34 - Sunday, April 29, 1990 - North Shore News TRAVEL Experience romance of the rails en route to Lillooet IT iS still early; 7 a.m. on a Friday, to be precise, but the day is swiftly growing brighter with the promise of more sun to come. Am I off to the office? No. Get- ting an early start at my computer keyboard? Not on your life. To- day, a few select family members and I are romancing the rails all the way up to Lillocet. Fie to the person who considers ‘“romance”’ too drippy a term to be used in conjunction with railroading. The recent ViA_ Rail cuts unleashed the fury of Canadians whose feeling for rail travel is clearly passionate. And who among us does not enjoy waving to the conductor when the train rum- bles through town, or at least wat- ching other, less-inhibited souls wave their arms off at the passing train? I, for one, am net ashamed to admit to goose-pimply feelings when it comes to railroads. And I certainly had no trouble “twisting the rubber arms’’ of my family members to come along for the tide. So there we were at 7 a.m., the four of us at BC Rail’s Pemberton station, eager to board the daily train to Lillooet: me, with my pen and paper, my father, with his omnipresent video camera, and my sister, with her 18-month-old daughter, Lisa. We climbed on board our self- propelled dayliner ‘‘Bud’’ cars with an assortment of fellow pas- sengers: elderly daytrippers, a few skiers, a sports team, young pro- fessional-looking types and backpackers. At 7:30 a.m. on the nose, the whistle sounded, the train roared into life, and we were on our way. We were travelling first-class (“Cariboo class’*) on the way up to Lillooet, and no sooner had we taken our seats but we were being handed a complimentary Globe and Mail and very-welcome coffee. We were served a good breakfast — eggs, sausages, English muffins, 0.5. and coffee — on the way through West Vancouver, but didn’t allow that to divert us from the view outside the windows. We've all heard about the lovely homes in West Vancouver and this trip provides you with a different perspective that you don’t get from driving on the road. You'll see beautiful natural and cultivated gardens, abundant wild greenery, ornate old estates and the fine lines of modern West Coast design. After we rounded Horseshoe Bay, we were into wild country, interrupted occasionally by com- munities such as Lions Bay and Britannia Beach. There are 16 stops before Lillooet, some at small, seemingly four-house “towns,’’ and some at booming centres such as Whistler. In between the stops, we saw spectacular scenery. The conductor pointed out the highlights, and often slowed the train down to a craw! so we could fully indulge in views such as those that look over the top of Braridywine Falls or down into the depths of Cheakamus Canyon. We experienced the lush farmiands of Pemberton and saw the vegetation change from our coastal rainforest to the jack and Ponderosa pines. We saw lakes and rivers whose colors ranged from dark blue to, in Seton Lake, an amazing jade green. Along the way I also got caught up in romantic musings about the rustic cabins we passed. Who lived in these out-of-the-way wilderness retreats? How did they live? At times, when the sun was shin- ing and the waters sparkling in the nearby lake, their lifestyle looked very attractive indeed. Having tucked in to a com- plimentary lunch just before arriv- ing in Lillooet at 1 p.m., we were well fuelled to ‘‘do’* the town and see the sights. We made the wise decision to ditch our belongings into one of the station's 75-cent lockers and, having lightened our load, were ready to explore. The train station is located at one end of Lillooet, on Main great escapes Peggy Trendell-Whittaker Street. On the road near the sta- tion is a wooden sign that maps out the town and its attractions, and the time it takes to walk to each one. Walking along Main Street into the commercial centre of town, we passed the town hall where I pick- ed up some tourist pamphlets The Process describing Lillooet. Aa especially good one to have is a self-guided tour of Lillooet’s historic sites, including the feisty and famous ‘'Ma’’ Murray’s newspaper office and The Hangman’s Tree, which was used as a gallows by Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie. Two thieves who died on the tree, it is recorded, are buried beneath it. The museum isn’t yet open for the summer season, so we had to take a raincheck on that, but it looked promising. It's located beside a lakeside picnic site, and you might want to consider buying some food at the local deli and en- joying your lunch there. Also located at the museum is a tourist infocentre, so if you have any questions, here’s a place to find the answers. If you are travelling to Lillooet in the summertime, remember it is going to be dry and hot. It felt like the middle of summer when we were there, Dut locals told us that we hadn’t seen anything. The train leaves at 3:20 p.m., so we were back at the station by 3. We returned by coach class, and found that atmosphere quite dif- ferent. While we didn’t have peo- ple waiting on us hand and foot, the passengers seemed morc casual and friendly. We met an amiable great-grand- father, 2 would-be turkey farmer with a batch of tiny peeping turkeys and a Vernon woman on her way to a choral festival in Whistler. Passengers meandered in and out of the cab area of the train, where we could watch the view head-on and listen to the stories of the conductor — including the one about the time they slowed the train to a crawl while announcing on the microphone the splendors of the river they were passing, only to come across a couple making love on the rocks. The passengers were delighted, the conductor terribly embarrassed and at quite a loss for words. And we all had fun waving to the people we passed along the ~ way. It’s my theory that if dentists have the highest rate cf suicide because people don’t like going to see them, train workers must have the lowest. Who else encounters so many smiles and waves from com- plete strangers in one day’s work? We pulled back in to the North Van station at about 8:30 p.m. — tired from a long day but looking forward to sharing stories of our adventure with others. Adult return fare to Lillooet is $81 Cariboo class, $45 coach. Reduced fares are offered to seniors and children. For informa- tion or reservations, call 631-3500. We invite you aboard one of the world’s Great Trains Canade’s Orient Express Bookings are now being iaken Dont miss “The Experience of a Lifetime’ Call for more information 7 CAULFEILD VILLAGE #230-5313 Headland D1. 4, Ashmore zz i Travel In February, the British Columbia Forest Resources Commission announced it was seeking the public's views on the Future of Our Forests in British Columbia through the 1990s and into the 2!st century. The public response has been overwhelming! To date, over 1500 written submissions have been received. The quality and content and the new ideas presented are ~ excellent. We would like to thank ail those who have contributed to date. These submissions have now been reviewed. Three "Panels" of Commissioners will be touring the Province from April 17 to May 17, 1990 listening to those who have submitted letters or briefs. There will be only limited time available for others who may want to make presentations to the Commissioners due to the extensive number of submissions received. Timing and Location of Community Meetings ©100 Mile House May 1 ° Bella Coola May 15 ¢ Campbell River May 7 © Castlegar ¢ Chilliwack May 2 * Courtenay * Cranbrook ¢ Fort St. John* ¢ Houston * Kamloops * Kelowna May 1-4 April 24-26 May 7-10 April 26 April 18-19 April 17-20 April 23-25 Red Coach Inn Bay Motor Inn Discovery Inn Sandman Inn Cottonwood Inn Legion Hail Town and Country Inn Pioneer Inn Community Hall Stockmans Hotel Sandman Inn * Port Alberni © Port McNeil May 8-9 © Prince George April 23-25 * Revelstoke © Sandspit, QCI April 20 © Terrace April 17 ° Vancouver May 7-10 May 14-17 April 17-20 May 14-17 ® Victoria © Williams Lake May 2-4 Community meetings will be held: Mornings: 9:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m Afternoons: 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. *Evenings: 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. only in those locations noted Forests April 23 Hospitality Inn Haidaway inn Simon Fraser Inn April 30-May | Community Centre Sarah Hall Sandman Inn Italian Community Centre Italian Community Centre Tally-Ho Pacific Motor Inn Tally-Ho Pacific Motor Inn Fraser Inn Forest » on" 6+7888