All Aboard!

This morning, we boarded the famous Rocky Mountaineer train for a two-day journey from Banff to Vancouver.  This  route retraces the historic Canadian Pacific Railway that joined eastern Canada with British Columbia for the first time in 1885.

 Day 1 of our journey took us through two and a half subdivisions of the rail system, covering 391 miles. We followed seven different rivers, passed through two spiral tunnels, crossed the Continental Divide, traversed three National parks and changed time zones.

Our seats upstairs in the domed car gave us great views. Service on board is excellent, too, with a robust staff, meals cooked to order in an onboard galley, and hosts who shared stories and history about the railroad and the region.

Can you tell we love traveling together?

People everywhere loved to wave to the train as it passes through their communities.

We passed by some railroad museums along the way. Eventually the mountains turned to farmland, so we also saw cows, sheep, loons, herons, Canadian geese and deer.

Shuswap Lake.

Tonight we sleep in Kamloops before setting out again at 7 am for the final leg of the journey. 

We are eager to see what lies ahead. Are you?

Glacial Waters: Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Bow River and other glacial meltiness

There is a Passover song called Dayenu, which refers to all that God gave us and how even the least of it would have been enough, and yet, God gave us more.  Religion aside, I cannot think of a better word for the bounty of beauty that Nature gave Hannah and me over the past two days.

We walked the path along the Bow River from town to our hotel, passing art installations in the trees, but nothing could take my eyes from the river.

Walking 20,000 steps makes for tired feet.

Time to rest our feet in the icy cold water.

Sun hitting Mount Rundle late in the day.

Moraine Lake from the top of the Rockpile hike. Perfect.

Moraine Lake 

Glacial water flows into the lake from the Wenkchemna Glacier. A moraine is a ridge of glacial debris that acts as a natural dam, thus forming the lake.

At Lake Louise, you can clearly see the glacial ice, even at the end of summer.

Cold water feels so good on tired toes.

Savor the view.

Savor the joy.

Banff

Banff and the Fairmont Hotel are as close to heaven as I’ll ever be.  I know I’ve said it many times before that I love the Rockies, but the Canadian Rockies are perhaps even closer to perfect than the ones in Colorado. 

I met Hannah at the Calgary airport and we drove up to Banff on a perfect afternoon. Locals say this week is the best weather of the summer so far, as June and July were unusually wet and cold here.

Thanks to Hannah’s taste for luxury, we’re staying at the historic Fairmont Hotel with endless views of the mountains and river.  The hotel was built in the late 19th century and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Our first stop was for a drink and a snack on the patio.

Bow River runs past the hotel, which is not far from the headwaters at Bow Lake. 

After settling in and a good night’s sleep, we grabbed coffee and pastry at Wildflour Bakery, then drove about 30 minutes north on the TransCanadian Highway to Johnston Canyon to hike and catch some stunning waterfalls.

The water really is that color turquoise.

Even though we shared the trail with lots of other tourists, this was one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. Hannah liked it, too, and was happy there were only tourists and not bears.

Now we’re back at the hotel for lunchtime tea and some R&R poolside.

As I said: Heaven on Earth.

Calgary, or day one in Canada

Hello and bonjour from up north, where I am spending two weeks in beautiful Alberta and BC. First stop is Calgary, sometimes called Cowtown because of its famous rodeo and tasty Alberta beef, both of which I missed. But I did enjoy a walk along the Bow River and Prince’s Island, Chinatown, Stephen Street mall, and visiting Studio Bell.

A bull made of letters in the Central Library…

And a rodeo bull give Calgary a cowboy vibe.

Studio Bell is home of Canada’s Music Hall of Fame honoring performers I adore like Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, and Leonard Cohen. Here I am listening to a video about jazz great Oscar Peterson.

Always time to smell the flowers

Stephen Street pedestrian mall

Chinese influence is everywhere, as this area is largely populated by people descended from immigrants who came here from China to work on the railway in the late 19th century. In addition to Canadian Chinese, immigrants also came from Taiwan and Hong Kong to settle here, creating a vibrant Asian community.

Rolled matcha ice cream was a new experience for me.

And of course, dim sum was high on my to-eat list.

Calgary Tower lit up the night sky outside my hotel room. 

Good night for now. Tomorrow, off to Banff!

August photo dump

Barree and her daughter visit for the afternoon.

Guy on Forest Ave.

Steffi recovers from hip replacement surgery

Raspberries from the Farmer's Market

Dinner with Raymond, Matt and Noah

John's summer peach pie

Raymond and Johamy at Felix in Venice Beach

John and Matt find inspiration

A day in Old Town Orange

Summer fave