Traveling light is key if one is to enjoy getting on and off buses, planes, and trains.
I stepped off the Brewster bus like a two hundred and fifty pound gorilla in hungry bear country.
I wondered if there were melting chocolate in my bags, which continued to stretch and need duck tape for inevitable tears due to my increasing heavy load.
As a result of writing about clean air getaways, global warming and ecotours, I accumulated brochures, magazines, pamphlets, CD roms, filled out notepads, tapes from my audio and video recorders, gifted chocolate bars, which, combined, after eight weeks of travel, weighed as much as I did.
My hand luggage fell from my hands onto the pavement-- Kerplunk!-- as I wondered if a bear would like my smells.
Meanwhile, Alan hopped off the bus in order to remove my suitcase--like golden bars--from the belly of the bus while I gazed at The Banff Rocky Mountain Resort where I'd be staying for the next three nights.
I'd read that the resort combined spectacular natural beauty with activities and amenities sure to make any visit a memorable delight. The magic of Banff with the pleasures of a mountain retreat!
Great.
Show me to my room! I'm exhausted. Wiped out.
Nine hours on and off the bus, climbing glaciers and posing by emerald and torquiose-colored lakes had taken a toll.
I'd rest and awaken refreshed ready to start my Banff adventure the next day. My brochure said the resort had an hourly shuttle to town. Meanwhile, we lucky guests resided in the wilderness.
With black bears.
And I'd soon learn cougars and grizzlies.
As Alan yanked my reticent suitcase away from the others, I hoped the spectacular natural scenery wouldn't include my own bear sighting and would include a bellman to help me lug my bags to my room while keeping me safe, and I prayed my room would be close to the main lodge.
As it turned out, the 171 guest rooms sprawled throughout the resort's property amongst trees and windy paths, and lights that dimmed against the backdrop of the majestic Rundle and Cascade Mountains, which towered above.
Darkness fell.
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