Stampede City

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Cowboy it up!

Just under two months until this year’s edition of the Calgary Stampede, which runs July 5 to 14, 2013.
The Stampede announced last week Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who’s due to return from space tonight, would be the Stampede parade marshal.

Nathan Phillips Square

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Nathan Phillips Square

… including Toronto’s hallmark and iconic City Hall building.

Pyramid Falls

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Pyramid Falls

Along the Thompson River valley in B.C. … spotted from Via Rail’s Toronto-Vancouver transcontinental train, “The Canadian”.

Esplanade Riel

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Vers St. Boniface

This beautiful pedestrian bridge in Winnipeg, Manitoba, links the Forks area just off Union Station with the city’s traditionally francophone area, St. Boniface.
(The photo above was captured with an SLR; the bottom one was snapped with my iPhone.)

Hanging on a wire

Pretty in pink

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Pretty in pink

More cherry blossoms in Vancouver … just because! Captured a few weeks ago.

Shout it out, loud!

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Shout it, loud!

Good morning, amorphous blob with a loudspeaker! Spotted in Vancouver.

Rolling along for lunch — 2004 vs. 2013

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Rolling along for lunch, nine years later

To my mind, one of the neat things about long-distance trains is being able to eat in a dining car or café car of some kind.
Above is the type of dining car used aboard Via Rail’s Halifax-Montreal train, “The Ocean”.
Below is a similar scene, captured nine years ago, in a different, older type of dining car that was once regularly used on this train.
Difference between the two: The newer cars don’t have a full kitchen, just a galley where they can prepare simple dishes and heat catered gourmet meals.
Happily, the meals are still served using real dinnerware.
EDIT: I should add that Via Rail’s Vancouver-Toronto western transcontinental, “The Canadian”, still uses those old-style dining cars. The decor has been updated since I took the photo below.

Rolling along for lunch

Protect your food from hungry birds!

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Hungry birds

These stickers are all over the public market at Granville Island in Vancouver. Apparently the gulls are voracious to the point that vendors need to be explicit about not refunding patrons for food lost to hungry birds.

View from the dome car

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Enjoying the view

Views such as this is why people like to hang out in the dome-observation Skyline and Park cars aboard Via Rail’s The Canadian. Got this image last month as the train made its way westward toward the town of Jasper.

Unseen musician

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Unseen musician

Part of a mural at a music venue in Vancouver, spotted last month.