Rocky Mountaineer

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Geo: 50.6761, -120.338

Our train adventure begins traversing through Fraser Valley along Fraser River eastbound from Vancover to Kamloops. Everything is green and lush. In this region local farms produce a variety of crops including berries, field vegetables, orchards, bulbs, hops, seedlings and Christmas trees. We traveled through the town of Hope situated in the Cascade Mountains at the start of Fraser Valley, made famous by the 1858 gold rush. It is the chain saw capital of BC. A Rambo movie was made here. It's said that many gold miners came with hope, most left with despair because there wasn't much gold here after all. We passed by First Nations people fishing for Salmon. First Nations people are similar to our Native American Indians.

Our train is very plush and comfortable. The main seats are above with glass dome Windows for visibility. The dining cars are below where gourmet meals are served. Drinks and snacks are served in the main cabin as well.

As we leave the Cascade Mountains and Fraser Valley, we passed through Fort Yale, established in 1848. It was named after James Murray Yale who was in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Langley post. Fort Yale was abandoned a year later when nearby Fort Hope was found to be a better situated station. It was resurrected as a townsite when gold was discovered in 1858.

We passed by Hells Gate, the Canyon's most popular attraction.  Many, many beautiful scenes passed by as we watched from the comfort of our coach.  Rainbow Canyon, Avalanche Alley and Jaws of Death Gorge where the banks of the Thompson River become quite steep and narrow creating turbulent waters, a favorite spot for whitewater rafters.  It's considered a 5 +.  We passed by Spences Bridge, Murray Creek Falls an Osprey Nest, the town of Ashcroft and finally our destination for the night, Kamloops which means "meeting of the waters," it refers to the junction of the North and South Thompson Rivers.  The town is beautiful.  Our hotel is across from a park where a concert is held every night and our room overlooks the park.  There is an ice cream shop next door.  After checking in we walked through the park and down to Lake Kamloops and listened to music for awhile, before stoping for ice cream.  We have an early day tomorrow, where we'll head for Banff for the final leg of our train journey. Then we switch to a motor coach for the remainder of our trip.  I'll try to give details on some of the pictures I post.  

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Photos

From inside the train
Notice the domed ceilings made of glass.

Hells Gate
This is the narrowest part of the Fraser River. As much as 200 million gallons of water pound and surge each minute through a 110 foot wide gorge. The height of the Fraser can vary as much as 80 feet thorough out the year at this point. It was named by Simon Fraser in 1808 because it reminded him of the "Gate of hell." Many visitors take in the excitement of Hell's Gate y riding the Swiss build Airtram which ascends 500 feet to the opposite side of the gorge.

Rainbow Canyon
As we travel further east the air is warmer and there is less rain so it's not so green. The minerals in the rocks in Rainbow Canyon reflect a rainbow of colors giving the canyon a painted look. Copper turns green and purple when oxidized, while iron turns orange and red. The yellow is due to sulfur deposits.

Cisco Crossings
It is here that CP and CN lines cross the Fraser River. Cisco, from the First Nations word "Sitka," means unpredictable and refers to the nature of the water under the bridge. This 812 foot long orange arched bridge is the longest single span bridge on the CN line, with a 425 foot arch span.

Osprey on a perch
The Osprey can often be seen soaring above the River on the lookout for fish, their favorite prey.

Ashcroft
One of the driest places in Canada with less than 10 inches of annual rainfall. Ashcroft is a large cattle ranching area. The largest employer in the area is the Highland Valley Copper Mine, which produces about four percent of the world's cooper.