Riding the Rails with Amtrak -- The Empire Builder, Day 1

Amish family admiring a vintage locomotive. Havre, MT

Prologue

As mentioned in my last post, my summer travel plan was to begin by taking the Amtrak Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, then grabbing a second train, the Amtrak Cascades, up to Bellingham, WA, hopefully leaving from there for a four-day journey by ferry up to Sitka, AK. Unfortunately, the Alaska trip didn't work out, as the strike by the Alaska Inland Boatmen's Union was not settled on time. It's been settled now, so if you have the time, money, and inclination, go for it! I've already begun to tentatively plan on trying again next year.

I tend to be an optimist, especially when it comes to travel, which is why I embarked on this trip, even though I knew that the Boatmen's Union was on strike. The strike began a few days before I left Chicago, but I convinced myself that it would be settled before my scheduled departure from Bellingham. I confess that my heart did sink when I found myself on a train somewhere in the middle of Minnesota and got a text officially canceling my ferry trip. I'm notorious for last-minute planning, but the level of scrambling I had to do to alter my travel arrangements in this case really did give me some anxious moments. I arrived at my hotel in Bellingham at 10:00 PM on Wednesday night, having left my home in Chicago at noon on Monday, and decided that a good night's sleep was the first order of business (well, that and a soak in the whirlpool tub in my fancy hotel room). At that point, my only confirmed reservations were for one more night at the aforementioned fancy hotel. I had a lot of suggestions from friends for alternative trips to other places in the area that I could visit now that Alaska wasn't happening: Vancouver, Victoria, glamping or Airbnb'ing in the San Juan Islands, driving through the Cascades. While I appreciated the good intentions of all these suggestions, managing to do any of them on one-day's notice at the peak of tourist season proved impossible. Another obstacle to this plan was that I do not drive, so getting to the mountains or even to Anacortes to catch a Washington State ferry was pretty much not going to happen (Let's make a pact: Don't judge me for not doing what nearly every American jumps at the chance to do the minute they turn 16, and I won't judge you for your carbon footprint. Deal?). Ultimately, I decided that the best way to stick to the original intention of this trip, which was to enjoy the beauty of the natural world while taking a much-needed break from worrying about the state of our union, was to keep things as simple as possible and spend the full week exploring Bellingham, with a whale-watching trip thrown in so I could at least get a taste of the life aquatic. There was still some scrambling to be done in order to find lodgings for the extra days, change my return flight, cancel the hotel in Sitka, etc., but eventually it was all worked out and I got to spend a most enjoyable and soul-restoring week in and around Bellingham.

The Empire Builder

If you've never taken a long-distance train, you are missing a great experience. Over the years, I've taken trains through much of the United States (the Zephyr from Denver to California and the Coast Starlight from Seattle to LA are still on my bucket list), but my favorite is the Empire Builder, which runs from Chicago to Seattle or Portland. I took it west-to-east four years ago, and this time took it east-to-west. The scenery, especially in Montana and Washington, is breathtaking; and the service is excellent. I had a roomette, which meant that I not only had a comfortable and private place to sleep, but also three full meals a day and access to a shower. By the way, taking a shower on a moving train may not be for the faint-hearted or balance-impaired, but it certainly feels good to start each day smelling fresh and clean. The sleeping car attendant makes up your bed for you every evening and then stashes it away each morning while you are at breakfast. You can spend your time alone in your compartment or go to the cafe/observation car to mingle with other passengers. Mealtime on Amtrak is communal. The dining car is made up of tables for four, and you are given the next available seat. I used to think that it would be awkward having to eat at a table with strangers, but over the course of many trips it has become one of my favorite parts of the journey. You meet people from all walks of life and hear fascinating stories. The last time I took the Empire Builder, I shared a table with a young man who had been a star pitcher on his college baseball team, gotten signed with a major-league team right out of school, and then suffered an injury that sent him back to the minors. He was on his way to his new minor-league team when I met him, hoping to make it back to the show. I've thought about this young guy over the years and about hopes and dreams and how life throws curve balls at us all (even the pitchers), and hope that he's having a good life, wherever fate has landed him.

The prices in the dining car are high if you are paying a la carte, but as I mentioned, meals are included when you travel in a sleeper. And the food is surprisingly good. I harbored a few negative preconceptions about Amtrak food and had never ordered steak for dinner on any previous trips, assuming that it would have a consistency more usually associated with an old boot than a choice cut of meat. I was wrong. The steak was so good that I had it two nights in a row. The service was also good, as was the conversation with my tablemates (well, all except the elderly curmudgeon sitting next to me at breakfast on the last day who seemed to be speaking in fox-newsian dog-whistles about how things just weren't "nice" anymore. I ignored him and concentrated on my grits and eggs).

One thing that I couldn't help but think during the two days I spent on the train was that I was very glad that I'd quit smoking many years ago. There is no smoking anywhere on the train and only maybe two stops a day that are long enough for people to get off the train and smoke a cigarette. One poor woman in particular was chain smoking like mad at every stop and looking ready to kill most of the times in between. But for the non-smokers, the longer station stops gave us a chance to get a little fresh air, take a few pictures, and maybe take a brisk walk along the platform. 

Here are a few of the wonderful people who work on the Empire Builder:

This is Gul, the sleeping car attendant. He was unwaveringly gracious, efficient, and kind. 

Miss Oliver runs the cafe car. Her announcements over the train intercom brought
a smile to everyone's face. She has a sweet, melodious voice, and accompanied
every announcement with a few lines from a song, usually vintage Motown.
She maintains high standards for her customers, reminding us at every announcement
that in order to get service from Miss Oliver, you needed shoes, a shirt,
and some courtesy when you came to the counter (and you better not be talking
on your cell phone while she's trying to take your order). 

This is Mary who was my server for almost every meal I had on board the
Empire Builder. She celebrated a birthday while we were underway, and at dinner
time crew and passengers all joined in a chorus of "Happy Birthday to You."
All these folks work very long days, from early morning until late at night,
providing good service to the passengers.

It always surprises me to see how quickly this massive city that I call home drops from sight, replaced by unskyscrapered skies, green fields, cool rivers, and quiet towns where everything stops as the train glides through. I can sit and look out the window at the passing landscape for hours, even days, on end, feeling the kind of peace that comes with knowing that I have no control over how fast or slow we go; my only job is to observe and appreciate the world through my window. 

Now that I've finally embraced the concept of audiobooks, I can even enjoy a good read without looking away from the passing scenery. For this journey, I listened to Ethan Hawke reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five (Thank you, Chicago Public Library!). I first read it as a very young woman, and loved its powerful message on the absurdity of war and the fragility of life. Listening to it now, that message was still as clear and powerful, though I was more troubled by the book's casual misogyny, a thing that I think we used to just feel we needed to overlook, a price we had to pay for the book's other, more positive messages. Despite its flaws, it remains one of the great antiwar novels, and Ethan Hawke's narration is beautiful. But I digress. Let's get back to the journey. Here are some glimpses of the landscapes and towns I saw as the train crossed the western half of the country. 

Day One: Westward through Wisconsin and Minnesota

Graffiti near the edge of Chicago

Somers, WI

Vintage Iowa Pacific car at Milwaukee Station

Pewaukee Lake, WI

Tomah, WI. Everything stops for the train

Tomah, WI

LaCrosse, WI

The mighty Mississippi

Another shot of the beautiful Mississippi

As the late afternoon sun turned the landscape warm and golden, we crossed the mighty Mississippi and arrived in Winona, Minnesota. I was able to detrain at Winona for a few minutes and enjoy some fresh clean Minnesota air. 

Winona, MN

It felt good to stretch my legs and say hello to Winona, MN

We traveled northward along the banks of the Mississippi, as the sun set over Minnesota.

Day's end, somewhere near Wabasha, MN