Canadian Rockies

A hoary marmot relaxes near Jasper

The marmot dreams reached a portentous peak in early August. After two months of brutal, unwavering desert heat, why shouldn't I have visions? I criss-crossed scorching sand and shimmering slickrock, with nary a juniper to hide behind. The southwestern summer fired me like clay in a kiln, polished by a blinding glaze of sweat, sunscreen and windblown sand. I stumbled across sandstone mesas like a mummy, back bent under a triple-digit blue dome. Ever-present, inescapable: The Heat.

Lying quietly amongst the sagebrush one night, I started dreaming of marmots. I was standing in a cool forest of spruce and fir, watching a boulder field below sharp, white peaks. Fat hoary marmots lounged in the sun and scampering pikas filled the fresh air with shrill peeps. A broad glacier crouched beneath the mountains, radiating an impossible blue from every crack and crevasse. A chalky stream bolted from somewhere beneath the ice, smashing down the mountainside to pool in a turquoise tarn, ringed by moss and flowers.

I woke the next morning beneath a sun already high, broiling the barrens of southern Utah. My brain felt like a poached egg, but I managed to write an email to my manager requesting a return to the north country.  . . Barely month later, I stood grinning ear-to-ear, staring up at 13,000' Mount Robson, shining crown of the Canadian Rockies. The following two weeks through Jasper, Banff and Yoho National Parks was a dream: a sublime succession of bluebird skies, glittering summits, bugling elk and plenty of marmots.

A bugling bull elk herds his harem

Classic Canadian Rockies vista near Lake Louise

A September sunset lights Mount Rundle near Banff

Moraine Lake

Mount Edith Cavell

Me, standing in front of Canada

I love Tim Hortons because Canadians love Tim Hortons, not because I'm crazy about the coffee (I'm not.) But the apple fritters, one of the original menu items dating back to the first shop in 1964, are awesome. I became fascinated by Tim Hortons as a symbol of Canada while living overseas in 2005. One of my roommates was from Ontario, and received regular shipments of Canadiana from home. One morning I woke to find a 1 kilo tin of ground coffee on the kitchen counter, bearing the now-familiar red logo. I noticed that Jon was more animated than usual, and pretty revved up. I was curious: What's Tim Hortons? Initially stunned into silence by my ignorance, Jon collected himself and introduced me to the brew that flows daily through the veins of Canada. Since then, I've eaten donuts at Tim Hortons from the Yukon to Quebec (mostly sour cream glazed, my personal favorite.) Started by a pro hockey player and dear to the hearts of that Great Northern Nation, it's a necessary stop on any Canadian road trip.

My Tim Hortons Top 5:

Apple Fritter
Sour Cream Glazed
Dutchie (a Tim Hortons original)
Canadian Maple
Bostom Cream