The Train Station – All Aboard!

For all you Yellowstone watchers, Not that train station!

To begin…Happy Thanksgiving, Canadians. Our first day on the train was Thanksgiving for Canada. The whole traditional Turkey dinner. Yes, I did partake….so delicious. Not often in your life you get two Thanksgivings in one year.

What are you grateful for? It seems to be the question asked on that day. How many other days of the year do you specifically ask that question?

This whole blog could be quoting one verse after another regarding thankfulness, so many to choose. One of my favorites, and my hope is I live it each day, is Psalm 9:1,”I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of your wonderful deeds.”

Another one that makes me begin to clap and sing is the combo Psalm 100:4 and Psalm 188:24. Everybody, clap and sing with me….”I will enter his gates with Thanksgiving in my heart. I will enter his courts with praise. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice for he has made me glad.”

As you know these trips are never just about the two of us. Let us now introduce, Flo. Flo is short for….we can’t remember. He is from France and this is his first day on the job. He doesn’t like wine, only Bellini’s. He was our entertainment and a joy to be around.

When we hit the beautiful Canadian rockies, I just wanted to sit back and soak in the view. However, one elderly man attached himself to me and told me stories of his travels along with many of his pictures in his phone. (I didn’t get a picture of him.) I finally excused myself and went to a different part of the train to enjoy the scenery, when this man decided I might be a good listener.

What a story! He is 90 years old, travels on his own with a couple of napsacks (backpacks) and a small bag. He is extremely concerned for the Hamas terrorists attack. He watched some Russian militants kill his mother when he was very young living in Austria. He said he stays well by eating mostly vegetables and intermittent fasting. He shared so much more.

Where is Jay during these visits? I don’t know. How do you loose someone on a train? What I do know is I’m reminded it really is about the people the Lord puts in front of us even when we want to just be quiet. As Ron Mitchell says, “It’s about the people”.

And then, the Lord gives abundantly his beautiful creation.

I had to add this last picture. As we are sitting in the dome car, it feels like James Bond and his current villain should be running across the roof at any moment. Jay is searching for an opening to get up there.

If you remember in the last blog we told you our plans in 2020 was Toronto to Vancouver. As you have already guessed it, we are traveling the opposite direction, Vancouver to Toronto.

First stop, Jasper. This is how we were greeted.

Our morning view in Jasper.

We took four days off the train to enjoy the Rockies – two days in Banff, two in Jasper. The Icefield Parkway between these two points is gorgeous. National Geographic rated it the most scenic drive in the world. We would agree.

Banff is in full fall colors. It’s difficult to choose what pictures to share.

Lake Louise, we thought we would just drive by and get a photo. No! It is stunning! Bluer than Curacao waters and no Lionfish. We walked as far as we could around it, then back.

Columbia Icefields along the way was glacier after glacier. We hiked to the toe of Athabasca Glacier, then decided to walk on it as well. What “No Entry” sign? We didn’t see anything.

The glaciers form their own little weather systems called Katabatic wind. I always tell Jay our street has its own weather system. I am now going to be calling Rio Blanco’s weather Katabatic.

Hunting for the red chairs is one way to get your steps in and choose what hike you want to do. There are 400 chairs placed in different areas in Canada. We found two and almost a third but ran out of time to get to it. It was getting late and we were in bear country at dinner time. We averaged 15,000 steps per day. So many hikes, so little time.

Animals roam the streets and sides of the highways. The Canadian interstates have fencing along the sides to keep them from jumping into traffic. They build underpasses and overpasses for the animals to use for crossing. Phil Clevenger’s brother designs the bypasses.

We saw a bear and two moose, but couldn’t get a picture in time for either. We did get pictures of the elk and big horned sheep.

Back on board, next stop, Toronto, in three days.

Train math – we have 22 cars, each of them are 88 feet long. Six of them we are not allowed to walk. How many times do we need to walk it each day to get our 10,000 steps each day?

Our first encounter with wild life in the prairies of Canada were a herd of Buffalo during breakfast and a wolf during breakfast. Just watching out the window we watched a bald eagle flying over a small lake. We’re not quick enough with our camera.

The tamarack, poplar, and birch trees are brightly lit yellows all throughout this trip.

In the prairies of Saskatchewan are huts covering bee hives to protect them from the elements.

Welcome to Winnipeg. We had a lovely evening walk around the Forks Riverwalk while the train was being serviced.

Where in the world have they dropped us off for our afternoon walk? Hornepayne is 98 kilometers from White River, Ontario. (Not Rio Blanco Dr.) According to the hardware store clerk, the closest Walmart and other stores are 2 1/2 hours away. Rancho Murieta, we can’t complain.

We are getting close to Toronto, so we will close this writing for now.

The majestic snow-capped mountains, the golden prairies, the rolling farmlands dotted with cattle and large hay bails, the crystal-clear lakes, the dark green forests, and the dark skies all have their own beauty. They are God’s creation each placed in their perfect spot in this world.

Rod Stewart’s song, “Get Ready” says, People get ready, there’s a train a comin. You don’t need no ticket, you just get on board. All you need is faith to hear the diesel humming. Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord.”

Are you ready? Are you thankful? We are.

Blessings, Jay and Kelly

P.S. Train math answer = 7.10