Recently my newlywed wife and I embarked on a three week journey which
saw us engage a wealth of beauty amongst the Pacific Northwest, explore
the untamed wonder of Southeast Alaska, and traverse the continent
aboard Canada’s famed transcontinental train, the Canadian. As far as
honeymoons go, in our somewhat biased opinion, it was perfect. However,
the places and adventures described in this article are perfect not
just for honeymooners, but anyone looking to explore one of the most
beautiful, diverse, and captivating places on Earth.
Whether a seasoned rail-fan or someone who’s interested in gliding
along the seamless steel rails for the first time, the Pacific
Northwest offers several convenient rail options for arrival and/or
travel amongst the region. Amtrak’s Coast Starlight and Empire Builder
connect the northwestern United States with California and the Eastern
United States, respectively, while VIA Rail’s flagship, the Canadian,
links the western province of British Columbia with Toronto and points
in between. For vacationers looking to travel throughout the region, or
between the US and Canada, the Cascades trains operated jointly by
Amtrak and VIA Rail provide regular service between Vancouver and
western Washington and Oregon, including Seattle and Portland.
Following a couple day sabbatical after the wedding in our native state
of Florida, Rachel and I arrived at SeaTac International Airport aboard
a jetliner to begin our journey into the land of virgin timber and
cascading waterfalls. After gathering our bags at the claim area, we
drove about an hour and a half north to the Seattle suburb of Lynwood
where our hotel was located. While navigating Seattle in a car is easy,
heavy traffic is something to anticipate in the Emerald City and thus
it is advisable to take proximity into account when selecting a place
to stay. For us, the Homewood Suites in Lynwood provided the perfect
base of operations from which to explore the many sights and
attractions
of northern Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula.
On our first full day in the area, we decided to visit Boeing’s Future
of Flight Aviation Center. Only a ten minute drive from the hotel, the
facility houses an interactive museum and is the staging site for tours
of Boeing’s Everett factory which produces various passenger and
commercial jets, including the newly minted 787 Dreamliner. Whether you
enjoy flying or not, the plant is impressive to see and is on such a
titan scale that few places on Earth can come close to rivaling it.
After all, it is in fact the largest building by volume in the world.
If you’re lucky, you’ll be there at the same time a new order is ready
for delivery and get to watch as a brand new plane takes to the air for
the very first time, right over a bustling I-5 only a few yards away.
After an entertaining visit to the Boeing plant, we then took a
leisurely afternoon drive to Stevens Pass about an hour and a half
east. Nestled in the Cascades mountain range, Stevens Pass is a popular
ski destination in the winter, but during the summer provides
picturesque views of mountains and waterfalls with several hiking
opportunities of various lengths and difficulties. For much of the
drive, US 2 shares the winding topography with the former Great
Northern mainline which is today owned and operated by BNSF. If the
timing is right, you might even chance upon the Empire Builder as it
makes its way through the pass, although this day offered no such
occurrence for us.
Deception Falls near Stevens Pass
The next day we decided to venture a little farther and explore the
majestic Olympic peninsula. A mere fifteen minute drive from our hotel
took us to the city of Edmonds, from which the Washington Department of
Transportation operates regularly scheduled ferry service to Kingston,
located on the peninsula’s eastern shore. Besides being a quaint
coastal community, Edmonds is also a stop on Amtrak’s Empire Builder
route and Cascades service running north of Seattle. Here the rail line
hugs right along the water’s edge and as Rachel and I enjoyed our brief
thirty minute passages across Puget Sound at the start and end of the
day, we were treated to spectacular views not only of the Olympic
mountain range, but also of BNSF freight trains winding along the
picturesque coast. After arriving in Kingston we spent the rest of the
day driving along scenic highway 101 with short side trips to Hurricane
Ridge where the magnificent peaks of Olympic National Park surround
visitors as they touch the sky and to the rugged beaches of La Push
which look as if they were sculpted by an artist using the wild force
of the Pacific. We even managed to briefly visit the small town of
Forks on the peninsula’s west coast, which to Rachel was special
because it’s where the popular book series Twilight was fictitiously
set. While I certainly would recommend a longer visit to the Olympic
peninsula to get a full experience of everything its charming towns and
sylvan landscape have to offer, we found it to be a doable day journey
and a great opportunity for anyone visiting the Seattle area.
Olympic National Park
The view from Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park
The view from the highway climbing Hurricane Ridge
Forks, WA where the Twilight series is set
The beach at LaPush, WA
A coast view near La Push, WA
The subsequent morning Rachel and I followed in the footsteps of the
hundreds of thousands of men and women who boarded steamers from
Seattle bound for the Great White North over one hundred years ago in
search of wealth untold. Unlike those turn of the century stampeders
however, we were not sailing north in search of gold but rather the
priceless natural beauty of Alaska and the Yukon. Along with Vancouver,
Seattle is a gateway for cruise ship passengers vacationing to Alaska
and as we steamed away from the harbor, Mt. Rainier was visible
hovering over the skyline like a great white wizard’s hat amongst a
crystal blue sky. The shore astern, life quickly settled into the
rhythm of a cruise and all throughout the evening and the next day
Rachel and I enjoyed the many amenities Crown Princess afforded us as
we peered out towards the passing British Columbian coastline.
Our mini-suite on Crown Princess
The Seattle skyline from our cruise ship
A day at sea brought us to our first stop in Southeast Alaska, Juneau.
Besides long holding the record for being the largest American city by
land area (only being passed by Jacksonville, FL a couple years back),
Juneau also has the distinction of being the only state capital in the
continental United States not connected with the rest of North America
by road. In fact, the only way to arrive in Juneau is by sea or air,
although there have long been debates about establishing a highway
connection. Our time in the state capital was highlighted by a personal
tour of the city by some family friends who happen to be native Juneau
residents. We all enjoyed a drive out to Mendenhall Glacier, one of the
area’s top attractions, as well as a visit to the Macaulay Salmon
Hatchery before chowing down on some freshly caught salmon of our own
back at our friends’ homestead. After being dropped off back at the
ship, Rachel and I then strolled along the many storefronts which line
downtown Juneau and are easily accessible from the docks, before
finally returning to the ship and getting a good night’s rest in
preparation for our rail adventure in the morning.
Our family friends Cody and Tracy at home in Juneau
Rachel outside our friends’ home in Juneau
Mendenhall Glacier
Downtown Juneau
Departing Juneau’s harbor
Perhaps no other name is more synonymous with the colorful, ruffian
past of Alaska’s territorial days than Skagway. Indeed, if one was to
take the shootouts of the Wild West, romanticized tales of gold and
riches, and the breathtaking beauty of the Arctic north and somehow
merge it all into one, this tiny, yet legendary town of just 900
permanent residents is what would emerge. Skagway was the heart of the
Klondike Gold Rush, but unlike her sister city of Dyea and other turn
of the century boomtowns, her fate was not sealed when the rush was
over, thanks in large part to the White Pass & Yukon Route. A
railroad isn’t the first thing most people think of when they think
about Alaska, but the WP&YR is more than just a railroad, it’s an
engineering marvel and listed as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
along with such projects as the Eiffel Tower and the Panama Canal. It
was spurned out of the dream of ferrying wonder-lust prospectors
towards the Klondike goldfields, saved by the necessities of World War
II, and revived by a fledgling Alaska tourist industry which exploded
with the arrival of the cruise ship. The WP&YR proclaims itself as
the “Scenic Railway of the World” and after riding its narrow gauge
tracks along the sides of towering cliffs thousands of feet in the air,
past innumerable waterfalls, and along a wildflower-laden lakeshore,
it’s difficult to argue otherwise. For the typical visitor to Skagway
arriving by cruise and spending one day, the WP&YR has several
departure times and excursions of various lengths to fit any itinerary.
A panorama of a White Pass excursion train standing next to our cruise
ship
The last time I had ridden the White Pass & Yukon Route, about 15
years ago, passenger service on the line had only been restored as far
as Fraser, BC. Today, visitors have the option to ride more than twice
as far on the “Bennett Scenic Journey” excursion which travels all the
way to the small town of Carcross located in the Yukon Territory.
Selecting this option, Rachel and I boarded the train at about 7:30 in
the morning at the WP&YR depot just a couple of blocks from the
docks and peered out the windows with anticipation as we quickly began
our ascent after leaving town. The view became increasingly spectacular
over the course of the next couple hours as we rose ever higher passing
through tunnels and over towering trestles. It’s hard not to think
about the perilous journey so many people undertook to reach the
goldfields as you wind along the mountain ledges and peer into the
gorge where somewhere down below thousands of sun-bleached bones serve
as a cautionary reminder of all the pack animals that were driven to
their death along this treacherous pass. Near the summit, we entered
Canada and not long afterwards were boarded by customs officials to
gain clearance. An important note for travelers on the railroad is that
all excursions to Fraser, BC and farther require a passport both to
enter Canada and to return. After a quick stop at customs, the train
continued and the topography drastically changed into an icy lunar
landscape surrounded by mountains which was something like a cross
between the moors of Great Britain and the highlands featured in the
Lord of the Rings. At this altitude, ice still covered many of the
ponds and streams which cut through the rocky ground and in many places
lichen was the only thing to grow. Staring out into this land, I
couldn’t help but think about what a foreboding place this must be
during the colder months and how determined anyone must have been to
endure it for the prospect of riches.
WP&Y depot in Skagway and the train bound for Carcross
Crossing over a gulch on the White Pass route
A train following us as seen across the valley
Our train has climbed from sea level to a high elevation
The iconic trestle and tunnel that all WP&Y trains traverse
An old trestle once used by the railway
Looking down at an icy river
A sign marks the White Pass Trail
Land of ice seen from our train window
This stretch looks like the moors of Scotland
Around 10:45 we arrived at the historic site of Bennett, BC which
exploded during the Klondike Gold Rush with prospectors and businesses
and then died almost overnight when the railroad was completed all the
way to Whitehorse. Today the entire town has receded into the wild
landscape and all that remains of the once bustling frontier community
is an ornate Anglican church constructed of driftwood. At Bennett, the
train stops for about 50 minutes, providing ample time for passengers
to disembark and explore the area which is preserved by Parks Canada.
Next to the track is a large dining hall where the WP&YR provides
all passengers a complimentary prospector-inspired lunch of house
salad, hot stew, coleslaw, bread, and tasty apple pie. After a hearty
lunch and a stroll, we reboarded the train and continued north towards
our final destination of Carcross in the Yukon Territory. The final leg
of the journey took about an hour and a half and was dominated by
panoramic scenes of Lake Bennett as we hugged the shoreline. Once in
Carcross, we disembarked and had about twenty minutes to get some ice
cream and explore the town before boarding our return charter bus.
The shores of Lake Bennett
Passengers enjoy a hearty lunch at the dining hall beside Lake Bennett
Our train stopped by the dining hall at Lake Bennett
A panorama of the Lake Bennett stop
Another view of our train at Lake Bennett
The railway hugs the lake’s shoreline
A panorama of the train beside Lake Bennett
A freight car behind our engine seen during the stop beside Lake Bennett
Bennett church, the only surviving structure from Bennett
The lunch stop provided enough time for a hike
The tail end of our train
Lake Bennett
Arriving Carcross
The end of our rail journey in Carcross
Carcross, BC is where passengers transfer to buses for the return to
Skagway
Carcross desert, smallest desert in the world
A Skagway to Fraser train seen from the bus at Fraser, BC
Mountain views dominate the return bus trip
The White Pass route can be detected on the mountain sides from the bus
A waterfall tumbles beside the highway
Alaska legend and regional folklore run deep in Skagway and there’s no
better way to tap into this palpable history than to climb aboard one
of the many vintage touring cars operated by the Skagway Street Car
Company and live out the story of the frontier. The tour takes visitors
throughout the town and awes riders with the rich history of Skagway:
from the rise and fall of local legend and notorious conman, Soapy
Smith, to the Klondike Gold Rush to the early days of the WP&YR.
Founder Steve Hites is quick to admit that he’s not a local, yet, he’s
“only” lived in Skagway for 40+ years, but in a way he has become part
of the very folklore he sings about and which runs so deep here. In
addition to the vibrant and enthralling tour his company operates, Mr.
Hites can also be found performing his show “North to Alaska” on
several cruise ships while they’re in port.
Interesting storefronts line the streets of Skagway
The Arctic Brotherhood Lodge in Skagway
The WP&Y owns the oldest snowplow in continuous operation
Departing Skagway in the evening aboard Crown Princess
Another evening view after sailing out of Skagway
The evening views en route to Glacier Bay are peaceful
After an adventurous visit to Skagway, we continued aboard the Crown
Princess and spent the next day cruising through Glacier Bay, one of
the natural wonders of the world, before making port in Ketchikan where
Rachel and I enjoyed the high energy Lumberjack Show. The following
evening we made port in Victoria, where we disembarked and took a bus
downtown. Victoria has long been regarded as Canada’s most “British”
city and indeed for a long time it was not just the provincial capital,
but also a beacon of western civilization in a largely wild and
uninhabited British Columbia. When the Canadian Pacific Railroad
finally reached the Pacific at Vancouver, their path of empire building
did not stop there. Instead, they reached across the Juan de Fuca
Straight to construct one of the most beautiful and luxurious hotels in
all of North America: The Empress. While our ship arrived too late to
partake in the hotel’s famous tradition of high tea, Rachel and I still
enjoyed walking amongst its ornate lobby and budding front lawn as we
explored downtown Victoria with its provincial parliament and totem
park.
One of the most impressive glaciers seen in Glacier Bay
Glacier Bay National Park
Glacier Bay
Waterfalls abound in Glacier Bay
One of many glaciers spotted in Glacier Bay
Downtown Ketchikan
Creek Street in Ketchikan, one of the city’s best known sights
The lumberjack show in Ketchikan
Log rolling during the lumberjack show
Performers from the lumberjack show in Ketchikan
The Empress Hotel in Victoria, built by the Canadian Pacific Railway
A totem park in Victoria
The British Columbia parliament building in Victoria
Our cruise at an end, the next morning we awoke early and disembarked
in Seattle where it all began. We were sad to leave the ship, but our
journey was not yet over, for now we were to rent a car and drive to
Vancouver, BC to explore the city for a day before boarding Canada’s
legendary train, The Canadian. Vancouver will always have a special
place in our hearts because Rachel and I met due to a television show
we both enjoy that’s actually filmed in the city. In fact, in recent
years the film scene has exploded there as more and more people have
come to realize the city’s beauty and unique cultural offerings.
Exploring Vancouver is easy to do by car or by public transportation
and there is so much to see and experience it’s impossible to fully
take in, with just a brief visit. After checking into our hotel, the
Residence Inn by Marriott in downtown, we headed out to dinner at the
Old Spaghetti Factory located in the shopping district known as “Gas
Town” which is famous for having one of the only steam-powered clocks
in the world.
The view from our room at Residence Inn, Vancouver
The iconic Gastown steam clock in Vancouver
The evening view of Vancouver from our hotel room
Arising early the next morning, we made our way to the crown jewel of
Vancouver, Stanley Park. While there we enjoyed a relaxing ride with
Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Tours, with highlights of the hour-long tour
including scenic vistas of the city skyline and harbor, a trot through
the park’s blooming rose garden, and an opportunity to explore a grove
of totem poles. After the hour-long tour, we visited the Vancouver
Aquarium which is one of the largest in North America and fascinates
visitors with its thousands of aquatic species, many of which inhabit
the coastal waters off the Pacific Northwest. Later we visited Burnaby
Village Museum, which houses a collection of early 20th century
buildings and businesses including a blacksmith shop, ice cream parlor,
print shop, general store and other mainstays of a community of that
era. A carousel dating to 1912 offers rides and a restored interurban
streetcar which used to run throughout the southwestern BC region is
also featured. This open air museum, located in the eastern suburbs of
Vancouver, is well worth visiting and is a family friendly attraction.
Downtown Vancouver view from Stanley Park
Totem poles in Stanley Park
Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Tours provides a great way to tour Stanley Park
The harbor and Lions Gate Bridge seen from the horse drawn carriage in
Stanley Park
The Stanley Park carriage tour passes through a beautiful rose garden
The author and his wife at the Vancouver Aquarium located in Stanley
Park
A sea lion at Vancouver Aquarium
The general store at Burnaby Village Museum
Burnaby Village Museum blacksmith shop
Burnaby Village Museum trolley car
There are so many things to see and do in Vancouver that one could
center an entire vacation around a stay in that beautiful city. An
excellent interactive website for anyone planning a visit is
www.tourismvancouver.com which includes information about attractions
in surrounding communities as well as metro Vancouver. From the United
States, Amtrak operates twice daily service between Seattle and
Vancouver as well as Thruway bus service and there are VIA Rail
connections to the east as well as ferry boats linking the area with
Vancouver Island.
With great anticipation we boarded VIA Rail Canada train #2 The
Canadian in the evening to begin the four night journey to Toronto.
Settling into Bedroom E in the sleeper Drummond Manor, we found the
accommodations and car attendant to be most hospitable. But herein lay
a major disappointment with VIA Rail. Having traveled on this
train on a few occasions in the past, I was aware that car 222 was
located near the rear of the consist, just one or two cars from the
Park dome observation car. Wanting to be close to this favorite
location, this standard arrangement was confirmed during the booking
process and car 222 was specifically selected to ensure close
proximity. Then a couple of weeks before the wedding my father noticed
mention on a VIA Rail discussion forum that the sleeping car order was
being flipped. Indeed when we boarded at Vancouver car 222,
represented by Drummond Manor, we were in the farthest sleeper from the
Park car which was now an astronomical 16 cars away. We later learned
from VIA agents that the sleeper order had been reversed to better
serve tour groups, at the expense of customers who had booked their
trips up to a year in advance. A VIA supervisor was able to
prearrange for us to move closer to the Park car at Winnipeg, but not
until well after the beautiful mountain scenery between Vancouver and
Jasper, and even this became a nuisance ordeal due to the train’s
lateness. Fortunately we were able to make the best of it and the
skyline car adjacent to our first sleeper proved acceptable for the
first half of the journey despite the bad taste left by VIA’s last
minute rearranging.
A pair of F40 engines led the 24-car Canadian as we departed Vancouver
at 8:30pm. Heading east along the Fraser River Canyon, Rachel and I
socialized with the other sleeper passengers in the Skyline dome as we
enjoyed a complimentary champagne tasting before heading to bed. The
next morning we awoke to beautiful scenes near Clearwater, BC and
enjoyed an excellent breakfast in the forward dining car Fairholme. We
were running reasonably close to schedule until we reached the
Yellowhead Pass area where our train came to a halt due to a disabled
Canadian National freight which blocked the way and forced us to wait
for approximately two and a half hours. Once we finally made it
into Jasper, we were over three hours late but the scheduled 90 minute
stop would still be required to service the train and switch out three
Chateau sleepers. This left us time to stroll about the lovely
alpine village and to enjoy some delicious ice cream from an ice cream
parlor called Grandma’s located just across the street from the
station. Later the panorama single level dome was dropped at
Edmonton.
The Canadian prepares for its evening departure from Vancouver
A roaring waterfall seen from The Canadian in eastern British Columbia
Mountain views dominate Day 2 of the eastward Canadian journey
Mount Robson, highest point in the Canadian Rockies
West of Jasper the Canadian follows the shores of Moose Lake and
Yellowhead Lake
Delicious ice cream is available at Grandma’s across the street from
the Jasper station
A panorama single level dome car operates between Vancouver and Edmonton
The next day we awoke to find the train over four and a half hours late
at Wainwright, AB; a deficit which grew to five hours by Saskatoon. The
delays kept on coming and by the time we arrived at Winnipeg where we
were to switch cars, the train was over 6 1/2 hours late. This
resulted in Rachel and I having to wake up, disembark, and drag our
suitcases the quarter mile length of the train at 3:15am to our new
accommodations in Bedroom F in car 211, Osler Manor. The
positive: there were now only two cars between us and Kootenay Park on
the tail end of the train. The negative: other than having to make the
switch in the middle of the night and already being past the most
scenic portion of the journey, we would now have to endure an extremely
loud incessant banging sound which emanated from immediately below our
floor whenever the train rocked to any degree.
The station in Saskatoon is located well outside of the central city
We made up no time during our scheduled 90 minute stop in Winnipeg and
throughout the third day the train continued to lose time for various
reasons until we finally arrived in Toronto at 4:20pm, nearly seven
hours late. All in all, the trip from Vancouver was enjoyable due to
the beautiful scenery, friendly on board service, cruise-ship level
cuisine, and classic train cars. Terrible delays, the ordeal with the
flipped consist, and equipment issues really did impact the overall
experience however, which in the end was extremely disappointing given
the ‘specialness’ of the trip and the hefty expense. Given the
spectacular scenery and onboard service, I would still recommend riding
the Canadian to anyone, but it is becoming increasingly undeniable that
passenger rail in Canada is at a crossroads. Here’s hoping that they
choose to reinvest in and prioritize what is one of the most special
rail networks in the world. Otherwise, the days of stainless steel
trains glistening across the Canadian countryside could be numbered.
New leather seats in Kootenay Park
The redesigned Park car Bullet Lounge
The hallway in Kootenay Park shows off a new design
Our anticipated day of sightseeing in Toronto evaporated thanks to the
train’s lateness. The Doubletree Hotel located downtown a few blocks
from Union Station proved an excellent lodging choice. This allowed us
a morning visit at Toronto’s number one attraction, the Royal Ontario
Museum, which contains an amazing collection of jewels, medieval body
armor, and even preserved Egyptian mummies. This is a museum that
should be on every visitor’s itinerary. Like Vancouver, Toronto is a
burgeoning market in the film industry and has been featured in several
movies over the years, including as a stand-in for Chicago in the
rail-action/comedy classic Silver Streak. While Rachel and I were
visiting, much of the city was abuzz over the filming of the Suicide
Squad which was taking place and involved the demolition of an entire
building. Toronto is a metropolis that is alive with energy and there
are multiple other terrific sights to see ranging from the CN Tower to
the harbor to the Hockey Hall of Fame, all of which are deserving of a
visit. Additional information can be found online at
www.seetorontonow.com.
Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto
ROM displays an excellent geologic collection
Another feature of ROM is an extensive collection of medieval armor
The flights home were uneventful and we have been left with many
wonderful memories. Certainly the cruise and the entire Alaska
experience were the highlights, but the visits to three major cities
and the trans-Canada trip by rail were special experiences to store in
our memories. Riding the entire White Pass & Yukon Route was
a thrill and it was great to catch up with our friends Tracy and Cody
in Juneau and the talented Steve Hites in Skagway. Indeed the
Pacific Northwest and Alaska is a frontier which will never be tamed,
but one which is entirely worth exploring.
