Ecards by Artist Pamela Gladding

HOLIDAY!

I look forward to this time of year. Getting together with family and friends is always a little more special. This year we found ourselves heading out to Seattle to visit with the West coast part of our family. We decided to take the VIA train across Canada.

The Silver and Blue, as this vintage 50 year old train is called, left Toronto promptly at 9 AM and delivered us to Vancouver, B.C. three and a half days later. "What a magical ride across the Canadian countryside!" one woman from Rome exclaimed as she looked out the window. There were three skydome cars attached to the eighteen car train, and it was from there that we saw some spectacular sights.

The two engines pulled us through an area of 30,000 lakes in Ontario Province, dotted with numerous beaver dams, birch trees and small cabins. The dark green of the spruces set off against the pearly grey sky, with wheat and rust colored fields interspersed with burgundy from the red twig willows created a wonderful winter palette set against the snow.

We continued to snake across the plains and entered the Canadian Rockies. One of the prettiest towns we stopped at was Jasper, Alberta. The town center was surrounded by white-capped mountains, part of the Jasper National Park. Just outside of Jasper, near Yellowhead Pass, we were lucky enough to see a Big Horn ram and his ewes, plus deer and elk herds. We were looking for a moose, but her proved elusive. We traveled through tunnels, over lakes and through mountain passes.

We met such interesting people from all points on the globe: New Zealand, United Kingdom, Italy. We also met some train buffs, and "Leo" was the resident expert when we had questions along the way. One man had made the trip 28 times!

When the train finally pulled into Vancouver Station, we were happy to have reached our destination, but sad to say goodbye to our newfound friends. E-mail addresses were exchanged, and who knows, maybe we will see each other again on a return trip.

The last days of our vacation were spent in Seattle and Hyak at the Snowqualmie Pass in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. The Pass had just received a foot of snow, and Erik, Kristin and I enjoyed playing in it!

I hope that you have a happy holiday wherever your travels take you this year!

Pamela