Wherever I traveled there were couples.
Vacationers.
Robust eco-tour guides.
And their wives, who cooked three-course hearty meals for them, and me.
There were brides and grooms who posed by Beacon Park bridges in Victoria.
Glacial-fed lakes in Banff.
The Fairmont Hotel lobby in Jasper.
More people got married in Canada this summer than I can count.
And if I weren't sure of this fact, I had informants. Like my new friend Sumner who'd call in the evening at the Fairmont where we stayed in separate rooms.
"Quick! Look outside your window. Another bride is getting married by the lake."
Then he'd laugh.
The Rocky Mountaineer Train. The Whistler Mountaineer. Jam packed with couples, too.
The Brewster Tour Bus from Jasper to Banff.
Couples.
But when I awoke mid-week at the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort, I was told there'd be only one person on my tour--a man.
As you might imagine, my imagination went wild.
What would he look like? How old would he be?
Would he be a widower?
Banff attracted virile mountain men, which is an attractive quality especially since I'd escaped the big city where men's virility seeps through steel doors in proportion to time trapped in cars on local freeways, spitting exhaust fumes along with their strength that otherwise could have contributed to what might have been.
How about canoeing, dancing, throwing their heads back in easy laughter at a side-walk cafe. Or holding a woman in strong rugged arms.
Back to the story...
Frederick of Banff Discovery Tour picked me up on time in front of the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort.
8:30 sharp.
Turns out Frederick was from Switzerland so this should come as no surprise.
He explained we'd be seeing the highlights of Banff and learning its history. I do love tours and tour guides. But first we had a stop.
Yes.
The one man.
At The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
Apparently, this gentleman we'd be picking up was not only virile, he had money too.
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