Mature Life Features

. . . about weekends

is that

they keep coming back

about every seven days or so.

= = = = =

Elegance Frames

Rockies Train Trip

By Pat Neisser

Mature Life Features

CALGARY, Alberta —- Smiling staff members greeted us with “Would you like some champagne or a lemonade, madam?” as we boarded what was to be our home-on-wheels for the next three days. Given the aura of elegance, I could have been on the Orient Express, but the atmosphere of this train was a bit more casual and friendlier.

We were aboard the Royal Canadian Rockies Experience round-trip out of Calgary, one of the several itineraries offered by Royal Canadian Pacific. The 32 passengers on the five refurbished

1930s executive cars relaxed quickly amid wood inlaid paneling in true luxury on rails.

My compartment had two beds and a desk, a complete bathroom with shower, and plenty of storage space. The large windows looked out onto the passing scenery of deep rivers, soaring glaciers, forests, small towns, and, of course, the majestic Rockies.

Squeezed in between excursions tailored for this train’s passengers were three gourmet meals and afternoon tea daily.

Our first stop was Banff and a visit to the historic Banff Springs Hotel. Then we were off to lovely Lake Louise, where a naturalist guide led us around the mirrored waters. Fond memories of skiing this site came rushing back. We reboarded and slid through the Spiral Tunnels along the Kicking Horse River to our overnight stop at Golden, British Columbia.

The next morning, we took a short motor coach ride up to Kicking Horse Resort, where a gondola carried us up to Eagle’s Eye Mountain for a view from the 7,700-foot level along breakfast in the Eagle’s Eye Restaurant.

Back on the train, we headed south in the Columbia River Valley to Cranbrook, British Columbia, where we stopped directly behind a museum and stepped down for a tour.

Lunch was served after reboarding, lunch was served. Our menus matched those of a four-star restaurant. Our dinner one night included sautéed shrimp with jalapeno chutney, orange and ginger glace, baby spinach salad, and crusted rack of lamb. Chocolate pate with spun-sugar crowned the banquet.

Next day, we visited Head-Smashed-in-Buffalo-Jump, a World Heritage site and explored the museum before peering over the cliffs where natives drove bison herds to their deaths for 10,000 years to provide food and clothing for a whole year.

The next morning, we visited Homeplace Ranch where we had lunch after riding horses and before boarding our rolling home for our ride back to Calgary.