The Odyssey, on-the-sea, part II. (Alaska)

[highplanesdrifters]

Hey SharkB8 

Love your thread, and thanks for the add on info.  Looking to do a similar one. Covid canceled our Rocky Mountainer plans. Jealous our your trip.

Thanks for the earlier shout out. Sadness abounds, disembarked Venture today.  But off to the Blue Lagoon Retreat tomorrow.

 

[DTtravelers]

Anan Bear Report…

 

Wrangell.  74 degrees.  Not a cloud in the sky.  No, I am not making this up.  Photo below.

 

It was a great hike in.  We saw 5 or 6 black bears ( they were moving around a lot so it was hard to keep accurate count).  We got our turn in the bear blind just as Arrow (yes, the Forrest Service folks give them names) caught a salmon and devoured it.  Got a great video of the whole thing.  He caught two more within a half hour.

 

They say that there should still be bears the first week in September.

 

Time for caviar…. 🙂

 

 

[shark b8]

So, guess I need to get caught up here, have been playing hooky from my posting duties. We took a glacier walk in the Columbia Icefield.  Big monster bus/vehicles, and they said the hill approach down to the glacier and back up (off in the distance) is the steepest legal grade in North America - 34%.

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

 

 

   

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by shark b8

[shark b8]

And the nearby Skywalk is not for the faint of heart, re heights.  Sticks out straight over the canyon, several hundred meters above, with a curved glass floor.  Don’t look down.   🤢

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

More general beauty-full-ness around Jasper.

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

And this beautifully-crowned guy couldn’t care less about our presence, although he managed to avoid my getting a decent pic of his mug.

 

[shark b8]

I realize I haven’t really offered much visual in regard to the train itself. “Gold Leaf” service carriages offer seating on the upper level with glass everywhere, dining at tables-for-4 below. Access is by the spiral staircase in the foreground on the right. Just past that stairway is a small elevator for guests with mobility limitations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

So, up until now, no problems of any consequence in the lodging that comes with the Rocky Mountaineer package.  Matter of fact, we’ve been spoiled.  However…..

 

In Jasper, we stayed at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, the (sort of) equivalent of the Banff Springs or the Chateau Lake Louise.  Ok, not on that level perhaps, but probably aspires to it.  No a/c.  Our room alternated between 85° and 86° F, all day & all night, for the 48 hours we were there.  We were told that “those rooms have no a/c”, although I never got a coherent answer why there was an adjustable thermostat on the wall (yes, I navigated the tiny padlock on the screen.  “No A/C”) or why there was a vent at the base of the wall. Friends we made on the train had a very comfy A/C functional room. The TV alternated between a picture and…not a picture.  The TV channels were never displayed, “Guide” button produced “Unavailable”.  The main dining area (very visible from outside it) had no more than 10-15% of the tables occupied, but we were told the wait would be “at least an hour”.  It was due to staffing issues, they said, and in fairness that’s something the hotel is essentially helpless to easily fix, but still…..

 

(I’m almost sure that the grilled cheese sandwich I ended up getting, did have discernible cheese in bites #3 and #5).   😡

 

 

 

 

 

[cadburysmom]

6 hours ago, shark b8 said:

 

(I’m almost sure that the grilled cheese sandwich I ended up getting, did have discernible cheese in bites #3 and #5).   😡

🤣  

 

Sorry about your hotel...but thank you for this...

Always nice to begin one's day with a hot cup of coffee and a good chuckle

[CalmSea]

If you want a down-to-earth quick bite at the Jasper Park Lodge, try the staff cafeteria, The Grizz. When we were there in early June, we got a pizza, had some beer and watch a hockey playoff game with some of the staffs there. You can find their location and menu on Google map.

 

As for room, we also had one of those rooms without A/C. Fortunately, when we were there Jasper cooled down at night very fast, and we could still sleep comfortably.

[shark b8]

Accommodations in Quesnel were similar to Kamloops - pretty basic, but also as in Kamloops, the people were super friendly.  We were a bit restaurant-weary so just stayed at the hotel saloon, where drivers/riders

of the Alcan 5000 rally were readying for their next day of motoring.  Sorta rowdy-adjacent, but I had a great burger with poutine that was……very poutiney.  🤔  When in Canada, eh?  🇨🇦

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by shark b8

[shark b8]

The train ride from Quesnel to Whistler went through some high plains, rolling hills and farmlands, and then……the opposite.

 

 

 

[shark b8]

In Whistler.  You can take one gondola to the top of Blackcomb mountain, then a “horizontal” gondola over the the top of Whistler mountain, and then a third gondola back down to Whistler Village, it’s all called “Peak to Peak”.  Gorgeous.  Fortunately, the “lightning is forecast” sign was not displayed today.

 

 

 

[shark b8]

I dunno, strikes me as like “the best gas station sushi in Nebraska” or something.  (Just kidding, Canuck friends). 😉

 

[shark b8]

I would desperately like to do this, but….probably not at the moment.

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by shark b8

[highplanesdrifters]

Hey SharkB8, finally got the time and bandwidth to watch all your videos.  Crikey, some kinda critter extravaganza! Great shots, great videos.   Thanks for the ride.

[SLSD]

25 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Hey SharkB8, finally got the time and bandwidth to watch all your videos.  Crikey, some kinda critter extravaganza! Great shots, great videos.   Thanks for the ride.

I totally agree and appreciate all that Shark B8 has shared with us.  

Edited August 26, 2022 by SLSD

[SDuckers]

27 minutes ago, SLSD said:

I totally agree and appreciate all that Shark B8 has shared with us.  

Totally agree too!  We are less than 3 weeks now from boarding the Odyssey, and I hope I can take and share pictures as good as what SharkB8 has provided!  Question, should I just continue to post in this thread, or start a new one?  (can you tell I'm excited to get on board???)

[SLSD]

29 minutes ago, SDuckers said:

Totally agree too!  We are less than 3 weeks now from boarding the Odyssey, and I hope I can take and share pictures as good as what SharkB8 has provided!  Question, should I just continue to post in this thread, or start a new one?  (can you tell I'm excited to get on board???)

Start a new thread!  We will all enjoy it!

[CalmSea]

18 hours ago, shark b8 said:

I would desperately like to do this, but….probably not at the moment.

 

Maybe SB should take a few snowmobiles to their antarctica expeditions! Shark, thanks for taking us for a great ride, both on land and at sea.

[highplanesdrifters]

13 hours ago, SDuckers said:

Totally agree too!  We are less than 3 weeks now from boarding the Odyssey, and I hope I can take and share pictures as good as what SharkB8 has provided!  Question, should I just continue to post in this thread, or start a new one?  (can you tell I'm excited to get on board???)

Yes, new thread please!😁

[shark b8]

Thanx for the kind words, folks.  I've learned so much from CC'ers over the years, and enjoyed great stories and insights, so it's nice to have the chance to "pay it forward".  

 

As I go through and edit pix, might be something I realize I didn’t mention, so this thread might not be quite over yet.   And....specific questions always welcome.  To those currently on the Odyssey (or about to be), hope you have as much fun as we did.

 

We're home sweet home, Butch and Sundance were delirious to see us (well, Sundance was....Butch is a cat).  Sunny had a marathon case of "the zoomies", racing at warp speed through the house and to all ends of the property; finally collapsed in the yard with her tennis ball in her mouth and her tongue hanging out.  One of the *good* parts of a trip coming to an end, getting home to the critters.

 

 

[travelwell]

Thank you so much for posting. Makes us look forward to our February cruise. 

[rkacruiser]

17 hours ago, shark b8 said:

We're home sweet home, Butch and Sundance were delirious to see us (well, Sundance was....Butch is a cat)

 

When we would get back from a trip, one of our cats was glad to have us return so she could once again enjoy her favorite spot to nap.  The other cat's attitude was, for a day or so, "well, where in the hell have you been"?