Picture this: the morning started off with Champagne and OJ, setting the bar (so to speak) for the rest of the journey (note Bloody Mary above). As we toasted to scenic vistas and new friends, Ron –- one of the attendants, very sexy -- offered Nicorette gum to smokers to ease the trauma of having to do without all day. How impressive is that?

Ron and his cohort provide lots of commentary during the two-day trip through the mountains. I was afraid that their lectures on the history, ecology, wildlife and significance of what we were seeing would be boring. NOT! In fact, their interpersonal banter and, admittedly, corny jokes, reminded me of us at our most irreverent.

Let me be very clear. Meals are important on the Rocky Mountaineer. The food and presentation would do justice to a Michelin 4-star restaurant. The gourmet offerings were as appealing to my eye as the scenery out the window. Imagine Bison sausage for breakfast (I feigned my regrets and went with the blueberry pancakes) or baked wild British Columbia salmon on corn meal polenta for lunch. Did I mention the fine wine list? Not exactly your standard Amtrak fare. And you would have loved the desserts! Like the brownie-mountain surrounded by a mango sauce river, with a chocolate-shaped train traveling wafer-thin tracks. How’s that for imagery?

During periodic “photo ops,” the train slows to “Kodak speed” -– although, I suspect, digital cameras are making that particular reference more and more obsolete. When wildlife is spotted, the word travels the length of the train, and you hope the bison, bear, elk, big-horn sheep or eagle is still there by the time your car arrives at the area of sighting. I missed some of them but believe the rumors that they were there.

The best part was hanging out in the vestibule between railcars. The rumbling of the train beneath my feet, the crispness of the air against my face, the immediacy of the mountains -- I felt a far more tangible connection with the countryside than I did at my seat. In a way, it was almost spiritual. The next best part? Whether you’re reading –- or talking or scenery gazing –- if it’s more than two hours since you last ate, chances are good you’ll be offered some wine and cheese, or perhaps some home-made cookies to tide you over until the next meal. The person who said life is not a destination but a journey must have been traveling aboard the Rocky Mountaineer. If you want more info, check out Rocky Mountaineer.

Until my next destination –

Fyllis