From Toronto to Vancouver

So, if you've been following my travel adventures, you know that the big keystone in the middle of my seven week saga was the five day train journey across Canada. Late Saturday night, I boarded train #1, the Canadian, in Toronto. After dropping my things in my berth:

I headed back to the Park car for champagne and to watch the city disappear as we rolled out of town.

I felt all kinds of giddy about my first overnight train trip. It was like walking into the pages of one of my favorite books, Murder on the Orient Express. And there was definitely a cast of characters to rival Ms. Christie's own. There was:

• The snobby, well-traveled know-it-all with an ill husband.
• The never-serious Irish gentleman who'd lost two wives, one to divorce and one to cancer.
• The Gaelic grandmother busy knitting a throw for her newest grandchild.
• The token German tourist, complete with fanny pack and wearing socks with sandals.
• The gruff Scottish barkeep, on his last journey.
• The kooky small town man traveling without his wife.
• The middle-aged couple trying to save their marriage.
• The dad with two kids in footie pajamas.
• The Japanese girl who'd been living in Canada on a temporary work visa.

Okay, so I might have used a little imaginative interpretation on these characters, but not much.

After champange, I headed back to my berth--no easy feat, since I had to pass through no less than five cars with tiny corridors to reach mine. Sleeping on the train was ... an experience. The bed was super comfortable, and for the most part the rocking motion was soothing. But every so often it would become less-than-soothing, and any side-sleeper on the train (aka me) would be pitched either onto their back or their face.

In the morning, we woke to beautiful tree-lined scenery, dotted be the occasional lake.

The further north into Ontario we went, the more snow and the more ice we saw.

Our first daylight hours stop was in the oh-so-small town of Hornepayne. Everyone laughed at me when I jumped out with my computer, searching for wireless internet. From this picture of the Hornepayne train station, you can probably guess why.

Finally, on the second morning of the trip, we arrived in Winnipeg for a four hour stop. My porter gave me great advice on where to find coffee and wifi, and I headed out. The coffee shop was right across the plaza from the Forks Market (which I thought Twilight fans might find amusing).

It's actually a massive indoor market, with tons of stalls that sell souvenirs, worldwide gifts, treats, fresh produce, and--of course--food! I walked away with a postcard, dried cantaloupe, sesame sticks, and a big hunk of maple fudge. (I'm not a huge fudge fan, but I adore anything maple.)

Next, we moved into the Canadian plains. Which were not nearly as plain as I'd been led to believe. Sure, there was a lot more flat and a lot fewer trees, and there was tons of agriculture in the form of wheat, cattle, and granaries. But there was also some beautiful, glacier-carved landscape.

Our train arrived early in Melville, so we had time to get out and explore. I made a run for the grocery store, picking up a magazine and a Diet Coke, but still had the chance to snap some picks of the old car graveyard right next to the train station.

One of the interesting--and occasionally awkward--things about train travel, is you don't really get to pick your meal companions. Sometimes you get stuck with a German tourist and a shy/uncomfortable young man with braces and you have to spend your meal in a tense, heavy silence. But sometimes, you get wonderful dinner companions, like a physical trainer from Australia and an early-20s traveler from Japan. My meals with Donna and Naho were lovely. (Please don't notice my awful train hair and my makeup-free face.)

Eventually, we got to the most beautiful and most scenic part of the voyage ... the Canadian Rockies!

We could see them from miles away. But when we came out of this tunnel:

We were inside Jasper National Park. And right outside our train window was a herd of bighorn sheep.

We also saw a small herd of elk and a few whitetail dear. Sadly, no moose or bear made an appearance. As my mother always says, then I have a reason to go back.

I've spent a lot of time in and around the Colorado Rockies, so it was interesting to how this northern branch was both similar and yet very different. Here are a few of my favorite pics.

And especially this picture of Pyramid Falls, which I only had a split-second to snap, but till turned out great.

We actually had a bit of excitement on the last night. While my companions and I were finishing up dinner, they made a call for a doctor (needed in my train car) over the PA system. A woman in the dining car was a doctor and went to help. Turns out, a man had some kind of heart attack or something. He literally died--flatlined--and the doctor brought him back! We had to wait for the ambulance to come meet the train and take him to a hospital. Last we knew, he was doing fine. But talk about scary!

Then, before I knew it, the train was rolling into Vancouver and my porter was hefting my suitcase out onto the platform. I have to say, the lack of internet not withstanding, the train journey was absolutely wonderful. I think I picked the best time of year, of course. Our train only had nine cars, whereas in the summer it can get up to thrity-eight! Nope, I'm perfectly happy with my off-season travels, thank you very much.

Now I'm in Vancouver, my last international destination, and will be returning to the states this weekend. I'm most excited to be able to turn my phone back on!

Hugs,
TLC