The Rockies

As much as we loved our first destination, Vancouver, the thought of travelling through the Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer was like one of those experiences that would be a once in a lifetime. Like how I rate our dive on the Great Barrier Reef on our honeymoon. I was getting so excited the couple of days before hand because I could see these gigantic ice-capped mountains in the distance and it was like they were calling us “come on, come & explore”.

The day arrived with another early morning wake-up. My carer to this date had been great with flexibility of times both morning & night as we would fit it around each other’s plans, but maybe the 4am call this morning was pushing the friendship. She was only a tad late, but I had been awake for a couple of hours already, smile on the face like a Cheshire cat again ready to go and discover new things. 4:03am was late ok.

We arrived at the train terminal and were immediately greeted by porters and crew. There were so many people around taking this trip, the station was full like peak hour at Southern Cross, but from the moment we pulled up the staff made us feel like we were the only ones travelling. It was already at this point Nan, that we were saying “Nan would love this”. There are many times we thought of you Nan during this trip. We will do it one day.

We had a moment to look around the giant terminal building, get a coffee & found a small souvenir stand were Mel bought Roxy a Canadian Mounted Police Moose teddy. We’ve affectionately named him ‘Mountie’ and Roxy hasn’t taken it out of her mouth ever since.

It was time for us to board so we were whisked off through the turnstiles, given our own Gold Maple Leaf lapel badge & there before us was the great Rocky Mountaineer train ready & waiting.

It was huge. The biggest train I’d ever seen. Just like they’d said, double storey with a glass roof. I couldn’t wait to get on but had no idea how they were going to do it. I looked left & saw a dozen Mountaineer staff standing at the end of a rolled out red carpet with Canadian flags at attention either side. They parted as we went closer to reveal a clever contraption that was to lift me up to the vestibule of the lower dinning carriage, then they proceeded to tell me there was an elevator inside to take me upstairs to the viewing area. It was so organised & professional. This activity could have easily have been the toughest access wise. But they had everything covered.

These photos will show the journey from platform to lounge chair they transferred me into upstairs.

In our carriage were 65 people and everyone had a chair upstairs. We were right up the very front and Roxy had her own row. There was a dining room downstairs that sat 35 people so at breakfast & lunch the front 30 odd went down first for their sitting then we’d go back up while the back section went down for theirs. There was a menu at each sitting & every meal sounded amazing. All local produce. They were scrumptious. There was a chef & cook on each carriage in a tiny kitchen. Don’t know how they could present each dish they way they did with the train swaying from side to side. I’d belike the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. Bork Bork Bork. Even while we were upstairs in between meal time they fed us non-stop. Drinks whenever we wanted. The service was incredible.

Speaking of incredible, I’ve delayed the inevitable long enough. The view. My written descriptions of what we saw over the 2 days could not do justice to the colours, shapes, heights, depths & wonders we witnessed through the Rockies. All of the photos, postcards, calendars, TV documentaries, whatever you have seen of the Rockies, none of them have been enhanced or edited to look good. It is exactly what you expect, but more. Just the sheer size of this mountain range is mind blowing. The scenery is pristine. The train just rolls along through the many different landscapes from mountain side to plains. The photos on the next blog will showcase this.

As you move from town to town, everyone you see out the window is waiving furiously at you which in turn makes you wave back. We were told that all the locals love the Mountaineer, they feel very proud and patriotic about the land they live on and enjoy the fact that the train is full of people appreciative and awe-inspired by the journey. I know people like waving at trains in general, but this was ongoing. 2 days of people coming out houses & shops to wave. I started to think maybe they are all paid (possible with the amount you pay for the trip ... but I digress).

A couple of funny things happened on our journey. We were very excited to see a bear & we had been told that some trips you see more than others, some not at all. But the crew are always hopeful and on the lookout. If a bear was spotted a call would come through the carriage "Wildlife leftside" or "rightside". Everyone would jump out of their seats, grab the camera & start snapping. On day one we hadn't seen any wildlife before lunch. A period of about 3 hours. I must admit I thought the forrests would be rife, bears standing beside the rail tracks waving at us like locals. My nievity was probably the equivelant to foreigners thinkings that Kangaroos live in backyards in Australia.

It had been arranged that the train would come to a stop for Roxy to toilet halfway through the day's trip. It was an area that the driver knew was flat and grassy. As the train started to slow down Mel & Roxy were led downstairs ready to jump off. The train was just about to come to a halt and it happened "Wildlife leftside ... BEAR". There it was. A cute brown bear running back into the trees. It was great, so exciting. And then I remembered Mel & Rox. "Man I hope they haven't jumped off yet" I'm sure bears are not that cute outside the train. The train rolled on a little further as the hype in the carriage lulled & the crew informed me that that's where they were going to pull up but obviously was not a good choice, so we stop 100 metres downtrack. How coincidental! All the crew kept saying that it was amazing we got the chance to slow up for the bear. They announced through the carriage that Roxy was the one to thank for that opportunity.

Another funny situation that occured regularly was the sounds of wine glasses smashing. The train movement from side to side often caught a few people by surprise and without trying to sound too much of an ageist, the majority of the passengers were seniors (Mel and I were the youngest by at least 20-30 years) and some were not so sturdy on their feet even on the platform let alone a moving swaying train. Well this caused many a spill due to a sudden swerve.Unfortunately it kept happening to this one lady who either spilt or knocked her own, or she bumped into a waitress causing her to drop her 20 glasses. Me, I didn't spill one drop!

So sitting on an amazingly comfy armchair style seat all day staring at amazing views with full stomachs all in a temperature controlled caboose did provoke a bit of head nodding. Now Mel will tell you that I slept 50% of each day, but that's a gross exaggeration just to tease me. But I will admit, I don't think I've ever been so content. I'll also admit I'm not the most attractive of sleepers.

Once again I can't describe peoples obsession with Roxy. As the word spread throught the train that there was an Assistance Dog on board we had a visit from every staff member from front to back of the train. And each time we stopped for her to toilet, passengers hung out the windows taking pictures. I felt like getting on the microphone, making it official & yelling "wildlife leftside!"

On the 1st night we stayed at a real cowtown called Kamloops. It was definately a 1 taxi town, just lucky it was a wheelchair accessible cab. It took us to Hotel 540 where we were met by the 1 carer in town & once we were in bed, zedland ... zzzz

The second day was just as magnificent & as we actually headed into the Rockies closer to Banff the mountains & surrounds became more & more majestic & grand.

We had 2 more bear sightings, plenty of birdlife including Giant Offsprey & Bald Eagles, Elk & plenty of Mountain Goats & Bighorn Sheep.

As we were approaching Banff and things were winding up. The crew presented Mel, Roxy & I with a Rocky Mountaineer souviner book personally signed by them all. We felt very special & it will always remind us of our amazing trip. Thankyou to all staff on board for their help & service. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity ... one that you'll have to do Nan.