30
JOURNEYS magazine
Volume I, 2014
ritish Columbia has a
fascinating history leading up to its
entry into Confederation. Much of
this history occurred with the
building of the Canadian National
and Canadian Pacific railways. What
better way to recall and relive
Canadian history than by “travelling
the rails” with Rocky Mountaineer.
I travelled with my close friend,
Joan, and we enjoyed GoldLeaf
hospitality on Rocky Mountaineer’s
two day First Passage to the West
(Banff to Vancouver) route. The
leaves were turning orange, red and
yellow, and made a perfect late
summer visual back drop to our
trip. To reach Banff we flew from
Vancouver to Calgary, where we were
met by a long time local transfer
company for a picturesque one and
a half hour ride.
Located in Canada’s first national
park, the town of Ban is nestled
within the 6,641 square kilometer
Ban National Park. It is a year-
round destination with hiking, biking
and trail walking in the warmer
months, and skiing, snowboarding
and snowshoeing in the winter. We
wandered the bustling small village,
stopping for lunch at a funky wine
bistro. Later that evening we ventured
out again for a delicious dinner before
retiring for the night.
Early the next morning we were
transported to the Ban train station.
After a quick, red carpet embarkation
process, we reached our assigned
seats in the GolfLeaf Service car.
Much like first class on a long haul
flight, each seat here oers zero-
gravity recline with no loss of leg
room for you or the guest behind
you. From our seats we would have a
360-degree-view of all the dramatic
scenery to pass.
The car consists of two levels,
with a full dining room on the first
level. The chef’s kitchen is located in
the adjacent car and typically has
three chefs serving the one GoldLeaf
car! After leaving the station, we met
the sta and enjoyed a delightful
breakfast. All meals onboard were
nothing short of five star!
After breakfast we took in the
breathtaking views of the Canadian
Rockies, traversing the spiral tunnels
under Cathedral Mountain. Opened in
1909, they were viewed as engineering
wonders in their day.
One of my favorite highlights
was the site of the “Last Spike” of
the Canadian Pacific Railway, at
Craigellachie, B.C. Driven in by one
of the original railway founders on
November 7, 1885, a cairn now marks
the spot. With this spike, Canada
was linked coast to coast by railway.
As William Van Horne (president of
CP Railway from 1888 to 1899) said,
“If we can’t export the scenery, we’ll
import the tourists.”
As our day came to an end, we
enjoyed a beautiful surprise — the
hoodoos. Hoodoos are unique rock
and clay formations caused by
erosion. According to our onboard
storyteller, these Hoodoos were
formed at the end of the last ice age.
SPECIAL FEATURE
