When I was ten years old, my family moved from Sarnia, Ontario to Edmonton, Alberta. We travelled three days on a train. I loved riding on the train.

 

When I was eleven, my mother put me on a train, alone, to travel from Edmonton to Vancouver to visit my grandparents. I remember I was so excited I sat in the dome car at five in the morning watching the scenery roll past. I was the only passenger in the dome car at that time of day.

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When I was thirteen, our family went tent camping in Yoho National Park. My dad and I watched multi-engine trains grinding up the Kicking Horse Pass hill. From a National Park guide, I learned about the history of building the Canadian Pacific Railway through the mountains. I've been fascinated by that history ever since.