Coddiwomple Stardate 180922

Our Uber driver dropped us near the Union Station and told us to head down a walkway which we did. After wandering around for 15mins I checked out our offline maps and realised he directed us in the opposite direction. Back on track we only had to wait 30mins before boarding. We are in economy which means 4 nights of sleeping in a seat. Amtrak seats were far more comfortable to sleep on. These trains are 60 year’s old. Amtrak were only 50. The train has two engines, 21 carriages and is 500m long. We have carried on two bags of food and planned on just buying our dinner. There is an observation deck which both of us has taken advantage of many times. They also put on entertainment by a duet. Our first stop we were able to get off for a stretch in a town called Hornepayne. Staff made the announcement we would be arriving in 10mins. The town has a population of 1000 and their train station is a two story brick building built in 1929. Something to check out. When we arrived the station was boarded up and derelict. Must be Canadian humour.

Our second full day on the train we stopped at Winnipeg. Winnipeg is in central Canada like our Alice Springs. They have a population of 800,000 and was surprised by the high rise buildings. We went on a 1 hr walking tour with Dr Phil (not that Dr Phil!) It was great to stretch our legs and a very interesting tour about the history of the area. 20% of the population are of French heritage and mainly live over on the other side of the Red River. They are so French that the main population won't even go over there because they think they will need to speak French. The French side are happy with this rouse.

I’m finding I’m enjoying the trip so far. In a sleeper cabin you don't leave your cabin that much. Being in economy you meet more people and tend to socialise more. Just like in Titanic’s 3^rd class. I’m even sleeping better than when we had our own cabin. Last night when I went back to my seat Sharon had taken over both seats and was snoring. I ended up sleeping in the dinning room wrapped around a corner table with my feet elevated over the next seat. I woke up with someone touching my feet. Another person decided I had found a good place and started sleeping in the next seat.

It is an extremely slow trip. Most of the time we seemed to be stopped waiting on a siding for another train to pass. I was told by someone before we boarded that the trip use to take 2 days. It now takes 4 days to complete. The railway line was sold to a public company and their freight have priority over VIA Rail Canada. They are upgrading the tracks so things should improve.

Thursday night we had a great sunset. Most of the day was travelling through farmland with many of the trees changing to autumn colours. The previous day was all lakes and pines. There are less people on the train now and plenty of spare seats available. I still chose to wrap around a dinning room table for sleeping that night.

Friday morning we woke up to a light dusting of snow. Now all the autumn colours are washed out with light snow. As we got closer to the Rocky Mountains the snow over the trees has been getting heavier. It even snowed while we travelled along. Just love seeing the spruce trees covered in snow it looks so Christmassy. The observation carriage is now becoming more popular. Even the sleeper class are starting to invade our space because their observation carriage is always full. Us lower class aren't allowed in their area but they sneak into ours. So rude.

We stopped at Edmonton for a short break. A camera crew was setting up for a scene and a few of us realised who the personality was. Michael Portillo from his series on Great Train Journeys. He had only joined the train that night in Saskatoon at 2.00am in the morning. He was already leaving to get to Jasper by other means. I guess he was worried about missing his connecting train.

As we approached Jasper we followed along Jasper Lake. It was fantastic views with mountain back drop with still some snow around. You don't get this view from the Rocky Mountaineer. We were meant to have up to 3 hours in Jasper unfortunately the train was running late. Its because of the other 8200 trains using the same line on any given day. 45mins is all we had. Pretty town and six of us managed to get a quick drink in at the Jasper Brewing Company.

Back on the train we picked up another two carriages. This is the second time our train has been extended. We now have 28 carriages and over 600m long.

16 months of sleeping on different beds and waking up with strangers. We are finding our backs are getting quite sore. After getting up from my 4^th night and 3^rd night wrapped around the dining table I realised for the first time in weeks my back hasn't been sore. When we settle down again I think I'm going to find the most awkward thing to sleep on so I can get a good nights sleep.

Saturday morning was the most spectacular of the journey. One of the Rocky Mountaineer trains also travels this section. Our train meandered along a very rugged gorge next to the Thompson River. No snow here just many barren steep hills with lots of tunnels. Eventually the Thompson runs into Fraser River. Thompson River is green and the Fraser River is brown. Where they join it is almost like a dividing line where both colours are distinct.

I expected this trip to be like Amtrak. You get on, reach your destination and disembark. Along the way the staff inform you of the history of a town or point out things of interest to be seen. Although the train takes twice as long to cover the distance because of all the traffic. It does give you plenty of time to take in the views. It has been a fantastic trip and recommend travelling this way if you are heading to Jasper to do the touristy things. Or just take in the changing beauty of Canada and travel the whole length between Vancouver and Toronto. Sharon has loved the trip also. She has made more friends with plenty of new ideas for future travels.

We arrived in Vancouver two hours ahead of schedule. Kaitlyn who we met in New Zealand picked us up and drove back to her apartment. We stayed with Kaitlyn and her Dad Kevin until we left Friday Morning.

Sunday & Kevin was back early enough from work to go with us for the day to start exploring Vancouver. They drove us to Reifel Bird Sanctuary. This is a wetlands area well known for migrating birds. After spending a few hours here we had lunch at Catch Kitchen & Bar in the town of Stevenson. Britannia Brewing Company was next for Kevin and I while Kaitlyn and Sharon did the girlie shopping thing. After leaving the bar Kevin was trying to tell me of some movie or TV show filmed in the town he couldn't remember the name or what it was about. It wasn't until I saw one of the building I realised it was "Once Upon a Time" and the main street in the series. People were setting up Christmas decorations and I asked one of the workers why so early. They were preparing for a movie scene to be shot in the next couple of days. It was a Hallmark movie. One of 184 filmed this year.

Monday Sharon and I were left to explore more of Vancouver ourselves. We caught a Skytrain to take us to Waterfront Station Downtown Vancouver. Their Skytrain is fully autonomous and I managed to get what would normally be the drivers seat a couple of times. Certainly gave a great view of the City. We were planning on going to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Vancouver's Number one tourist attraction. We caught the Seabus over to Lonsdale Quay then a bus. I started talking to a couple and they were headed for Grouse Mountain. We decided to go there first then the suspension bridge after. When we arrived and payed nearly $120 to enter I decided we will be staying all day and the bridge can wait another time. To get to the main part of the mountain you need to ride in their gondola. The gondola holds 100 people and departs every 15mins. Once in the main village, which also is a ski lodge in winter you can catch the chairlift up to the top of Grouse Mountain 1250m. They had a wind turbine up there also which has an observation deck and supplies 30% of the parks power. It involved another cost to take up the lift unfortunately there was a heavy fog and you would not have seen anything.

Other things to do on Grouse Mountain was to see two grizzly bears named Coola and Grinder. Both have been in captivity since being orphaned as cubs since 2002. They have 10 acres of land to wander around in. After spending 19 weeks in North America and only ever seeing bear's ass'es it was nice to see them up close. We went to the theatre to watch a short film about raising both grizzlies. They have the World Famous Lumberjack Show. It was a very cheesy comedy show about a wood chopping competition. The jokes were so lame you had to laugh. We did enjoy it. There were many wood carvings to be seen also.

We planned on meeting Kaitlyn about 5.00pm. There is a free shuttle you can take there and back which drops you off at Canada Place also near the Skytrain Terminal.

Tuesday and we had planned on meeting Viv at 10.00am to go on a walking tour. Viv was a passenger on our train from Toronto. When Viv arrived she realised it was the same walking tour she had already been on. Change of plans again. We decided to go to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. We used the Seabus and bus again to reach our destination.

The original suspension bridge was built in 1889. The land owner at the time was tired of having to walk down then up the canyon to reach a better hunting area a round trip of 20km. He decided to build a bridge and get over it. Eventually new owners bought the land and starting turning it into an attraction. They now have boardwalks, tree top walk, cliff walk, guided talks, totem poles and the usual restaurants and gift shops. The three of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves here.

Then it was onto another free shuttle and a beer or two at the Elephant and Castle. Viv drank beer so it was good to have a drinking buddy. Back at Kevin and Kaitlyn’s we watched an episode of Flash. Sharon realised their coffee shop scenes are filmed in this building.

Wednesday we went for a long walk around the waterfront to Stanley Park. Stanley Park has plenty of trails to walk or ride a bike around. They have Indian Totem poles also where there were many tour buses stopped. We found out at the Capalino Bridge, colourful totem poles are not genuine. They are only made for tourists. Genuine Totems do not have bright colours. We loved Stanley Park and it is always great to have parks like these so close in the city.

Thursday we caught the Skytrain to Queen Elizabeth Park. Kevin who drives for a tour bus company recommended these gardens. Having spent many hours at the Brutchart Gardens on Vancouver Island he thinks these gardens are just as good only smaller and also designed around an old quarry. We loved the gardens and also their Bloedel Conservatory which have many varieties of flora and birds flying free.

We made our way back to Kevin and Kaitlyn's. Sharon and Kaitlyn went to get their nails done while Kevin and I sank a few pints at the Firefighters Public House.

Unfortunately time ran out in Vancouver and now it's time for Edinburgh. We loved our time with Kevin and Kaitlyn and can't wait to see them again one day. We hope to return their hospitality when they visit us in Perth.