Hi Tina,we took the Rocky Moutaineer, Gold Leaf service, for a week a couple of years ago. While the scenery is great, I would caution you about a couple of things, and point out the good and bad (as least in my opinion.)

1. The train NEVER STOPS during the day. I did not know that, and I got very antsy having to stay on board for 11 hours. Once you board around 7:00 a.m., you travel continuously until stopping for dinner. There is only so much chit chat you can make, reading you can do, cards you can play, before boredom sets in (again, at least for me).
It also was very frustrating when you would pass wildlife. The natural inclination is to stop to take a photo, or just look, but the train keeps rolling on..........

2. Meals are great. I gained a lot of weight from just sitting all day and eating 3 good meals, plus snacks in the morning and afternoon....you begin to feel like a stuffed turkey.....

3. Sometimes the train stopped (finally) after dark, when it really didn't matter what beautiful setting you were in, you couldn't see it anyway. That happened to us at Lake Louise - we walked down to the lake in the darkness, and had to be at the bus for the train before 7:00 a.m., so oh well - not much scenery to see in those conditions.

I don't mean to discourage you, but these were my reactions. If I wanted to do it again, I would definitely rent a car so we could stop where we wanted.

If you do go, I think you are very wise to pick an itinerary that includes 2 days at each main stop - that way you avoid the situation I have described, where you have no time to really see the place you spent all this money to see.

glenda