Fishing in Nootka Sound

Travel and Leisure

Time for another road trip... this time it was over to the far side of Vancouver Island to an area called Nootka Sound. My brother had set up already at Cougar Creek recreation site (run by our BC government), and spent a few days with his mates fishing prior to our arrival.

It's a long journey to get there; from Vancouver, it's 45 minutes to get to a ferry ride to Nanaimo (1 hour 40 mins), then over 4 hours to get up to Campbell River and cross-island to our destination. But once you make the turn West, it's a picturesque drive, winding through forests, around lakes, and passing over creeks and streams as you go. It turns to gravel/dirt about 45 minutes from camp, but it's not a 4x4 road per se. But it was very dusty, as it had not rained in about a week, and the forecast was sunny skies ahead.

A few kilometres from Cougar Creek, you come to a viewpoint, where you can look down Tilupana Inlet, and see the dock with boats moored at our campsite. There's no mobile service available in this remote area, but my brother had used the satellite feature of his iPhone to let us know which campsites he had secured for us. The other group of guys had just left, so we didn't get to trade fish stories, unfortunately.

The rec site was pretty nice actually, with huge Douglas Fir, cedar and hemlock trees surrounding the 60-odd sites at this campsite. Mike had picked two great spots, just opposite the from the beach area, which allowed for a fresh ocean breeze, but not the brisk wind that the few beach sites were subject to. Each has a fire-pit and picnic table, with reasonably well maintained pit toilets nearby. No drinking water available unfortunately, but the nearby Cougar Creek could be used to get water for washing etc.; something to know for next time so that we won't need to bring so much with us.

Apparently the crew before us didn't have any action for their first two days of fishing, and only ended up taking two chinook home on the morning that they left. We, on the other hand, had reasonably steady fishing action, catching two chinook per day, with many shaking the hook/getting away before we could put them in the boat. 

The great thing about this area and the time of the year we picked, is that these spring salmon had migrated from the mouth of the inlet, up to where we were camped, so we could literally drop our lines as soon as we left the dock area. We fished both sides of Tilupana Inlet, and around the corner where Camel Rock sits. As the day progressed, the anabatic winds would pick up, and so we'd head back to camp, stopping at a sheltered bay around the corner for a dip - the water was 20º C!

Back at the dock to clean our fish, we heard and then saw a small group of orcas! They were a few hundred metres from the dock area, leaving the area (hopefully). We met a couple on the dock that said they were literally swimming under the boat dock, collecting the remnants from the fish cleaning station at the next camp up the inlet. There was also a black bear perusing the shore on our first afternoon (sorry, no picture), but we also saw eagles, seals, blue jays, and many, many chipmunks.

Back to the smoky skies of Vancouver

We probably had an average fishing experience out there; when we saw other fishermen catching fish, they were hitting for us too. Similarly, when our rods went quiet, they too went silent on the nearby boats. We still ended up coming home with two coolers of iced fish, and I estimated the value of our catch at around $1,800 in Costco-priced salmon. Still, we don't do it just to fill the freezer, as the experience and scenery of fishing on the west coast of Vancouver Island is worth it itself!

Update: After checking the fishing reports from the area recently, apparently things went cold the day we left! So while we thought the fishing could have been a bit more exciting, we got lucky in retrospect.

Upcycling a safari shirt into... a duffel bag!

Retirement

Sun Microsystems UltraSPARC T1 chip

25 years ago, almost to the day, I put on a "product launch event" for an upcoming line of servers that were being released under the architecture codename "Serengeti". See, across the country, other offices were running coffee n' doughnut sessions for their customers, but this was a pretty big leap in tech for us. So my boss asked me to come up with something better, and so I decided upon a safari-themed afternoon party at a downtown pub; yep, the only region in the country to serve booze at a product launch. 

Yes, that is a real crocodile!

Anyhow, it was a major success. I had a friend who coordinated the live crocodile and snakes, along with a troupe of scantily clad dancers. Yes, dancers. All of the Sun Micro team wore safari shirts that someone bought at a local outdoor supplier, and I designed a pattern that was embroidered onto the back of the shirts. I bought some styrofoam pith helmets from the party store, and with some khaki shorts, it completed the look.

How to re-use these features?

Fast forward 25 years, and I noticed the shirt hanging in the back of the closet. With fond memories of the safari party, I couldn't bring myself to throw it out, but what to do with it? I had recently converted my PGA Tour ProAm caddy smock into a tote bag, so I had proven that I had some rudimentary sewing skills, but what could I make that would be different? After some Googling, I landed upon a duffel bag. I seemed to have enough material for a "personal item" sized one (would I ever use it travel?), so I set about unstitching the pockets and other features from the shirt. 

The donor bag stripped of the goods

The major thing that I didn't have, was a zipper. So one day when she was going to Value Village, I tagged along with her, and found a dusty gym bag with a suitable zipper that I could harvest from it. As a bonus, it had a shoulder strap and associated D-loops, as well as a hard plastic, removable bottom. I also salvaged the velcro wrap handle grip from it, and inner mesh pocket. All of that for only $6! Ok, so I had to go to the craft store to get some black bias tape to cover up the inside seams, as well as some matching thread for the safari shirt fabric. I happened to have a long piece of black nylon webbing to use for the handles too.

A peek inside

I won't go into the build here, but I did follow (somewhat) the process outlined on this website. I also consulted with ChatGPT extensively on what I could build into the bag, what to use as lining (I doubled up the shirt fabric), and what extra features might make it unique. I have gone through at least 3 man purses (murses) in the course of our travels, and made note of the features that I liked and disliked. While a duffel bag might be too big for day touring, it might get used as my personal item along with my carry on piece, so I kept that in mind as I was designing the interior and exterior pockets (e.g. the interior mesh pocket holds our passport wallet nicely). 

Despite some challenges with my sewing skills, and learning new things on the machine (e.g. buttons/button holes), I was able to put together what I had in mind. You can't see my mistakes, as the most important stitching is on the inside of the bag, which is now covered up by black bias tape. The double-layer construction gives the duffel bag just enough structure, but not so much that it looks stiff. At 15" x 11" x 5", it is definitely under the personal item size constraint for most airlines. Will it come with me on the next European trip? We'll see. Update: I decided to bring it along, and it worked brilliantly! The little pockets were great for staying organised, and when not in use, it folded up and fit in my carry on (when I used the expansion zipper/feature). This allowed me to use my Travelon day bag when we were moving between cities on the train. 

Stock photo appearances

Retirement Life 

Now I can say that I've appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!

Early on in my post-retirement alternate career, I pretty much took any gigs that my agent sent my way. A few times, she asked me to do some stock photo (and video) shoots, and they paid as good or better than a day of background work, so I thought, why not? The downside is that your photos (and videos) can live in the ether forever, and folks who pay $36 can pretty well use your image for anything. Who remembers the episode of Friends where Joey gets used for the STD poster? 

The first one was for a government of Canada tourism entity known as Destination Canada. They gather all sorts of photos and videos that are available to use for free, when promoting tourism in conjunction with Canada's agencies. What we were working on that day, was a set of images that was specific to disabilities; i.e. that Canada is a great place to visit for those with physical challenges. I met Clement that morning, who is totally blind, and would be my partner for the day. We went all over downtown, shooting stills and video at many of Vancouver's recognisable places.

We started at the harbour, by the cruise ship terminal, and slowly worked our way around the sea wall to the Vancouver aquarium, where a staffer there introduced Clement to the different textures of the undersea creatures in the touch tank. After that session, we moved downstairs to the large fish tanks, and we took a number of shots down there.

Surprisingly, we'd be standing in front of the huge glass aquarium, and the director would say, "Point at the fish" to which I'd reply, "you do know he's blind, right?" If you haven't been to the Vancouver Aquarium, it's worth a visit when you come to town. We took our lunch break at a great sushi joint, which also got used for more photos and then we headed to Granville Island.

There's a lot of neat stuff to see for visitors at what is really no longer an island, and we took a bunch of shots near the famous Stuart's Bakery. Again, the director had me pointing out all of the nummy snacks to the blind guy. If you don't get sucked in by the amazing treats there, Lee's Donuts is just around the corner in the market area.
After our tour through the market, it was time to go kayaking. Cool.

But what they didn't tell me up front, was that we were going to be in singles... wait what? The blind guy is going kayaking on his own? So the camera teams get into their double kayaks, and the two of us hop into the singles. Apparently Clement has been kayaking before? Anyhow, so for the whole time, I'm giving him instructions... "more to the left, now straight. A little to your right". All the while, boats are going past along the busy False Creek, while the team captures our stills and video. "Synchronise your paddles!" What? But we managed to do it.

Anyhow, there was more to our day than I've detailed here, but suffice it to say that it was a pretty fun day. I never actually expected to see any images used, nor any of the video segments. But one day, we're sitting in the lineup for a ferry, and my wife is scrolling on her iPhone, when an Expedia ad with me kayaking scrolls by! Not long after, WestJet teamed up with Destination Canada too, and I was appearing on Facebook and Instagram feeds everywhere. And then there's the time I'm watching the morning news, and a commercial for the Trans Canada Trail pops up, with me paddling across the screen.

The second stock photo shoot I did was 1/2 day gig with a local photographer, who then takes his shots and sells them to iStock or whomever. It was a pretty easy day, unlike the one above, as we just stayed in place at the location all afternoon. As part of the paid gig, Shannon would give anyone copies of the headshots he'd take (that would get sold), so it was a good deal. And I thought, who in the world is going to use my iStock shots?

Well, if you read my past blog posts, you might have seen that The Good Doctor did; it's a pretty strange and coincidental story, so worth a read. Go ahead. I'll wait. If you go onto iStock and search for "Asian male doctor", you'll get thousands of results - 88,091 to be exact; the fact that someone in the art department picked me, a guy who plays a doctor on The Good Doctor, would randomly pull my photo is hard to fathom, but it happened.

Which makes this next one even stranger. So my brother texts me one morning, with a screenshot, saying, "hey, is this you?" Like he doesn't recognise his own brother! It was a small appearance on the opening monologue of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Let me tell you, I got more than a few folks messaging me to say that they saw me on TV. But if you try iStock search "confused Asian man" I actually do appear on the first page of results. Here's the segment from The Tonight Show:

But it doesn't end there. Recently on the set of "Wild Cards", a Canadian TV series, I'm doing some random background scene at a golf club. As the crew is setting up the shot, the 1st Assistant Director, Caroline, walks by and says, "Richard. There's a portrait of you hanging in our studio." Is this another déjà vu moment? She goes on to say, "There's a Wall of Heroes at the set back at the studio, and you're on it." Ok, so I have worked a couple of days this season on Wild Cards, but haven't done any studio days. The irony of it, is that I'm supposed to be dead - i.e. a fallen hero. But there I was, living and breathing at the country club that day... and at the dog show on another episode!

Where will I appear next? Who knows? Let me know if you see me on a random commercial or social media feed!

Three fish tales

Just for fun / Retirement

Fishing in Vancouver is accessible and productive

The other day, I went fishing out off the mouth of the Fraser River with one of my mates from university. It was a great afternoon out on the water, and only 45 minutes from where the guide picked us up, we had rods in the water. It reminded me of some tall tales (all true, I swear), so I thought I'd jot them down for posterity's sake. I wrote them down on the Facebook, but this is a more easily accessed medium for me. Here goes.

We used to run an annual Sun Microsystems fishing trip with clients and partners, where we'd go up to the MV Salmon Seeker, operated by the Oak Bay Marine Group. We'd fly into this ex-research vessel, anchored deep in Kano Inlet, which was our floating accommodations, restaurant and base of operations. We'd then go out each day to fish in 20' Boston Whalers, and typically would catch many more fish in a day than you could keep.

This was back before I ever fished on the open ocean. Sure, I had caught a salmon with my buddy David, while up in Bella Coola, but that's not like this kind of fishing action. This was 15+ fish per day (per rod) with so much fight that I remember getting blisters on my hands! Most of the Chinook were in the 20 lb. range, but the guides wouldn't typically boat anything less than 30 lbs.

So fishing story #1, occurred on the first of these trips, back in 2000. On one day, we spotted a pod of orcas off in the distance. This was before I had a digital camera, so I quickly swapped my all-purpose lens for a 300mm, hoping to at least catch some dorsal fins or a breach. Meanwhile, our guide, JB, was casually clipping the line onto the downrigger when a Coho snatched the lure and tore the line right out of his fingers!

All of a sudden, a mother and her calf appeared about 50 metres off the back of the boat - they were chasing after the fish! JB frantically reeled the salmon in, literally surfing it along towards us. But mama and baby kept coming, and just as JB unceremoniously hoisted the fish into the back of the boat, the orcas submerged beneath our boat, only metres from the back!

The second of my fish tales occurred in 2006, on my 4th trip to the Charlottes. One of the distinctions of catching a large chinook, is the power of the pull on the rod, and the angle that the line goes into the water at. A coho often runs along the top, and doesn't have the mass to strip much line off the reel. A Tyee however, will start zipping the reel almost the moment it gets hooked, and the line will be at least a 45 degree angle.

So when my fishing partner hooked something and the reel started screaming, we got very excited! This was unlike any other salmon fight I'd ever encountered. After a fierce battle, the fish came close to the surface, and we saw a tall dorsal fin. Wha? (cue the Jaws music) "Salmon shark!" our guide exclaimed. This is not common - catching one of these on 20 lb. monofilament line. Salmon shark have sharp teeth and would normally cut through the wimpy mono easily, but the plug that it had taken, was jammed into the jaws.

While we did not want to keep/eat the shark, the guides did. So we hauled it onboard, and sized up our catch. at about 5.5 feet, it weighed about 95 lbs., easily the biggest fish we'd ever caught on these trips (stay tuned however). Little known fact, is that salmon sharks are actually from the same family as great whites and mako sharks, and you could easily see the resemblance. This was a small one, as they typically are 400+ lbs., but can grow up to 1,000 lbs. and 10 feet long!

Second useless trivia about sharks, is that their meat spoils quickly if you don't clean them immediately; something about how they urinate through their skin or something. To read more about these huge fish that most folks don't even know exist in our waters, have a look here on Wikipedia. Anyhow, so our guide ended up gutting it right there on the back of the boat, and all of the contents of its stomach and innards were dumped out onto the back of the boat. While washing away the blood, an octopus beak rolled along the deck... at least he had a tasty last meal!

Ok, final fish story. This was on my final trip to the MV Salmon Seeker, so a fitting one to end with. 

When we go on these fishing trips, the primary goal is to catch salmon, and lots of them. Your guide tries to get you big chinooks, and during that time you'll typically "limit out" on your coho. In a typical day on a two rod (sometimes 3) boat, you'll end up releasing 12-20 "cookie cutter" chinooks that are 20-25 lbs., keeping the big ones only, and hopefully catching your 2 cohos each. On the odd occasion, you get a bleeder, and since fish blood doesn't clot, you keep chinook even if they're under your Tyee keep range.

But once you've filled the boat with your limit of salmon, and if there's time left, you go get your halibut. Normally, the guides would take us to "Aisle 13"; a GPS marked spot where it is so easy to catch them, the sea floor must be covered in hali. e.g. It's like going to the supermarket, and you go down aisle 13 to get some fresh fish. You lower your baited hook (no flashy things or injured fish imitations required), and once it hits bottom, you start reeling up. A typical "chicken" will be 15-25 lbs., sometimes up to 35 or so. Each guy catches one, and you're “back to barn” for beers on the top deck.

Sometimes you are close to other boats

On this trip, we had limited out relatively early, so our guide took us to the monster hali spot. A further ride, and trickier fishing, but since we had the time, it seemed like a good idea. It was foggy, so the guide, Darren, pointed the nose of the boat at his GPS marker, and we blindly motored off. As we arrived there, the fog was lifting, and others must have limited-out on salmon as well, because there were a few other boats there. One of the other guides let us know that they had spotted a sea lion nearby, so be careful. Huh? Anyways, at Aisle 13, you catch them so quickly, the guides don't bother dropping anchor. Here, it can take an hour or so to link up with one of these "coffee tables", so we dropped anchor in about 200 feet of water.

Our guide set up the hali rods, one on each side of the boat, and we waited. And waited. And waited. This kind of fishing is boring. It might have been about an hour in when my fishing partner's rod started to twitch. You have to let these big halibut really take the bait before trying to set the hook, or you'll just end up losing them. After a brief dance with his rod, the hali decided that it liked my bait more, and started to nibble away at mine.

I pulled the rod out of the holder, and Darren is watching the tip, "wait... wait... wait... NOW!" I set the hook as hard as I could, and we had him. As I started battling this hali, we hear from the other boat, "SEA LION!" The chase was on, and not wanting to be its next meal, the big hali swam for its life, stripping line off the reel like crazy. Remember that we were anchored, so we couldn't chase this huge fish. Darren had the drag on the reel set high for these big hali, and yet it seemed as though it was stripping off line effortlessly. I looked at Darren, and he looked at me, as we watched the line getting closer and closer to running out. He said, "give me the rod". He took the rod, and put his thumb on the reel to slow it down slightly, and gave the drag a last click or two. The hali finally stopped, with what I estimate to be less than of foot of line left!

Monster from the Deep

With the sea lion no longer in pursuit, and the halibut exhausted from the chase, it was up to me to pull all that line back in. Despite the size, it was a relatively short amount of time to do the classic pull up on the rod, then reel down, pull up on the rod, then reel down, etc. Repeat about a hundred times. I think even our guide was surprised when we finally got this monster up to the surface. It was massive! I had heard the stories of fishermen bringing big hali onto their boats, only to have the fish revive itself and destroy the boat flopping around. Some shoot them, but there's always that tall tale of the fishermen that used the gun after they brought it onboard, and ended up putting a hole through the bottom of their boat! But Darren harpooned it, then hooked it up to a rope and bled it out before we brought it onboard.

That was my last full day of fishing up there, and the last time I'd see the MV Salmon Seeker. The Oak Bay Marine Group eventually sold the ship, and I would move on to other career opportunities. But it certainly was a great way to end my Queen Charlottes fishing career.

Note: On December 11, 2009, the British Columbia government announced that legislation would be introduced in mid-2010 to officially rename the Queen Charlotte Islands to the new name "Haida Gwaii". The legislation received royal assent on June 3, 2010, formalizing the name change.

A Matrix Moment

Retirement Life

Do you remember that moment in The Matrix, when Neo "wakes up" in the pod, and suddenly realises that he's not in Kansas anymore? That's a Matrix Moment - a sort of how-did-I-get-here situation where what seemed impossible actually happens. Well something like that occurred for me this week; read on if you like.

This was a prop on set!

Some may not know this, but the Good Doctor is wrapping up forever, after a seven season run. Most of it was shot nearby at Bridge Studios, and I've had a number of days working on the show, starting from the original pilot, right up to this final season. While I'm not a fan of the show, there's a bunch of background (BG) folks that I've met and worked with over the years, and so it's a bit of a bittersweet time for some. Famous for their indoor BG holding, fantastic Craft Services, and amazing meals (Raincity Catering), it had set a high bar for the best BG show to work on. And so, during the last few weeks as we were winding down, a number of the regulars were being given their hospital ID badges as token souvenirs. 

Sometimes they use BG photos on badges

I didn't have a photo badge made for me, but it was a neat thing that Johnny (props) was doing; after all, they'd just be going into the plastic recycling. But I got to take home something even more unique instead. So my BG friends that have jumped ahead are thinking, "So you did a stills shoot, and then found your picture? Big deal." But that's the thing, I didn't.

But let's back up and start the story at the beginning. We're working at the studio on episode 708, on a scene where there's a number of the actors, including Will Yun Lee. While we're waiting for the team to get ready for the shot, Will's stand-in, Charles, walks up to me.

"Richard, there's a portrait of you hanging in Studio 9."

Wait, what?

"There's a portrait of you, hanging in the hallway over in Studio 9."

I don't get it. I didn't do a stills shoot for this show.

"I'm certain it's you. You're flashing the pearly whites. But it's labelled Dr. Gutierrez or something." 

Could it be this stock photo?

After a bit of back and forth, he suggested that after the scene finished, that he'd take me over to look for it. So we jogged over to the Emergency Ward, and wandered around, trying to find it. After a minute or so, he said, "I guess set dec has already taken the portraits down". Rats, I thought, that would have been neat, taking a selfie of me playing a doctor, standing next to a portrait of me as a doctor, hanging in the hall on The Good Doctor.

Stock shoot w/ Shannon Fagan

A week or so later, I'm back on set for episode 709, and we’re waiting in holding when Johnny props sits down in a chair next to me, and we start chatting about things, like what he's going to be doing after the show wraps, etc. He volunteered to make me a souvenir ID badge as well, so I Airdropped him a recent head shot for him to print out. I then tell him the story about Charles seeing a portrait of me, but not being able to find it. I had hypothesised that I had done a stock photo shoot a number of years back, and maybe someone had selected my picture from the thousands of images on Shutterstock or Getty Images, and had it printed and mounted for use at the hospital. But what are the odds of them picking an image of me, someone who works on their show, as Background, AND as a doctor? Then Johnny proclaims, "I'm going to find it. Set dec probably has them stacked up somewhere." Anyhow, we got wrapped for the day, and I never got a chance to see him before I left to see if he had printed that ID badge, or exchange any contact info if he did locate the portrait. Thinking I'd get back before the show wrapped, I didn't think much of it.

I kept waiting to get re-booked on The Good Doctor before the final episode, but it didn't look like it was going to happen, and my week started to fill up with bookings for other shows. So I reached out to other regulars, including the "50-something Asian male BG" FB Messenger group, to see if anyone else was going to be at the studio, and could grab my souvenir badge (Ed, I still have yours). I joked about someone finding my portrait too, and then Arnie chimed in that Johnny props had found it! But how was I going to get there to get it? When you're booked on other shows, you can't just leave whenever you feel like it. Kristi, another regular BG I had reached out to, suggested that I just go to the studio, but they don't just let anyone walk onto the lot.

I'd pretty much given up any hope of getting my souvenir badge (which would have just ended up at the bottom of a drawer somewhere anyways), and the portrait story would have been just that… a good, tall-tale. But late one night this week, Kristi texted me and said that Sarka, another BG we knew was booked for The Good Doctor, so I reached out to her. She said she would let Johnny know I was looking to catch up with him, and try to get his mobile number. Ok, first problem solved! Now, when would I be able to get to the studio before they closed the doors on the show? And while Sarka was going to be there and could probably grab an ID badge, I couldn't ask her to haul around a framed portrait of me.

One thing about working in BG, is you never know what your schedule will be like, or when you'll be wrapped. But after arriving at Superman & Lois and checking the call sheet, it looked like I might be wrapped in time to get to Bridge Studios while their BG group was there (after all, the prop master for BG would only be around if there are BG required for the scene). So I get to the studio, and tell the guard at the gate who I am, and that I'm there to pick something up from Johnny props. As expected, he won't let me in. So I text Johnny, and wait a minute or two to see if he responds (this slight delay will be relevant in a bit), then call him so that I can get onto the studio. After a bit of a scolding from the gate guard, he finally lets me pass. 

Things are about to get weird

Now that I’m on the studio lot, I head over to the entrance to Stage 11, and I catch Johnny just as he's coming down the stairs from his prop room, and sure enough, he's got a big, framed picture of me - Dr. Diego Alvarez. We're not there for more than a minute when another guy walks into the elevator area with a "what's up?" kind of look. Johnny and I briefly explain the strange circumstances of the portrait, until it gets even more strange.

Chad K. Art Dept. Director

It turns out that this guy, Chad, is the Art Dept. Director, and he's the guy who would have had the portrait made! Incredulous, I said, "So one of the people that works for you, went onto some stock photo site and just happened to pull my image down for $20 or whatever? There must be thousands of pictures of Asian male doctors." (on iStock.com alone, there are tens of thousands) He said, "It would have been iStock, but it gets even better. When we originally printed that, we put my name on the bottom, thinking it would be funny. And then someone said no, we can't do that. But my mom knew about it, and she just texted me today saying, you need to get that portrait." No shit. He showed me the message.
What are the odds that at the exact moment that Johnny and I are exchanging the I-can't-believe-that-this-happened portrait, that the guy who commissioned it walks in? And has his own story about it? Chad then went on to say how this was a "Matrix Moment"; one of those strange things that you'd swear couldn't happen unless you were there to witness it.

Anyhow, thanks to everyone that had a small, but crucial part to play in this, my Matrix Moment.

A trip on the Rocky Mountaineer

Travel and Leisure

Back in 2018, I was lucky enough to book a gig on Canada's Rocky Mountaineer train. That's right - I got paid to go on the two-day rail trip from Vancouver to Jasper! It was recently rated by Travel & Leisure Readers as the #1 rail journey! With things so slow in TV and film, especially now that the SAG-AFTRA union is also on strike, I thought I'd waste more time this morning describing this wonderful experience.

The "talent" in a domed Gold Leaf car

Ok, so let me start off by saying that my experience wasn't exactly the same as a paying guest, as we were working during the trip, but I was able to experience what it was like in both classes of service, Silver and Gold Leaf. Click on any picture to see the photos in gallery view.

Pre- and Post-rail extensions

Fairmont Banff Springs

Just like a European river cruise, Rocky Mountaineer offers their guests options for staying in the cities at the start and end of the rail trip, at of course, exorbitant rates. Even their transfers are ridiculously priced, but when you see the overall cost of these trips, I guess they are in line with the relative wealth of their travellers. In Vancouver, options are great, and for folks who can afford it, staying at the luxurious Fairmont hotel chain is excellent - there are three properties to choose from here. There are also Fairmonts in both Jasper and Banff, so you have that option with either of the Canadian Rockies destinations. You're not going to arrive in either place and then head home, so you might as well have a luxury experience while you're there. We've not stayed at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, but she had a business trip once that took us to the Fairmont Banff Springs, pictured here.

Embarkation day

But for us lowly "talent" (I have always hated when the crew use that term), since we were all Vancouver-based, we simply showed up at the Rocky Mountaineer rail terminal for a 5:30 am call time! This was because the wardrobe team would not be travelling with us, and so we had to show and get approval for two days' worth of outfits before shooting started. I can't remember when paying guests started checking in, but it was probably around 7:00 am.

It can be a long walk from the terminal

Note: you do/should not eat breakfast at your hotel - I will describe more later. Just grab a cup of coffee and muffin to hold you over until breakfast service starts. Check-in for guests is a very simple affair; there isn't much to do other than wander up to a kiosk and wait for boarding to begin. But here's a strange thing: you do not have access to your luggage during the time you are on the train! You can bring a day bag, but the rest of your luggage gets put on a shuttle that drives to your destination. Since the Rocky Mountaineer only travels during the daylight hours, you do not sleep on the train, and really should not need anything from you suitcase.

Silver or Gold Leaf service?

Shooting in a Silver Leaf coach

There are two types of cars and service levels on the Rocky Mountaineer. Silver Leaf carriages are single-level, with ample 2-2 seating, and panorama windows. All seats face forward, and are very large and comfortable; spacing is like what the old business class seats used to be like on airplanes, but more supple and... cushy. Meals are served to you in your seats, so there is no interruption of your viewing experience.

Crew at the bar area on the upper deck

The Gold Leaf carriages are bi-level, and glass domed; upper level is 2-2 seating and below is set up as restaurant seating. For breakfast and lunch, guests go downstairs in two shifts (more on that later), where dining is set up in 4-person booths. Your field of vision is slightly obscured in the dining area, as the bulkhead for the washroom and a private table setup limits field of vision, as well as the lack of curved windows, due to the seating level above. We experienced both coaches, and in my opinion, the Silver Leaf is almost as good as the Gold Leaf; the panorama windows aren't as expansive as the Gold Leaf domed ones, but you still get pretty good views.

Dining on board

Crew breakfast was still amazing

While we were too busy to have the same meals as the paying guests, we were able to see the amazing dishes that the executive chefs were preparing. They still served us amazing food, but in a buffet style, vs. the served breakfast and lunches for actual travellers. As discussed, Silver Leaf folks will be served their menu selections at their seats (sample menus are on the website), but Gold Leaf passengers dine in two shifts, as there isn't enough table space for everyone to seat at once.

Dining table in Gold Leaf

But in the morning, if you are not in the first breakfast seating, they come by upstairs with coffee/tea and a light snack to make sure you don't starve while you wait your turn. On the next day, guests in Gold Leaf swap shifts, so everyone experiences both breakfast seating scenarios. We ate all our meals in the dining area, and it was not uncomfortable eating while facing backwards. I can't remember what time alcohol service (included) started, but there is a welcome aboard "Cheers" greeting, with orange juice - mimosa optional.

Some of the meal options

As working talent, we were not allowed to drink alcohol; they actually did have the talent drink on the previous year's shoot, and ended up having an incident. But as I understand it, paying guests get unlimited alcoholic beverage service. While we did not sample the food created by the master chefs onboard, they would often bring their prepared dishes to shoot the scenes, and they looked and smelled amazing! Working in TV and film, I've come to appreciate the fantastic food we get served, but even our buffet lunch was over the top! Later that afternoon, they serve a snack of some sort; we shot a scene where the host serves us warmed scones, which we actually go to eat! There is no dinner onboard, as you will have arrived at your hotel by then; dinner at your stop or final destination is not included in your fare.

Onboard experience day 1

Crossing the Fraser leaving Vancouver

Leaving Vancouver itself is not too exciting, as the train leaves a somewhat industrial-looking railyard, and then passes through some uninspiring neighbourhoods. Make sure you do your Vancouver sightseeing before, as you don't see much of "Vancouver" from the train. But since you're having breakfast as you leave, you're going to be excited and hungry, so you'll likely not be disappointed for the first couple of hours.

Curving our way up the canyon

Then you start winding up the a narrow canyon, carved by the mighty Fraser River, leading you into the semi-arid area of British Columbia. Most Americans are surprised to hear that we have a desert-like region of our province where summertime temperatures regularly reach 40º C, with a record set only two years ago in Lytton at 49.6º C! I remember stepping out onto the viewing platform to shoot a sequence as we were curving through the Fraser Canyon, and it was like a blast furnace!

Hell's Gate

At points where the train passes by something significant, the train slows down and your host or hostess will describe what you are looking at, like Hell's Gate. There's not a lot of wildlife that you might see in this area; perhaps some bighorn sheep scaling the rocky terrain. Any sightings are called out by staff or guests, and the train hosts will try to alert the guests in the following cars of any photo opportunities. Leaving the Fraser Canyon, and the Coast Mountains, the terrain smooths out somewhat, as you enter Kamloops for the evening.

Overnight stop in Kamloops

Crossing the Thompson River

Late on your first afternoon, travellers to both Banff and Jasper will overnight in my hometown of Kamloops (although there is a Whistler to Jasper option). It's not a terribly picturesque city, but is set at the junction of the North and South Thompson Rivers. We all disembarked and were transferred to the nearby Sandman Signature Hotel by coach (we could have walked); I think all guests stay here regardless of whether they are Silver or Gold Leaf service.

Locals relax in the nearby park

Unfortunately, Kamloops doesn't have a 5-star hotel like the Fairmont, but it's a nice hotel, somewhat akin or slightly better than say, a Hilton Garden Inn, or Courtyard by Marriott. There is minimal hotel check-in procedure, as all guests will be handed their room key and their luggage will be waiting in their room. The Sandman is situated in the old Kamloops downtown area; not exactly known as the nicest neighbourhood, but there are some good restaurant options nearby (we like Mittz Kitchen) and you can go for a stroll to the nearby Riverside Park. 

Day 2 onboard

Outside on the viewing platform

In the morning, leave your bags outside your room and check out from the hotel (again, don't eat breakfast), then you'll re-board your coach on the Rocky Mountaineer and enjoy your first meal as you leave Kamloops. Within an hour, you'll have left the semi-arid, sparse-vegetation area, and the trees will thicken; this isn't necessarily a good thing, as no one manicures the trees that are close to the rail line. Quite often, the beautiful view you are trying to looking at is filtered by the trees that are whizzing by.

Pyramid Falls

You're entering bear country, but I think the odds of seeing one are extremely slim. But you will get some spectacular scenery, with major landscape elements narrated by your onboard host or hostess. The train is quite slow; this is a shared-rail system with other freight and VIA rail's passenger trains. By comparison, you can drive Vancouver to Kamloops in 3.5 hours, whereas the Rocky Mountaineer takes closer to 10 hours!

We headed North paralleling Highway 5 towards Jasper, which takes in impressive views of Mount Robson. Leaving British Columbia and entering Alberta, the landscape changes to wide, glacier-hewn valleys and sweeping mountain vistas. Of course, along the way, you'll be well fed and drinks will be free flowing, until your arrival in Jasper early evening. Everyone will disembark and be shuttled off to their respective hotels (I think Gold Leaf stays at the Fairmont).

Unfortunately for the twelve of us, the shooting crew and other team members, we didn't get to stay in Jasper. We all hopped on a luxury shuttle bus, and they carted us off to Hinton (a nearby blue collar town), where we overnighted at the Holiday Inn Express, before heading to Edmonton to fly home. 

Conclusion

While we didn't get the true Rocky Mountaineer experience, I can safely say that we experienced 90% of it, really only missing out on the gourmet à la carte dining experience. Is it worth the extremely high cost? Hard for me to justify, but if you're the kind of folks that regularly fly in business class, then the ~$1,000 per day pricetag may not be an issue. It does take a lot of time, but that's the idea, right? Why fly there in 2 hours, when you can take a leisurely two days getting there instead? Some make it the trip-of-a-lifetime, by flying to Calgary, doing a pre-train extension in Banff, doing the Banff-Kamloops-Vancouver route; spend a few days here with perhaps a visit to Victoria, then take an Alaskan cruise (Update: we did this cruise - read about it here). For me of course, the experience was fantastic, not to mention getting paid to do what others have to pay thousands for. To this day, it remains one of my most memorable travel experiences, even if it was in my own backyard.

I'll leave you with a little tidbit of the content we created over those two days.