Rocky Mountaineer Day 2

 Day 2 on the Rocky Mountaineer was off to an early start. We were leaving the hotel by a bit after 7am and everyone was expected to be down 15 minutes early. It seemed to work our bus loaded quickly and we were off to the train. On the train they provide Breakfast and lunch with additional snacks throughout the day. Food is well covered. Due to the smaller size of the dining car area (the kitchen takes up space as well as the bathrooms) we eat in two shifts. I think this keeps the kitchen staff busy throughout the day as breakfast one is 8-9:30 then clean up breakfast two is 10-11:30 then clean up, lunch 1 is 12-1:30 then clean up, and lunch two is 2-3:30 then clean up.

The terrain was noticeably different today. When we left Banff we were in a pine forest and this was the case for the majority of the day. Kamloops was at the start of a much more arid climate. Very similar to the more arid conditions in eastern Washington/Oregon. Sage brush was the most common of the plants seen.

We continue along the Thompson River. Surprisingly even along the river there did not seem to be a lot of trees or other vegetation. Often the river seemed to follow a narrow channel and there were occasional areas of rapids.

Our big excitement today was seen Big Horn Sheep, and several Bald Eagles. 

About mid day we started traveling through more mountains and with that more pine trees again.

Further along we came to another important land mark. The Thompson and Fraser Rivers met and continued as the Fraser River. The convergence is interesting as the Thompson river goes through several lakes which allows silt to fall out of the water. The Fraser river does not have lakes and the flow is still very silty. This results in a slow mixing of the two river waters…

A few more pictures of travel along the Fraser River

We finally arrived at the Fraser Valley. This is a large agricultural area. There are large dairy farms, Fruit Orchards, and Vineyards and Wineries. We are also close to the U.S. border and you can see Mt Baker in the picture.

As we got in the developed area of the Vancouver suburbs the train speed slowed. It seemed to take for ever to go only 10-15 miles to get to the Vancouver train station.

Final thoughts on the Rocky Mountaineer. The trip is relaxing and enjoyable. The staff takes incredible care of all the passengers. The seats are roomy and comfortable to sit in. Most of the pictures I took were done on the rear observation deck at the back of the car. This was fun to go out and see the world go by. The point of the trip is to see the sites. This would not be a way to travel if you are in a hurry. Would we do it again? Yes. Rocky Mountaineer does a Denver to Moab, UT trip which would be an interesting route. 

Next up is our stay in Vancouver

Dale and Ila