Rocky Mountaineer Train - Kamloops to Banff Part 3

Tuesday up early again, luggage ready by 6:10 am and out the door by 7 am to board bus to the train. The train departs at 8 am. I have coffee available in our room. Ray kept thinking he would have time to get a pastry and coffee at a coffee shop, but there really is no time. He got his first coffee on the train.

On the bus!

They really do give you the "red carpet" treatment in Gold Leaf Service :)

Notice the dome window with the blue ... this is a tint in the glass they can darken or lighten depending on the sun. They lightened it considerably once we got into the Rockies so we could see the peaks of the mountains towering above us.

Kamloops Riverside Park

Kamloops Train Station

This is the Old Red Bridge that connected the First Nations to the main town of Kamloops.

Kamloops Residential School that has been all over the news where the first "lost children" were found.

Today we were second seating as they rotate from the day before, so our breakfast was not until 9:30 or so. They do feed you coffee and a delicious baked croissant to tide you over. :) Those at first sitting receive the same starter, so no one misses out on their great baking. Today's breakfast menu is the same so we ordered different things this time. We both ordered the breakfast skillet with Shuswap bacon (some of the best bacon ever Ray said). Delicious. 

This part of the journey has spectacular scenery. Ray popped outside frequently to get his "shots". The train staff were really good at keeping you informed of picture opportunities and stories about how things got their names. 

Shuswap Lake is a lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, a branch of the Thompson River, a tributary of the Fraser River. Shuswap Lake Marine Provincial Park is among the most popular boating and canoeing locations in the Southern Interior and proposed Houseboat capital.

Above and below, Sicamous where Mara Lake empties into the Shuswap Lake

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was incorporated on February 16, 1881. Less than five years later, a ribbon of steel united Canada when the railway line from the east coast to the Pacific coast in the west was finally completed with the driving of the ‘Last Spike’ at Craigellachie in British Columbia, on November 7, 1885.

This historical event is commemorated at the small settlement of Craigellachie in Eagle Pass, located alongside the Trans-Canada Highway between Sicamous in the Thompson Okanagan and Revelstoke in the BC Kootenays. The Craigellachie site today is easily accessible right off the highway, providing a convenient, picturesque and relaxing spot to stretch your legs and have a picnic on your journey across BC.

Lunch/Dinner is again delicious too. Luckily we were in the second seating, as it was such a long time before arriving.

Starter of elk and bison sausage with fixin's.

Short rib for me.

Pork Chop for Ray

While eating our lunch we went through Revelstoke and started the climb into the Rocky Mountains. Ray of course jumped up and go to the viewing platform for his pictures in between courses. They always serve a fabulous dessert too, but I did not take pictures of any of that the whole trip apparently. lol Too busy eating it.

This bridge at Revelstoke is a copy of the Lions Gate in Vancouver.

Next we followed the Illecillewaet River.

We followed along the Columbia River into the Kicking Horse Pass. Hard to believe this is the Columbia River that goes into the USA. We've driven through the Columbia River Gorge along I-84 in Oregon.

The train carried along Kicking Horse River.

On through Kicking Horse Pass through the spiral tunnels towards Banff. An engineering feat! The train can only go a maximum of 2.2% grade to stay safe. To learn about the Spiral Tunnels click on this link. Spiral Tunnels in Kicking Horse Pass

Slow going into Banff. They fed us another small meal of curried chicken and rice to tide us over as they knew no one would be going out for dinner today. We had more stops at sidings to let the freight trains go by as they have priority.

Ray's happy as he ate mine too. lol

Coming into Banff at dusk.

Ray brought his tripod in hopes of getting some night time shots on downtown streets in Banff and Jasper, but we always got in so late so it did not happen. Fortunately we toured Banff a few years ago so it was no big deal for us.

The train did a brief stop in Lake Louise to let off some passengers and then continued on to Banff. We did not get to our hotel, the Rimrock Resort, until 10 pm Alberta time. Exhausted. Got into our beautiful  room with a view and it was HOT! 24.5C (76F) Too hot for this kid. I turned the A/C up some more and we crashed into bed. Ray of course fell asleep pretty quick. I kept checking and it was still blowing out hot air. Opened the one wee window and it was just as hot outside. Tempted to sleep in the bathtub lol. Used cold cloths and wet my hair to attempt sleep. I think I got about 4 interrupted hours. Nice room but geez. No point calling downstairs, what would they do at that time of night ... move us to another room at 11 pm with our luggage unpacked and Ray sleeping.