We began our run to Kamloops bright and early, too early, actually. The Rocky Mountaineer has to be the most customer- and service-oriented outfit I’ve every run across. Every single detail was covered, from our luggage waiting for us in our hotel room at Kamloops, room keys given out before we got off the train, transportation to the hotel waiting at the train door–seriously great service.The glass domed train cars. Super views. Today we took it to Kamloops and tomorrow we’ll get off in Jasper to pick up our car and travel alone.
Oh dear. A labor dispute at the Rocky Mountaineer station.
They were polite, but direct.

This was a huge train: 700+ of us, and most were buying souvenirs before they got out of the station. I refrained.
Sunrise in Vancouver, as we waited to board.
Even my color-blind husband can see these.
It was hard to forget where we were. Western Canada is stunning.

Still Life with a Barf Bag

On our way.

I must admit, I didn’t expect to find a barf bag in my seat pocket. But it was such a nice one, plastic and everything.

We weren’t far out of Vancouver when we realized we were traveling with many of the Elderly Housewives of New Jersey. They raised a ruckus to turn their seats around so they could face their family members, then didn’t like it and wanted the seats turned back. One of the husbands got drenched in a big commotion when a cocktail got spilled all over him. It felt like it would be a nightmare trip–but actually, we grew found of our crazy NJ trainmates because they made us laugh so hard.

What’s this? It’s a videographer, making a marketing film for the Rocky Mountaineer. The helicopter’s following us all day. Passengers went crazy trying to get a good shot of it. The Housewives led the charge. Thus began what I called “the hunt for Red October.” I know. Original name, huh.

Leaving Vancouver and for a few hours after, everything was really green. And calm. Lovely.
Ah, a restful ride so far. Then: another sighting! The crowd went wild, jockeying for the best camera position to capture Red October. They ran from one side to another. “It’s there!” “No, over there!” “Look up!”
Lush green fields against a backdrop of purple mountains: majesty, indeed. HER Majesty, in this case….so peaceful.
Still peaceful.
Ahhh….sigh…..oommmmm…
Whoa! There it is again! And there’s the cameraman! Pandemonium aboard the train as passengers grabbed their cameras and pressed the lenses against the window, continuing the hunt for Red October. Some of the landscape was really hardscrabble.
This is actually the top of the cars behind us.

Shit. Him again. “I went all the way to Canada and all I got were photos of this red helicopter!”
Bridges were considered big photo opps.

Did I mention Bill Gates took this trip? It’s hard to imagine, but yes, he did. Not with us, though.
A river ran through it. All of it. And a big river, too.
The green, the water, the mountains, the rock.
This picture simply does not do this river justice. At all. We saw so much white water and so many different hues of water. It was difficult to capture from the train windows.

We finally bid Red October goodbye … but only for the day … they’ll be with us all day tomorrow, as well. And I do mean all day.
We were welcomed into Kamloops by this very friendly mounted patrol. I promise you, there has never been a people as friendly as Canadians. Seriously. Everyone waves when the train goes by–kids, adults–everyone. If the dogs could wave, well, they’d wave too.

Kamloops is a charming little town of about 87,000 people in the middle of nowhere. It’s always fun to fantasize about life in a place like this…and then go back to normal life in the busy San Francisco Bay area.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Jasper.