Why we travel

To some, travel is an opportunity to learn new things.  Others see it as an opportunity to meet new people.  There’s the just want to get away from it all crowd, and there are some who seem to be traveling on the same path as you with absolutely no idea about why they’re doing it.

We sat down to breakfast in the dining car this morning with a couple from Montreal who were the learn new things/meet new people travelers.  We liked them.  We just wrapped up lunch with a couple who seemed utterly unimpressed with everything.  I don’t know why they were on a trip.  I’m not sure they knew.  I feel for them, though, because they, like us, are surrounded with all of this amazing scenery and they seemed rather unmoved.  

Cas and I are more like the first couple- at least I hope we are.  We’ve had eyes fixed on the windows in every part of the train we’ve been on except the shower.  No window in the shower, I’m afraid.  I guess they don’t want you lingering there.  Makes sense.  

The train we’re on is 23 cars long- at least that’s what Carl the activities director said.  He answered lots of questions about the train in one of the two talks he hosted today.  He said that trains can run up to 30 cars long, and last summer, they had some that were 32 cars, but they become unwieldy at that point.  We’ve got a cabin for two.  It has two chairs in it during the day, and a train employee has to put the beds up at night.  The bottom bunk is a Murphy bed that folds down from the wall, and the top bunk comes down from the ceiling.  There’s a ladder for the top bunk, and I think they store it on the top bed.  

We’re actually about to get off the train in Jasper for a few days, but we’ve got this whole train thing mapped out for the next leg of the journey.  We’ll take a different train (same line) from Jasper to Toronto in a few days.  Thank God we’re experts, now, and we know what to look for when we’re trying to decide who to sit with in the dining car.  We certainly know how to look out thee windows in awestruck amazement- no practice necessary.