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first night on the train to minnesota…

i became overwhelmed with emotion soon after giving my last hugs and goodbyes to the small group of my closest friends who came to see me off at the train station. they had all brought gifts of fresh-baked goods, including some amazing chocolate chip cookies and a couple loaves of my favorite sourdough bread. it wasn’t until i boarded the train and sat down that the tears came, and so it goes…

leaving portland there were some beautiful sights. the fall leaves along the railways, my last sighting of the st. johns bridge(looking regal as always in the sunset), it made me instantly think of ways to make it back to portland to visit in the fall…

not too long into the trip i met hazel, an elderly woman who was sitting in the seat in front of mine. she was about 75 if she was a day, but still had a very bright and open soul. we got to talking about where we coming from(she couldn’t remember the name of the town she boarded the train at, which i thought was adorable), and i gave her bits of my story. she was headed up to spokane to visit a granddaughter who was attending school there, apparently training to become a pilot, following in the footsteps of her mother or aunt(i can’t remember which).

hazel told me that she and her husband had lived for many years outside malta, montana, owning and running their own farmland with a small herd of about 20-30 cattle, until he passed away a few years back. recently her daughter had come out via amtrak to visit her there, and had brought hazel back with her so that she could return the visit. on her way back home, she’s making another stop along the way to visit another family member in whitefish.

i told her briefly of why i’m moving out east, to be closer to my sisters and nieces and nephews, and her face lit up when i told her about the kids, especially. she told me about her family, being of norwegian ancestry and how she was one of the last of her family to be able to speak the language fluently. she told of how she would help to translate letters exchanged between her family here in the states and their relatives in norway, and she shared a cute story about visiting norway and surprising some of the family members by catching them making fun of her after they’d assumed she couldn’t understand them.

we talked for probably 20 minutes or so, her peeking over the back of the seat with her arms resting on the top of them. at one point after an attendant walked by she remarked that they probably don’t like that she was “hanging over the back of the seat” but i told her they probably didn’t care much, and that there was much worse mischief she could be up to that would be more likely to get their attention. a sweet and mischievious look came over her face and her eyes darted about for a second, imagining the possibilities, and we both laughed as she said “i suppose so.”

she disembarked around midnight last night, but after the lights were turned out at 10 for quiet time, she had to get up for something and as she walked by my seat i looked up, shooting her a quick smile and a silent wave. her face lit up, looking delighted as she waved back. i’m really glad to have met her.

the first night went by slowly. the seats on the train are spacious, and have plenty of leg room, but aren’t much for sleeping on if you’re my height. i was able to get in about 5 hours of sleep though after we pulled out of spokane, and when i woke up i found that i’d missed being awake through idaho entirely, and the train was now making its way through montana.

the hills and valleys of montana are nothing short of gorgeous when covered with snow, even just a light dusting. soon after i awoke i made my way to the café/lounge car, setting up with my laptop to write and charge my laptop and phone while i had some breakfast and coffee. when i got here, there was only one other man in the car, sleeping hunched over at his table, with a book called “it came from BELOW THE BELT.” i looked up the book on amazon.com, and found that it was some kind of bizarre story, possibly consisting of a penis running for political office… one reviewer’s quote said of the author: “Reading the work of Bradley Sands caused me to vomit happiness and sunshine from my eyeballs” so it probably can’t be all bad. i plan to find this book and read it, i’m sure i’ll share a review if/when that happens.

right now, i’ve finished my coffee and breakfast sandwich, and the lounge car is closer to being full of people enjoying watching the snow fall on the woods and hills and valleys of montana. it really is amazingly beautiful here, i wish i could share all that i’m seeing. even the people on the train are entertaining to see – the man at the table across from mine is tapping away at his laptop also, but instead of using headphones to listen to music like i am, he has a police scanner on the table next to him which squawks every once in a while.

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