Passing a Half Century (Part 1)

A CP train approaching Coleman, Alberta - my wife took this one!

Me on my 50th birthday

Read this series as an eBook, with extra content!

I recently had my 50th birthday.

I honestly find it hard to believe I'm 50 now. I don't feel 50. Several people have recently told me I don't look anything like 50, which is flattering.

But the calendar doesn't lie. I was born in Canada's centennial year, 1967, so you can do the math and I'm fifty years old.

Huh.

My wife urged me to do something special for my 50th birthday. She was encouraging us to go to Iceland. I was tempted - it's gorgeous - but the thought of driving in Iceland intimidates me. Also, we had already gone to Italy and New York City in 2017 and I felt that was enough.

I proposed an alternative. I'd always wanted to go to the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel in Cranbrook and the Revelstoke Railway Museum. My dad went to Cranbrook years ago and raved about it. I wanted to visit it too.

My wife said, "it's your birthday. Let's go."

And so we did.

In the next few posts I'll write about our trip, the museums and the trains we saw along the way. I'll talk about going through the Crowsnest Pass, visiting my first British Columbia grain elevators, chasing a train through Rogers Pass, visiting Craigellachie, and of course visiting the two railway museums.

Here was the initial plan:

• Day 1 - Winnipeg to Calgary to Waterton Park
• Day 2 - Waterton Park to Cranbrook
• Day 3 - Cranbrook to Craigellachie to Three Valley Gap
• Day 4 - Three Valley Gap through Revelstoke to Golden
• Day 5 - Golden through Field and Lake Louise to Banff
• Day 6/7 - Banff area to Calgary to Winnipeg

Let's go.

PS you can read this series as an eBook, with extra photos and content!