Shutterbug Edwin Santiago Bids a Rocky Mountain “Hi”

As I was driving from Calgary to Lake Louise over the weekend, I had my Volvo blasting with Michael Buble’s Christmas Album. What could be better? The best Christmas album, sung by my favorite Canadian singer (Sorry Celine), as you drive across the most beautiful part of the Canadian Rockies. It was such a phenomenal experience.

It’s supposed to be springtime in Alberta, but they’re still getting tons of snow, which is something my local friends are not pleased with, but I’m overjoyed by. Sure, it was freezing cold (at -10 degrees). But you’d never know it from the inside the fabulous Fairmont Lake Louise where my friend and I overslept in the hotel’s comfy beds, then watched the snow fall from the enormous windows that over look the majestic, towering mountains covered in snow.

We basically checked in at the Fairmont, valet parked our car for three days and never left.

I have never done that before. But I was so at home and at peace at the hotel. There’s just so much to do and see within walking distance. We took several strolls around the lake and actually hiked on the lake during our stay. I worked out at the gym, shopped at the many cool stores the hotel offered, took a dip in their indoor pool and simply enjoyed people watching from the lobby. We took a four-hour hike on the frozen lake, something I had never ever done before. That was pretty amazing because I’ve previously visited only in the summer and canoed on that same lake — so it was definitely a cool experience walking on it. (Note: Walking is much easier than canoeing).

Lake Louise is a big tourist spot in Canada and is normally packed with buses and vans of tourists from 10 in the mornimg until 3 every afternoon. My tip? Stay at the Fairmont, and you can enjoy the lake all to yourself throughout the daylight hours. It was like heaven.