Kamloops to Banff

After a lovely dinner out at the 'Noble Pig' in Kamloops, it was straight to bed as we had a very early start. We fell asleep right away but kept waking up every hour, so it wasn’t very restful. We catch a bus to the train and get ready for Day 2 on the Rocky Mountaineer. Not sure if you’re aware, but you get 'train legs' when you’ve been on a train all day. Even when you’re still, it feels like you’re moving. It’s very weird since the train isn’t that jerky. The weather is colder, and it’s not long before we see the spruce trees and mountain scenery.

One of the benefits of going Gold Leaf is that you get an outdoor platform, which is great. We seem to be the only ones equipped to stay out on the platform for a while, which is nice because we have a transient group of people to chat with. Breakfast is served—the same choices as yesterday, but still very nice. Then, it’s back out on deck to watch the world go by: mountains, rivers, and waterfalls everywhere.

It’s getting colder as we climb higher, and you can feel the mist as we move through the clouds. The autumn colors are starting to show, and the waters of the rivers are turning bluer and milkier—more glacier-like. It’s incredible. I think it’s all the better for feeling the cold air and breathing it in.

You can see it’s getting higher and higher, and I can tell you it’s getting colder and colder. The reason for the photo of me with the lady in the background is to show you that she loved the outdoors as much as John and I. She was a bit whacky—yesterday, I offered her some shelter as she was very cold but still wanted to stay outside and enjoy the scenery. So, I kindly acted as a wind guard, which worked—until she started yelling 'hoo hoo,' nearly cracking my eardrum.

All I can say is that the windbreak moved to a quieter side! But this is just who she was—so jolly, 'hoo hoo-ing' the whole day today.

Then, as it got colder and colder, it started snowing, and we found ourselves riding through a winter wonderland.

Then we travel through the Mount Macdonald Tunnel, part of the Canadian Pacific Railway main line. This tunnel is one of the longest railway tunnels in the western hemisphere and is located in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, near Rogers Pass. It was completed in 1988 as part of a project to improve the rail system between Kamloops and Banff. The tunnel is approximately 14.7 kilometres (9.1 miles) long and when we eventually come out the other side there is no snow.

Then, not long after, she starts to sprinkle icing sugar again—we are once again in a winter wonderland. Our little friend is still 'hoo hoo-ing' every five minutes, but she’s enjoying herself. Clearly, the fresh air was getting to her, as she asked us if we were thinking of starting a family! Ha ha—funny lady.

We then passed over the highest bridge on the journey—trust me, it was a long, long way down. The photos don’t do it justice.

The colours start changing more, the yellows are gold now - not so many reds.  But the yellows are popping against the dark evergreens.

The photo above is great - but the poor guy on the right who was about to have a mouthful - got caught.  The dining car is on the bottom level.  The food cannot be faulted and they accommodate every wish or combination.  The service is just fantastic.

I mean—wow, wow, wow. I had to cut my lunch short to take these pictures, as there was no way I was going to be able to describe them. I don't even think ChatGPT could have! The colours are just unbelievable. I am in heaven.

John has come to join me—Newcastle United is playing in the Carabao Cup, but the cell phone reception is intermittent. John is leaning against the railing, and I’m leaning into him, with his arms around me, as we watch the world go by. I had a bit of wind that I needed to get rid of, which turned out to be more explosive than anticipated. John got excited because he thought his brother was calling to give him the score!

We returned to the dining car for dessert, which was a posset. We had never heard of it before, but Sue and John had it yesterday and absolutely loved it, so we all tried it today. It was a lemony custard—very, very nice.

Then it was back out to the fresh air.

You look to the left, and it’s steely grey with a curtain of cloud (credit to John for that metaphor). On the right, there’s the darkest green with amber patches. Then the snow starts to fall, and fall, and fall. Our little friend is back out with us, and the 'hoo hoo-ing' has started again.

It is just surreal—I feel like a kid in a candy store! I'm hopping from one side to the other, watching the other trains pass by. We saw a black bear, and one good thing about being at the back of the train is that the people in the front are the wildlife spotters, so you get a good heads-up about upcoming features. I was on the other side of the lunch car, so I had to borrow someone’s photo.

Now all we need to see is elk—John really wants to see them. I’ve been looking for two days. The guy who took the bear photo saw them, but one of the downsides of being outside is that you can't hear the announcements.

We then went through the two spiral tunnels and the Continental Divide. We knew all about spiral tunnels from our Swiss road trip, and these were not a patch on the Swiss ones. I'm not sure if you're aware, but the Continental Divide, often called the Great Divide, is a major hydrological divide that separates the watersheds of North America. Water on one side of the divide flows toward the Pacific Ocean, while water on the other side flows toward the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean in some areas.

In the United States, the Continental Divide generally follows the Rocky Mountains, running from Alaska, through western Canada, the U.S. (especially the Rockies in Colorado and Montana), and down into Mexico and Central America. And there you have it. The Continental Divide was marked with two great pillars—too late to get a photo.

We dropped off some passengers at Lake Louise and then continued for another hour or so to Banff. We are now on Mountain Time and lost an hour, so it was dark when we arrived. As I write this, we're in our Airbnb, having said goodbye to Therese and Kevin (Kev didn’t look like he enjoyed it).

Our journey on the train was way better than I expected, very different from what I anticipated, and I'm so glad we did it. I would put it on your bucket list if it isn’t there already.