On the Canadian, still

Yesterday, I casually pondered the possibility of overshooting Saskatoon when I return by bike and stopping at Watrous to visit a nearby salt lake. I would then go back to Saskatoon on the Train which goes through Westbound on Fridays in order to catch my flight back to Montreal.

The Train was supposed to get into Jasper at 6:30. I set my alarm for 6 in order to see where they added the panorama car. My theory was either just behind my car or near the Prestige cars in the rear. I awoke before the alarm whereupon I checked my location on Google maps. The Canadian was only about a third of the way from Edmonton to Jasper. I turned off the alarm, pulled on my trousers and set off aft in search of the panorama car. It wasn’t just behind my car and from the “B” sleeper dome car, it was obviously not between it and the Park car. Forward, I couldn’t see well enough in the fog. Oh, well. “Back to bed, said Fred” to quote a well-loved picture book.

I rose again around 7 and headed to the dining car for continental breakfast. I sat with a young couple from France who said they had been surprised by the new car that had been added during the night that was between their sleeper and the dining car. They had wondered jokingly if they had made a wrong turn. (The mystery of the Panorama car was solved.) They were amazed that the car could have been added to the middle of a train like that. Like many Europeans on the Canadian, they marvel at the size and varied nature of the Canadian landscapes.

The delay allowed me to get brunch. I hoped there might be French toast stuffed with cheesecake, a dish Via used to do on the Jasper day. Alas, it wasn’t on the menu but I did have good chat with an expatriate Canadian from San Diego who got on in Edmonton at about 2:30 in the morning! He is getting off in Jasper too.