We’re off to Banff tomorrow morning. I’d heard of the Canadian Rockies decades ago, but I never realized that Banff National Park in Alberta was actually the main park that people refer to when they talk about the Canadian Rockies. I learned this in 2010 when I was flipping through a random travel magazine and daydreaming about traveling the world. As soon as I saw the iconic photos of Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, two of the most photographed lakes on earth, I knew I had to see this place myself.

Travel trends are always evolving, and as people travel more, they learn about more seemingly obscure places. If it weren’t for my in-laws, I wouldn’t know about Rovaniemi, the town of Santa Claus (this is real). Seven years ago, the word “Banff” didn’t mean anything to me, but after I read that magazine, it was on my list of “must-see” places in the near future. I’ve been telling colleagues about this planned trip for the last two weeks, and a lot of them had no idea what Calgary or Banff was. I’d Google image photos for them of Banff and the lakes or tell them these are part of the Canadian Rockies, and then they would get awestruck by the beauty of these places.

Our northern neighbor is much under appreciated by my fellow Americans, but that’s fine by me; it’s less tourist traffic that we need to deal with. 🙂