Mountains and Tea

I climbed a mountain for a cup of tea. I know what you're probably thinking - Girl, you can buy tea in Publix or Starbucks or Border's. You don't have to climb a mountain just to get a cup of hot tea. And where, by the way, are there any mountains in Florida? Okay, I wasn't in Florida. I was huffing and puffing my way up one of the many mountains that make up the Canadian side of the Rocky Mountains. An adventure for sure since I've lived my entire adult life just a couple of feet above sea level. A winding, rock-strewn path heading straight (well, not so straight) up the mountain. Sometimes I sloshed through streams, sometimes I looked down cliffs to see boulders and snow, sometimes I looked up to see the path curving away from me way up in the sky, sometimes I wished I'd stayed down by Lake Louise where most of the people strolled. But at the top, after two hours ascending, there it was...the Plains of the Six Glaciers Teahouse, in the middle of nowhere, just a mile from glaciers and avalanches and pure wilderness. Why is there a teahouse in the middle of the Rocky Mountains? Don't know, but the tea was mighty fine and the atmosphere was European (many foreign languages were spoken by guests) and the view...well, let's just say God must have been in a very good mood the day She created the Plains of the Six Glaciers. There's absolutely nothing like it in Florida. I took many photos but I really didn't have to. The images of that land are carved into my heart.