Some travels

Some travels

We have enjoyed several trips to North America including a fabulous USA road/train trip in 1999 (Washington, New York, Cape Cod, Boston). We've had a memorable visit to Rome and explored the lush yet mountainous north of Tenerife. Recent UK holidays have been spent exploring magnificent North Wales. The first of two trips to Canada together is summarised below.

Canada 1997

In June 1997 we spent three weeks travelling from Toronto to Vancouver by train. Four years later, my immediate memories are:

Toronto to Saskatoon

eating a huge meal in Toronto on our first night and enjoying very different beer
going on an Amtrak train to Niagra Falls - quite slowly
having a very, very hot walk from the station at Niagra Falls to the actual falls - seeing a chocolate-coloured squirrel on the way
being very glad that we were on the Canadian side
going up the Skylon and having a big buffet lunch - bit of a crush with Japanese tourists - good strawberries
being mesmerised by the volume of water going over the falls
being glad I wasn't on one of the Maid of the Mist boats bobbing around at the bottom of the falls
having to get a bus back to Toronto because the train had broken down at Buffalo
experiencing our first Canadian beef at an unchanged 1950's steakhouse, Lindy's
trying to sleep in economy seats on the train from Toronto to Saskatoon via Winnipeg - the journey took two-and-a-half days - good food - washing my hair in a very small sink
being asleep when the train went past a moose somewhere in Ontario - everyone saw it but us, I think!
spending a week with my relatives in Saskatoon and being at my cousin's wedding
watching pelicans in the river with Ben and Judy (my cousin and his wife)
visiting my Aunt and Uncle's land where they had a cabin - looking at the trees they planted - seeing beaver canals
staying in a beautiful house almost completely lined with oak, as my Aunt and Uncle's was full of other wedding guests
visiting Wanuskewin Heritage Park (web site) - watching a teepee being put up - having a very hot but lovely walk around the grounds with my Aunt - seeing the buffalo run where the inhabitants used to chase buffalo off the edge of a hill - feeling a great sense of serenity looking over the Saskatchewan River valley and the grasslands beyond - seeing ground squirrels scrounging for food at the visitors centre

Saskatoon to Jasper

my Aunt and Uncle very kindly taking us to the train station in Saskatoon in the middle of the night
being fed cold Kentucky Fried Chicken by the train company when we had to get a bus from Edmonton to Edson because of a freight train derailment
loving Beckers chalets (log cabins) near Jasper, right next to the Athabasca River
walking in the Opal Hills and being very afraid of meeting a bear, and wishing I had bells on my feet like the Norwegians that were doing the same hike as us but in reverse
meeting a very tame deer when we reached the alpine meadow
being very quick to get down the hill because I was afraid of meeting a bear (it was very quiet)
eating a HUGE meal at a great family restaurant in Jasper when we got down (I think we had a half chicken each)
climbing to the summit of Whistler Mountain, Jasper, after a cable car ride - falling over in the snow - taking some photos for a Japanese family - having the mountain top to ourselves - watching a gopher with its front paws on my boot begging for food - seeing a very lazy hoary marmot - being almost struck dumb by the massive view
buying a green jade bear in a gift shop which now sits on our mantle piece
seeing elk grazing by the road side
from the corner of my eye, seeing something swimming in the river and hoping it was a beaver - we'll never know!
driving to the Athabasca Falls and Horseshoe Lake - seeing a massive stag

Jasper to Kamloops (and Penticton diversion)

driving from Kamloops to Penticton - descending from a high and slightly scary plateau with warning about snow chains and "you can't stop for 50 miles" type signs - Simon being asleep while I drove us along this scary road - seeing the beautiful valley on the other side
having a warm late afternoon stroll around Penticton
visiting an observatory at Penticton where we were given a tour and Simon gave a talk - listening to the 25m dish mechanism graunching (it was temporarily broken) - seeing ospreys nesting
driving on the left hand side of a deserted road for about 20 metres on leaving the observatory (which I have never been allowed to forget!)
getting lost leaving Penticton and ending up on a Native American reservation, almost on the US border
stopping at the Kettle Valley Railway Museum - Simon asking for and getting a ride on a Shay - they were testing out some new fuel they had acquired
driving in a loop back to Kamloops via Lumby (great pub) and Revelstoke (creepy motel) - eating at the Mushroom Addition by the side of a lake

Kamloops to Vancouver

catching a train at midnight from Kamloops to Vancouver
waking up on the approach to Vancouver station feeling completely wrecked
getting off the train for the last time and feeling quite glad!
wandering round Vancouver in the morning with our rucksacks thinking how expensive the things were in the outdoor equipment shops
not being as impressed with Vancouver as we ought to have been, but we were pretty tired and didn't see very much of it!
sitting out on deck enjoying a sunny ferry crossing to Vancouver Island
hiring a giant car and getting a bit lost on the way to Tom and Betty's house in Nanaimo (Tom and Betty are great friends of my Aunt and Uncle in Saskatoon)
sleeping very soundly at Tom and Betty's - enjoying the quiet and seeing sea eagles by the shore
listening to some friends of Tom and Betty's trying to sell us all on the idea of wearing magnets to cure all known ills
enjoying listening to Tom and Simon talk about science
spending a long day driving right across Vancouver Island to paddle in the Pacific Ocean
stopping at Port Alberni for the best fish and chips I've ever had
thinking how quiet the road was and how the scenery was more tropical that I had imagined, even though it was still pretty much pine forest (the north of the island is temperate rainforest)
stopping at Ucluelet and paddling in the very cold Pacific Ocean - finding lots of weird drift wood - finding lots of ex crabs, I think eaten by otters - picking up a sea shell which I still carry in my waterproof coat pocket
having a very long and sometimes wet drive back to Nanaimo - seeing a lovely rainbow en route
seeing a black bear!!!! - having seen very little wildlife on the whole trip (compared to our expectations) this was fantastic - we stopped the car and Simon got out to take photos of the beautiful creature on the verge eating carefully selected yellow wild flowers - I locked the car door but did let Simon back in(!) - he took some lovely photos - made the trip extra special
visiting a logging railway museum at Duncan, just south of Nanaimo - fun and interesting
having a lovely lunch with Tom and Betty - fresh raspberries - signing their visitors book
having a very, very wet taxi ride from Vancouver to the airport

Vancouver to home

enjoying the flight from Vancouver to Toronto - excellent meal
being bored and uncomfortable waiting two extra hours for our flight from Toronto to Manchester
walking through our own front door, and working out we had been travelling for 18 hours

It was an excellent trip - I don't think I'd have done anything differently; but I don't think we'll be travelling quite so far in Canada by train again - not economy, anyway!!