Days Four and Five

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Greetings! We have spent the last two days on a wonderful glass top train called The Rocky Mountaineer on the way from Banff to Vancouver. The weather has been cool and rainy but it didn't matter on the train. Our car had 72 people on board and we got to meet, eat and interact with quite a few. Many are from Europe, Australia and the U.S. They fed us continuously and there was unlimited drinking of every sort of beverage. The hosts on the train serve and they also are tour guides for the trip. We went through all kinds of terrain; we followed mountains, lakes and rivers and enjoyed viewing all sorts of animals and birds. We took a ton of pictures. We really recommend this train to those of you that like the scenic and slower way to travel. It's leisurely and you see so much more of the countryside. The rivers are swollen from a very rainy spring. The usually semi arid terrain is very green and lush. Cactus are blooming. What a treat.

We were surprised and saddened to learn that the Rocky Mountaineer train management intend to lock out the employees of the train starting on Tuesday in a union/management battle. They are replacing everyone with "scab" labor so we are told because they won't give in to demands. That will really rob people of some very talented tour guides that know everything about this ride and have been doing it for decades. We sure timed our trip right and we were the last train to have the seasoned workers. As we exited the train, our guides were crying and hugging us good bye.

I'm sharing some fun pictures with all of us. News from Vancouver tomorrow when the big riot broke out after the Stanley Cup.
Sue and Steve

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