On to Seattle on the Coast Starlight

The trip from Flagstaff to LA was a source of some consternation for me, as was the first leg of the trip home - Seattle to Chicago.  The reason was that I had a two hour layover to change trains, and from everything I had heard, Amtrak is notorious for being late.  That said, the first two legs had been on time, so everything hinged on the Southwest Chief arriving in Flagstaff on schedule.

Luckily, it was right on time, the ride was nothing to complain about, and we even got to LA an hour ahead of schedule!  What a surprise and a relief!

The down side of that was having to spend an additional hour at LA's Amtrak Station.  That place is a dump!  Architecturally, its rather interesting on the inside, but is it ever run down!  Not much in the way of food vendors either - one Subway and one convenience store.

I was glad to get back on the train, and get moving.  I found myself a nice window seat on the left side of the train, in anticipation of the ocean being on that side.  As the train pulled out of the station, and made its way out of the LA area, the scenery really began to develop.  The train was literally this close to the shore - for miles.  How can you compare this to anything else?

As was to be expected, I left my seat and worked my way to the sightseer lounge and sat there for hours, watching scenes like this go by.

Getting into what I think of as central California - still coastal, but in between LA and the Bay Area - the train took a smoke break at San Luis Obispo.  Right after this the coast disappeared for a while as the train meandered up into the hills, and then into the most amazing switchback I have ever seen!  Looking towards the front, you see this:

When you look back, this is where the train came from:

The unfortunate thing about the schedule is that by the time the train got to the Bay Area, it was completely dark.  Besides, the track didn't seem to go by any areas that would let you get a glimpse of the San Francisco skyline, and that is a shame.  So, after two extended stops - one in Oakland and the other in Emeryville - the train left for Sacramento, then up north. 

 

Emeryville is a small town nestled between Oakland and Berkeley, and is home to a wonderfully located condominium complex called Watergate - right on the bay, looking towards the Golden Gate Bridge.  During my year living in the Bay Area in the early 80s, I lived in Watergate and remember Emeryville as being little more than the waterfront, and warehouses on the other side of the freeway.  It has changed a lot since, but none of that was really visible from the train. 

 

It was time to get as much sleep as possible, because the next day promised some great sight seeing in Oregon.  At the break of dawn, the train pulled into Klamath Falls, OR; named after the native American Klamath tribe from the area.  By this time, I was awake and freshened up, ensconced at a table in the sightseer lounge watching the day break, and was in for a very pleasant surprise - completely unxpected by everybody on the train.

 



Two retired gentlemen boarded the train, armed with a PA system, set it up in the sightseer lounge, and introduced themselves.  Being from Oregon and filled with local pride, their pursuit in retirement was to ride the train and act as tour guides on the leg from Klamath Falls to Eugene, OR.  Amtrak doesn't pay them for it, but gets a ton of mileage from them!  These guys may not have been professionals,  they were a lot better!  This was no garden variety tour guide effort; it was filled with insights, inside information, personal anecdotes...you name it.  We got to Eugene around mid-afternoon, so we had several hours of this.

 

Obviously, nobody needs to be reminded about how gorgeous the Pacific Northwest is.  If you can't be impressed by the beauty of this part of the country, there is a definite problem!

 

 

For example, here is Lake Odell:

Our tour guides got off in Eugene to ride the train back to Klamath.  Eugene is a college town and, among other claims to fame, is the hometown of the great blues musician Robert Cray.  A few hours later, we were pulling into Portland.

 

Vancouver, WA is a suburb of Portland right across the river, and across the border.  Food for thought - live in Vancouver and save on state income taxes; and shop in Portland and save on sales taxes?  As Arsenio Hall would have said, makes you want to go hmmmmmmmm.

 

Another pleasant surprise - two rangers got on board in Vancouver, and continued the tour guide thing all the way to Seattle.  You really couldn't ask for more.  These people came equipped with iPads with vintage pictures of the places we were going by, and they would walk around the tables showing them.  Unfortunately, my own picture taking capability diminished severely at this point due to the darkness setting in - my flash would go off and ruin everything.  So I decided to just sit back, listen to the commentary, and just watch.

 

It is worth pointing out that I was definitely not by mysef the whole time.  People would come and join me, chat, get coffee and generally hang out.  A couple of them stayed at my table and the one next to me all that day to Seattle.  Granted, having good company on a vacation can be an enjoyment multiplier; but on the Amtrak, you are never at a loss for that kind of company.

 

Finally, Shangri La - Seattle!  Pulling in at a little after 9 PM, of course, you don't see anything.  Stepping off the train, and walking towards the exit and to a cab, I was ready for five nights of a nice bed,  five days of exploring my favorite city on the planet.  But this was not intended to be a sightseeing tour - been there, done it. 

 

Stay tuned!

 

Amtrak Coast Starlight pictures