Long Haul Amtrak Trip Part Two

 

Boarding Empire Builder 28 in Portland. Same train and some of the same crew.

Wanted to take some photos of this wonderful station outdoors, but there wasn't time. We were a little off kilter after a naked man walked across our path just outside. Keep Portland weird indeed.

After two weeks in Happy Valley Oregon, it was time to return. The experience so far has been great and I can't wait to take my next trip. Taking the Coast Starlight along the west coast from Vancouver to San Diego and the California Zepher from Chicago to California are now on the bucket list. Next time we make our way out here, we can choose the Empire Builder route to Seattle and jump on the Amtrak Cascades route for the scenery and to get to the Oregon City station only a few miles away from Gina's sisters.

A stop in Havre Montana to stretch legs.

 

As I have written before, having done the rough math of my commuting life driving in Twin Cities traffic and from Bismarck to the Standing Rock Reservation, I estimate I have spent a year of my life 24/7 just commuting. Part of what I love about my current job in Williston is the ten-minute drive to work every day. Much of that  lost time was carpooling or riding a bus, but it is still time. With the exception of my love for taking a novel cross-country trip on new roads, I am sick and tired of driving for any other purpose. I also feel the peril of being less able to keep up with the vicissitudes of movement in traffic and the inherent dangers of that condition. From now until the end of my days, not commuting long distance by car will be something I seek out as a priority. 

The boarding line in Portland

Our seats on the train this time were much better situated than before. We were one car behind the observation and cafe car and our seats were right next to the stairs down to the bathroom. Being next to the bathroom was a double edged sword since everyone in the car was shuffling by at all hours of the day and night.

The train followed the Columbia Gorge back allowing us to view the waterfalls and towering cliffs we had visited the week before from across the river. Traveling the gorge it is always fun to watch the transition from towering green cliffs to rocky brown ones that slowly flatten out to the dry, rocky desert of eastern Oregon. Around Pasco, the train leaves the river to push toward Spokane across the starkly beautiful desert of volcanic rock and sage. Veterans of sleeping in these seats after 25 hours of practice, we both slept better on the return, but hopefully next time we can get a room in more affordable times. 

We both awoke just before Whitefish, Montana, just in time to see the sun rising over the mountains and entering Glacier National Park. The only drawback of the trip was that even with long summer light, Whitefish is the border between day and night, so you will only get to enjoy half of the trip through the mountains each way. Glacier gives way to the flatland of the High Line that runs all the way to Williston. We drove this route last year and I found the flatness beautiful and relaxing. We arrived almost exactly on time in the evening. A great trip.

 

To pass the time, I tucked into a copy of Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock, enjoying it in fits and starts on the 9 hours of level vastness headed toward Williston. Unlike the non fiction book I read on the way out, I had a difficult time getting in to the story, but by the time I reached half way, it had me hooked.

Although, wifi was advertised, there was no internet for either trip. I may have misread that there was wifi and it makes sense that it would be hard to provide it moving across sparsely populated and mountainous territory. Not having internet was part of what made the trip better. I had planned on having internet and doing some work ahead of the upcoming school year. Not having it gave me an excuse to relax, read and look out the window.

All in all, the experience of being a captive inside the train for a full day was incredibly relaxing. The best part is being stuck on the train with nothing to do but sit and watch the scenery go by while reading a book. That is why riding the train felt like a vacation on our way to and from vacation. When compared to the stresses and discomfort of air travel it was a breeze. Considering a flight takes around 6 to 7 hours with layover, not counting the 2 to 3 hours of extra time getting into an airport, for a little more than twice the time and less than half the cost, we got to relax.

To drive the route, which we have done many times, takes around 20 hours with a stop halfway for sleep. So it takes around 30 hours to make the trip. Even though I love driving across the landscapes of the west and they never get old, after about 5 or 6 hours of driving, I am ready to call it quits. 

Neither driving or flying offer the opportunity to get up and walk down to the cafe car for a snack and sit in the observation car and chat, all while making steady progress toward a destination. Whether sitting, sleeping, eating or using the bathroom, travel goes on throughout.

Our experience taking a long journey in just a seat was overall much better than I expected. This is probably due to our almost dystopian experiences crammed into plane seats and airports on 25 to 30 hour flights and airports to Asia. Still, even though I would take a long seat trip again in a minute, next time, we will try it with a room.

Ample floor room to recline the seats and store things.