12 Oakdale

Although advertised as a train ride through the Canadian Rockies, this is actually a moving cocktail party and marvelous buffet with good scenery. But first, I walked a short block in the drizzle to Tim Horton’s for coffee and a couple of Tim Bits. I must not have spoken distinctly because I ended up with a couple of doughnuts. Which Grant and I ate to tide us over to boarding the train across the street from our hotel. While we waited in the train station’s lobby, a First Nation woman told stories and sang, accompanying herself on a small deerskin drum the shape of a tambourine. She also showed us a picture of Brutus, the huge local grizzly, which, if I’d known about, probably would have discouraged me from taking our walk in the woods behind town.  Once on board, we settled in to watch gorgeous scenery as we rode. We had opted for the Gold Leaf level, with raised glass domed train cars with the dining room below. My thought was this was a once in a life time trip, * so I was goin...

One of the stops to pick up riders on our way from Banff to Jasper was the Chateau Lake Louse. I was there 50 years ago when we traveled home from our Alaska trip. (The slides are in the garage.) The Victoria Glacier has retreated since then, however the view is still spectacular.  Along the way, we saw 4 black bears, including a mom with  cub. Memories of going to the Smokey Mountains and bear jams, where everyone would stop their cars and get out to gawk at bears. Even feed them. The rangers have put the kibosh on the latter, but we still all stop and look. We also saw 2 moose, but far away on the other side of a wide marshy area. The Rocky Mountaineer’s info said lunch would be a box lunch, but in fact it was a delightful buffet at the ice field’s headquarters. Halfway through the line I discovered all the dishes were labeled by cards in the overhead covers. Before that, assumptions were made. Peg ended up with egg salad which she thought was mustard potato salad. I took my...

After getting up at 6:00 AM to have breakfast and our bags packed and outside our door by 7:00, we zipped around the corner to pick up coffee at Starbucks and be ready for our bus to Banff. The rain had continued all night and was still dripping in the morning. Good for the area which had been in a drought, medium for our sightseeing. On the other hand, it was a bus travel day rather than a walking around day, so it could have been worse. By the time we arrived for our boat ride on Lake Minnewanka, the rain was practically stopped. When the captain turned off the boat’s engine in the middle of the lake so we could hear what it sounds like away from the noises of civilization, the rain falling on the lake was the only sound we heard. Absolutely charming. At the gondola on Sulphur Mountain, the rain had started again. The attendants were squeegeeing the droplets off the gondola cars so we could see out. A futile gesture. We did see a couple of pairs of sneakers tossed over tree branches ...

After having a breakfast of prosciutto, crackers, hummus, and apple in our room, we were off to the Peace Bridge and Prince’s Island Park. We’d had a cup of insipid coffee at the hotel, however we rewarded ourselves with a delicious cup of dark brew at the Hutch before beginning our walk in the park. Franklin gulls, mallards, house finches, black capped chickadees were around, perhaps American widgens (I’m not sure of ID), 3 common mergansers. A gazillion Canada geese with goslings of all ages, at least these in their home country, not an American golf course with all their buddies. There were signs to beware of coyotes, but I’m sure they were too fat from eating geese to bother people. Highlight was 3 hairy woodpeckers calling and flying. I spotted a nest, in a dead conifer, with an adult sticking its head out.  Grant had forgotten his hearing aids charger at home. We thought about having Steph overnight it to us, but we’re afraid it wouldn’t arrive before we continued on our trip...

A ferry ride aboard the Coho to Victoria. So calm I didn’t realize we were underway. We also didn’t realize it was September 11, until the ferry agent mentioned the ship would be stopping for a moment of silence at 8:50 AM. Everyone was given a carnation as we boarded, to throw into the water during the silence. Very touching. A little over an hour later, and we were on Canadian soil. What a beautiful city, but rather than stroll casually around, we hightailed it over to the tour buses parked in front of the Empress Hotel to get our tickets to visit Butchart Gardens, or as the guide said several times, the World Famous Butchart Gardens. After making a fortune in the early 1900’s, owning a limestone quarry used in their cement factory, the Butcharts had wagon loads of topsoil brought in to create the gardens. 55 acres of beautiful flowering plants. Lots and lots of color. Petunias, begonias, daisies, hydrangeas, etc. A wall of dahlias with some blooms as big as dinner plates, others so ...