Mooses in Canada

Note: I wrote this post last year for a competition and didn't use it, so thought I'd pop it here instead.

I love travelling with other people. I don’t care if I’ve known them an hour or 15 years, the people make the trip for me. In 2012 I had the chance to travel to Canada for my friend’s wedding and, at their invitation, my boyfriend Sam and I joined them for a couple of days during their trip through the Rocky Mountains. As is always the way when you travel with people you know, there are expectations that everyone has regarding the trip: It was a honey-moon so it had to be romantic; it was four under 30’s, so it had to be fun, and it was the Canadian Rockies, so it had better be stunningly beautiful.

Lake Louise, Alberta. Possibly one of the most photogenic places in the world.

After months of planning, the trip was booked: Wedding in Vancouver, train ride on the Rocky Mountaineer to Banff, drive to Lake Louise, then take the Icefields parkway through the Colombia icefields to Jasper, where we would go our separate ways.

The only thing Adam wanted to do – other than get married of course, was see a Moose. Personally, I have no idea why, they’re great and all, but seriously, get an easier goal. Moose are notoriously difficult to find, and the remarkable staff on the Rocky Mountaineer warned us early on that the chances of seeing one that time of year (or ever) was slim to none. Many of the staff had one story of seeing a moose. One.

The incredible staff on the Rocky Mountaineer went over and above the call of duty during our trip, including the beautiful desserts, complete with love hearts and message of “Happy Honeymoon!!”

So it was of course, that on day 2 of the brilliant sights and tastes tour that is the Rocky Mountaineer, Adam was dutifully looking to the right as instructed by the crew, towards a sight of scenic or historical interest when the shout of “MOOSE!” went up from the left side of the cabin. And everyone ran to the left. Poor Adam didn’t stand a chance, and the moose was well behind us before he caught a glimpse. I did see it, very briefly, but there just wasn’t enough time to appreciate (or photograph) the creature as the train lumbered onwards – a constant problem with transport related journeys, we also missed any shots of the black bears we saw.

Needless to say, it was ON. Throughout the driving of the next 3 days, the continual call of “MOOSE!” kept Adam leaping from one side of the car to the other.

We did eventually find a Moose for Adam, and he even got to take one home with him

Not overly impressed with the moose we found you Adam?