The marvel of air travel still amazes me. We left an 88 degree Houston with folks walking their dogs, sitting around their pools and/or installing their fall landscapes. We arrived 4 hours later in snow. I’ve heard about Banff, Alberta, Canada, and Lake Louise for several years now from friends who struggled to find descriptive words other than awesome, unbelievable, fantastic and “the most beautiful place.” So after the drive from Calgary to Banff, I will settle by saying I now understand their struggle. Begun in 1885 from a small 26 acre hot springs preserve, Banff National Park is now the country’s oldest and most famous national park. Sitting in the Canadian Rockies, its snow-capped mountain peaks and glistening glaciers are indeed breath-taking. Never mind the grizzlies, caribou and elk. We are staying in the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel…”styled after a Scottish baronial castle, The Fairmont Banff Springs offers stunning vistas, championship golf courses, unparalleled skiing, classic cuisine and Willow Stream, a world class European-style spa offering first class pampering surrounded by majestic mountain beauty.” Indeed, this amazing spa has recently completed a 2.3 million dollar facelift and is like finding a hidden magic kingdom all on its own.

We have come with a group of friends for another friend’s wedding. This trip began on a stunning note late last night with a phone call from the groom saying he had the bride at the hospital with what appeared to be appendicitis! He called again in the early morning hours to say the diagnosis turned out to be an infection and after pumping her full of antibiotics she would be allowed to join us all in time for her wedding. So we all continued to pack and head to airports. The trip begins…