Day #2 aboard the Empire Builder began early, around 3:30 AM, as we were pulling into Fargo. For some reason both my uncle and I were wide awake and stepped off for brief break. We were just a few minutes behind when we had to go onto a siding and let the eastbound Empire Builder, which was nearly two hours late, go by on the main line. For some reason, we had to back into the siding. I don't know if the siding had a switch on only one end or what the deal was. At any rate, I was videotaping out the back of the train when the conductor and assistant conductor opened the back door to give them a better view of the tracks as they backed in. They told me I was welcome to stay but I declined their kind invitation. I then wandered into the SSL, where I was the only one awake. And was an inviting target for anyone else awake who happened to wander in. I had a brief conversation with an elderly gentleman who looked as if he'd have been more at home riding a boxcar and hiding from railroad detectives :lol: then had another conversation with an Amish man who was on his way from Pennsylvania to Montana to visit friends. He told me about the steam train in Strasburg, PA, and then I answered his questions about the landscape of Montana and of Oregon, where he also had friends and also planned on visiting some day.
After awhile, I grabbed the shower (more hot, high pressure water!) and my uncle and I went to breakfast. We were there 10 minutes after the diner opened and already the place was packed: we were first on the waiting list. We were told it would be about a half an hour and rather than walk all the way back to our sleeper, we waited out the time in the lounge. Half an hour turned into a full hour, and we finally got seated. Apparently the PA system didn't work in all cars, so there was some confusion there. I had bit the bullet and decided to have the omelette with the vegetable filling this time, and it was great! Our breakfast companions were Jennifer, a young woman from Spokane traveling back home after visiting her parents in Fargo, and Sylvia, from West Virginia who was traveling to Glacier Park with her 13 year old granddaughter. Before we left, Jennifer made the point to tell us not to have the bison meatloaf as it was too spicy. Of course that made me all that much more determined to do just that!
We kept getting a little further behind at each stop, due to freight traffic and slow speeds over some of the track. We did make up most of that time at Minot, and promptly lost it and more a few miles out of Minot when we had to wait 15 minutes for a tie gang to wrap up work. As we rolled through the North Dakota countryside, we got a little bit later with each stop, until we were about an hour late into Williston, which negated the scheduled smoke stop, much to the dismay of the smoking crowd. We made about 20 minutes up, however, by the next stop at Wolf Point, MT, and we stayed that way pretty much into Shelby, where we finally got back on schedule.
At lunch, a couple from Elkhart, IN was seated with us. They were part of a large tour group from Chicago who was on their way to Glacier Park, then Banff and Jasper, in Canada. It sounded like a nice trip. I was disappointed that there was no bison meatloaf, however; the special was turkey and gravy over mashed potatoes. I had the special, and while it was very good, it was also lukewarm. It would have been even better heated up. Right after lunch, Michelle gave an ominous message over the PA system that she didn't know what the dinner menu would be as they had run out of food and would have to add more at Havre. There is a KCF at Havre, so I wondered whether that meant KFC or canned stew.
As it turned out, neither. They had run out of the lamb shank (I don't see how) and of the flatiron steak. So the special was lasagna and the steak was a New York cut strip steak. When dinnertime, came, at Shelby, we were right on time. With us this time at dinner were a couple from Pittsburgh who were also traveling to Glacier Park, Banff, and Jasper, along with their son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters. My uncle had the steak and found it to be much better than the flatiron. I stuck with the catfish. The man seated with us had never been to Montana and was very interested in finding out more about it. My uncle used to farm in Illinois and I am from farm country in Washington so we were able to answer all his questions. We stayed right on time until Browning, MT, as we had to pull over and wait for two freights to pass. The further west we got, the heavier the freight traffic.
As we neared Glacier Park, my uncle and I were dismayed to see the weather turn gloomy. We had encountered great weather all along the trip, aside from a heavy downpour or two in Mississippi, and we were disappointed to see the mountaintops covered with clouds. We both enjoy videotaping our trips and this would put a damper on it. Ah, well.
Despite the clouds, the scenery was excellent as usual. Daniel (our car attendant's) son Ryan was along with his dad on this trip, and he found a couple of other kids to have fun with. Daniel calls Ryan "The Governor" because he just goes up to everyone he meets and introduces himself. He and his new found friends kept the car lively, a bit too lively for one man whose grandson Ryan had made fast friends with. He repeatedly told his grandson to settle down and finally had a closed-door meeting with him. That put a bit of a damper on his grandson's trip, I'm sure!
As we neared Essex, rain began to fall, and as we neared West Glacier, we were treated to thunder and lightning. Whoever it was that made the announcement that we were nearing West Glacier sounded as if they'd had a bit too much sauce, and when he finished his spiel, someone yelled out "Have another drink!" causing the entire car to dissolve in laughter.
Just as we were nearing Whitefish, the sun was setting in the clouds and it looked like the rain was ending. Boy, was I wrong! Seemingly from out of nowhere, a large dark mass of clouds appeared, and soon we were in a full-fledged thunderstorm, complete with hail, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. The thunder was loud enough you could hear it over the sounds of the train. And as I was videotaping, a very close bolt of lightning lit up the sky. I have been trying for years to capture lightning, either on film or on still camera, and this time I managed to capture the lightning in all its glory. It was a defining moment in my decidedly medocre videotaping career. :lol:
As it was still pouring down rain, like a cow peeing on a flat rock (and if you've ever seen a cow pee on a flat rock, you know what I mean :lol: ) and hailing, for some odd reason only the die-hard smokers partook of the smoke stop at Whitefish. The rest of us only departed the train for a breath of fresh air when the rain subsided.
I stayed awake long enough for the passage through the 7 mile long Flathead Tunnel, and then went to bed. I hoped to be awake in Spokane to watch them make the split there.
On to day #3!
After awhile, I grabbed the shower (more hot, high pressure water!) and my uncle and I went to breakfast. We were there 10 minutes after the diner opened and already the place was packed: we were first on the waiting list. We were told it would be about a half an hour and rather than walk all the way back to our sleeper, we waited out the time in the lounge. Half an hour turned into a full hour, and we finally got seated. Apparently the PA system didn't work in all cars, so there was some confusion there. I had bit the bullet and decided to have the omelette with the vegetable filling this time, and it was great! Our breakfast companions were Jennifer, a young woman from Spokane traveling back home after visiting her parents in Fargo, and Sylvia, from West Virginia who was traveling to Glacier Park with her 13 year old granddaughter. Before we left, Jennifer made the point to tell us not to have the bison meatloaf as it was too spicy. Of course that made me all that much more determined to do just that!
We kept getting a little further behind at each stop, due to freight traffic and slow speeds over some of the track. We did make up most of that time at Minot, and promptly lost it and more a few miles out of Minot when we had to wait 15 minutes for a tie gang to wrap up work. As we rolled through the North Dakota countryside, we got a little bit later with each stop, until we were about an hour late into Williston, which negated the scheduled smoke stop, much to the dismay of the smoking crowd. We made about 20 minutes up, however, by the next stop at Wolf Point, MT, and we stayed that way pretty much into Shelby, where we finally got back on schedule.
At lunch, a couple from Elkhart, IN was seated with us. They were part of a large tour group from Chicago who was on their way to Glacier Park, then Banff and Jasper, in Canada. It sounded like a nice trip. I was disappointed that there was no bison meatloaf, however; the special was turkey and gravy over mashed potatoes. I had the special, and while it was very good, it was also lukewarm. It would have been even better heated up. Right after lunch, Michelle gave an ominous message over the PA system that she didn't know what the dinner menu would be as they had run out of food and would have to add more at Havre. There is a KCF at Havre, so I wondered whether that meant KFC or canned stew.
As it turned out, neither. They had run out of the lamb shank (I don't see how) and of the flatiron steak. So the special was lasagna and the steak was a New York cut strip steak. When dinnertime, came, at Shelby, we were right on time. With us this time at dinner were a couple from Pittsburgh who were also traveling to Glacier Park, Banff, and Jasper, along with their son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters. My uncle had the steak and found it to be much better than the flatiron. I stuck with the catfish. The man seated with us had never been to Montana and was very interested in finding out more about it. My uncle used to farm in Illinois and I am from farm country in Washington so we were able to answer all his questions. We stayed right on time until Browning, MT, as we had to pull over and wait for two freights to pass. The further west we got, the heavier the freight traffic.
As we neared Glacier Park, my uncle and I were dismayed to see the weather turn gloomy. We had encountered great weather all along the trip, aside from a heavy downpour or two in Mississippi, and we were disappointed to see the mountaintops covered with clouds. We both enjoy videotaping our trips and this would put a damper on it. Ah, well.
Despite the clouds, the scenery was excellent as usual. Daniel (our car attendant's) son Ryan was along with his dad on this trip, and he found a couple of other kids to have fun with. Daniel calls Ryan "The Governor" because he just goes up to everyone he meets and introduces himself. He and his new found friends kept the car lively, a bit too lively for one man whose grandson Ryan had made fast friends with. He repeatedly told his grandson to settle down and finally had a closed-door meeting with him. That put a bit of a damper on his grandson's trip, I'm sure!
As we neared Essex, rain began to fall, and as we neared West Glacier, we were treated to thunder and lightning. Whoever it was that made the announcement that we were nearing West Glacier sounded as if they'd had a bit too much sauce, and when he finished his spiel, someone yelled out "Have another drink!" causing the entire car to dissolve in laughter.
Just as we were nearing Whitefish, the sun was setting in the clouds and it looked like the rain was ending. Boy, was I wrong! Seemingly from out of nowhere, a large dark mass of clouds appeared, and soon we were in a full-fledged thunderstorm, complete with hail, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. The thunder was loud enough you could hear it over the sounds of the train. And as I was videotaping, a very close bolt of lightning lit up the sky. I have been trying for years to capture lightning, either on film or on still camera, and this time I managed to capture the lightning in all its glory. It was a defining moment in my decidedly medocre videotaping career. :lol:
As it was still pouring down rain, like a cow peeing on a flat rock (and if you've ever seen a cow pee on a flat rock, you know what I mean :lol: ) and hailing, for some odd reason only the die-hard smokers partook of the smoke stop at Whitefish. The rest of us only departed the train for a breath of fresh air when the rain subsided.
I stayed awake long enough for the passage through the 7 mile long Flathead Tunnel, and then went to bed. I hoped to be awake in Spokane to watch them make the split there.
On to day #3!
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