Across Canada by train

We left Ottawa at noon on the train on Tuesday and arrived in Vancouver on Saturday, only an hour late. I say "only an hour" as we were 4 hours late into Winnipeg and 7 hours late into Edmonton! I think the time change helped! What a fabulous way to travel though. Both Alan and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The train was very comfortable, the staff all friendly and informative and the meals really nice and huge! As well, the scenery was stunning. I hardly read anything as my eyes kept being drawn to the views outside the window. It's further from Toronto to Vancouver than from Sydney to Perth. Most of its Ontario, which seemed to be thousands of small wooded lakes on either side of the train. I looked in vain for a moose, but did see deer, beavers, bison and mountain goats - oh and prairie dogs. Manitoba was rolling hills and canola fields, Saskatchewan flat with silos, and Alberta green grassy fields with undulating hills. Until Edmonton when we started into the Rockies. Actually we were climbing since we left Toronto according to the informative, if not manic, attendant in the observation car. But it was near Jasper that we really got amongst the Rockies and it was hard to tear your eyes away from the windows. Once we crossed the Alberta/ BC border and the continental divide, we followed a river all the way to Vancouver. It started off as tributes, but eventually became the Fraser River. I would absolutely recommend this trip to anyone: it was fantastic.