never disappointed..

Anyway, we spent the day in Banff and wandered around the Banff Springs hotel, which seems to get bigger every time I visit. Lots of weddings happening on the grounds, which my sister, my sister-in-law and I felt the need to provide running commentary on, much to the chagrin of my disinterested brother!

We did hit the Magpie & Stump for their famous margaritas and Mexican food however - at least one old stand-by that hasn't yet been replaced.

I got out for a great mountain bike ride around Canmore as well - although the altitude took its toll this time on me - I felt like I was having a heart attack climbing some of those hills... another reason the flatlands of central Michigan are bad news!