Monday, September 28th, 2026

The bus picked us up early to take us to the train station. The bus driver and hostess were the sweetest married couple.

Many of us got our picture taken at the giant gold nugget, pan, shovel and pickaxe! Quesnel was located at the convergence of two rivers. It was named after Jules Maurice Quesnel, clerk to Simon Fraser, one of the first Europeans to explore the area. It grew rapidly during the 1862 Cariboo Gold Rush.

McLeese Lake was located south of Quesnel. It was originally called Mud Lake and then it was renamed to honor Robert McLeese. He was a hotel keeper, store owner, postmaster of Soda Creek for 25 years, owner of a sternwheel river boat, and member of the Legislative Assembly!

The Cottonwood River was a tributary of the Fraser River and located in the Cariboo goldfields.

Then we passed by Hixon. It was named after the 19th century gold prospector. He led expeditions and discovered gold in the area in 1866. It had about 240 residents.

Near Prince George we saw a lot of plywood manufacturing.

The magnificent Rocky Mountains!

Crescent Spur showed evidence of a wildfire. This was from two years ago.

The village of McBride was located near the Fraser River. The Rocky mountains were to the east and the Cariboo mountains to the west.

Not far from McBride we crossed the Raush River which was a tributary of the Fraser River. The Raush River was fed by the Raush Glacier and a couple of nearby creeks.

Dunster was a small farming community that we traveled by. It was home to one of the few remaining Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Stations.

Valemount was an alpine village that was located at the junction of three mountain ranges: the Rockies, the Monashees, and the Cariboos.

Unfortunately when we went by Mt. Robson its peak was covered. It was the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at 12,972 feet. It’s a shame it wasn’t a clear day!

This evening we said goodbye to the Rocky Mountaineer crew that was with us for the three days we were on the train. They were an awesome crew and treated us like royalty!

When we got off the train a bus took us to our hotel in Jasper! It was another great day of sightseeing on the train! Tomorrow we have a free day in Jasper!