Music in the clouds

Musicians playing at Lake Agnes in Banff

ArtSee has been quiet these past few weeks because I have been away on a lovely, multi-generational family vacation in Alberta, Canada.

I love family vacation. As a child, every summer my grandparents, parents, sister and I would take summer trips together. My father can tell some great stories about driving a lime green dodge neon minivan through the narrow streets of Italy with five backseat drivers. This year, we had family vacation 2.0., as my husband and I traveled with my sister, her boyfriend, and my parents (and yes, we rented a minivan, although this time it was a sedate silver). I donned my hiking boots, and we had a wonderful week of walks in the mountains, roasting marshmallows, and spotting wildlife.

In Banff National Park, we parked at Lake Louise and hiked up to the teahouse at Lake Agnes. To everyone’s surprise and delight, two musicians had hiked up the mountain (it’s a 3.8 km hike) with their instruments, and were playing Bach in the open air. The combination of the view, the mountain air, the ones I love, and, of course, beautiful chamber music, was divine.

(it’s hard to see in the picture, but the cellist has a can of bear spray next to her pack)