Jasper reminded us of the bush towns of Australia with its pioneer homes.
Whilst there we saw many lakes, and rivers, always with the mountains in the background, and a coach which bore the wonderful sign, totally appropriate for women like us, with delusions of grandeur.
This coach took us to Maligne Lake and Canyon. It is the most tranquil of lakes where sound carries extraordinarily clearly, so it didn’t remain peaceful once our lot hit it.
Then, it was the day of the birthday. Margaret was greeted with a banner on the door. No more can she say 21 years of age and on to the station, where the Rocky Mountaineer waited. We were in a red leaf carriage, the bottom of the pile, we suppose, but it was nonetheless fantastic.
We had the lovely Shino to ply us with food and drink, and a viewing platform either end of the carriage. We began our journey along the ‘First Passage of the West’ retracing the steps of the early 19th century adventurers. We was as always, the snowy mountains, forests and tranquil lakes. Aware that we were leaving the Rockies, we looked long and hard. Never have we seen such scenery, and never have we seen such a l-o-n-g train.
Jan had arranged a cake, so happy birthday was sung, but no bumps. Then the Rocky Mountaineer gave her a couple of prints and a bottle of champagne. Obviously she shared it all (well, not the prints)
We follow the path of the Fraser River until we join the North Thompson River to Kamloops where we stop for the night. Shino kept us entertained with stories of the early pioneers and their perilous journeys and we ware always on the lookout for the elusive wild life. The only thing we saw were bald eagles, but too far away to photograph.
Finally we drew into Kamloops, and another birthday celebration in the evening.
