designer on the road
October 7, 2013
written by
Bri Martinez
After her Birthday, one of our designers, Hsuan, took a week-long cross country road trip. 2000 miles, 7 days, 1 person. She didn’t plan every detail of where she was going but she knew the Canadian Rockies was the place to be.
After a flight to Seattle from San Francisco and 500 miles in a rental car — the trip started in Glacier National Park, Montana. ‘Going-to-the-Sun Road’ is the only route crossing the park. Navigating narrow, winding roads makes it challenging for a driver to enjoy the amazing mountain views and lake sceneries but numerous pit stops and hiking the ‘Hidden Lake Trail’ gave way for some sight seeing.
After crossing the Canadian border it was onto Calgary, Alberta. Calgary is one of the gateway cities to Banff, a major international destination of the Rocky Mountains. The streets of Calgary are abundant with historical buildings contrasting with modern architecture. The city is also among the sunniest in Canada.
While continuing onto Banff, the song ‘Rocky Mountain High’ popped in her head when seeing the spectacular mountain views. This made for some enjoyable solo car karaoking.
In downtown Banff, Hsuan learned the ‘Bow Falls Trail’ was the most popular hiking around. Another city down. Another hike down.
Designing for the Hospitality industry we find ourselves always paying special attention to hotels and their surroundings. Hsuan spotted 2 Fairmont Hotels, The Fairmont Banff Springs and The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. The view was spectacular and the reflections on the lake were insanely serene. The combination of historic man made castles and Mother Nature’s sceneries make many picture perfect moments for picture hungry tourists. After the visit to Lake Louise, the next day she was blown away by Moraine Lake.
Columbia Icefields Parkway is a scenic highway cutting through breathtaking mountain passes. Along the way Hsuan felt she was looking at a part of disappearing history while at the Athabasca Glacier.
The journey wasn’t over yet. Hsuan also visited Jasper, Whistler and Vancouver. Along the way she met many travelers from different countries and different backgrounds — but she didn’t meet any bears.
Here are some road trip outtakes.