The Douglas Fir: A real jerk in a forest fire
When Cas and I went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, part of our day involved a trip through the temperate rain forest. We actually did a nature walk with a guide who told us about the different trees and the forest in general. Forest fires are a part of the regeneration process of such a landscape, and the Douglas Fir has a particular behavior in these situations that demonstrates a real will to survive as a species. What they do in the event of a fire is go up like everything else, but there is sap inside the tree. The sap heats way up, then explodes out onto other trees around the fir. It also acts as an accelerant, or so our guide tells us. This ensures the demise of other trees in the area, so that when regrowth begins, the Douglas fir has a spectacularly good chance at survival. Their seeds fare well in the fire, depositing themselves in the entirely cleared off ground, thanks to their predecessors making sure nothing else survived the fire. It’s genius, but it seems to me that, if you were just a regular tree, you’d want to be anywhere but near a Douglas Fir when the flames start up.
The Canadian
Via Rail is the name of the company that operates the cross Canadian train. They named it with the obvious choice: The Canadian. While we were on The Canadian, we watched a special- I think it was aired on the Discovery Channel at some point- that gave lots of facts about the train and its journey. I wrote down the fact that we crossed 670 bridges, but I had to look up the distance later on, because I forgot. We went 4,466 km, which is 2,275 miles. We traveled through four time zones and slept four nights on a train. I didn’t learn about the differences between the accommodations until we were underway, though. Some folks traveled in fancy, reclining chairs. This is the economy section. Not really where I would wish to be for four nights. There are also upper and lower berths in the sleeper cars. These are in the hallway everyone walks down, and the people who sleep there are protected from strangers only by a curtain. During the day, the curtain is drawn back and the space is converted into a seating area.
We were in a cabin for two, which had bunk beds or chairs, depending on what the porter had set up and what time of day it was. The cabin for two has a door that locks from the inside, and that was nice. We also had our own toilet and sink, but we had to share a shower with other people. It all worked out fine, and again, I really didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t see until the last night of the trip what high end train travel really looked like. When we watched the TV special, the narrator mentioned the park car. It’s at the back of the train, and it is very elegant.
There is a full bar that looks like it was plucked from a nice steakhouse. There is a very comfortable seating area, and to get there, you have to walk past the prestige cabins. That would be the super-high-end cabin. We didn’t get that fancy...
There is also a Panorama car, but they only keep that attached from Vancouver to Jasper. It’s the perfect way to see the Canadian Rockies- the windows start on the left and right just where you’d suspect, but they go all the way across the top of the car. It’s all glass and all fantastic.
When the Panorama car goes away, you can get a reasonably similar experience in the Dome car. It’s a regular car most of the way, but there is a staircase to an upper seating area that is all glassed in. Thought I would mention the Park, Panorama and Dome cars, as I was so impressed with the dining car earlier that I failed to mention the others.
Dollar store rain ponchos
I have a pair of extremely well traveled rain ponchos. I have had them for at least five years. They have been to Hawaii, Boston, Hot Springs, Fredericksburg, Big Bend, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Greece, and now, Canada. They’ve probably been to Pensacola Beach, Beaver Creek, Duluth and Austin. I’m pretty sure I took them to San Antonio once. They’re very worldly for a pair of dollar store ponchos, but they are, in fact, magical. I realize that writing this down will probably break the streak, but I think those ponchos have had a good run. What I am about to relate is the equivalent of saying “no hitter” at a baseball game. Those cheap ponchos prevent rain. There have been so many times in my travels- both with Cas and before his arrival in my life- that those ponchos were tucked into a bag, just in case. I have been places where it was supposed to rain. I have arrived at airports to leave a place just as the rain began. I have watched the rain fall on the roof of a tour bus, only to clear up when it was time to disembark. The rain ponchos are absolutely a good luck charm, and so far, I have never felt the need to unfold them from their little, plastic containers. I thought about them as we donned our red ponchos for the Hornblower and our yellow ponchos for the Journey Behind the Falls. I wore two ponchos on the trip, and still, it didn’t rain. Mine are still in their pouches. The one moment when it did rain in Toronto was a moment when Cas and I were about to step into a bar, so we went ahead as planned- still had the ponchos with us- and the rain stopped before we finished our beers. I’m taking them back home, certain that my luck will run out as soon as I post this on the Internet. There’s just no way my luck and my magic ponchos will hold out. I just had to post a photo of them, as the label on the front of the packaging is weathered. It’s been a good run, rain ponchos. I am sure we will need you on our next trip, but until then, I hope you’ve enjoyed the far flung destinations!
Poutine
Finally, I wanted to report that we had some really good poutine. We kept having great food on our trip, and the option to eat gravy covered, cheese curd laden French fries just didn’t present itself. We waited until the last minute, having our honest-to-goodness Canadian poutine at the Toronto Union Station just this morning. We had to stop for lunch, because we had already taken a taxi, a bus and a train to get to Toronto Union Station from Niagara Falls, and we still had a train to the airport and a shuttle between terminals to go. It was time to eat lunch somewhere in the middle, there, and we knew it was time for some poutine.
We picked a place at the train station with some really good chicken and surprisingly yummy, heavily accessorized fries. Goal accomplished- we ate lots and lots of maple syrup, and we really enjoyed a nice plate of poutine.
That does it for the odds and ends, or as they call them on Jeopardy, potpourri. No daily double, I’m afraid. We’re waiting at the gate for our plane to board, and we will be back in toasty warm Dallas before you know it. With that, we hang up the travel blog and get ready to go back to work. Catch you on the next trip!
(One last time, here is the photo album link) https://photos.app.goo.gl/MyfqUt8bbqJLQinD8
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