Our Great Canadian Train Trip Pt 1- Ontario

Our trip out west to Vancouver was amazing. The experience gave me a whole new appreciation for Canada, especially just how immensely huge it is! The longest part of the trip is actually in Ontario, from Toronto to the Manitoba border, and unfortunately we were sleeping most of time for this leg of the journey.

I have fallen in love with trees this summer... I now understand the "tree-hugging" concept held by many westerners. The beautiful groves of White Birch trees flash like bright shots of light as the train whizzes by, making me feel incredibly happy.

Ontario is honestly the land of lakes and trees.... what a mix of different shades of green and blue! The train keeps moving and I am blessed with terribly brief scenes of natural beauty. ponds, creeks, rivers and lakes stretch out before me, surrounded by so many types of trees it overwhelms me. If only I could learn to identify them by name, but we're moving too fast, it's mostly a blur. Luckily, my camera is pretty good at taking pictures while we're moving and I can snap away and take time to look at the photos later.

Tall evergreens reach up to the sky... the ever-changing sky. Sometime full of heavy dark clouds, sometimes clear and purely blue. On the train I am never bored- I have only to look up and stare into the vastness above me. My mind starts to wander, I am mesmerized by Mother Nature.

I spend most of my time right here in the observation car, a little higher than the rest of the train, often full of other travelers, but often completely empty early in the morning and late at night. It is the place to dream, to think, and to let go of stress. A good place to read or to drift away to dreamland. Lots of interesting conversations take place here and new friendships are born.