PROLOGUE: 2015 - Pacific Northwest Canada & The U.S. (aka Rocky Mountaineer MART)

2015 - Pacific Northwest Canada & The U.S. (aka Rocky Mountaineer MART)

So begins the long awaited Canadian Rockies adventure. Serious consideration for this trip actually began in the spring of 2014 having read ads touting the scenic grandeur of the Rocky Mountaineer tour across western Canada.  Really serious consideration waited until January of 2015 with the initial $$$ deposits for the trip and plans for MART friends to join the tour. Sheila and I will be joined by:

• Jan & Peter of Kitty Hawk, NC currently en-route to Calgary by car with planned stops to visit family and national parks most notably Glacier NP.
• Diane & Greg of Carlsbad, CA currently en-route north through California en-route to Seattle from where they'll fly to Calgary on Sunday.
• Pat & Jack of Kitty Hawk, NC departing Kitty Hawk at about 3:00 AM (that's early) Sunday morning for a flight leaving Norfolk to arrive in Calgary that afternoon.
• Chris & Denny of Scottsdale, AZ had initially signed up for the trip but due to unforeseen circumstances will be unable to join. They'll be with us in spirit and join with us as we toast virtually anything and everything that comes along.

Definition of MART: Middle Age Road Trip - Okay, admittedly, our average age is 67 plus a few months; that said no snide remarks are necessary about our continued use of the concept of "middle age". Some have suggested we come up with a different acronym; one offered SKIN (Spending Kids Inheritance Now), perhaps a reader will have another clever acronym for us, the "Middle Age Plus Seniors" (MAPS) or something more appropriate.

This trip will take all of us across Western Canada by car, by van, by train, by boat, by plane and on foot. We'll see the Canadian Rockies while working our way west to the coast at Vancouver. Following the Canadian tour our group will divide, some headed for home and others for an extended stay in Washington and Oregon visiting national parks and the wine regions of the Willamette Valley.

Here's a link to a Rocky Mountaineer YouTube video that shows highlights of the train trip we'll be taking between Jasper and Vancouver.  Journey Through The Clouds

So, here we go!
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