Sunday, May 22, 2016

The Big Apple and the Big Bean Dip, Part 2


May 21, 2016.  5:34pm.   

Onboard The Empire Builder

I’m in my Bedroom now, watching the Cascades pass by at a good clip.    Lake on one side and cut hill on the other side, providing contrasting hues of the red and gray rocks and granite against the greens of the trees and grasses, all set in front of a gray, overcast sky.   

The bedroom is, as billed, about twice the size of the roomette, with its own combination shower/rest room.   Like the roomette, one can set up two beds - one folds down from the couch, the other folds down from the top like a shelf.   The beds themselves look to be of about the same quality as the roomettes: somewhat stiff mattresses and, well, they work.   

The combination toilet/shower was one of the draws for me to upgrade to a full bedroom - no shared facilities mean more hygiene and less chance of bugs spreading.   I had the chance to use it for it’s first purpose, and marveled at how CRAMPED that little space is.   I barely had any room to move my arms or much of anything else.   I’m a six-footer, and age is revealing itself just a bit in my midsection, so I can only imagine how somebody of a larger size the me would try to negotiate this cocoon of a bathroom.    It also didn’t help that TP was in short supply in said bathroom - could the staff, having turned this room over (?), noticed and remedied that?  Also, in the past, Amtrak provided its sleeping car passengers with a small hygiene kit with shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and soap, all wrapped in a small, nice, neat little bag.    I guess that practice ended, because no such baggie was in evidence either on this trip or the previous one.    I didn’t pack these in my suitcase, either, out of anticipation of receiving something like this.   So, I’ll see if they have these in the showers downstairs.    

If not, then…I’ll make do. 

So, we’re on our way to Spokane, where we meet up with another train called the Empire Builder (out of Seatlle), and their cars apparently join with ours to make up the complete consist.   

3:37pm.  Either in Montana or North Dakota - somewhere.

We're speeding along the straightaway, probably clocking somewhere close to 100 miles per hour.   I have a few comments about the previous several hours. 

For one, when I boarded the Empire Builder in Portland, I was told that we would not have the standard dinner options, since the section of the train that houses the dining car was on the other half of the consist coming out of Seattle.  We had, therefore, "cold fare".   Mine was a chicken salad pita, lovingly prepackaged and prepared.    No extra cost, at least - it's part of the fare you pay when you buy your ticket.   

The scenery changed as expected, this time going through the rainy-yet-no-less-magnificence of Glacier National Park.   I have samples of videos I've taken from this stretch of the journey, with snippets of what the national parks volunteer tour guide told us while in the parlor car.   Interesting stories and magnificent scenery, this time covered in a darker hue of grey while the rain (and snow!) fell through that section of the Rockies.    During breakfast with a couple who are no longer strangers, they told me that views like this are why they prefer train travel.   I cannot argue - if you have the time (and the cash), this is the way to go.   You can see the towns in the lower-and-not-too-distant flats nestled between the hills and peaks, and scenes of a life only found in distant, out of the way areas preferred by those who prefer to keep to themselves.   

Later, we were in the prairies.    Seen are scattered scenes of grazing livestock, varying greens and Browns of the grasslands, waterways cutting through the flats and winding their way around, small towns filled with unpretentious housing structures, and a landscape that rolls gently rather than juts out suddenly.   Indian reservation lands and the dilapidated structures that dot those (and other) landscapes.   Buildings which look to be from the early 1900s (and before), such as the one-room school passed by a bit ago.   A butte or a distinct hill is a rare sight in these parts, and if so, often in the distance and seen with a very dark, almost-black silhouette.   

Friendly former strangers were also to be found, and with interesting stories to tell.    The Canadian couple who put on an Internet blues music show peaked my interest, and we discussed music and politics for the better part of an hour over lunch.   The lady I met from Southern California, who was going to see her sister in North Carolina, had many stories to tell of her own, keeping me enthralled for the better part of two hours.   And the couple I met at breakfast were just as interesting.   

I'm now accustomed to the sleeping arrangements on these trains.  I've learned to appreciate the upper bunks and have taken to them, even with the occasional pretzel twists I have to contort myself to in order to get into position.   I've discovered that the shower, while in a tight space, is workable if you take a few minutes and orient yourself properly in relationship to the shower's length vs. depth.   

But a couple of gripes.  First, still NO WORKING INTERNET! And cell service is only as reliable as the areas in which you pass by.   I could have used the AmtrakConnect network earlier today since my laptop is on the fritz.   Plus, the meals you get on these trains are pre-packaged, much like airplane meals.   Just heat and serve.   The quality varies, and does the opinions of said quality.   Those with fine-tuned pallets will probably not take to Amtrak fare.   My pallet is admittedly not as fine-tuned as those - it was passable as far as my pallet, but given the fare that sleeping car passengers pay for this level of service, are chef-prepared meals not something unreasonable to expect?  

But the positives? The ever changing scenery, and in areas where cars of other transportation modes cannot access, is one.   Another are the friendships you make and the people you meet, as well as the interest in train travel (as opposed to planes or anything else) being a common departure point for conversation.  

9:30PM CST.  Back in my bedroom (Car 2830, Room D)

We're stopped in Minot, ND, a few passengers taking smoke breaks while the rest of us take a respite from motion in general.   Earlier, dinner at the Dining Room car, and as always, conversations with who became former strangers: two from Iowa, one from Southern California.  I ordered the black bean vegan enchiladas (yes, Amtrak offers a vegan option!), which, even with the far-from-scratch way they were made, were quite good.   We witnessed a building thunderstorm in the eastern distance, knowing that the same thunderstorm may begin dumping on us by the time we get to Minnesota (at least).    

One more observation.   I'm amazed that the freight companies who own the rail rights-of-way upon which Amtrak rides allow these rights of way to fall into such unevenness and disrepair, because the ride on several stretches was extremely jerky.    On all rail travels, any given passenger will have to do the sideways dance while negotiating the narrow center aisle, but the sideways dance often took a dangerous Keystone Kops-type of air.   I can easily see people getting injured because of it (imagine the damage to freight that the freight trains are susceptible to while high-balling on these same rails), and Amtrak and the railroads need to do something about this NOW.   This is not about comfort or convenience - this is about safety, and potentially, the lives of those traversing these rails.  

More motley tomorrow.   

No comments:

Post a Comment