Our Canada Rail Vacation Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver to Kamloops

Finally, our DREAM did become reality!

For years we've been talking about the Rocky Mountaineer and now, with a better economy thanks to President Trump, we got enough dividend for going ahead!

We booked our trip via Canada Rail Vacations.

Photos courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer - wish we could have seen it like this!

We left our luxurious Fairmont Hotel Vancouver by motor coach to be transported to the Rocky Mountaineer Station where we all would board the train.

We, that is 710 passengers for that morning of September 25, 2018.
A life pianist entertained us while we got served some juice or water.
A professional bagpiper did play while boarding began, seen in photo below just to the left, near the train.

Both of us were pleasantly surprised at the speed and efficiency this boarding took place at 7:38 AM.

We were seated in this GoldLeaf bi-level dome coach of CB05, seen above.
The lower part we could reach by stairs for entering our dining room for breakfast and lunch.

Thus, our FIRST PASSAGE TO THE WEST
VANCOUVER-KAMLOOPS-LAKE LOUISE/BANFF started...

A long line of Rocky Mountaineer employees stood lined up along the track and waved us farewell!
Source: at 1:17 min of All Aboard the Train! Rocky Mountaineer is leaving Vancouver

Enjoying this fruity delight at 8:26, with Physalis peruviana (Cape gooseberry in its husk, before breakfast à la carte got served.

We left via the impressive Fraser River Swing Bridge at 8:42
This is at New Westminster - Columbia and taken from the GoldLeaf Dining Room...

At 8:47 this photo got taken from my Blueberry Pancakes, garnished with strawberry and Physalis peruviana (Cape gooseberry) and served with Maple Syrup.
Love this special fruit in a husk and for one year we did grow our own!
On my plate you can see it was a sunny breakfast taken in the elegant dining room.
Our Gold-Leaf bi-level domed coach got split up in two groups for going down to the dining room.
For the first day, we were in the 1st group and on the 2nd day this got reversed.
Meanwhile others got served some hot food from the trolley cart, anticipating their breakfast...
EXCELLENT service and our Chef was from the Philippines!

At 10:43 Alongside the Fraser River with the majestic Coast Mountains...

Lanscape is changing now at 12:17 as it looks more rugged as we leave the fertile Rainforest behind.

At 12:22 we reach HELL'S GATE

THE FRASER RIVER and HELL'S GATE at 12:24
Under the red poles of the suspension bridge you see a white spot in the center, where it marks the water surface of the Fraser River of May 28, 1948...
The water can be 27.4 m or 90 ft deep to 64 m or 210 ft deep!
Compared to the Niagara Falls, TWICE as much water flows through Hell's Gate!!!

Hell's Gate, the narrowest part of the Fraser River. As much as 750 million liters/200 million gallons of water pound and surge each minute through a 33.5 m/110 foot wide gorge. The height of the Fraser can vary as much as 24.3 m/80 feet throughout the year at this point.

The Fraser River, the major river in the province of British Columbia, journeys almost 1,369 km/850 miles from its headwaters in the Rockies to its release into the Strait of Georgia, near Vancouver.
In 1808 it was navigated by Simon Fraser.
Fraser River is also home to BC's largest salmon run.

The construction of the Canadian Pacific rail line through Hell's Gate in 1882 became a particularly dangerous challenge for contractor Andrew Onderdonk and his crew of thousands of men.
Andrew Onderdonk also built the San Francisco Seawall. He was born in New York, from a Dutch family.

At 13:32 the scenery is getting more and more ROCKY! Near Boston Bar on the Fraser River

At 13:55 through my window (swapped for a moment with husband Pieter)...
The top of the shatter proof glass dome is tinted, hence this line.
Thompson-Nicola

At 13:56 Rainbow Canyon

The minerals in the rocks reflect a rainbow of colors giving the canyon a painted look. Copper turns green and purple when oxidized, while iron turns orange and red. The yellow is due to sulfur deposits.

Also a short tunnel is visible in this photo, where the other rail road track is running.

VANCOUVER & KAMLOOPS 460 KM / 285 MILES

The different mileposts and names

Now looking more ahead, at 13:56 you see the same mountain peak from two photos previous but with the river down. How incredible the Province of British Columbia is!

At 13:57 these photos I've taken from the dining room as we enjoyed a delicious lunch à la carte!
No food photos...

Enlarged section from photo above, to show you the rail road track on the other side of the river with rock sheds over the track for avalanche protection.
See printed info above about AVALANCHE ALLEY

At 15:05 where the front of our long train is visible along the Thompson River
From the left is a freight train coming on the other track.
Since the Rocky Mountaineer is the ONLY passenger train for having the right to travel through the different Parks, they have to YIELD to freight trains if we have to share a single track!

This is where we were in the above photo, along the river.

At 15:46 Ashcroft, British Columbia

At 15:51 Ashcroft you can see the front of our train following the river bend and also another freight train on the other track, below the bridge.
105 Mile Post 2

At 15:54 only 3 minutes later than the above photo with now another freight train on the other side of the river.
Those freight trains can be as long as 300 cars!
They transport coal, copper, grain, and all sorts of goods.

Funny that the side river we crossed in the above photo is called Bonaparte River... Maybe because of the shape of Bonaparte's hat, where it merges?

At 15:55 here we cross the Thompson-Nicola and you can see our 2 locomotives ahead followed by the SilverLeaf cars...

The head of the train already on this bridge...

At 15:56 Thompson River near Ashcroft, looking back you now can see the tail of our train following us...
It was getting dark slowly.
We were seated on 7 + 8 and there was only one row behind us in our section.
In front of us was the staircase down to the dining room, restrooms and open balcony (in-between two cars).

Our train section is almost across the river where I took the above photo.

This photo I took from our coach, at 17:56 when we disembarked the train at Kamloops Station.
There were coaches lined up, each right in front of a train section to just walk across the red carpet into your coach.
The planning in detail was incredible and before we got off the train we were handed our room key for the hotel at Kamloops. Our luggage got sent by truck and was already inside our room!

This is where the Kamloops Station is.

Yep, we completed our FIRST day on the ROCKY MOUNTAINEER, from Vancouver to Kamloops...

LOTS OF IMPRESSIONS...

We stayed at a rather new Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott
~
Back in the hotel with WiFi I did upload my capture of the entire day on Relive.
Yes, there were remote areas without ANY signal and I guess Google Earth just did connect the dots so in the remote areas the line is not always the real railroad track. The total length of the journey should have been 460 km so it sure did cut off certain sections where we followed the rivers!
But it gives a very clear idea of the landscape from above, where we traveled through, alongside rivers and through lots of short tunnels.

Enjoy the 1:59 min. video of the  9 h 56m trip over 382.3 km including the final stretch by coach to our hotel. Click below:

Relive 'ROCKY MOUNTAINEER VANCOUVER TO KAMLOOPS'

        

Thanks for your visit and comment and stay tuned for our 2nd day on the Rocky Mountaineer...

Related links:
Vancouver British Columbia, Canada in 1996 and back again in 2018 | previous post by me
Fraser Canyon - Rocky Mountaineer Tourist Train on the Cisco Bridges (June 10, 2016) - short video showing the Rocky Mountaineer passing Cisco Crossing

Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver to Kamloops with Pieter J.C. Vedder ←click for video

Vancouver British Columbia, Canada in 1996 and back again in 2018

A long time dream of us, was to go once back to British Columbia, Canada for sight seeing.

We did work in the Vancouver area, Fraser Valley in 1996.

Driving our rental car from the Vancouver airport to the Sheraton hotel in Surrey we fell in love with the surroundings.

This photo is from June 15, 1996...

The Province of British Columbia, Canada has a very special meaning to both of us.

After all, Pieter's adopted daughter Liz is born there!

Pieter did mail a beautiful card from the snow covered Rockies, to Liz in Horst.

You can read more about her in a previous post, link you find below.

For the 12th North American Mushroom Conference held in Vancouver, husband Pieter got invited as a speaker.

So here we are in July of 1996, back in Vancouver once more!

Staying at the Vancouver Hotel which is now the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

Pieter's lecture went very well and it was even called the Highlight of the Conference!

On the final day, I checked as usual the telephone book for any VandenMunckhof or Vedder names.

No VandenMunckhof here but as usual several Vedder names.

Then I checked for the biological father of Pieter's adopted daughter, his name was Jeurissen...

There was but ONE Jeurissen T and we presumed that would be Tony, her Dad...
See name at bottom above.

Pieter made the call around 6:00 PM and was quite surprised to hear a woman's voice: Thelma... Liz's biological Mother.
She was long presumed dead because all searches through Rotary International and the Red Cross, never yielded any result.

She kept her married name, even after the divorce - just in case any of her 3 kids would ever look for her!

She came to the hotel, by Skytrain and we met.

Here she is holding Pieter's arm, in the lobby of Hotel Vancouver.

Mama Thelma is part Scottish and part First Nation (her Mother's side).

These photos are not the best but still they remain very special memories to both of us!

Biological Mom meets Step–Mom who together with Liz's Dad put her through the Royal Academy.
We talked a lot, over a cup of tea in the restaurant, with some dessert.
For a good ten years we stayed in touch, mostly via phone calls and letters.
Mama Thelma passed away in September of 2006...
All the above text, I've written on her Birthday, October 6 - coincidence?!
~
Recently we did go on September 23, to the Atlanta Airport to spend the night at Hyatt Place Airport North as our plane to Vancouver would be departing at 7:25 AM and for driving from home on a Monday morning with heavy traffic was a no-no.
Now we just got up at 4:00 AM, had some home baked waffles with maple syrup that we had with us and we left with the hotel shuttle from 5:00 AM to the airport.
Via Minneapolis/St. Paul on Delta Airlines, we arrived in Vancouver.
We only had carry on, no checked luggage so it was light and easy traveling.
Just as Mama Thelma had done to come to our hotel in 1996, we too took the Skytrain...
Click on it below to see the 43 second video from the Skytrain ride and our 300 m walk from the Downtown station to our Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

Click on below image for actually viewing our walk.

↓

Relive 'Walk from Skytrain to Fairmont hotel 900 W Georgia St in Vancouver BC Canada'

  

      Here is Pieter standing with his carry on in front of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, just outside of the Skytrain station downtown.
Crossing this street and walking only a total of 300 m.

Here we are! Back again at the very same hotel after 24 years...

The weather in Vancouver was sunny and rather warm!

16ºC or 60.8ºF on Monday, September 24, 2018
We did enjoy a delicious, romantic dinner at Notch8 Restaurant & Bar...
The down pillows and duvet on the bed in room 357 at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver were HEAVEN!

Here I am at 6:30 AM on September 25... in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver where we met with Mama Thelma in July of 1996...
Wearing my Kipling backpack and my hiking boots.

We are checking out - stay tuned for more... to read more about our trip via Canada Rail Vacations.

Related link:

{Our Daughter Liz} | previous post by me

Sea Pines Hilton Head Island, South Carolina BIKING

Yes, on August 30, we went again for this lovely bike ride at Sea Pines Resort Bike Trail, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
We did stay at the Hyatt Place Savannah Airport and from there we went for our biking trip.

Like on October 27, 2017 we started out more or less from the Lighthouse area.
Here I am, wearing my Alo Yoga short that just arrived the day before departure!

The sun was so very bright here at Harbour Town Yacht Basin!
You can click below this post for going to my previous post from last year with map and more info about Sea Pines Resort.

 It is such a lovely area!

Well worth the fee for entering with our car + 2 bikes.

This is where we biked... from our Strava App

We stayed for 2 nights at this lovely Hyatt Place with generous sized rooms and kitchen area for breakfast.
Our green KIA Soul is parked next to the Hyatt Place sign with the 2 TREK Bikes on the bike rack.

On the day of arrival we were at the pool by 4:00 PM...

It was still HOT... and very sunny, I could not even see the screen of my iPhone due to the glare, hence these finger marks!
33ºC is 91.4ºF

It actually was a lot warmer than the forecast said...

At 7:20 AM from our room...

YEP, this is serious...
Just the week before, a woman that tried to rescue her doggie, got pulled down in the marshes by such an alligator and killed. Very sad and only the doggie survived.
Both evenings we walked across the street to 201 Seafood Restaurant and had delicious fresh seafood.
My 2nd day was my favorite: TUNA STEAK* GF
Carrot-ginger purée, seasoned red rice, cucumbers and carrots.
Pieter opted for the ATLANTIC SALMON* GF
Seared salmon served on a bed of fingerling potatoes, bacon, shallot, spinach with crema.
Just lovely to merely cross the road back to our hotel...

On our final morning we did bike around the hotel, well not full circle as there is the Interstate on one side and a lake. But they sure enough are working hard to get that road extended!

This is the route that we biked around (almost) the Hyatt Place hotel. The Interstate 95 is seen to the left.
Enjoy our main bike ride by clicking on this very short 40 second video below:

Relive 'Sea Pines South Carolina'

        

Related link:

Sea Pines Resort Bike Trail, South Carolina | previous post by me