Bill & Jim's Alaska Trip
June 22

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While in Cranbrook, we went to the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel. Among other things, they have a complete set of cars from the Trans Canada Limited, an ultra-luxury train built in the late 'twenties. All of the cars had interior finishes in Honduras Mahogany with intricate inlays. Many of these cars were still in revenue or maintenance-of-way service into the 1950s. By that time, tastes had changed, and the wood paneling and inlay work were covered over with gray paint. They are in the process of restoring the car set, and it is quite striking to compare the before condition with the restored.

After that, we drove east towards Crowsnest Pass. It was windy and cold at the top of the pass. We saw the nearby Crowsnest Peak, complete with a new dusting of snow.

Just east of the pass, there is the Frank Slide interpretive site. In 1903, several million cubic yards of the mountainside gave way and obliterated the town site. The rubble swept across the river and ended up about 1/4 mile away on the other side of the valley.

Heading north on Alberta 22, we drove through rolling hills. Everything was incredibly beautiful and pastoral - green hills and meadows with jagged snow-capped peaks in the background. We finally got to Calgary where we stayed the night.
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