Until yesterday I confess I was mildly disappointed with the Canadian Rockies. My previous Rocky Mountain memories (from hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado) were akin to something out of The Sound of Music: one glorious scene and vista after another. The Rockies here, while glorious, just didn't seem that glorious.

Yesterday, however, we made a plan, packed our knapsacks, exited our car, and hit the trails. The destination was Lake Agnes, one of the most popular hikes from Lake Louise.

And this time, I got Lake Louise, the most famous spot in the Alberta Rockies. It was splendid, gorgeous, placid, lovely. The turquoise water color, making it look just like one humongous swimming pool, was amazing. And the hike itself (from the Lake Louise parking lot to Lake Agnes, 2.2 miles one way) brought us out to the sort of look-out points that made it all worthwhile.

Lake Agnes still had snow around it and we stopped at the famous teahouse there, built on the site of a 1905 log cabin, for hot chocolate. The "teahouses" in the mountains were set up by the CPR railroad, trying to get more passengers to the area. Furthermore, Swiss mountain guides were brought in to further encourage visitors and the whole area has something of a European flavor to it to this day, says the literature.

One last thing: on the way back to Calgary we stopped in the town of Banff, and there on the street, playing acoustic instruments (string bass, banjo, two guitars) were four young musicians that further made my day. Their style was somewhere between folk and country with a contemporary beat, and they had the requisite modern day grubby-musician look to them. They sang in harmony, were very talented and clearly enjoyed themselves. The crowd they gathered were from all generations, including old folkies like myself as well as younger, hipper types. It all went to show that good music spans tastes and times and that the current tendency to divide the population into distinct, separate categories is somewhat artificial.

(In reverse chronological order, the images above are: (1)the chilly shores of Lake Agnes (2) the trail to Lake Agnes with Lake Louise showing its turquoise splendor in the background and (2) Lake Louise, before we set out at 9:30 a.m.)