Vancouver to Banff via "The Canadian"

So we left Vancouver at 8pm on Tues night, aboard "The Canadian", a train which crosses Canada from east to west, taking about 3 days.  We were shown to our cabin for two, containing 2 armchairs, hand basin & mirror, a large window and a toilet in a separate cubicle.
We went to the Park Car, a sort of lounge with big picture windows & armchairs, and were served drinks & little cakes as a "Bon Voyage"  gesture.  It was still quite light until after 9pm, then we returned to the cabin, where Paulo, the attendant, had pulled two large bunks out of the walls!  The bunks were quite wide & properly made with sheets & thick doonas, so with the help of earplugs, we both slept really well.  It was amazing to wake up the next morning to the sight of the huge Fraser River flowing alongside the train, with mountains in the background. 
Breakfast was served in the restored dining car (the train dates from the 50's) and was surprisingly good, juice, omelettes & toast.  Then we went upstairs to the Dome Car, with large windows all around & above, and watched the scenery unfold.  It was a little overcast, but we could see the view changing as we rose higher, with more snow appearing & the mountains getting higher.
A cold but again enjoyable lunch was served in the dining car, & before we knew it, it was 5pm & we were pulling into Jasper, our destination.  It was freezing, and as we walked to our B&B a small flurry of snow fell, but then the sun came out again.
Jasper is a small town but quite pretty & surrounded by high, snow topped mountains.  There was a very chill wind blowing as we walked up the street for dinner that night & it didn't really get dark until about 9.30pm
Our B&B was actually a small apartment in the basement of a house, very well appointed & warm - special mention must be made of the Canadian's love of heated bathroom floors, a great idea in this cold climate.
We both overslept, but by about 10am we had picked up the hire car, a newish Hyundai Sonata, and were on our way down the Icefields Parkway, a scenic highway that runs from Jasper to Lake Louise.  We made several stops for photo opportunities, despite the fact that it was FREEZING!  About -4C most of the way.
At the Athabasca Falls we rugged up (ie thermals, fleeces, hats, gloves & scarves, topped with a Gortex jacket!) & walked for about 15 mins,but the wind off the water was icy cold.  Around 12 we reached the Athabasca Glacier on the Columbia Icefield, where we stopped to ride the Ice Explorer bus onto the glacier.  The glacier is about 6kms long & 1km wide, and 300m deep, with about 2m of snow on top.  The Ice Explorer took us to a graded area, where we all got out to take photos, & marvel at how cold -7c, with a windchill of about an extra -10c can feel!  It was very windy so the snow was blowing all around us too - not something you would do everyday. 
Back in the car, & we headed down the Parkway to Banff, our next destination, with a couple more stops for photo opportunities.  It became warmer & sunnier as we came down into Banff & by the time we arrived in town at about 5pm it was a positively toasty +5C!  we found our next B&B, Pension Tannenhof and settled in for 3 nights.