Day 195

thick. heavy. darkness.

our van, loaded with instruments and gear and the three of us, traversed a mountain pass on the way to banff. this was last night and i couldn't wait for morning. for light and mountains. we were put up in a sweet hotel and now i'm spending the first part of this saturday around town. banff is made of logs, concrete, and large stones and has the canadian rockies at its doorstep, but downtown reminds me of disney world. tourists. trend traps. popular. not at all like chill old fernie.

we wandered through a massive, castle hotel earlier. huge. i wouldn't have been surprised to see mr tumnus creeping past one of the full-wall fireplaces or hiding behind a heavy, ornate wooden door. if i'd stumbled upon a large lion sunning himself near one of the huge windows in a corner of one of many ballrooms, i would have quickly and quietly apologized for the interruption and run straight for the wardrobe. it was that kind of place.

now i'm in a coffee shop, naturally, to read and chill and work on a script for a documentary project until we have to set up for our gig tonight. once you come to terms that a two dollar coin and recently acquired quarter won't get you very far in a tourist town like this, opportunities strangely open up. i owe myself nothing and owe nothing to this place.

people are holding skis and snowboards or packages or each other's hands as they follow the sidewalk a few feet through the glass. even in the castle, i overheard a group of tourists saying 'we're in a new place with nothing to do now,' giving the male in the group the opportunity to suggest 'spending money in a bar.' that kind of travel is society travel.

tonight we're doing music for the conference and i've been doing video during this morning's session, so i'll be producing a highlight reel of the weekend for their website.

i'm almost out of power and this place is too full to find another place within reach of a plug. i'm out.

it should be added now, much later tonight, that we went back to the castle to explore at night after our gig. sweet weekend in banff.