On the
way out, the adventure began with a close encounter of the elk kind, barely a
kilometre up the Maligne Lake Road. Many
of the elk had been removed from Jasper and resettled in Algonquin Park in
Ontario a few years back, but some may still be seen.
Maligne
Lake itself was untouched – the last major fire there was 12 years ago. Since this is a heavily glaciated landscape,
the most obvious comparison for me is found in Western Brook Pond in
Newfoundland. With that, I will let the
pictures – including the classic view from Spirit Island – speak for
themselves.
Plainly
it was another hazy day, especially when shooting from Spirit Island directly
towards the sun. I don’t mind. That glowing aura of light added a special
dimension, for me an almost mystical feeling, to the experience.
And so
back to Jasper and aboard the train, for the three-night run back to Toronto. The only difference from the westbound
journey is the setting of the clock ahead twice in just over 12 hours and
consequent loss of sleep time. That was
noticeable this morning. I was in the
dining car at 6:40am for early breakfast, and we passed the westbound Canadian in slow motion at a
siding. Their dining cars were both
about 2/3 full. Ours had only 2 people
eating. Of course, the westbound
passengers had just set their clocks back two hours the day and night
before and thus were eating at what would seem like 8:40am to their body clocks!
Travelling
eastwards across Saskatchewan I was struck all over again by two things. One was the incredible variety of landscape
in a province usually dismissed by people who’ve never seen it as flat and
boring. The other was the incredible
increase in the rough riding qualities of the train when the maximum speed is
increased from 80 to 100 kilometres per hour, or even higher to 115! After trying to walk through the train under
these conditions, you begin to think that elbow pads wouldn’t be a bad addition
to VIA’s list of suggested items one should pack for the trip!
I did
get some decent pictures across Saskatchewan – at least until after Saskatoon
at which point the fire smoke caught up with us again and somewhat obscured a
few of the prime sights. But here are a
few good examples. A classic prairie
slough, ringed by mineral deposits:
One of
the many fields shared by rows of flax and canola:
The
small town known around the world for its quirky slogan, “New York is big, but
this is Biggar”:
(That slogan was actually painted on a town sign in the early 1900s as a drunken prank and remained until it was officially adopted as the town motto decades later!)
The gigantic slag heap of a huge potash mine (note the big construction equipment perched on top of the pile at the right side of the picture to get the scale):
The gigantic slag heap of a huge potash mine (note the big construction equipment perched on top of the pile at the right side of the picture to get the scale):
The broad and majestic Assiniboine River valley:
And
after the train left the Assiniboine Valley we were back on the same level
prairie west of Winnipeg which I had already covered in my third blog post of
the trip.
Winnipeg
passed in darkness this time, still with an extended stop but not as long a
stop as westbound. I slept through that
long quiet time and for many more hours during the ensuing night. My internal clock was really thrown off by
having two time zone switches in less than 12 hours with the consequent effect
on my regular meal times – and here I thought this was an issue only in air
travel. See how wrong you can be?
I was
very much hoping for better weather in Northern Ontario to allow me to do photo
justice to that region which I love so much.
The weather was not perfectly clear, but on a typical warm hazy summer
day there was more than enough sun to allow for a few good scenic views.
Pelican Lake just west of Sioux Lookout:
The
northern end of the sizable lake at Collins:
An
interesting group of treetops south of Hornepayne:
Another interesting aspect of this final full day was the delightful musical entertainment played and sung by the duo Rodent Tiger – a fascinating collection of blues, ballads, folk, pop, country, and original songs, all sung in a gentle mellow voice by Hayley Mcgregor and accompanied by the skilled acoustic guitar of Patrick Allan. The lounge of the Skyline activity dome car is a tricky environment to play in, and these two carried it off with plenty of style and some unique harmonies to add an interesting spice to the flavour of their music.
As with the westbound experience at Winnipeg and Vancouver, so with the approach to Toronto. For most of the last full day the train was running between two and three hours behind schedule. But we still arrived into Toronto only 75 minutes later (in the other two cases we arrived early!).
The approach to Toronto is via the direct route down the Don River Valley, a remarkably scenic approach to the city shared by no motorists, since the valley looks completely different from the roads which thread it alongside the tracks.
This
summer of trains has been a remarkable journey for me.
I’ve come away with a new and more realistic respect for the efforts of
all who struggled to build and operate Canada’s major railways, as well as a
new appreciation of the impact that riding these railways would have had on immigrants
from distant lands. I’ve refreshed and
renewed my own visual impressions of the vastly diversified landscapes of
Canada.
Driving across the country doesn’t convey the same impression for me at all, not least because the scenery when I’m driving tends to dwindle down to an endless blur of yellow centre lines with fleeting impressions of other landscape elements cropping up from time to time. Certainly no roadside restaurant can feed you as well, or provide such excellent service, as the mealtime experiences you will receive from the crews of The Canadian and The Ocean. In the 4-day trip there are no repetitions of any main dishes on either the lunch or the dinner menus, and the chef’s omelette choice at breakfast is also different every day.
Driving across the country doesn’t convey the same impression for me at all, not least because the scenery when I’m driving tends to dwindle down to an endless blur of yellow centre lines with fleeting impressions of other landscape elements cropping up from time to time. Certainly no roadside restaurant can feed you as well, or provide such excellent service, as the mealtime experiences you will receive from the crews of The Canadian and The Ocean. In the 4-day trip there are no repetitions of any main dishes on either the lunch or the dinner menus, and the chef’s omelette choice at breakfast is also different every day.
I’m sure
that I will feel the earth moving under my feet for a few hours after I get
home. I will definitely keep on walking
in the defensive elbows-up posture for fending off aggressive corridor walls
for several more days! I know I will
miss the friendly, helpful attitude of all the staffs I’ve met on The Canadian (five different teams in
all). And I will look back nostalgically
at the easy camaraderie of the scenic dome, and the congenial table
conversations of the dining car. It’s
all been quite an experience.
Nothing
says it better than the fact that I am determined to repeat this trip in
another year or two!
Final
suggestions: if you are taking one of VIA Rail's overnight trains, be sure to download and read their guide: Travel Tips for Sleeper Passengers. It covers many essential details that you
won’t find in any other way, from advice regarding the very limited storage
space in sleeper cars to the need for warm clothes (as the on-train atmosphere
can get very cool) to the recommendation that you not schedule same-day
connecting transport from The Canadian at
any station. (I’m writing these words
during a 30-minute hold at a siding to allow a freight train to pass us in the
opposite direction – a frequent event which underlines the importance of that
last point.)
While VIA Rail will re-book you on the next available train should you miss your VIA Rail connection, you might prefer to plan your trip around a stopover of a night before the connection, as I did. It’s important to recall that these long-distance trains are subject to the vagaries of the freight-dominated railway network, and so schedules cannot be guaranteed.
While VIA Rail will re-book you on the next available train should you miss your VIA Rail connection, you might prefer to plan your trip around a stopover of a night before the connection, as I did. It’s important to recall that these long-distance trains are subject to the vagaries of the freight-dominated railway network, and so schedules cannot be guaranteed.
In this
day and age, it’s best to regard overnight trains like The Canadian and The Ocean as
a cruise on rails rather than as point-to-point transportation – although many
people do use them as a point-to-point service.
The same main features are all there for sleeper passengers: comfortable
but not spacious accommodations, included meals of good quality, frequent
activities and entertainment throughout the day, extra charges for alcoholic
beverages, attentive and friendly service throughout the trip.
Board the train in a flexible frame of mind, prepared to adapt to circumstances beyond your control, with no deadlines or imperative dates in mind, and you’ll be well-positioned to just relax and enjoy the journey. Come prepared to make new friends and to meet interesting people from all corners of the globe and I’m sure you’ll have an experience to remember.
Board the train in a flexible frame of mind, prepared to adapt to circumstances beyond your control, with no deadlines or imperative dates in mind, and you’ll be well-positioned to just relax and enjoy the journey. Come prepared to make new friends and to meet interesting people from all corners of the globe and I’m sure you’ll have an experience to remember.
This is the last blog post of my train trip across Canada and back, including pictures taking you all the way from Alberta to Ontario.
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