Edmonds to Vancouver B.C.

OK, here we go on our trip. We left Edmonds Washington around 8:10 AM. We're due in Vancouver around 11:30 AM. I gew up in Edmonds so it's always nice to visit. Edmonds is located 15 miles North of Seattle along Puget Sound. There's a ferry terminal in Edmonds too. It's a transportation hub I guess.

I had flown in the day before from Denver so my trip actually began there. Nothing worth recording for posterity, the flight was packed but on time. Then they lost my luggage. They finally delivered it at 11:00 the night before this morning. Whew, that was close. They said they would deliver it to me in Canada if they didn't find it in time. I was going to make them deliver it to Winnipeg.

Barbara on the platform in Edmonds. We be ready.

Here comes the Amtrak Cascades

North of Edmonds there is a shipwreck on the shore. I took a brief video. I had just bought the video camera, my first ever, so my video skills were not very developed. I should have shot a lot more video along Puget Sound. Next time I will. Across the water is Whidbey Island. My family used to spend every summer on Whidbey. Great memories.

I didn't take any more pictures until we settled in Vancouver. I can say this; I'm a window watcher. We spotted a seal North of Edmonds and another one as we were entering Vancouver. We also spotted a total of ten Bald Eagles starting just North of Edmonds ending North of the Canadian border near White Rock B.C.

That's a good amount of wild life. 

The City of Vancouver British Columbia

I thought I knew Vancouver. Growing up in Seattle I've been to Vancouver many times. I haven't been back in a while. I skied Whistler in the 1990's but my last trip to Vancouver was 1989 to see the Stones at BC Place Stadium. Wow it has really grown up since then.

Vancouver was the only city we hadn't booked a room. I figured we'd stay near the train station. Bad idea. Train stations tend to be located in the oldest section of town. There were hotels there but seedy ones. We took the sky rail to the West End to look for a room. A friendly police man told us where a Days Inn was. We walked a few blocks to get there but were told there was no vacancy. The friendly desk clerk called another hotel and got us a room, then called a van to come get us. We stayed at the Landis. We got a two bedroom suite with a full kitchen on the 10th floor for $170. Not bad. We were told these rooms went for $1,000 a night during the Olympics. Wow!

Barbara in silhouette looking at our deck.

Here's beautiful Vancouver from our room, up Davie Street.

Looking up Hornby Street.

This is the Landis. See where the window is open on the 10th floor? That's us. OK, after we spent the night here we had to kill some time because our train wasn't leaving until 10:30 PM. We decided to go the the UBC Museum of Anthropology. Great choice.

I've never seen such a large collection of carvings and I grew up in the North West.

The tribes of British Columbia                             

Giant serving dish for large gatherings.

Another one.

Cool looking box.

Carvings & boxes

More boxes.

Lots of Totem Poles.

We spent almost three hours here. There was so much to see.

Kayaks    

Assorted relics

 This one was on the campus of UBC near the museum.

After the museum we went back across town, had a nice dinner, back to the Landis to get our bags then back on the shuttle van to the station. We got to sit in a lounge with coffee, juice & cookies. We sat outside for a while next to the train too. I forgot to take any pictures.

Vancouver to Winnipeg

OK, Vancouver has been really fun but now it's time to board "The Canadian", VIA Rail's finest rail experience. This is the engine that pulled us from Vancouver to Winnipeg, the mighty 6426, an F-40. Picture taken in Jasper Alberta.

We had a two person room. You can book a train trip no more than 10 months in advance. So I booked this trip in December 2009 to travel October 2010. I had done my Internet research and knew that cabin F, the most forward cabin, is the largest. Because there is no cabin in front of us there is more room. Even with the beds deployed we had room to move around. By day our attendant put in a table. Only cabin F gets a table. Below is the sink, there's an I-Pod boom box on the sink. The door on the right is our toilet. The shower is like 5 feet away outside the cabin.

Barb in the lower bunk.

The upper bunk has webbing so you don't fall out.

Sleeper car passengers get access to the Park Car. It's awesome. It has a lounge:

Behind the lounge is the bullet shaped rear lounge. Notice the Amish dude on the right. I've travelled a lot on Amtrak in the USA and there are always Amish on the train. That's the only way they travel. However in the USA all the Amish folks I've ever seen travel coach. These Amish were in the sleeper section. There was a champagne welcome reception as we left Vancouver and again when we left Jasper and since the Amish don't drink, more for me. There was also a wine tasting every day on "The Canadian" at 4:30. We sampled some Wayne Gretzky Merlot. Barbara made the mistake of mentioning The Great One's name in a non complimentary manner. The lady in front of us took Barbara to school regarding The Great One's move to the L.A. Kings and how it was a brilliant move although the folks in Edmonton didn't like it too well.

I told Barbara that if she spoke of Wayne Gretzky again within earshot of a Canadian it had to be followed with three words. "The Great One"

From the bullet lounge you can head up the stairs to the dome. There are clocks that show the time in various cities. They don't look to be in sync. The minutes should all be the same, only the hour hand should be different. These cars were built in the 1950's and were refurbished in the 1990's. I guess they didn't get to the clocks.

Here's the dome at night.

Here we are in the Dome in Jasper Alberta.

The Canadian cruising through Canada.

Stainless steel is the shiznit.

The dome car offers excellent views. 

Waterfall

Mt. Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. 4,663 m (15,299 ft). The top is shrouded by clouds.

Background: Canadian Rockies. Foreground: Trans Canada highway.

Oh Canada, you are so beautiful.

Here's the train stopped in Jasper Alberta. I was last here in 1980. Nice to see not much has changed.

One 1980 memory from Jasper is this. We were camped out and were going to barbecue some steaks. We went to a butcher shop and he cut the meat right then and there at a thickness right for barbecue. Then he wrapped it in butcher paper and tied it with a string. Wow, that increased my perception of Canada's backwardness. In hindsight I was completely wrong. I was getting pure custom cut food, not pre packaged hormone & antibiotic infused meat from a huge conglomerate. Thank you Jasper butcher from 30 years ago! These days I eat meat about once a week. I'm trying to save this stupid planet.

I also remember meeting a hippie in the grocery store who invited me & my wife to camp with him & his friends at a near by lake. I was wearing a dead shirt, I think that sparked the conversation. We camped elsewhere and saw a bear. I was pitching a tent and some dude asked if we'd seen a bear yet. We said no. He pointed to a bear that was walking the trail between the tent sites. Five feet away he was. The wife slept in the car that night. No one in our campgrounds got eaten. That night anyway.

Jasper Park ranger station.

This was a urinal in Jasper. Not sure if it's a homage to the Rolling Stones or something else.

Jasper Alberta Canada.

Here's a steam locomotive in Jasper.

 Most major train stops have a relic or two.

Go 6015

Leaving Jasper.

The Canadian featured cloth napkins. The Hudson Bay train featured paper napkins. I'm just sayin'

If you ever watched the movie "Festival Express" you know the rock & roll train bought out the liquor store at Saskatoon. Our stop here was brief but long enough to get a picture.

The Canadian at Saskatoon.

Looking from the Park Car forward.

On to Winnipeg!