Rocky Mountaineer Train - Day 1 - Vancouver to Kamloops, Canada

July 4 

Truly Moving Train Journeys | Rocky Mountaineer Fresh Tracks booked us with Rocky Mountaineer, but of course you can book directly with Rocky Mountaineer.

There are 2 levels of service on the train. GoldLeaf and SilverLeaf. We went with Silver. Main difference was having a dining car instead of food served at your seat. Both have glass-domed cars, but the Gold has a smaller center strip in the roof. For us it wasn’t worth the difference in price. We were pleased with the food and service in our SilverLeaf car.

It is a day train only so; nights are spent in a hotel. The seats are large and roomy, but we didn’t find them all that comfortable for our backs or my feet. Masks needed to be worn except when at our seats we could take them off. Luck of the draw we had seats that had a row of seats in the middle of it, making it harder to see out and ahead. Every other seat had this “feature”. The seats were also very tall which made it much harder to see out especially for the person not sitting next to the window. Shorter chairs wouldn’t really have impacted anyone’s comfort and made it easier to see out for everyone.

It was very cold on the train even with my sweater. It was warmer towards the back of the car where you could stand for a while if you got tired of sitting. There also was an area to stand outside to get photos or just watch the scenery go by.

We were up very early for our pickup for the train. (6:45a hotel entrance) We got checked in and checked all but our day bag for the train. The lady that checked us in noticed my Blue-footed Booby earrings (she said they were so cute) and asked if we had been to the Galapagos Islands. (That is where I bought them)

large waiting room

he played and posed for photos before we boarded the train

The hardworking staff introduced themselves and we were on our way weaving our way out of Vancouver. Lots of graffiti to entertain us until we got to the real scenery.  

people waving at us on the train as it passed by

The chef on our car read off the menu in a Julia child kind of voice (it was her real voice) and then came around and got our choices. They first came around to serve drinks and then came back to refresh them before our breakfast was served. The first course was served and then they came around with the main.

starter

All the while this is going on the servers were explaining the sites we were passing.

waffle

frittata

During the course of our day, we saw the scenery change from the lush green fields of the Fraser Valley, through forests and winding river canyons surrounded by the peaks of the Coast and Cascade mountains, to the desert-like environment of the interior.

Drinks again were served and at 10:00 the bar was open. (it’s 5:00 somewhere?) All-inclusive for beer, wine, and hard liquor which they poured freely and then came back and refreshed again. Soft drinks were also served. People were drinking a lot for that time of morning. I guess when it’s included people go crazy.

Then a mid-morning round of snacks was served. There was a choice of trail mix, spicy mix, and chocolate and nuts.

Lunch orders were taken for later. Then the bar cart came with coffee or tea with or without Bailey’s or just Bailey’s in a cup.

Over lunch we climbed the steep Fraser Canyon, past the thundering water of Hell’s Gate and the steep slopes and rock sheds along the Thompson River.

I saw a black bear and Greg got a look before the train sped around the corner. We all saw lots of elk.

As a surprise before we got off the train, we were served a hot baked cookie. Never been fond of oatmeal raisin, but these were delicious.

Our day ended as we traveled along the shores of Kamloops Lake before arriving at the small town of Kamloops. Here we did not know where we were staying as Rocky Mountaineer chooses where you stay. We were assigned busses and taken to our respective hotels. We were guaranteed a 2* or better hotel. (Gold got 3*) Would not have chosen it, but it served the purpose for our short night, and it was clean and had plenty of room to put things.

Kamloops is located in the heart of the Thompson Okanagan region of British Columbia between Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies. The name is derived from a Shuswap word meaning “meeting of the waters” because the city is nestled at a point in the valley where the North and South Thompson rivers meet.

Kamloops is known as the Tournament Capital of Canada. It hosts more than 100 tournaments each year at world-class sports facilities such as the Tournament Capital Centre, Kamloops Bike Ranch, and Tournament Capital Ranch. Health care, tourism, and education are major contributing industries to the regional economy and have grown in recent years.

Heavy industries in the Kamloops area include primary resource processing such as Domtar Kamloops Pulp Mill, Tolko-Heffley Creek Plywood and Veneer, New Gold Inc - New Afton Mine, and Highland Valley Copper Mine (in Logan Lake). There are over 50 trucking and transport companies located in Kamloops that ship across Canada and into the United States.

We were staying in the quaint old town area, but there are suburbs that are more modern and populated.

We got into Kamloops late around 9:00 and managed to grab dinner at The Noble Pig. (only a short wait to get in)

we stayed at The Thompson & convention center

it was a long, huge hotel that looked like train cars all strung together

curling center next to hotel

dinner - a short walk from hotel

pulled pork mac & cheese

pulled pork sandwich

rec rooms at the hotel

views from our room

Another early start tomorrow, so it was another short night. (another 6:45 pickup) We end in Banff tomorrow.

Greg didn't take many shots outside on the open area, so most are shots through the train window. The train moves along pretty quickly, but it was more to see the scenery than to photograph it.

For larger photos: Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver to Kamloops: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TmRrrWps5b3w12Yq7