Day’s 3 & 4 Rocky Mountaineer

Up at 6:00am  I was very excited  today’s the day we are joining the Rocky Mountaineer for our two day journey from Banff to Kamloops. There were even tears in our party last night as we were told we had been upgraded to Gold leaf service!

Making things easier check in was done at the hotel reception and luggage forwarded on to our next port of call Kamloops. This left plenty of time at the station to take lots of pics and soak up the excited energy of  passengers boarding the train.

Our gold leaf carriage was beautiful, very spacious and with the domed carriage we had great views from all directions.

Shortly after departure we headed downstairs to first dining for breakfast. They alternate dining so on day 2 we were on second dining. The menu was superb and silver service dining was second to none.

Half way through breakfast we hear a notification over the tannoy that a bear has been spotted.

I almost fall off my seat as I look up to see a Grizzly bear standing on a ledge just meters away! It all happened so quickly I didn’t get a chance to get my camera but it’s an experience which will stay with me forever.

Our waiter told us later he has been working on the Rocky Mountaineer 4 years and this was only the 4th time he’s seen a grizzly!

With such an amazing start how could our journey get any better?

Our route was the  original and still the most popular first passage to the West.

The scenery is breath taking  from start to finish but the highlights for me were the 100 year old spiral tunnels, stoney creek bridge with it’s stunning views  over the valleys , Salmon arm lake again beautiful views and to give you some indication of size it took us an hour to pass by and the longest Bridge Cisco where we slowed for a roll over so we could make the most of the views.

Not far from this I was looking out the back window when I saw what I thought was a huge rock but when I saw it move I realised it was a black bear!!  I was really chuffed as no one else on the train had spotted him so I was first to raise the alarm and this time I did manage to grab my camera in time.  He’s a bit far away but I’m still pleased I managed to catch him.

They run a very tight ship on the Rocky Mountaineer and all arrangements ran perfectly. For example when transferring to our hotels we were given our room keys on board the coach. A great touch I thought after 13 hours on board it’s a long day and the last thing you want to do is stand in line at the hotel waiting to check in, instead you are straight to your rooms and for me straight to bed!

Summing up I can’t rate my experience on board the Rocky Mountaineer enough. The staff and service are excellent,  nothing is ever  to much trouble and I loved the on going commentary on board teaching us all about the history of the ares we pass through.

This really was a once in a lifetime experience that I would recommend to anyone planning a trip to Canada.