Awoke in the snowy mountains of I have no idea where. The train scything a path through the red rocks making very slow progress. On the plateau's you get the feel for just how much vast emptiness there is in the US. The farmland tools look pretty basic. No modern machinery here. When you pass through a small community you get the impression that a lot of americans, outside of the cities, live very simple existences
Found out that I'm in Oregon. Stopped at Kabath Falls and a few other places. The stations are just sidings and there is mainly only one track.
The train has everything you could want. A dining car, a café, sleepers, kiddie section and sightseer lounge.
There's is no doubt that America has some of the most stunning and picturesque scenery in the world. Certainly from what I've seen of it. It's just a shame that they ever started building here. The southern part of Oregon has got away unscathed, but as you get up to Albany and Portland, the sprawl begins.
I have a theory on the weirdo's and characters that you see on the trains and buses around America. I think they are employed by the operators to provide entertainment for it's passengers. Todays character is a bloke who obviously thinks very highly of himself and spent all his time chatting up the girls. I saw him hand his phone number out to at least 5. I don't know how you'd handle more than 1 woman. Very delicately I would have thought.
We kind of dawdled into Washington state and eventually arrived in Seattle at 21.00. The trains are painfully slow over here. We complain about trains back home, but it's nothing compared to here. Seattle station is smaller than Aldershot's. There are no Waterloo's, or Victoria's, or Charing Cross's, or King's Cross's etc. Over here. I walked up to the Green Tortoise hostel @ 1525 2nd Avenue.
I've now been just about as far North, South, East and West as you can go in America. Even been right to the centre. Since leaving Heathrow I've travelled 17,277 miles. 8,936 on Greyhound, 604 miles by car, 6,898 by plane and 839 by train. I feel like the late great John Candy in 'Planes, Trains and automobiles' although not even he could manage the greyhound.
