bigmacbear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bigmacbear) wrote2023-06-14 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2023-06-14 11:59 pm
Milwaukee-Chicago Train Trip Day 2 of 7
WEDNESDAY
About 12:30 AM, as we were stopped in Spokane, the electric power to the room was interrupted, which meant the CPAP shut off and I fully woke up. Fortunately it wasn't out for very long. I caught up on a couple of things, added to my journal and went back to sleep. I woke up about three AM needing to pee and noticed we hadn't left Spokane, so I checked and the Portland train was over four and a half hours late. Nothing for that except to go back to sleep. After several false starts and power interruptions, we finally got underway again around five AM, when I returned to the fitful sleep of the early evening for a couple hours.
When the alarm went off at seven, I changed shirts, put on sweatpants, gathered my equipment and supplies, and used the bathroom and tested my sugar at the sink. That done, I returned to the room, stacked our bags at one end of the bunk so Gary could get up, and sat up on the other end, watching the scenery and the rain. I eventually stowed the CPAP as it wasn't going to be used anymore until the evening. About quarter to ten (Mountain Time), after Gary woke up and took care of his morning routine, we headed to the dining car for breakfast, just west of Libby, Montana. We each had 3-egg omelets with everything; Gary had orange juice and I had coffee and a side of bacon. An older couple came and sat opposite us; they live in Wisconsin north of Milwaukee, and she is originally from Watkins Glen, NY. When she found out we met in Rochester and I worked for Kodak, that became the focus of conversation for a while; then we turned to CPAP units (she's a retired respiratory therapist and they both use the devices).
We returned to the room, where the bunks were stowed for the day, and started reading and journaling. When we got to Whitefish, MT a couple hours later, there was a curious machine working on the adjacent track, chewing up black dirt or asphalt and spitting it out in heaps via a conveyor belt. One of the operators was easy on the eyes and, unlike his colleagues in rain gear, was exercising his right to bare arms. 😊 After the next stop at West Glacier Park, about 1 PM, I went to have lunch in the dining car while Gary slept. I had a Monte Cristo sandwich with chips and a Diet Coke. For dessert they offered butter cake or a brownie, so I took the brownie and asked for a second one to take back to Gary. An older lady was seated opposite me; she was headed from Half Moon Bay, CA via San Jose and Portland to Minneapolis. She explained that the Portland train had been so late joining us because of a fire near the tracks, involving grass or brush. Later, a younger lady (probably closer to my age) was seated beside me, who turned out to be the same lady who boarded the train with us in Everett. Her granddaughter had just graduated from Snohomish High School and she was returning to home in North Dakota. As I was finishing lunch, the train stopped again for freight to pass, and I returned to the room shortly before the train resumed its journey.
As we approached East Glacier Park, I noticed between the angle of the sunlight, the mist from the rain, and my glasses, the very tops of all the evergreens along each ridge glowed a brilliant blue which, sadly, could not be captured on camera. At the station I spotted a station agent in striped bibs over a blue T-shirt with a matching engineer's cap, and Gary pointed out the cute ginger cub he'd seen in the dining car at dinner and I recognized him from lunch. I'd also noticed a darker-haired cub at dinner wearing a conductor's hat. After we left East Glacier Park, we descended from the Rockies into the Great Plains, with brilliant blue skies punctuated with white fluffy clouds. At Shelby, MT, there was a crew change, and the new cub conductor on the platform was even hotter than the one we saw at dinner. Also, we regained our network connectivity and posted some pictures from the train to Facebook. Our dinner reservation was made for 6 PM, so we had an hour or two to relax.
At dinner we were seated with the older lady we dined with last night, and a different, younger lady named Pam who is originally from Cortland, NY and is taking the train from Seattle to Milwaukee and then flying home to North Carolina. The couple we had breakfast with were seated across the aisle. Once more we had a pleasant conversation. We both had Caprese skewers (tomato and mozzarella balls drizzled in thick vinaigrette), and Gary chose the salmon which I enjoyed last night, Meyer lemon cake, and ginger ale, while I had flatiron steak, chocolate mousse cake, Cabernet, and water. During dinner, the train stopped at Havre, MT, where a digital message board enumerated all the stops from there to Chicago, and a welcome sign gave the local pronunciation as "Haver".
After dinner I took the opportunity to pee and we settled back in the room for the evening. About eight we ventured to the lounge car for a snack and some sightseeing. The attendant made up our bunks about 10:30 PM and we were soon out for the night.
About 12:30 AM, as we were stopped in Spokane, the electric power to the room was interrupted, which meant the CPAP shut off and I fully woke up. Fortunately it wasn't out for very long. I caught up on a couple of things, added to my journal and went back to sleep. I woke up about three AM needing to pee and noticed we hadn't left Spokane, so I checked and the Portland train was over four and a half hours late. Nothing for that except to go back to sleep. After several false starts and power interruptions, we finally got underway again around five AM, when I returned to the fitful sleep of the early evening for a couple hours.
When the alarm went off at seven, I changed shirts, put on sweatpants, gathered my equipment and supplies, and used the bathroom and tested my sugar at the sink. That done, I returned to the room, stacked our bags at one end of the bunk so Gary could get up, and sat up on the other end, watching the scenery and the rain. I eventually stowed the CPAP as it wasn't going to be used anymore until the evening. About quarter to ten (Mountain Time), after Gary woke up and took care of his morning routine, we headed to the dining car for breakfast, just west of Libby, Montana. We each had 3-egg omelets with everything; Gary had orange juice and I had coffee and a side of bacon. An older couple came and sat opposite us; they live in Wisconsin north of Milwaukee, and she is originally from Watkins Glen, NY. When she found out we met in Rochester and I worked for Kodak, that became the focus of conversation for a while; then we turned to CPAP units (she's a retired respiratory therapist and they both use the devices).
We returned to the room, where the bunks were stowed for the day, and started reading and journaling. When we got to Whitefish, MT a couple hours later, there was a curious machine working on the adjacent track, chewing up black dirt or asphalt and spitting it out in heaps via a conveyor belt. One of the operators was easy on the eyes and, unlike his colleagues in rain gear, was exercising his right to bare arms. 😊 After the next stop at West Glacier Park, about 1 PM, I went to have lunch in the dining car while Gary slept. I had a Monte Cristo sandwich with chips and a Diet Coke. For dessert they offered butter cake or a brownie, so I took the brownie and asked for a second one to take back to Gary. An older lady was seated opposite me; she was headed from Half Moon Bay, CA via San Jose and Portland to Minneapolis. She explained that the Portland train had been so late joining us because of a fire near the tracks, involving grass or brush. Later, a younger lady (probably closer to my age) was seated beside me, who turned out to be the same lady who boarded the train with us in Everett. Her granddaughter had just graduated from Snohomish High School and she was returning to home in North Dakota. As I was finishing lunch, the train stopped again for freight to pass, and I returned to the room shortly before the train resumed its journey.
As we approached East Glacier Park, I noticed between the angle of the sunlight, the mist from the rain, and my glasses, the very tops of all the evergreens along each ridge glowed a brilliant blue which, sadly, could not be captured on camera. At the station I spotted a station agent in striped bibs over a blue T-shirt with a matching engineer's cap, and Gary pointed out the cute ginger cub he'd seen in the dining car at dinner and I recognized him from lunch. I'd also noticed a darker-haired cub at dinner wearing a conductor's hat. After we left East Glacier Park, we descended from the Rockies into the Great Plains, with brilliant blue skies punctuated with white fluffy clouds. At Shelby, MT, there was a crew change, and the new cub conductor on the platform was even hotter than the one we saw at dinner. Also, we regained our network connectivity and posted some pictures from the train to Facebook. Our dinner reservation was made for 6 PM, so we had an hour or two to relax.
At dinner we were seated with the older lady we dined with last night, and a different, younger lady named Pam who is originally from Cortland, NY and is taking the train from Seattle to Milwaukee and then flying home to North Carolina. The couple we had breakfast with were seated across the aisle. Once more we had a pleasant conversation. We both had Caprese skewers (tomato and mozzarella balls drizzled in thick vinaigrette), and Gary chose the salmon which I enjoyed last night, Meyer lemon cake, and ginger ale, while I had flatiron steak, chocolate mousse cake, Cabernet, and water. During dinner, the train stopped at Havre, MT, where a digital message board enumerated all the stops from there to Chicago, and a welcome sign gave the local pronunciation as "Haver".
After dinner I took the opportunity to pee and we settled back in the room for the evening. About eight we ventured to the lounge car for a snack and some sightseeing. The attendant made up our bunks about 10:30 PM and we were soon out for the night.