Rocky Mountaineer Part 1
Our trip on the legendary Rocky Mountaineer was a delayed celebration of my milestone (60th) birthday last February. This luxury train experience in the Canadian Rockies had been on my wish list for years, so it was a special vacation for us!
The route we chose was “First Passage to the West,” which was more a reference to the railroad’s history than to our direction of travel, which was eastward. Our itinerary was two nights in Vancouver, a day on the train, an overnight in Kamloops, another day on the train, and then two nights in Lake Louise in Banff National Park.
Vancouver was beautiful, and fun! We walked along the Sea Wall, did a guided walking tour of Downtown, and had some excellent meals. It was nice knowing we’d soon be returning there for a longer stay.
Train Day 1
At 7:00am PTD, we were bussed from our hotel to the train station and boarded our designated coach while a bagpiper played to welcome us. We had reserved seats on the upper level, where the distinctive glass dome had dimmable, suspended particle device (SPD) window tint. Our seats were comfortably wide and could be reclined without bothering the passengers behind us. We were directly across from the spiral staircase, which meant we had panoramic views on both sides. Our dedicated hosts, Michelle, Jason, and Patricia, would take care of everyone in our coach throughout the journey. Clearly we would be traveling in style!
The lower level of the coach had two unisex restrooms, an open air vestibule that we could visit at any time, and a dining room large enough to accommodate half the passengers. We had breakfast and lunch in the dining room in shifts, and enjoyed meeting and talking with a different couple at each meal. The food was quite good, and the menu was different on each day and had plenty of options to choose from. When seated upstairs, our friendly hosts served us drinks and gourmet snacks. I felt pampered and very well fed!
The biggest highlight of the journey was the evolving landscape. On Day 1, the train left Vancouver at 8:00am and traveled through the Fraser Valley. Outside the city, there was a huge rail yard and a series of bridges across the Fraser River. Then the valley scenery unfolded: farmland, forest, river rapids, desert canyons, and grassland. The crew pointed out ospreys and eagles perched on their nests, and passengers called out when they spotted more birds in flight. Finally, we reached a picturesque lake and the town of Kamloops, our overnight stop.
(View this on a computer to see the captions, or scroll down to skip the slide show.)
At breakfast, we sat with a young-ish couple from Los Angeles. Christina specialized in venture capital law with Orrick; Sander was also in tech law. She was a New Jersey native and had some strong opinions; he was more mellow. We talked about the LA fires and traveling with challenging family members. At lunch, we sat with a retired couple from Punta Gorda, Florida. Bruce told us about his daughter’s competitive riding career. Joanna was formerly an executive for Frito-Lay and Taco Bell, and though she wouldn’t admit it, she might have known the secret recipe for KFC.
When we arrived in Kamloops at around 6:30pm, it was 35℃ (95℉). Why was it that we felt tired, after 10.5 hours of (mostly) sitting on the train? Our hosts warned us that we might have “train legs” - my legs felt fine, but I did have an odd sensation of moving while I was standing still. Fortunately, it was very mild. Our hotel in Kamloops was nothing fancy, but the room was spacious and clean and had air conditioning, so we had everything we needed. We walked to a nearby pub for a simple dinner - a burger for Steve, crispy wings for me, and local beer for both of us. We went to bed right afterward, as we had an early start the next morning.
For Part 2 of our Rocky Mountaineer Adventure, click HERE
