these moves

Football is like dance. Unchoreographed, freestyle, groove however you want kind of dance.

the crossover

the beauty of the game

Perfect pass down the line... unbelievable. There he goes. All the way down... past first down... 30 yards...  50... touchdown, Trojans!

Football is rarely the glam and glory it appears to be from the stands or on TV. Sometimes - most times - football is messy. When you freeze the action at 1/1000 of a second, you get the real picture of what the game is made of: dog piles, human knots, wrestling, group hug sessions, Fight Club, 300 lbs flying around, bruises forming, the Heimlich, and sometimes on accident, illusions like little guys pushing giants by the gluteus maximus. Chaos, savagery, and testosterone overload. 

can I stay here forever?

I find myself always wanting to explore the unbeaten path. Maybe it's the inner underdog supporter. Or the pioneer. Whatever the case, I'm always on the lookout for locals' favorites and insider's tips. Naturally, I was a bit weary of the infamous Lake Louise. Could it really live up to its hype? 

One glimpse and I knew.

Being one of the most well-known spots in Banff, Lake Louise gets noisy with tourists coming in by the bus. The 47-seater charter bus. Thankfully, gazing at this beauty never gets old. Unpredictable weather creates views that keep changing - it's like watching a slow time lapse movie unfold before you. With the fog and clouds playing hide and seek, the lighting never stays the same. Stand there for awhile and see it in

 partial shade, 

backlit,

behind other admirers,

shrouded in mystery,

a bit darker,

and drinking up rain.

Climbing the main trailhead for 15 minutes provides a tiny glimpse from higher up. By the time we got up there, the sun had come out, making Louise radiate a blue I thought only existed in Powerade.

You can also stay on the ground and take a walk along the loop for different angles.

If it gets too cold (or rainy like it did for us), take shelter inside the Chateau.

 And go down to the lower level to a boutique named Goodies Candy Shop for some locally made MacKay's ice cream. I picked maple walnut because - when in Canada. It didn't disappoint.

I believe in fighting cold with cold. And indulging multiple senses at once. So take your tastebud treat outside, and enjoy it with some eye candy. P.S. Ice cream tastes really good in the snow. 

For round two, I got the Alberta Saskatoon Berry. Om nom nom. 

wild thing

Whenever I travel, I come back having learned things I didn't know about myself. This particular trip pitched some heavy revelations I was no match for, but an exciting piece I found is - drum roll please - a newfound affinity for wilderness. Not sure exactly what it was, but standing in the midst of the bluest hues, inhaling tree-scented oxygen had me wishing I could be camping out there in the Rockies - sleeping outside in the open, stargazing the night away...

I'm no Thoreau, but the slight possibility that my recent development of love for nature and whole, untainted foods may point toward hippie leanings scares me. Four years in Smog City - aka the most park poor city in the nation - has clearly done some damage. I need to get out more.

Each body of water we came across wore a different tint of blue, and I could not be happier.

pebbles, unscathed