To Vancouver

September 20, 2017

We departed Jasper at 2:30am this morning, 12 hours later than the scheduled time.

Like our journey from Toronto, all the train staff were working under very difficult circumstances but were very flexible with routines and worked hard to minimise the problems caused by the delays.

They were highly apologetic for the inconvenience and tried to do the best they could with meal times and preparing cabins and making things comfortable.

We had crossed into British Columbia and by the mid morning we had just passed through Kamloops.

We spent most of the remainder of the day in the panorama car.

At Kamloops, the Thompson River flows 15 kilometres from the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers.

The river then started gathering speed and rapids were in view.

The river flows into Kamloops Lake, which is roughly 30 kilometres in length, ending at the town of Savona. From there it flows in a meandering course westwards through a broad valley area.

The track hugged the steep shoreline and went though a number of tunnels in places.

After a few hours the dry conditions were very noticeable.

At Ashcroft, the Thompson Canyon begins and the river turns southwest to its confluence with the Fraser.

Ashcroft is the driest town in Canada. The dry grass is called Sagebrush.

From Ashcroft to Lytton, the river is completely confined within Thompson Canyon, making for spectacular scenery.

We were frequently delayed by freight trains where we were held on a siding whilst the train(s) passed us by.

The Thompson River joins the Fraser River in Lytton. There is a striking stretch of dark black cliffside just downstream from Ashcroft and visible from the Logan Lake-Ashcroft highway is officially-named the Black Canyon.

The Frazer and Thompson Rivers merge - The clearer water is the Frazer River

At Boston Bar is the town in the centre of Frazer Canyon, at what is referred to as Hell’s Gate, we were at the most famous part of the rapids in the province, and a fish ladder was built to help the salmon swim upstream to spawn.

Tired of the long train ride - we should have been in Vancouver by now..

More timber

We were now approaching Vancouver, but alas they held the train up for over an hour just to get us to the station..

Thursday September 21

Hello Vancouver

We had a very central hotel and took the Red Trolley tour around the city.

Vancouver appears is alot more relaxed than Toronto and had has many building around its shores with great views of its impressive harbour. Whilst there are many high-rise buildings, they don’t completely take over the landscape.