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ROCKY MOUNTAINEER EXCURSION

CANADIAN ROCKIES BY TRAIN WITH GOAHEAD TOURS

SEPTEMBER 20 – 29, 2021

WITH JIM AND ALEDA LITTLEFIELD

We flew into Calgary a day ahead of the tour as is our custom. We were fortunate to get into Canada at all because of the Health Ministry of Canada made two requirements necessary for entry: a negative rapid Covid (PCR) test within three days before entry, not a problem, and completion of the ARRIVEcan program on the computer. However, there were several catch 22’s to this. Aleda’s application was not a problem but because Jim had received his COVID-19 vaccinations almost a year prior to departure, the computer program would not except that date. In addition, one needed a unique email address but Aleda and Jim share one email account. Although we arrived at the airport here in St. Louis three hours early, it was only through the intervention and hard work of the Delta ticket agent at check-in that we were able to get the ARRIVEcan forms completed and that was done only about five minutes before departure. Through the indulgence of many many people in the security line we were able to push to the head of the line and get on board the flight to Minneapolis with few minutes to spare.

Pictured above are the Canadian Rockies in the distance behind the Maple Leaf flag of Canada. These are seen at a rest stop along Canada 1, the Trans-Canada Highway. In the lower right is the map of the route we took flying into Calgary, taking the bus to Banff and environs and then the western train excursion to Vancouver with an overnight stop in Kamloops.

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Calgary, a.k.a. “Cowtown”

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Calgary – at sunset from the Calgary Tower

Photo: R. Nepute

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Calgary – Saddledome and horse sculpture

“By the Banks of the Bow”

Left: our trusted guide and minder was Deb Skwark

Ab. Our trusted bronze horse whisperer, Aleda

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Calgary – ab. Central Memorial Park

Mid. Jim at restaurant “Ten Foot Henry”

Jim & Ruth Nepute and Aleda enjoying the sunshine, and walking to the book store

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Calgary – Winsport Arena at Canada Olympic Park Rt. Our tour bus

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Calgary to Banff

Along Canada 1, the Trans Canada Highway

Or “Up along the Bow”. A fair amount of time was spent on the bus traveling along Trans-Canada 1 to Lake Louise, the Athabaska Glacier on our tour bus. This was mostly paralleling the Bow River, winding it’s way to Hudson Bay.

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Scenery along Canada 1: viz Mount Rundle and the Bow River

From the Trans-Canada Highway

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Scenes along Canada 1

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Mountains along Canada 1

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Travelling along Canada 1

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Fall scenery along Canada 1

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Mountains along Canada 1

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At the falls of the Bow

Banff, the main “drag” and Cascade Mountain

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Banff - The Falls of the Bow

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Banff – Echoes of Time Park

The town of Banff has two attractions to visit besides the bars and boutiques. One is the Cascade of Time Gardens, a well manicured small park with seasonal flowers and a view of Mount Rundle. A short visit was a nice respite from the bustle of the tour.

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Banff – Cave and Basin Nat. Hist. Site

Thermal springs and home to the Banff Springs snail.

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Lake Louise is a glacial lake in Banff National Park. It is named after the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. The turquoise color is caused by the rock flour carried into the lake from the glacier.

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Lake Louise: First nations people, a Cree Indian chief on the marge of Lake Louise and Aleda at the Fairmount. They say God would stay at the hotel if he could afford it. Aleda, too.

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Moraine Lake: near Lake Louise, in the valley of the 10 peaks with Mt. Bolin and Township peak in the distance. Below a stuffed bear by the lake. The stuffed bear is on the left, not above.

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Bow Lake, along the Icefields Parkway

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Banff – Sulphur Mountain

Perhaps the highlight of the trip for Jim was a trip, via gondola car, to the top of Sulphur Mountain. Here one can view the magnificence and expanse of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

For example, below, is the town of Banff with the Bow River coming down from Lake Louise and flowing to the east (right) onto the prairie. Above Banff looms Cascade Mountain with its distinct striations indicative of a sedimentary origin of these mountains.

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Banff - Sulphur Mountain views

Lake Minnewanka lower right

Mt. Aylmer in background

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Banff – views from Sulphur Mountain

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Banff – Sulphur Mountain views

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Athabasca Glacier

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The Rocky Mountaineer

Banff to Vancouver

Above left: Ruth and Jim Nepute and Jim and Aleda boarding the Rocky Mountaineer in Banff.

Banff to Kamloops: 309 miles

Kamloops to Vancouver: 285 miles

Center and right above corn map of British Columbia showing of the physical geography of the province. Map on the right shows that, although it is sometimes thought that the Rocky Mountains extend throughout from Alberta on the east to the Pacific on the west, in fact, the Rocky Mountains are only a rather narrow train extending along the eastern part of the province. Traveling by train from bound to Vancouver one passes through the Rockies, the Columbia mountains which consists of a series of sub ranges including the: blank blank and blank, the Thompson plateau, the Cascades, and the coast ranges. The tray would primarily run along the following river beds: the boat, the Kickinghorse, the South Thompson, the Thompson and the Frazier before arriving at the Pacific at Vancouver. While the name of the Go Ahead tour is Rocky Mountaineer Excursion (R.M.E.) and the term "Rocky Mountains" is frequently used to describe the mountainous cordillera of British Columbia, and pictures of British Columbia often suggest the Rockies occupy most of the Provence, these mountains are only a rather small part of the geography of B.C. In fact, the linear distance of the Rockies from where the Bow River exits the foothills on the east to the western edge of the Rocky Mountain Trench at Golden, B.C. is only about 80 miles. While the easternmost mountains - the Rockies - are the most scenic and evocative of the beauty of the landscape of B.C. the other geologic features which the train traverses equally awe inspiring. For example, the western boundary of the Rockies is the Rocky Mountain Trench which runs a thousand miles from the Yukon to Montana. The train only runs in the Trench a short distance from Golden to Donald, about 17 miles. Here it turns west and traverses the Columbia mountain range and its subranges, the Purcells, the Selkirks and the Monashees. When the train leaves the Monashees at the North Thompson River, this is when enters the Central Plateau, a high semi-arid region between the Columbia mountains and the Coast ranges.

Two remarkable items: the route of the R.M.E. is in large part a trip down five river valleys of southern B.C.: the Bow, the Columbia (it crosses the Columbia twice), the Kicking Horse, the South Thompson, the Thompson and the Fraser. Second: the rail line (Canadian Pacific) and the Trans-Canada highway parallel each other for nearly the entire route and often are side-by-side or on opposite sides of the river bed.

One does not sleep on the train but at about the half-way point of the journey in a hotel in Kamloops. Kamloops is about 280 miles from Banff and about the same to Vancouver. It is at the Junction of the South Thompson and the North Thompson. The train moves along the Canadian Pacific right-of-way for the entire trip.

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The Rocky Mountaineer Route

The train route From Banff to Vancouver is on the route of the Canadian Pacific Railway, though the R.M. is not part of or owned by the C.P. The train and the Trans-Canada Highway follow the same journey to the Pacific and one is seldom out of sight of the other.

The route is essentially following eight river beds: The Bow from Banff to Lake Louise. Just north of Lake Louise the road turns west into the Kicking Horse River Pass where it transits the Continental Divide and moves from Alberta into British Columbia. It soon goes by Wapta Lake which is the source of the Kicking Horse River. Further west the train passes through the Spiral Tunnels. It continues down the Kicking Horse and makes a hairpin turn at Mount Hunter. The Kicking Horse empties into the Columbia at Golden, B.C. The road then goes north a short way along the Columbia River. Note: this valley along the Columbia is called the Rocky Mountain Trench. On to the town of Donald where the road again turns west and then south to go through Rogers Pass. We are now in Selkirk mountains. It then moves along the Illecillowet R. to where this river empties into the Columbia at the town of Revelstoke and where the train crosses the Columbia once again. After travelling along the Eagle River it soon runs along the shore of Shuswap Lake. The Shuswap is the source of the South Thompson River which the train follows into the town of Kamloops. There is an overnight stay at a hotel in Kamloops. At Kamloops the South Thompson River meets the North Thompson to form the Thompson. The Thompson then flows west before it turns south to meet the Fraser at Lyton. From Lyton the rest of the journey is heading south and then west to where the Fraser empties into the Pacific at Vancouver.

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Scenes along the Bow from train

Ab. Mt. Rundle

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Around the bend

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Shuswap Lake west of Sicamous

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Left: Shuswap Lake.

Right, houses along the lake, near Canoe, which, on closer examination, reveals some "wavers. These are residents living along the tracks (and lake) who know the R.M. schedule and come out every day and wave at the travelers on the train who also wave back.

Below: Scenes along the river. The Thompson flows almost due east from Kamloops to Ashcroft, where it turns south for about 40 miles to Lyton, where it meets the Fraser.

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At Kamloops, not only do the North and South Thompson rivers meet, but also a meeting of the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railroads. We have been traveling on the Canadian Pacific right-of -way from Banff. As the rail tracks move west of Kamloops, the Canadian National stays on the north side of the Thompson and the Canadian Pacific on the south.

However, at Ashcroft where the train road turns almost due south, there is a shared roadway where the trains of the CN and the CP share the same track, but the northbound trains all stay on the west side of the Thompson and the southbound (our train) stay on the east side.

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South of Ashcroft along the Thompson

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Along the Thompson

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Cisco Bridges

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Ab. Scuzzy Creek falls, just below Boston Bar on the Thompson

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Where the Thompson meets the Fraser

Nearing the end of our journey, having traversed the southern part of the Thompson Plateau, we meet the Fraser which flows south and then west into the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver.

Photos courtesy of Ruth Nepute

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Vancouver

Our final stop was a day in Vancouver. We visited Stanley Park with a view of the Lion's Gate Bridge and the harbor (below).

Aleda with totem poles in Stanley Park.

After the third Covid Rapid test of the trip was negative, we left early on the 29th for Chicago and then home to Saint Louis.

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Vancouver – Queen Elizabeth Park with Lion’s Gate Bridge

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Vancouver

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First slide: Mountains along Canada 1, Trans-Canada Highway.

Last slide: from Mount Sulphur, Banff, AB, with Cascade Mountain behind. N.B. Cascade Mountain is not part of the Cascade Range.

All pictures by James L. Littlefield unless otherwise noted. Rights reserved, September, 2021. Images taken with either the Canon 6D EF 24-105 or Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 cameras. Except as noted for Ruth Nepute, with her permission.