I'll explane my North American Trip

[jastel]

Was raining the next morning so slept in as long as I could...checked out and left my bag behind and went walking. Firstly into Parliament House, mainly to escape the rain but it was an interesting visit, just wandered by myself, the guided tours were later.
Then out to Beacon Hill Park, some nice spots, the 0 Mile Marker, a giant totem pole and some ocean views. Back into town, had some lunch, rain had temporarily stopped now, and even some bits of blue sky. Walked around the town and harbour just killing time until my 3pm bus.

Back to the hotel get my bag and walked to busstop. the bus drove up the coast through Sidney, to Swartz Bay where the ferry goes to Tsawwassen, basically the first port in Canada North of the US Border. The whole bus goes on the ferry, you get off and go sit upstairs where there are restaurants etc, then back on the bus and it drives you into Vancouver to a few select drop of points. I walked a few blocks to my hotel, checked in, and got some dinner in the attached bar/restaurant.

Park



Giant Totem Pole



Sea



Zero Mile Marker for Trans Canada Highway



Lots of Terry Fox Statues in Canada



Ferry Route



Swartz Bay Terminal





Some nice homes on the islands



My Vancouver view...lots of apartments and inner city living.

 

[Cossie]

Most of us have some War history stuff in the closest somewhere...
Was he training over there?

Yeah I'm aware that I can shrink them etc but couldnt be bothered...
The ones you are seeing are from the phone I used for Facebook.
If anyone wants a specific larger size you can ask...I have about 8000 pix to get through.

Not eating any sea snot...thanks anyway TMA.

Yes, it was a training accident, in the short time he was in the RAAF, he went from Broome, places in Australia then Canada and the UK, before ending up in Kenya. I have his photo album as well.

Can you share your fb page, please?

 

[jastel]

Last night I was talking to the bar girl about the Ice Hockey on TV, she mentioned the first game of the season was on tonight. So I tried to get tickets but the app didnt like my Australian number. So I walked a few blocks down to Roger's Arena and bought one in person...as a bonus I could pay cash...the lady actually printed me a ticket as she couldnt get my app to work either. The ticket was about A$200 for a high nose bleed seat but being first game of the season made things dearer. From talking to locals if the team is winning tickets are expensive, if they are losing much cheaper.

Walked down to Gastown, named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a talkative Yorkshireman who built the first Pub. Then sawmills and other businesses followed and it became the start of Vancouver. Gassy Jacks statue was destroyed by Woketesters last year so couldn't see that, there is a steam powered clock, lots of touristy shops and restaurants, on the fringes the area is more dodgy with cannabis stores and more homeless/druggy types.

I got on the HOHO bus here and a did a lap, it drove around downtown and over through Stanley Park etc. The weather was nice, cool but sunny...I did 2 laps, one on each side of the bus. Got off near my hotel on lap 2 and had a late lunch then back to room for a rest. Went back out at 4pm and walked down to Canada Place and the Pan Pacific Hotel to check in for my Rocky Mountaineer Train Trip in a couple of days...once I found the room they were hiding in.

Back to my hotel, dropped off train paperwork and then walked down to the Ice Hockey. I have never seen a live game, have tried a few times in other US cities but it's never worked out. The atmosphere is like a basketball game, lots of ra ra, music, lights etc. The stadium is similar to Australia's ones with overpriced junk food popcorn and beer, but nowhere to sit and eat it.

The game was good, I only had a vague understanding of the rules but, there was a punch up...box ticked...but they have so much padding Im sure they were not hurt. The Vancouver Canucks won the game 8 to 1 against the Edmonton Oilers. A Canuck is a respectful term from the War sort of like a Digger here. One player got a hat trick of 3 goals, at this point everybody close enough threw their hats over the glass onto the ice to celebrate...seems like a waste of a $30 hat to me. After each goal the crowd goes "Woooo!", then they all sing the La La La La bit of the tune form "Dont You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds from the Breakfast Club movie. If the other team gets a goal it is announced, maybe 10% of their supporters cheer, and the other 90% of the home crowd yell out "Who Cares!"

It was a good night, walked back to the hotel area got some dinner and back to bed.



Steam Powered Clock, plays music every quarter hour.



Some weird buildings



Library



Waterfront



Didnt get to Winnipeg...



I'm at Rogers Arena for the Ice Hockey, across the road is the Footy Stadium, both right in downtown and easy to get to.



The Fight

 

[jastel]

This morning I walked down to Canada Place on the waterfront again and caught the free bus out to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Bought a ticket for about $70.

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park | North Vancouver, BC

Discover one of Vancouver’s most popular tourist attractions, known for its natural beauty, famous bridge and family-friendly activities.

www.capbridge.com

This was a very pretty place...I wouldnt say it was a busy day but there was still a few people there, would hate to be here in summer crowds. There is the famous suspension bridge, there is a bunch of rope walkways and platforms "Ewok" style through the big trees, there is another cliffside walkway as well. it was a sunny morning and would have been a lovely place...without the crowds.

Some obvious facts that seem to elude the mostly Asian tourists that were there at the time...the bridge swings, it is not solid, the bridge is 2 ways, you cant hang on to both sides at once if somebody is coming the other way, sure you can take a photo but after 10 seconds I'm walking through it, and NO you dont block the whole bridge for a selfie with your family. You can tell I made many friends here.

The other thing that cheapened the experience was I was there just before Halloween and they had coughpy plastic pumpkins, wiches, spiders and skeletons etc hidden amongst the trees for their big "Halloween Spooktackular" day next week. It just looks stupid.

Back to the city and caught a local bus out to a bike shop at the beginning of Stanley Park, hired a bike and rode around the 9km seawall for a few hours. It is a one way deal for bikes, but people can walk both ways. Back to return the bike, bussed back to town and had some very late lunch, then back to the hotel and di a load of washing and had an early night.



Main Bridge



On Bridge



Other side



Cliffside walk









Another weird Building



Stanley Park Seawall - Lorelay's sister "Wetsuit Girl"



Bridge

 

[jastel]

Up at 6am and walked a few blocks to another hotel which was a designated pick up spot for the Rocky Mountaineer Bus. After much faffing about we got on and were dropped to the station, this is NOT the same as Vancouver Normal Station. Once we got there, there was free tea and coffee for the druggies but nothing else, breakfast was on the train. I waited at my designated carriage to board when a staff member walked up and changed the number??? WTH?? You think they would number the carriages BEFORE the guests arrive...it has been running for years now, its not their first day.

Find my NEW carriage and allowed to board, my seat mate is a 60 year old German guy, most other passengers were more elderly still, there were a couple of younger honeymooners and two 20 ish year old girls from the Gold Coast, one of whose boyfriends worked for the company.

I was in Gold Class on the last trip "up" to Banff for the season, the same train came back "down" the next day from Banff and then shut for winter. There were 16 carriages of 68 people so over 1000 people. Our train stopped and picked up another 2 engines and 16 empty carriages to take back to Kamloops railyard so we were the longest train of the season the guide said.

In Gold Class the train is 2 levels, passengers sit higher up with a glass domed roof for better views, the lower level is the dining area and toilets, kitchen etc. The seats are large and have fold out tables, your bags must go on the floor as the roof is glass, no lockers. The service is pretty good with the staff being tour guides, story tellers, food servers, cleaners the lot.

This dining setup means only half the car eats at once. The first half of the car goes downstairs to eat, the second half get some drinks and snacks. After about 2 hours we swapped around...this meant for the second half breakfast was closer to 10:00 than breakfast time. After the second half went back up from breakfast around 11:30 the first half went back down for lunch. In Silver Class carriages you eat in your seat like an airplane and the carriages are single level...the food is not so five star as well. The overnight accommodation is also a cheaper style in silver class but except for the famous Fairmont Hotels which cost a LOT extra there is not much difference.

We went slowly through the burbs of Vancouver and it was over 1.5 hours before we went above 40kmh I reckon. we also had to stop and give way to freight times often...freight normally has priority as that brings all the $$$ in for the railway.

I wont do a full Rocky Mountain Train Report, I'm sure many of you have done the trip and all know how beautiful it is with the mountains and the wildlife. Another negative of doing the last trip was it gets dark about 6pm, due to delays for freight and trackworks etc we didnt get into Kamloops the halfway stop, until 9pm, so 3 hours in the dark on the train.

The hotel in Kamloops was a Business type Mariott. One good idea was they handed out room keys ON the train before arrival and our luggage is trucked up to Kamloops and delivered to our rooms hours before we arrive. But 3 coachloads of elderly people all wanting the same lift at the same time is still going to be slow. I got off the coach and walked straight ahead into town for a quick look around, not much to see, but it let the crowd go and when I got back I went up to my room and bed.


My NEW renumbered car



Train



Lots of Lumberyards



Gold Class



Fall Colours



Been some bad fires...the train was stopped and pax bussed out on one day







Bear Sighting

 

[jastel]

Day 2 the scenery got nicer as you got higher. We saw some bighorn sheep, deers, eagles and some other birds and squirrels but nobody spotted a real bear or moose much to everybodies disappointment. Of course the staff assure you that "just last trip" we saw one here.

Today the train splits in half, half goes to Jasper and we go Banff. We had also lost our empty wagons and extra engines. The seats were rotated 180 degrees and the engine swapped ends and we left the way we had come veering onto another track. As the seats had spun I sat on the window and got in trouble for moving by the guide...yesterday I was on the aisle. She could not explain to me how if my seat spun 180 degrees I was still supposed to be sitting in the aisle...

This train is setup for couples not singles, they can swap seats and lean all over each other for photos etc, but as a single you cant do that. The German guy was cool and we often swapped seats and we both spent most of the time outside on the balcony for fresh air and better pictures anyway. But I would be cranky if I had to sit in the aisle for 2 days and see bugger all for the money it cost. They definitely made a profit off us as we missed most of the wine and cheese and drinks service, history speeches etc...

Again a late arrival into Banff, the German guy was at the same hotel as me, so we agreed to meet up and get some dinner at 10:00pm. Well as it is off season most restaurants had closed...we eventually found a small bar and had a meal and a beer.



I know many of you like seeing what food there was...not my style I'd prefer a buy what you like cafeteria deal and the trip much cheaper.



Translation Device

 

[jastel]

Next morning I checked out and waited for my 9am Brewsters bus to Calgary, he was right on time and I was the first passenger so I sat in the front row and chatted to him as we picked up others.
Leaving Banff it amazing how suddenly the mountains stop and the prairies begin. After a few stops and 2 hours or so we were at Calgary International Airport, I got off and walked across the road to rental car bit, picked up my rental car and drove back to Banff.

Got back to Banff about 1:30pm and went to Sulphur Mountain Gondola, after driving around in circles for 10 minutes looking for Parking they guard let me into the lower parking lot. Bought a ticket from an Aussie, the guy boarding the gondola was Aussie, the girl at the top as well, the girl in the restaurant...seems like only Aussies work over here.

Great views from the top, a few clouds but a nice day. Walked to the lookout thing, wind was getting up now and so I went back down. Drove back to hotel and parked car, went for a walk around town in daylight and then had some dinner.



Road to Calgary leaving Banff with Mountains



Calgary Olympic Ski Jump



Driving back towards Mountains



Sulphur Mountain





Banff Town



Banff Springs Hotel

 

[jastel]

Leave Banff and drive to Lake Louise, had to buy a National Parks Pass before entering, there was enough parking here though it was early, they advise you to do the park and ride normally. I walked down to the shore of the Lake and bumped into 2 Americans from the train, we had a quick chat, then 50m later bumped into 2 Aussies from Melbourne who I was having breakfast with on the train. They were staying here, they had one night in a Lakeside Room for $1500 and one night on the no view side was $800.

I started out on the Lake shore walk, it was easy and flat it just goes to the opposite end of the Lake. At the signpost I decided to go up to the Lake Agnes Teahouse walk, this was steeper. I bumped into some Americans and noticed he had a can of bearspray in his backpack drink pouch, apparently you can buy it for about $50, rent it for $20 a day or if you're staying at the resort they lend you some. "Stick with me" he said, I said "OK, but not for the spray, I only have to outrun you and your wife if we see a bear and I'll be right"

We walked up to the teahouse, it was a nice view from up there, and because I was walking at a slower pace for the others it was not too hard. Back down the bottom and said goodbye to the Americans, only to bump into them again in Lake Louise Village 2 hours later! I checked out the National Parks Office and found out several other trails I wanted to visit were closed so that was less to do, then had some very late lunch as the teahouse was closed I didnt eat yet. It turns out that a lot of Canada closes after Thanksgiving, I had heard about closures due to weather, excess snow etc which is fair enough but thought it was strange they shut while there were still crowds and the weather was ok.

It was getting late now so just booked a hotel here, had dinner at the hotel.



Lake Louise - a bit cloudy



Looking Back at hotel from Lake Shore trail end



Fairmont Chataeu Lake Louise - some construction



The Lake looks bluer as you get higher



Mirror Lake and Beehive

 

[jastel]

Today drove up the 230km Icefields Parkway, stopping at every place I could that was open.
It was snowing gently, just a Christmas looking dusting on the pine trees but not enough to make driving dangerous. It cleared up after 11am or so as I headed further North.

First stop was Bow Lake, then Peyto Lake, the Mistaya Canyon, Saskatchewan River crossing for a snack, then was Wilcox Pass, Columbia icefields Centre Closed, Sunwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls and into Jasper to stay the night.

Jasper is the other destination of the Rocky Mountaineer, it is basically a railway town with 5km long freight trains passing through, they take about 10 mins to pass the crossing. It also has some ski resorts and hiking trails but is a much smaller tourist attraction than Banff.

Bow Lake



Peyto Lake Xmas Time





Peyto Lake



Clearing up





Mistaya Canyon - Im on a bridge



The Road



Columbia Icefield



Sunwapta Falls

 

[jastel]

This morning drove to Maligne Lake, it was pretty but the weather was overcast and everything was shut, had a walk around and drove back to Jasper. The next stop was the Jasper Skytram, i went up the mountain...again nearly all the staff were Aussies...and looked at the view. the clouds were closing in but there was a gap to see the town. Due to the clouds I didnt do the hike to the summit. Back to Jasper to fill up me and the car and then hit the road to do some kms.

I headed west to Tete Jaune Cache and turned Left and went down the 5 to Kamloops, Left again and ended up in Salmon Arm, where the train had passed by a few days before. Found a side of road motel with a McDonalds opposite and stayed there.



Would be nice in Summer





Whistlers Mountain - tramway through the clouds



Jasper



See the long straight rail lines



Met a local

 

[Matt_01]

Bought an Orca card and got the Metro to Tukwilla and then the 124 bus to -

The Museum of Flight

Well that brought back some memories, last year I caught the train and bus to the Museum of Flight. I did not remember the train station I got off at but after googling Tukwilla I realised that was the same station I also got off at. I get your points about Seattle, it was MrsM's first visit and at one stage she asked why we were going through skid row, I just mentioned this is how some parts of downtown are.

At Pier 69 I checked in and paid for my bag and waited to board the ferry to Victoria, on Vancouver Island in Canada.

We also caught that ferry, we were lucky the weather was pretty good and it was a most pleasant trip. When we arrived Canada still had some entry restrictions so it was slow going through immigration. Did you have a vehicle in Victoria that you put on the ferry or did you make your own way to the ferry terminal at Swartz Bay and your own way to Vancouver. We did consider this but ended up using the seaplane option as it seemed easier.

I like looking TRs for places that we have been and seeing places we would have liked to gone to but didn't have time. It gives us and excuse to head back.

Nice TR.

 

[Seat0B]

the bridge swings, it is not solid, the bridge is 2 ways, you cant hang on to both sides at once if somebody is coming the other way, sure you can take a photo but after 10 seconds I'm walking through it, and NO you dont block the whole bridge for a selfie with your family. You can tell I made many friends here.

welcome to my tribe @jastel

 

[Seat0B]

Your photos are fabulous!

 

[jastel]

Matt_01 it was probably your trip report that gave me the idea for the ferry and seaplane originally, I just waited until I arrived to book as I didnt want to bet on the weather for the plane.

No car in Victoria, had car from Seattle to Sprucegoose and back to Seattle for 3 days, not really any other easy choice to get there, I could have driven to Museum of Flight but would have to leave early to return car, so I returned car early and public transport to MOF and spent ALL day there. Then didnt need it in Seattle CBD, walked to ferry.

Bus went from Victoria to Swartz Bay, drove on ferry, pax get off and go upstairs to lounge and restaurants, get back on and it drives to Vancouver.


Seat0B I am a firm believer in the 10 second rule at lookouts and crowded places...it annoys me when a few facebook influencers hog the spots while people wait patiently. I wonder how many pictures I have photobombed??

 

[jastel]

Today I wanted to do the Revelstoke Railway Museum, but of course it was shut on Thursdays...
So I hit the road. The weather was miserable, raining and cloudy, not good for the mountains I was about to drive through.

First stop was at Craigellachie, where the Last Spike in the Trans Canada Railway Line joined the two separate lines together. The train goes past here slowly but it was hard to get a decent picture out the window.

Then through Revelstoke, up Roger's Pass in the pouring rain, I'm sure there would have been some nice views if I could see further than the end of my bonnet...no photos for this section of the trip.

Through Golden, turning R and down the 95 to Radium Hot Springs and Fort Steele, a Heritage Cowboy type town at an old ford in the river. Killed a couple of hours there, again the old buildings covered in witches and skeletons and pumpkins spoilt the authenticity.

Then a few more kms away to the town of Cranbrook to stay the night.









The Rocky Mountain Train uses these tracks.



Lookout somewhere when the weather had improved...by the afternoon it hit 23 degrees.








Authentic skeletons...NOT

 

[Seat0B]

Seat0B I am a firm believer in the 10 second rule at lookouts and crowded places...it annoys me when a few facebook influencers hog the spots while people wait patiently. I wonder how many pictures I have photobombed??

This was our experience last year in most of Europe - at first I let it go, but after days of waiting and watching these people contort into stupid poses, put on the pouting duck face, adjust their make up, remove several layers of clothes in very cold temperatures, fiddle around with all their accessories so the logos were prominently showing and adjust the lighting - and then take several more minutes to get their videos and photos I started implementing that rule too. And when some of them yelled at me or gestured aggressively, I did my best "sorry I don't understand you" face and totally ignored them - they block my photos, I will block theirs. It's actually infuriating.

 

[drron]

You are too kind @Seat0B . In Japan I was walking around a garden in Tokyo and came across a group of Chinese doing the same on a narrow bridge that I wanted to cross. I walked straight in front of the young lass who was the subject of the video, took a few pictures of the view and responded to the yelling by saying in a loud voice- “Get out of my way I’m coming through. They parted.

 

[jastel]

Went via Elko, Fernie and sparwood and through the mountains at Crows Nest Pass and into Alberta. The next stop was Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. Yes - its a real place.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site

Where the foothills of the Rocky Mountains meet the Great Plains sits one of the world’s largest, oldest, and best-preserved buffalo jumps.

headsmashedin.ca

This is a UNESCO site now, a smallish 10m cliff that the Indians used to herd Buffaloes to the highest point and the weight of the herd would stampede them off the cliff. The local tribes all cooperated in this when conditions were right and the meat collected would see them through the winter, there is an interpretive centre there explaining it all and is quite interesting.

After this lot of cliffs the land got considerably flatter and turned into wheat fields, looks much like rural Victoria in Australia to me. A few google shortcuts had me on dirt roads and in the middle of my own cattle muster but eventually ended up in Vulcan.

Vulcan

Vulcan, Alberta - Wikipedia

About 1.5 hours South of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Rental Car.

With a name like that what else but Star Trek’s Enterprise …a large Model of course outside a Truckstop. UFO Centre, Spock Statue and a few murals etc. Nothing much else there but a small farm town and a Truckstop.

Ten kms away is RCAF Station Vulcan which was an Empire Air Training School station in WW2. Mostly abandoned and derelict now, one or two sheds in use.

Had a late lunch at the Truckstop and drove another 30mins or so to Nanton and stayed there.



Google Maps short cut



Done some Mustering.



Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump Cliffs



The Indians used most of the animal



The Jump



UFO Tourist Centre - Shut for Winter



Memorial



The Enterprise



Spock monument



Use the Force, Luke - NO WAIT - Live Long, and Prosper!

 

[jastel]

More Vulcan.

The Doctors of Star Trek



Flox - Enterprise



McCoy - The Original Series



Crusher - The Next Generation



The EMH Doctor - Voyager



Bashir - Deep Space Nine

They Haven't got up to the Newer Series yet or they are out of blank walls.

RCAF Station Vulcan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Old RCAF Station Vulcan

 

[OZDUCK]

I guess they are trying to pretend Dr Pulaski never happened. As I recall her brief sojourn was because of bad behaviour by at least one of the production team.