Rocky Mountaineer Canada Trip 2019 - Day 4, Part 2

Our lodging for tonight was the Jasper Park Lodge, located in Jasper National Park.  It was a short bus ride from the station.

As we came into Jasper we saw the Jasper Skytram gondola heading up Whistlers Mountain.  We didn't ride it though.

Rocky Mountaineer Canada Trip 2019 - Day 4, Part 1

A glorious morning

A glorious afternoon

A glorious evening

Rocky Mountaineer Canada Trip 2019 - Day 3, Part 2

I'll try to be a bit less wordy this time, but I don't make any promises.  Let's go.

Rocky Mountaineer Canada Trip 2019 - Day 3, Part 1

This was the first of two days aboard the Rocky Mountaineer train.

I forgot to mention it in my previous post, but when we first arrived at the hotel we had been told that there was an opportunity for early check-in for the Rocky Mountaineer (RM).  We just had to go down to the lobby at 5:30pm the day before departure and look for the table with RM staff.  So that day after we got back from our late lunch/early dinner we went to the lobby to look for them and saw this area set up in front of the restaurant entrance:

I thought wow, they're really doing this up right

But no, that wasn't for us.  It was for a private function at the restaurant.  The Rocky Mountaineer staff (who were great, by the way), had a couple of folding tables and chairs set up along a narrow walkway across the lobby.  Oh well.  We sat down and were given an envelope with our train tickets, luggage tags, itinerary, and commemorative pin.

I thought it would look good to showcase it against a patch of bare skin apparently from the "gluttony" victim from the movie Se7en...
...also known as a section of the kitchen counter that I will now never see the same way again.

Rocky Mountaineer Canada Trip 2019 - Day 2, Part 2: Lookout! It's The Top of Vancouver!

We got back to the hotel around 1pm and 45 minutes later we met the rest of the group downstairs in the lobby.  Then all of us walked the few blocks to the Harbour Centre building where we used our vouchers to visit the Vancouver Lookout observation deck.

First one, then the other

Our hotel, the Pan Pacific, is to the right of center with the silver/glass dome.  The edge of Stanley Park that we walked to/around sits behind the Chevron station on the water.

Rocky Mountaineer Canada Trip 2019 - Day 2, Part 1: A Walk In The Park

Well, not in extensively...more like to and around and through a little bit.

Rocky Mountaineer Canada Trip 2019 - Day 1

In May of this year we received a group invitation from friends that began "We were visiting with Dad about taking a trip in early October aboard the Rocky Mountaineer..."

Todd and I had been wanting to do this same trip for a few years, so the unsolicited opportunity arriving from out of the blue was spooky.  We immediately said yes (in our heads), but spent a week researching and talking about it before committing.  My mom was also going, so that was a bonus.

Our "Journey Through the Clouds Excursion" trip started at the beginning of this month.  We flew from DFW to Vancouver and spent two nights there.  We then boarded the glass-domed Rocky Mountaineer train for a two-day rail journey with overnight stops in Kamloops, British Columbia, and Jasper, Alberta, followed by a two-day bus ride with stops along the scenic Icefields Parkway and overnight stays at Lake Louise and Banff, both in Alberta.  On the last day we took a bus from Banff to Calgary to fly home.

The trip was amazing:  We had amazing scenery, great company, great food, and the fall weather (including an incredible snowfall on the last day that didn't impact our travel) was perfect.



On the first day we arrived at DFW airport at 7:30am and met up with our 8 other traveling companions at the gate.  Our roughly 4-hour flight took off at 9:15 CST and landed at Vancouver International a little after 11:15 PST.  After collecting luggage and going through customs, a mostly kiosk-interaction process, we grouped into taxis for the 30-minute ride to the hotel.  Luckily our rooms were ready so we were able to check in early.

Todd and Mom waiting at the airport.
"I once flew on an airplane thiiis big..."

"...your seat cushion may be used as a floatation device.  In the event of a donut emergency, bags of donuts will descend from the tray table in the seat in front of you.."

Oh Canada!

Just got back from a fantastic Rocky Mountaineer train trip in Canada.  I'll post more after I get settled while it's still fresh, then I'll return to Big Bend.  Stay tuned.