It's time to get back on the Rocky Mountaineer and return to Vancouver. We have to leave this great hotel room with the great view. If I want to make it easier, I just think about winter. Imagine all of this covered in snow with just some green of the trees showing through. Brrrr.
Hanging baskets at the front of the Rimrock Resort.
On the bus to the train depot, we're held up by a family of elk. Notice that they're crossing in the crosswalk, even junior.
We're on the Rocky Mountaineer on our way to Kamloops. Here's a view of the spiral tunnels where you can see the same train going into the mountain and coming out after a loop through the tunnel. I would have included a picture of our train going through the tunnel, but it would be all black. (yes, the train is that long)
Mountain Creek passing underneath us and going into the Kicking Horse River, which we follow for the first part of the day.
Earlier I mentioned passing large piles of railroad ties as part of the never ending maintenance of the rail line. Here they are, and these would appear every ten miles or so. As an aside, Youtuber DonnieLive took the Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver to Jasper, but on a different route than we did, going through Whistler on a more northern track. His train was delayed by high heat affecting the rails, an illustration of the ongoing demands of running a railroad. They were bussed to their hotel, and their train caught up with them about noon the next day.
The economic model for lumbering requires most of the shipping cost moving the trees from inland to the coast to be paid by Mother Nature. She does exact a tax as some of the logs break away from the pack and end up in large piles like this.
The forward part of our train passing under an avalanche shelter.
In Revelstoke the Railway Museum showcases all sorts of rolling stock. Snow removal is a big deal and requires a BIG snowplow.
The Last Spike of the CP rail uniting Canada. The US version is in Promotory Point Utah.
Sicamous Lake
Some logs before entering the river for movement downstream.
This family began waving at the Rocky Mountaineer trains long ago, usually getting out for every passing. They have been adopted by the RM family, and everybody waves back. On this particular day, one of the people waving from the porch is an RM employee from Kamloops, just visiting.
Back underway on our last day on the Rocky Mountaineer. We're at the back of the car for the Banff-Vancouver portion of the trip. And it's been a little rainy at times, but not enough to spoil the views. We've had remarkably good weather for this trip -- the only rainy days when we spent any time outside were Juneau and our free day in Banff.
The Rocky Mountaineer sells their gourmet dining experience onboard. For the Gold Leaf cars there's a separate dining room downstairs. This is the Eggs McMuffin, er, Benedict breakfast.
This time going past the osprey nest they're up and about rather than hiding deep inside.
Note the two wires at the bottom of the slope. This is part of the signaling system indicating a rockfall may have blocked the railway and maintenance should be dispatched.
The Thompson River enters the Fraser River with its clean water separating from the muddy Fraser for a couple of miles.
Cisco Crossing, where the CP and CN railroads cross. If you look carefully you can see both bridges.
Filet Mignon served as lunch on the last day. There were other choices.
This is an example of the great Rocky Mountaineer staff at work. This chocolate torte was one of the desert selections on our Vancouver - Jasper trip earlier. It was not on the menu for the Banff - Vancouver return. I mentioned this to our server, and how much I had enjoyed the torte. She talked to the Customer Service Rep onboard who determined that there were several cars deadheading back to Vancouver for the Jasper trip and they had been provisioned with tortes. They found them and delivered them to me and my tablemates. I was impressed with their devotion to customer service.
A raft of logs
Our Rocky Mountaineer journey ends. I must laud the RM employees and RM's dedication to customer service. There were guides everywhere, even on the buses to hotels. Buses for every evolution. I saw an RM employee with a passenger in our Vancouver hotel at the end of the trip. He had been a very late addition to the train, and his reservation at the Pan Pacific didn't happen. That employee was staying with him until he had a place for the night. I felt like the employee would have taken him to the employee's house for the night if it came to that.
This seems like a fitting end to our journey. From Vancouver we connected at Minneapolis-St. Paul. This was displayed in one of the gift shops. It must be because SPAM was invented in Austin MN, 100 miles south.
