The "All Aboard" ceremony was just a little different at Jasper. With a Rocky Mountaineer with only one Gold Leaf dome carriage and five other carriages this was a small affair. Nevertheless the passengers were just as excited and expectant. The gentleman from the passenger list who tooted the train whistle to get us aboard was an Englishman who had waited since he was a child to board the Mountaineer so this was a very emotional moment for him.

We were very surprised and very excited on this leg of the journey to be up front in the very first row. We had a super view out of the front windows over the length of the train and a totally uninterrupted view out of the glass dome. We could not believe our luck!

The miles quickly chugged away as we wiled away the hours watching the scenery change and indulging in the culinary delights provided by the Chef. Again, some familiar faces but also some new people to get to know over breakfast and dinner including Christine and Keith from Perth and Ray and Jo from the States.

This first day was a very flat and repetitive journey with the trees of the forests crowded close by the train tracks so we did not have many opportunities to see the expansive vistas across the valleys of the days before. Nonetheless, we were on constant alert for animals, lakes and mountains.

Although British Columbia is famous for its rugged mountainous terrain, the province's interior is actually a plateau of rolling hills cut by many rivers and lakes covered in a patchwork of open forests and farming "range" land. So we did see cattle and sheep properties, wide expanses of irrigated pastures, the ever present rivers, streams and lakes and even passed through desert landscapes.

On the first day 534 km journey from Jasper to Quesnel we did learn a little about:

Jasper National Park: the largest National Park in Canada
Yellowhead Pass: one of the lowest points along the Continental Divide that was used as a trading route and the border between Alberta and British Columbia
Moose Lake: an 8 km long blue green lake home to Thunder Falls and rainbow trout
Rearguard: the spawning grounds of the salmon
Mount Robson: the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies
Willow River: the entry to Rocky Mountain Trench a deep wide valley between the Rockies, the Cariboo and Columbia Ranges
Prince George: almost the geographic centre of BC, a railway town where we spent 90 minutes waiting for our track change
Abhau Creek and Cottonwood River Bridge: the bridge here is 273 m long and 37 m high and was the last link in the line between Vancouver and Prince George completed in 1952....it was 40 years late on its promise date
Quesnel: overnight stop for the Rainforest to Gold Train

The train pulled into Quesnel (pronounced Kwenel) just after 6 pm and the coaches were lined up to take us to the Best Western. There were spiels about the 800 metre walking bridge and the local gift shop, the boat shaped casino and the little people. But despite a willing heart my body was just not up to it.

Mac swiped open the door, I stumbled in the room and fell on the bed! I was unconscious until 11 pm when I stirred. So despite the town having a beautiful 800 metre pedestrian bridge, a specialist craft store with locally made goods, a fine selection of dining options, 23 hand painted fire extinguishers and a casino shaped like a boat.....I saw absolutely nothing. Mac said I did try and sit up at 11 pm but my eyes refused to open and I tumbled back onto the bed asleep! I have never been so tired...thinking that maybe 40 days and 40 nights of touristing have caught up with me..


Wednesday
Temperature: 19
Pedometer: 1 522
Bear Sightings = 0

Total Bear Sightings = 11