Good-Bye, Canadian!

Tuesday was a sneaky meal day.  Breakfast was continental and was set up in the lounge car.  Brunch began after 9:30 and continued until noon or 12:30 ... and was served on a first come, first served basis.  It was indeed a combination of breakfast and lunch, and was also recognition that many passengers (Rocky Mountaineer anyone?) would be leaving the train in Jasper.

We'd already lost some of our travellers in Edmonton.  The train delays meant that they left in daylight instead of at 6:00 am or so.  It also meant that some of their bus reservations for travel to Calgary would have to be adjusted.  

We woke up to changing scenery since we'd entered Alberta late the night before or early in the morning.  So when we looked out the window we saw this:

We made sure that we were packed up and ready to leave the train, had brunch, said good-bye to those who were continuing to Vancouver, wished everyone good holidays all 'round and watched and waited for Jasper to appear.

Sure enough, we were late.  Via gave the other passengers an hour (instead of two or so) to wander around Jasper, so they were far faster off and away than the rest of us.  We needed to wait for our checked bags to appear before we could head off to our various hotels.  

Rocky Mountaineer spends two nights in Jasper, at least, it does with the travel option we chose.  The rest of our afternoon was "at leisure."  My travel companion said that was because they didn't know what time the train would arrive, so made planning much easier!  We'd also been told we had to make our own way to our various hotels.  Fortunately, the Via staff knew (and shared the information) that many of the hotels had shuttles, and would either already be on their way or would come if called.  That was very helpful information since the station was swarming with willing and eager cab drivers!

Claiming our luggage was the biggest challenge since everyone seemed particularly impatient and pushed forward to grab their cases.  We stood back.  We could see our cases, and, as long as no one tried to make off with them, we were content to wait.  Then, a kind Via employee called our hotel and they dispatched their shuttle.  

While we were waiting, we learned that the Fairmont hotel was indeed gorgeous, but was also more than a 10 minute drive out of town.  Our more modest accommodations were on the edge of town, and when not encumbered by cases,was an easy walk.

The next stage in our adventure had begun!