The hotel, was once again on the outskirts of downtown, but within reach of a local 7/11 food store. After eating all day we weren’t very hungry so a quick visit for supplies and then exploration. The heat slammed into us as soon as we left the hotel; 7.30 pm in the evening and the temperature was still in the 100’s. However, we were determined to discover the artistic murals, which had been painted by local artists. These murals were to be found, according to our information, in the back alleyways around the centre of town. You may think that we were taking a risk searching in these areas but honestly they felt safe even when the sun began to sink down into the horizon. Fortunately, success came quickly and what a diverse variety of scenes covered walls, doorways and shop entrances. It was a delight! It was an interesting and fun search and as we walked back to the hotel, I thought that it was a pity that so many buildings are built in boring grey materials, when they could easily be so colourful! We decided to end the evening in one of the local bars. We were looking forward to the cool air conditioning but we were surprised to find that the bar we had chosen didn’t have any!
It was sweltering but as it was near to our hotel we decided to stay for what turned out to be quite expensive drinks for two! An early night beckoned as we had an early start for our second day on the Rocky Mountaineer; this time all the way to Vancouver. Interesting fact: Kamloops is known as the tournament capital of Canada due to its climate, central situation and its first class sports facilities. It has held tournaments of all different sizes and disciplines such as women's hockey, men's curling, tennis, basketball, speed skating, cross country skiing, soccer, swimming and Canada's summer games, to mention just a few!!
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Although there were many wonderful views to look at on the journey, there came a time when relaxation kicked in and some people played cards, some read, some people closed their eyes; my husband sketched and I wrote. The stewards were still attentive and Becky, one of them, took the microphone and announced that she had decided to have a poetry competition. She asked the passengers to write a poem about their experience on the train and then on the second day they would be read out and a winner announced. So racking my brain I spent an enjoyable hour or so writing a variety. Here are a couple of them; Poem 1. All aboard, the tannoy announces So the waiting crowd pounces Hey! Be careful not to push! As they run and rush Excitement roars. Noise level soars But Once on board They settle into their seats Ready to rock and roll to the train’s steady beat. Flashes of mountains and forests green On either side of the carriage can be seen. Assistants friendly, smile and stand Ready to lend a helping hand. Meals are taken at your table Eating delicious food on trays so stable. Drinks are offered with a smile As the train travels onward, mile after mile. A delightful day spent on the train Over 30 and not a hint of rain. Travelling onward round the last bend Soon our journey will come to an end Coaches arrive to carry us away A perfect end to a perfect day! Poem 2 Rock, rock, rock on the Mountaineer Saw some bears Australians cheer Rock, rock, rock on the Mountaineer Drinking wine And ice cold beer. Rock, rock, rock on the Mountaineer Lovely scenery Both front and rear. Rock, rock, rock on the Mountaineer Watching the forest- Looking for deer. Rock, rock, rock on the Mountaineer High ledges and ravines Hold no fear. Rock, rock, rock on the Mountaineer Beautiful mountains So tall and sheer. Rock, rock, rock on the Mountaineer Looked after by staff Year upon year. Rock, rock, rock on the Mountaineer Say goodbye And shed a tear! Sue Westcott (C.)2017 As we travelled, capturing photograph after photograph of the lovely scenery, I decided to write some notes about what I could see through the windows during our journey. I put these together to write a poem from my thoughts and observations.
Views From the Train. The first day. Stand up and admire The soaring presence Of Mount Robson. Ethereal blue Shimmers in the sunlight. White tipped topping Cascades down Like pure icing; Frosting the Mountainous cake. Tier upon tier Of towering trees Hug the train track. Trees of leafy greens Like a rich gourmet salad Fresh and crisp In the mountain air. Wave after wave of green foliage Creating a corridor; Surprisingly varied In their depth of colour. Bedraggled undergrowth Hides dark shadows Lurking In the tangled ground cover. White water waterfall plummeting rapidly creating a filigree spray of intricate lace Foaming into a transparent ice cool pool. Red top pine trees Thinly tall; Dying, decaying slowly. Beetle larvae Leave patterned evidence Of slowly, strangling The living wood. Dappled sunbeams Radiate warmth and light As they fight their way through; Revealing a forest full of new life A resurrection of beauty! Sue Westcott (C.) 2017 The Rocky Mountaineer is all pizzazz and dash. Red carpets, flags and uniformed assistants greet you. I was expecting a trumpet fanfare (LOL) but was disappointed however the perkiness of the welcome staff more than made up for the lack of pomp and ceremony.
The Gold Leaf carriages are double-decker with seats on the top and a dining area below. They do look impressive however, the Silver Leaf carriage, in which I am sitting writing, is pleasant and comfortable. Again there is an exuberant welcome from the friendly attendants. There is lots of leg room and the seats are comfy. I have a large drop down table, high picture windows and a gentle breeze from the air conditioning and the scene for my journey is set. First up is a speech and toast with orange and peach bubbly, then the warm towel and the first service of the day begins. Two breakfast options are offered with juice, tea or coffee. The food, when it arrives, is presented well and served by Allana, our chef’s assistant and Becky our female steward, from a buffet cart. Once this is finished and cleared away, Scott, our male steward, starts to tell us the first of many informational accounts of the places we pass and are yet to see. Tales with titles such as Yellow-head Pass and Moose Lake are interesting and whet my appetite for more. Scenes from the window vary from towers of trees, white speckled mountains to a huge emerald green/blue lake. We travel at about 35mph and the rocking sway of the carriage is smooth and soothing, although I think after 7-8 hours when I disembark, the feeling that I’ll have will be disconcerting but that is a long way off. In the seat pocket are a magazine, a newspaper and a safety manual plus of course the inevitable gift catalogue where souvenirs can be ordered! There are stunning views on both sides of the carriage but far too often a quick glimpse is all there is time for. However, Scott reassures us that when the train passes the really outstanding sights, it will slow down so that we will be able to take photographs and this comment pleases me and fellow passengers. So it is thumbs up so far and the well oiled and slick machine continues at a pace. I settle back, relax and begin to enjoy my journey. If you have never been to Australia, North America or Canada you won’t have seen one of their goods trains, which carry freight across their vast landscapes. These trains are enormous and if you have to stop at a crossing whilst one of them passes by, then be warned; you maybe there for a very long time.
Sometimes you can wait up to twenty minutes before these huge trains trundle past. In Canada, apparently, these trains can be up to 14,000 feet in length, which is 4km long!! They are very often filled with containers carrying all sorts of freight and are often carry double-decker loads. These gigantic beasts are really important to the economy of these countries and when we were in Jasper, we saw one such train. It was carrying such things as; foodstuffs, grain, coal, ore, lumber, machinery and as we sat at a table in the patio area of the small station, I took out my note book and began to write. The Behemoth Thunder roar of the train, As it leaves the station. Squeals of wheels As they gain traction, And the huge locomotive Takes up the strain And begins to pull. Steadily, slowly Wagon upon wagon Of double topped containers Filled with countless commodities, Judder and shudder Into life. When momentum is reached It rolls past Like a twisted metal snake Elongated, stretching Along parallel tracks. Minute after many minute Until it finally Disappears over the horizon Like a modern day Wagon train Reminiscent of the first settlers From time gone by. Sue Westcott (C.) 2017 I like ice cream! I’m sure that it is universally liked all around the world. Those people who don’t like it must have a medical condition or an allergy to the ingredients or they simply don’t know how to enjoy life!
Ice cream melts in the mouth and floods you with happiness. Simple vanilla is therapeutic; it comforts you, calms you; it gives you joy and when you add flavours it takes the experience to a different level. Recently on holiday in Jasper I had the opportunity to taste a chocolate and peanut butter ice cream and what a delight- it was quite simply stupendous. Bursting with flavour; the two ingredients had been blended together perfectly-it was like a slice of heaven and a sensation of sin all rolled into one wonderful taste bud explosion. On a hot day, with sunshine dappling through the trees and surrounded by majestic mountains and air so fresh it perked up my senses; and in that moment in time, here was nowhere else I would rather have been. Jasper is a mountain town; expansive roadways with tree lined avenues and wooden chalet houses. Surrounded by mountains it is nestled in a wide valley complete with train station, shops, restaurants and nature trails. There are tourist attractions nearby such as a gondola ride up one of the nearby mountains and water activities on a nearby lake. In fact we found out that white water rafting is one of the main tourist attractions for this area. However we decided to have a rest from sightseeing and spent our time exploring the town. It has all the main conveniences needed to sustain a growing population with a school, fire station, doctors, dentists, a health centre and library. It is all set out in a pleasing town plan. The people are friendly and the whole atmosphere is one of tranquil relaxation. On the two hot summer days that we stayed there, the locals mixed with the tourists shopping in the few souvenir shops (a complete change from Banff). The tourists were very low key; checking out maps and leaflets from the information centre, sitting in the small park eating tasty ice creams or just chilling with friends. Gentle, slow drivers, pleasantly polite, stopped easily so people can cross roads safely. Even though the town is busy it is surprisingly quiet and peaceful. On Wednesdays there is a farmers' market. It is held in the ground of one of the local churches. There are about six stalls in total selling locally grown cherries, which are big and bold and extremely juicy to eat. The raspberries look luscious and that particular stall did a roaring trade with long queues.
Backpacks galore adorn shoulders as people meander around on a lazy quiet day. Around the town there is a feeling of community and local support. Everyone seems to know everyone and there is an atmosphere of family and friendship. Tourist buses arrive and leave regularly carrying the much needed revenue from their occupants but there is never a feeling that this is a tourist town. No- it is very much a place where people live and work and tourists just come, stay a while and then go! Surrounding Jasper the mountains are seen in the distance (not close up and personal like in Banff) and they are just as spectacular. It is a lovely place and one that could quite tempt me to relocate! Only my lovely husband and darling daughter will really understand the euphoric feeling of joy I had when I reached the next hotel in Jasper; it had a self service laundry room! I couldn’t contain my excitement as I planned the first morning of our stay. I would be able to empty the ‘dirty washing’ bag, which had begun to fill up. I would be able to dry the clothes especially jeans, which are always difficult to dry adequately. This luxury would also mean that when I packed again for the next part of our travels the cases would be full of clean clothes! YEAH! I don’t know about other people but I have this drive to wash when I am on holiday. The first thing I look for is the laundry room even when on a cruise. I also check out the bathroom to see if there is one of those pull across washing lines and when I find one, I am delighted because I know that I will be able to wash more than underwear, whilst staying there. If I’m on a package holiday around the Mediterranean, I will take my own washing line and pegs so that I can wash and then dry on the balcony of the hotel room. So I spent the first day in Jasper relaxing in the sunshine with a picnic lunch, whilst my clothes were being cleaned and that for me at that moment in time was just pure bliss! We had been instructed by our coach driver to shout if we saw any wildlife out of the windows as we travelled down the highway on our way to the town of Jasper. You can imagine the excitement and uproar that reacted to the first call of ‘BEARS’! The coach driver pulled into the side of the road so that we could all look into the bush filled forest. Eyes peeled and quick scanning brought disappointed sighs, when suddenly a brown hump, a furry shape appeared and we were off again. The buzz in the coach whipped up into a frenzy with questions whispered, “Did you see it? Where was it?” The coach driver, who was obviously used to this, kindly backed up the coach and yes there it was; a light coloured brown bear hiding in the trees. Click, click, clickerty click went the cameras and mobile phones. I have to admit I didn’t see much of this bear from my vantage point but a few metres down the road a few cars had pulled in and people were stepping out of their cars and pointing down below the highway barrier. Again the coach driver pulled in and tried to back up as a black bear was sighted walking along the roadside but unfortunately for us, away from the coach. I managed to see it plod away in the opposite direction but couldn’t capture a photo of it. By now we were really in the mood for seeing bears and everyone in the coach was standing up with their eyes peeled. Then it happened! At the side of our coach a black bear decided quite nonchalantly to walk in our direction sniffing, scrounging and searching for something edible to eat. This time, I was thrilled to get a photo and my lovely husband videoed it as well. Hugely satisfied with this little piece of wonder, we drove on with the knowledge that we had seen real, live, wild bears in Canada! Magic! However, on a more serious note; the people who had climbed out of their cars to get a closer look and who had run after the bears were being a bit naïve. These bears were wild and if they took a dislike to the commotion and lashed out in some way, there could be dire consequences. If any tourist was hurt by a bear then that bear would be tracked down and killed by the park rangers. Just something to think about! I have to admit to feeling somewhat embarrassed that I actually went onto a melting ice glacier, after being repeatedly told by guides that the ice fields are melting at an increased rate due to global warming. (It is happening President Trump!) I wanted to ask why they were still conducting tours of the area, which included huge heavy tractor like trucks with wheels that were taller than me pounding their way across the surface! The weight of these plus the thirty people inside must have been tremendous and I couldn’t see that this powerful force was doing the ice glacier any good. I’m sure that the National Park service had a good reason for this invasion; maybe the tourism revenue helped to keep the rest of the ice fields intact as well as keeping the park area buoyant. However, I did step onto the glacier and walked on its slippery surface with many others. And I goggled in amazement at the towering waterfall of ice that was slowly receding in the distance. I marvelled at the sky blue and sparkling silver colours that appeared beneath me as the weak afternoon sun melted the crunchy, crisp ice. The cool wind blew and tinged my face pink and a quiet drip, dripping could be heard as trickles of pure, transparent water flowed over the freezing waves of compacted ice. It was exhilarating and exciting to be standing there surrounded by so much ancient beauty but as we drove slowly off the ice I did wonder how long we would be able to do this before the glacier disappeared altogether. As I boarded the coach, I felt a little guilty enjoying this experience. |
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