Kamloops is a city of over 90,000 people in the middle of nowhere. They had every kind of fast food restaurant, coffee shop and the obligatory hockey rink. We think we were here for about 11 hours total. By the time we got to the hotel had some pizza, we were up again to head back to the train.
We are on our way to an elevation of 5000 feet from 1000 feet
. We passed multiple lakes, valleys and freshly snow covered mountain peaks. The staff does a great job of telling us history, local stories, attempts at jokes and the constant serving of food. Today we are the first seating for breakfast and lunch and therefore we had no scones. Oh well…. We will just have to suffer through it.
When we got back from out spectacular lunch, harmonica man was at it again. OMG! His rendition of the "When the Saints"… had a lot to be desired. I am refraining from blasting my itunes with some James Brown.
We have been traveling along several rivers and this is salmon migrating time. We heard about how salmon have some sort of magnetic way of finding the longitudinal path to their spawning area. They come back from across the ocean to the very spot where they were hatched and then die. What? They spend all the effort and energy to come back, have babies and then die? Must be having offspring is the death of them- ba ding ching
.
Kimbasket lake is a spectacular blue from the “rock flour” that is formed from glacier particles that reflect the sunlight. The vistas have been spectacular.
When we asked Janet how much longer we had until we get to Banff, we were told “well we are at mile maker 35 and Field is at 0. From Field it goes backwards and starts at 132 and Banff is at 85. We travel approximately 35 miles an hour.” What if Bobby leaves Seattle at noon, we cross the continental divide, Sally has on a green dress, what time will lunch be?
JUST TELL US WHAT TIME!!!!!
So we have been waiting for any kind of Bear sighting. We hear from Janet that “someone saw something” over the radio but I'm not sure what they are saying… Next thing we know, she screams out “BEAR on the LEFT!!!” Ted jumps up and smashes his glass of cranberry juice all over himself, the floor and his seat
. Mind you, he doesn’t drink alcohol at all. Ali comes over to try to help clean up with a rag and when she saw that Ted had stains on his trousers, she replied “that will cost extra”.
We saw the spiral tunnels, which are amazing. They were built in 1908 in only 2 years using dynamite and manual labor. They were created a cursive style “L” in the mountains to gain the elevation required. We were lucky enough to see a long freight train entering one portion while exiting the other. Apparently, it is a very rare event.
“Big” Joclyn told us a story of growing up in Whistler and watching the Rocky mountaineer train go by. When she was looking for a job she decided to apply. Her first job was as the mascot, a large Moose, that would greet all the passengers. The company was worried that there weren’t many animal sightings, so they modified her suit to resemble a more authentic moose. She was then driven out to a field to assume her “moose position” and would wait for the trains to go by. One time she saw a bear and started to slowly move away. The bear kept coming towards her and she stood up on 2 legs and began to run. Next thing, she feels a heavy weight on her back as it tackled her to the ground. She then hears “stay down or we will both lose our jobs!!!” Turns out it was Janet.
We arrived in Banff in the dark. I understand that it’s a beautiful city. My hope is to see it tomorrow morning before we leave at dawn.
Heading to Banff
Tuesday, October 04, 2016
Banff, Alberta, Canada
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2025-02-16