Travel Guides | Stoness Travel Blog

8 Solid Reasons to Ride the Rocky Mountaineeer

I don’t require many reasons to go for a ride on a train. However, I think that these are some very good reasons to hop onto the Rocky Mountaineer, sit back and enjoy some of the finest scenic views, while being treated royally by the staff.

1- This privately owned luxury train has thrilled over two million guests since 1990. Travellers pass the Western Canada Rocky mountains which contain some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.

2- First Passage to the West stops in Banff, Canada’s wonderful town right in the heart of the towering monarchs that make up the Canadian Rockies. It then quietly slips over the pass and down through the world legendary Spiral Tunnels, a fantastic spiral that will see the train follow a figure eight partially inside the mountains as the tracks fight for

elevation, while at the same time avoiding a steep grade. Because of the history of the CPR effort to build the first track, I found this a great chance to be right where the action had taken place. From there on it’s just mile after mile of great mountain views, dashing rivers, and avalanche sheds.

3- The Journey Through the Clouds route can see you in Jasper, hub town of Jasper National Park. As you travel west you climb up along eye catching blue lakes, little whistle stops, and past enormous Mt. Robson, which is the highest peak around that part of the Rockies. We pass by the ramparts and waterfalls of Wells Grey Provincial Park eventually follow the edge of the Fraser River. As you approach Hells Gate you get ready for a spectacle. The canyon walls come closer together squeezing the river into a turbulent torrent. Original explorer, Simon Fraser, wrote of the difficulty his crew had in finding a portage, and following it around the impassable section of river. You can imagine how

hard this would have been when you view the amount of blasting required to create the railway. In fact about 100 years after Simon Fraser’s passage, a railway company blasted the side of the canyon into the water virtually blocking it to the passage of the Pacific Salmon. It took the building of fish ladders to allow the salmon to bypass the worst of the rubble, yet generations of salmon were doomed to never be born.

4- The Rainforest to Gold Rush tour goes north from Vancouver with absolutely great views of the Pacific Ocean as you pass along the backyards of some really nice homes. This is a little different bit of mountain scenery, with ocean on one side and the mountains soaring upward on the other. Soon it reaches the ski centre, Whistler, known the world over for great snow and long runs. It climbs over the coastal range and descends to reach

Quesnel. Then it circles in a big loop around forested mountains before heading to Jasper, in Jasper National Park, passing by Mount Robson.

5- Rocky Mountaineer provides packages of tours, some taking several days so you can travel slowly, and see places like Banff, at your leisure.

6- You can combine a rail tour with a fantastic luxury cruise to Alaska. If you are looking for an escape from the office, you can book into one of their more extensive trips, approximately two weeks, that will take you from the heart of the Canadian Rockies, to Seattle by rail, and north to Alaska by ship.

7- There are three levels of service, but I highly recommend the GoldLeaf Service which

puts you on top of the world in the Dome car, with unsurpassed views of the passing scenery. Later, you will slip down the stairs to the lower level, where you will sit down to beautifully prepared meals and dine in luxury!

8- The company can help you with arrangements for rental cars, extra hotel nights, and flight arrangements from your home town.

11 Reasons to RV to Arizona in the Winter

When the summer heat of the northern latitudes begins to fade, RVers start to plan for their winter. Common destinations are Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. Arizona is directly south of the four western Canadian provinces. As such it’s about a three or four day drive. For the eastern provinces, Florida and Texas are about a three or four day drive,

and Arizona, is more like a six or seven day drive. So why select Arizona?

1- If you don’t like humidity you won’t enjoy Florida’s humid days. In Arizona the weather is normally dry with low humidity in the winter. The days are usually sunny, although cloud and rain can happen. There are two climates in Arizona. It will be warm in the southern area, but cold a

nd snowy in the north, up by Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.
2-   Nights in Arizona are cool for nice sleeping conditions. After late February the heat increases.
3-   Arizona’s scenery is great. In the southern desert areas, rugged mountains rise from a flat desert floor. To the north, above the Mogollon Plateau lies the Grand Canyon.
4-   For those who want to boondock, Arizona is the place to be. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) looks after vast acres of wilderness. In some of those areas, such as at Ajo, you can boondock free for up to 14 days. This is true wilderness dry camping. Your RV has to be self-contained, and you will have to leave the area when your dirty water tanks are full or your fresh water tank is dry

5- If staying in a trailer park is important to you, you’ll find lower prices for trailer parks in small places like Wellton, at around $300/month. Big cities area will be closer in price to the higher rates found in the east. If you like trailer park communities, you will find lots of these near Yuma, and Phoenix.
6- The state has several historical sites to visit. After all, this is the home of the old violent west, home to Tombstone, the Yuma Jail, and Tucson.

7-   Old mine sites are plentiful and are frequently found at the end of a long four-wheel drive trail. At Ajo, you can visit a huge open pit copper mine, now derelict, and see the massive rock and tailings piles that spread out for a mile or so.
8-   Kitts Peak observatory
9-   When boondocking, you have great access to uncluttered skies. This is a terrific time for stargazing.
10-   Quartzsite has a huge RV show in a massive tent around the end of January. Thousands of RVers camp on the surrounding BLM land.

11- Kartchener Caverns is one of the newer caves discovered and is now open for your visits.

For more than four decades James Stoness has travelled the roads of North America, photographing and writing about what he has seen. His travel articles and beautiful pictures have been published in several magazines and newspapers. He is also the author of five western novels. Visit his website at: www.stonesstravelguides.com

Experience the Canadian Rockies With Via Rail

The mountains of Jasper National Park attract visitors from all around the world. In fact you will meet dozens of rental motorhomes in the mountains of Western Canada, mostly driven by Europeans.

Jasper's Mountain Scenery — Jasper’s Mountain Scenery

Recently Sylvia and I drove our motorhome from Ontario to British Columbia, and stayed a while in Jasper NP. We camped at a Jasper Campground and planned something different. We decided to take a Via Train from Jasper to Vancouver. My wife has always wondered about taking the Via Train across Canada, and this was just a sample piece of such a long trip.

Jasper's Heritage Station — Jasper’s Heritage Station

Visitors to Jasper remark on the presence of many trains. You don’t have to be a rail fan to appreciate some of the very long freight trains that pass through. They also take an interest in the beautiful passenger terminal. The Jasper Heritage Railway Station, built in 1926, is enhanced by the stone wall created from round rocks, possibly stream bed rocks. The roof is steeply slanted and broken up with dormers. The steepness should help reduce snow load in heavy snow winters. Inside the wooden interior you will find the information desk and rows of seats where you can wait for your train to arrive.

There is the flutter of excitement when the long, sleek silver cars glide to a stop in front of the station. With the grey mountains as a backdrop, it’s a precursor of the quality of scenery yet to come.

Soon the station has quietly dissolved into the distance and as we head west we are watching the green cloaked mountains rise rapidly from the railway until their snowcapped peaks stand starkly remote against a deep blue sky. Nearer to the edge of track white birch stands are mixed with the dark green evergreens of the forest.
It’s nice to be able to watch the scenery for a change, and not the traffic while someone else does the driving. As we carve our way through the cuts in solid rock we hear the squeal of the wheels scrubbing on the rails on the curves. If you are lucky to get a seat in the dome car at the rear of the train you have a perfect view into the distance.

We found the service perfect. The crew worked hard to be sure that everyone was comfortable. Too soon, it seemed, night fell across the mountains and we crawled into our bunks. In the morning the scenery had changed for the worse. The

mountains were not close anymore and there was a long run into Vancouver showing back yards and industrial areas.
It was a great trip, in spite of the Vancouver ending. Hope to do it again, someday, going the other way.