Tag Archives: Canada

On the Canadian

We were in fact physically on a train for 10000+ miles during our jaunt across Canada. Here are a few shots of the accommodations, etc., on Via Rail’s Canadian between Vancouver and Toronto.

Mags in the lounge car (the “caboose” on the Canadian). We spent many hours hanging out here chatting with fellow travelers, playing music, imbibing, watching the world go by…

Maggie in the lounge car

Next to the stairs up to the observation dome (180 degrees from the first shot in this series) are the time zone clocks. Canada has a lot of time zones and the train crosses all of them except for the odd duck, Newfoundland (clock on the top) which is 1/2 hour later than Atlantic time. 1/2 hour??

Tracking the time zones

Here’s a view of the dome car (must have been the morning because it was almost always full during the afternoon).

A view of the dome car

Eating was a pleasure on the Canadian! I’m talking fabulous food and great service! (All included in the ticket price.)

A view of the dining car

Traipsing up and back on the train means navigating these hallways in a kind of go with the flow way. That’s the door to the shower at the end (the hallway continues on with a quick right then left turn)–the “F” cabins are just this side of the shower.

Hallway to F

The bunks in cabin “F”. If you ride the Canadian, get your tickets early and reserve cabin “F”–each sleeper car has one and it’s the biggest double.

Maggie in the sleeping cabin

And the bunks were quite cozy.

Bunked out in the morning

Canon G11 riding the train.

Culling and tweaking

I took a lot of pictures during the cross Canada trip. Straight out of the camera some were good, some OK, and others that I’ll file under “memorabilia.” “OK” shots are ones I figure I can tweak with abandon–level adjustment, add some contrast, boost the saturation, sharpen to taste and crop . Here are three OK shots massaged into something more to my liking.

A view of Montreal from the waterfront.

Montreal from the river's edge

“Painted” mountain on the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies.

Painted mountains on the east side of the Canadian Rockies

The steps down to the base of Montmorency Falls in Quebec.

The steps to the base of Montmorency Falls

Canon G11 with a little help from his friends.

More reflections on the trip

I bought an iPad for storing, viewing and occasionally posting images during our trip across Canada. Before we left I loaded it up with a couple of photography eBooks thinking I might need a little inspiration. One of them was called “Chasing Relfections.” Taking the cue, I did a little reflection chasing.

The dining car on the train at lunch time.

Train dining car reflection

Waiting for a pizza in Quebec City.

Pizza Mag reflection

Lights on Chebucto Harbor in Halifax.

Chebucto harbor reflection

Canon G11 chasing reflections.

Home again home again

From the San Francisco Bay Area to Halifax, Nova Scotia and back–by train. Incredible 10,000 mile trip! Surreal end to the whole thing while waiting a couple of hours for the shuttle bus in the Martinez Amtrak station. I felt like I was in an R. Crumb comic entitled “Welcome back to the good ol’ USofA.” The entire Canadian experience was quite a contrast.

This was my last shot of the trip–not the best of the last, but THE last. The G11 was packed away for the bus ride, so this shot of the train leaving us behind is from my handy iPhone camera.

10000 miles--the end

[I’ll put together an album of my fave shots of the trip sometime soon.]

iPhone catches the moment.