There's smoke in the air

The Banff air is full of smoke, but that doesn't reduce my enthusiasm and excitement about being here.  This is truly a fantastic place, and as always, my abstract belief about where I am going is very different from where I end up.  I have a beautiful room with a king size bed, two spa robes (one-size-fits-all, which of course won't fit me, but they look nice freshly laundered with their arms tucked inside the robe and held down by the belt),  clean white towels, and an ironing board (?) which I will never use, but it's a nice touch nevertheless.  Oh, and a TV.  A coffeemaker.  A lamp.  A telephone.

I just went to get my artist's ID card and to do so had to go to the Sally Borden Building.  Surprisingly, my photograph didn't turn out so badly, at least not as badly as every passport photo I've ever had taken, and every driver's license photo.  I wonder if I get to keep it.

Behind the spot where I sat to have my picture taken is a pool.  Oh, and a weightroom.   There is a climbing gym, indoor running track, squash court, whirl pool, steam rooms...and if I want I can get a massage, physio, a fitness assessment, personal training, yoga and pilates classes....much of this included in the price of admission (well, not the massage, physio, fitness assessment, but still, I wasn't planning to do any of that anyway)...

My artist's ID card is my passport to everything here that's free for me.  So I went to get a sandwich in the Sally Borden Building as soon as I had my ID card created, and a bottle of Perrier.  An hour later I've had my dijon mustard and sparkling water and I'm ready for a nap.