Random observations

As we enter into the final phase of our adventures in North America, a few things come to mind.

Black bears can be brown, grey or even white.  Grizzly bears are brown, but have a hump behind the shoulder.  Bears are solitary animals except in the breeding season in June.  Mum bear looks after her cubs for 2 years and then they are on their own. Bears have no natural predators, most die by train!  Bears are naturally woosies & prefer to eat dandelion & berries, rather than people.

Canadians & Alaskans (can't comment on others) are polite drivers.  You can cross a road by just holding up your hand.  The 4 way stop encourages politeness ( would hate to see what would happen in NZ).  Most music in public places is stuck in the 60s & 70s - the only exception I heard was Lorde in a pub in Calgary!!

There are few songbirds to be heard.  Glaciers come in all shapes and sizes.  Light switches work upside down.  Toilet bowls are (over)full of water.  An Entree is a Main.  Salads come first.  Many TV channels means more of nothing.  The list price means nothing.  Sales tax comes on everything later.  Sales tax in Alberta is much less than British Columbia.  The main industry in BC is lumber.  The main industry in Alberta is oil.

There are 2 competing train companies in Canada.  Trains can have up to 300 carriages.  Containers are often double stacked.  Trains can be 1.5 kilometres long.  Trains traverse the whole of Canada to take goods to the port (east or west) nearest to the destination (Europe or Asia).  Alaska is a favourite destination for Koreans, as it is close.  The railway through to British Columbia was constructed to encourage BC to join Canada,  there was concern that US would take it.  US paid the equivalent of 2c an acre to buy Alaska from Russia.  Alaska has the biggest vegetables, as they get 22 hours of sunlight during the growing season.

The treeline in the Rockies is at 7,000 feet.  99% of the Rocky Mountaineer track is below 7,000 feet.  Bears are nearly impossible to see from a moving bus/train.  The Athabasca Glacier is 1,000 ft thick.  Salmon swim up to 1,000 miles to spawn/& die.  In Alaska they don't do salmon farming, just hatcheries to ensure supplies for fishers, both commercial & recreational.   The original Royal Canadian Mounted Police were established to control/discourage whiskey traders from selling their firewater to First Nations people.

This is my last post for this holiday, and we are sitting in the lobby, having checked out.  Our friend Rohays will take us to the airport at 4.00, so we have a few hours to fill in.   We are missing out on Saturday but will be home early Sunday morning.  Hope that this blog has been at least partially illuminating.  To those who commented, thanks. To those who read this blog, thanks also.  To those who didn't, you missed a lot!!