Long time Fair Oaks Ranch residents David and Cheryl Deleranko, having just returned from their Scandinavian travels last reported here in our September issue of Greet magazine, have once again continued on their retirement world tour travels – This time enjoying the world renowned “Rocky Mountaineer” from Vancouver to Calgary, Canada. 

    This timeless trip is advertised as the “First Passage to the West” tour and is well known as the legendary rail route between Vancouver, Lake Louise and Banff National Park. Upon arriving at the airport, a private limousine met the Deleranko’s and transported them to the Fairmount on the Waterfront Hotel. Revered as one of British Columbia’s most luxurious hotels and only steps away from the Vancouver Convention Center, the cruise ship terminal and the Waterfront Sky Train Station.

    With a free first day before boarding the train they elected to take the Greyline Westcoast sightseeing motorcoach “Lookout” tour of Vancouver, culminating with waterfront dining at the exclusive ‘Cactus Club’ where they enjoyed first class dining and entertainment at its very best. 

     The next morning, they were transported to the Rocky Mountaineer train station where they boarded the ’Gold Leaf’ Bi-Level glass domed rail coach complete with oversized panoramic windows along with a large exclusive outdoor viewing platform.

    Their train travels took them through the transformative landscapes of the towering peaks of the Coast Mountains via “Avalanche Alley" into the Fraser Valley while witnessing the raging whitewater of ‘Hells Gate’. As they traveled through the Canadian Rocky Mountains – famous for uniting Trans Canada's East with the West railroads - they enjoyed gourmet meals served in the lower-level dining room along with complimentary alcoholic spirits, cold beverages and assorted snacks.

     Day two brought new experiences as they traveled through the iconic ‘Spiral Tunnels’ as they traversed the Continental Divide before arriving in Kamloops -widely recognized as the “Tournament Capital of the World”. From there they traveled to the Banff Region to arrive at the Rimrock Hotel – an exclusive mountain retreat surrounded by stunning views of the Bow River and the majestic Canadian Rockies.

     Established in 1885, Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park and is home to the famous ‘Banff Gondola’ where the Deleranko’s enjoyed strolling the boardwalk to the Cosmic Ray Station and Sanson’s Peak while taking in the breathtaking scenery of six different mountain ranges and looking back down into the ‘Bow Valley’.

     The fun was just getting started however as they proceeded on to Lake Minnewanka for a very cold-water boating tour where they witnessed a ‘photo op’ wedding party. From there it was onto Lake Louise and enjoyed the Fairmount Chateau luxury mountain resort amenities before heading to Lake Moraine where an unexpected snow blizzard greeted them with full force before returning to the Rimrock Hotel and souvenir shopping in the town of Banff in Alberta Canada.    

    Their final evening in Banff, Mr. and Mrs. Deleranko celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with complimentary cake and champagne toasts provided by the hotel’s staff. Private conveyance provided by the Rocky Mountaineer to the Fairmount Palliser Hotel in Calgary was the ‘Cherry-On-Top’ to a spectacular and most memorable vacation that will rarely be equaled by any travel agency anywhere in the world. 

     To anyone wishing to learn more about international hassle-free travel or recommendations on where and/or how to proceed, please feel free to contact the Deleranko’s personally via the FORHA directory.              

HAPPY TRAILS PARDS!