Rocky Mountaineer
For the last twenty years, the Rocky Mountaineer has wound its way from Vancouver to Jasper or Banff. It follows the Fraser River and then the Thompson River up to the Rocky Mountains. Yesterday’s trip brought us to Jasper. We decided to throw caution to the wind and get the gold leaf class, for photographic reasons of course. The glass dome allows for great viewing. It wouldn’t have been for the fine dining in the dining car or complimentary drinks for two days – of course not.
Day one is very much about getting out of the metropolitan area, then travelling through the Fraser Valley, probably the food basket of British Columbia. Then we reached what they called the mountain deserts. A dry desolate area with steep sided mountains and glacial fed rivers passing through. Many were spotting ospreys and bald eagles.
The overnight stop is Kamloops, the tournament centre of British Columbia. Kamloops is considered the geographical centre of BC so they hold most state sporting competitions here. It is also the major junction of all the Canadian Railway. This is where the fifteen carriage train splits into smaller trains destined for Jasper, Banff and Calgary.
The second day of the train journey is Rocky Mountain day. As luck has it, our carriage is the last caboose. That means our viewing platform is not obstructed by having a carriage behind. While watching the scenery on the upper glass dome carriage, the lower level is being prepared for our breakfast and then lunch. Breakfast included croissants, fresh fruit and freshly cooked eggs or pancakes. Each gold class carriage has its own fully equipped kitchen and chefs.
Lunch was a three course extravaganza with red and white wine. The lunch menu changes each day. Between us we had the salmon, chicken and pork. But enough of the food. We are really here for the scenery.
The first sign of the Rocky Mountains was a peak with some remnant snow and ice on the top. Most of the snow has melted due to the hot summer experienced in Western Canada. Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains and is visible only for sixteen days a year. Well today was one of them – not a cloud in the sky. The train slowed to “Kodak speed” and hundreds of shots were taken. Other highlights were Moose Lake (without the moose unfortunately).
Once arriving in Jasper we farewelled our carriage crew of two days and headed for the Jasper Park Lodge. The next stage begins.