Finally, another trip

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I have not posted to this site since January 2020. When I titled it “The Last Post”. I was unaware that it might be prophetic but it was, almost. The first cases of COVID 19 were reported only days before that post and the end of the Christmas cruise to Hawaii. At that time we had a round trip Alaska cruise booked for June 2020. However, a couple of months into 2020 it became clear that we would not be making that trip. We cancelled our trip and shortly thereafter cruise ship traffic in Vancouver was prohibited. Like everyone we had no idea that it would be two and a half years until we would travel again.

By mid 2021 we began investigating another travel opportunity. We guessed, and hoped, that things would return to a more normal status by mid 2022. Our search lead us to the Rocky Mountaineer, an excursion rail tour operating from Vancouver to the Canadian Rocky Mountains on three routes. The first two routes were Vancouver to Banff and Vancouver to Jasper both via Kamloops. Later, a third route was added going from North Vancouver to Jasper via Whistler and Quesnel. Recently, a fourth route has been added between Moab, Utah and Denver, Colorado.The schedules were such that we were able to book a circle tour from North Vancouver to Whistler, to Quesnel to Jasper then to Kamloops ending in Vancouver. The train travels only during the day and nights are spent in hotels. The trip begins and ends with a two night stay at a Vancouver hotel. We booked this trip for mid September 2022. Our round trip between Burlington and Vancouver will be done on the ground by car.

We have driven to Vancouver several time so our route is well established south that we limit driving to eight hours or so. Typically we overnight in Salt St Marie, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Moose Jaw, Calgary. Kamloops or Kelowna and Vancouver visiting numerous Tim Hortons and Mc Donalds along the route to augment daily picnic lunches and, of course, obligatory pit stops. This year we will do a short day from Calgary to Golden, spend a few hours in Banff and enjoy a lunch. The second deviation puts our end point in Victoria rather than Vancouver. After a few days on Vancouver Island we will return to Vancouver for the Rocky Mountaineer tour. At the conclusion of the tour we will retrace our path back home.