Manny behind Peggy & John in the Vancouver terminal.

Ready to go: Susan, Dianne, Peter, Manny, Peggy, John, Pat and Sandy.

General Store beside the tracks at Harrison Mills. Note the stilts and elevated boardwalk: \240the 1922 vintage building is located on a flood plain.

Canada is such a young country! \240The first scheduled transcontinental train from Montreal to Port Moody was in 1886, 133 years ago. 133 years, I’ve been alive for just over 1/2 of that!

Dangling from rope ladders made by Indigenous guides and inching along the precarious walls of the canyon that bears his name, explorer Simon Fraser first encountered Hell’s Gate.

Hell’s Gate, the narrowest part of the Fraser River, was named from a description in Fraser’s diary: “... a place where no human should venture, for surely these are the gates of Hell.”

Today, not such severe rapids, due to low water.

Apparently at high water the river is just a meter or two below the bottom of the orange bridge.

The mighty Fraser, which the Indigenous people called “muddy waters.”

At 1368 km long, the Fraser is the longest River in B.C. \240The river’s drainage basin includes an area twice the size of France. It’s tributaries produce more salmon than any other river system in the world.

This picture is taken from the CN bridge at Cisco Crossing, where the CP and CN lines cross the Fraser River.

Lytton, where “Muddy Waters” joins “Clear Waters”, the Thompson River, which we’ll follow to Kamloops.

Jaws of Death Gorge ... a series of rapids, which are a favorite spot for whitewater rafters.

100-year old Osprey nest on a bridge.

The Thompson River widens into Kamloops Lake near Savona.

“Painted Rocks” (oxidized minerals) that movies have used as a set for Mars.

Sunset after a great dinner at Terra, in Kamloops, at the junction of the North and South Thompson Rivers.

John, ready to board for Day 2 — Kamloops to Banff.

Shuswap Lake, with a 1000 miles of shoreline.

Sir John A. McDonald enticed BC to join the Dominion of Canada, rather than the US, with the promise of a railway connecting BC to eastern Canada.

That promise was delivered in 1885 with the last spike of CP Rail at Craigellachie.

Stone Bridge East of Revelstoke — the railway was originally built on the other side of the river here, then it was moved to avoid avalanches.

Mountains in Glacier National Park.

The Canadian Rocky Mountains were formed millions of years ago as a result of the slow movement of the earth’s crust and the grinding of massive glaciers, which sculpted the majestic Rockies during four major ice ages. \240It has been estimated that the oldest rock in the Canadian Rockies is over 600 million years old.

Castle Mountain, as we roll into Banff.

Goodbye to our hosts, Adriase, Tayne, Anna & Adriana.

Banff Springs Hotel built by CP’s William Van Horne, who said “If we cannot take the scenery to the tourists, then we’ll take the tourists to the scenery.”

Takkakaw Falls.

\240

Emerald Lake.

Lunch at the Lake Louise Train Station.

Lake Louise as seen through the window of the Chateau Lake Louise.

Known to the Stoney First Nation as Lake of the Little Fishes and called Emerald Lake by its first European visitor in 1882, Lake Louise was renamed in 1884 to honour Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria.

Susan, John and Peggy outside Chateau Lake Louise.

We started the day with a trip up the Sulphur Mountain Gondola...

... where found children playing in freshly fallen snow ...

... and recalled the magnificent views that we had seen on our last visit to this spot.

Then down to the town of Banff for wonderful Montreal Smoked Meat sandwiches for lunch, followed by visits to every shop in town looking for the perfect gifts for grandchildren.

As we arrived back at the hotel, the clouds cleared enough for us to see the top of a mountain.

That night, in honour of the Calgary Stampede, Peter and Susan hosted a Western Dinner attended by:

Susan (“The Dancer”) Ballachey with her man Peter (“Straight Shooter”) Ballachey.

Patricia (“The Cook”) Greig with her consort Sandy (“The Collector”) Greig.

Diane (“Italiano”) Salazar and Manny (“Point Man”) Salazar.

John (“Milkman”) Bean with his girl Peggy (“Cassidy Peg”) Bean.

View from the balcony of our hotel just before departing for home.

Banff on a clear day (photo credit: Jiri Eischmann).