Corvallis and Roseburg, Oregon (part 2)
March 3 - March 6, 2008
Emma very nearly followed my directions, but chose a limited-access street on campus that greatly excited a poorly-entertained campus cop during his boring midnight rounds. Thankfully he thought better of giving a nice pregnant lady a ticket, and I found them and stuffed my three bags into their little Infiniti coupe. We shared life stories on the two-hour drive to Roseburg and rolled into their home at 2 am.
Monday was mostly spent with my aunt Kathy and her husband Doug. I hadn't seen these folks since my grandparents' funerals some 14 years ago, so I had plenty of catching up to do. As it turned out, Kathy also had plenty of yard work to do, and she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to get some help from a 22-year old man who just happened to appear in her life at an opportune time. I spent much of the day moving rock, burying pipes, and expanding flower beds, broken only by a delicious lunch served by my cousin Sarah. It was satisfying work, especially in the springlike weather, and much better than spending the day watching TV or chatting inside.
Emma and family arrived for supper, thus uniting the entire Lee clan (a weekly occurrence, as I'm told). We ate some equally delicious lasagna, also masterminded by Sarah, and sat down to reminisce about Stone family history and events.
Pseudo-clockwise from upper left: Daniel, me, Emma (in white shirt), Kathy, Sarah, Doug, Hannah.
The evening and next morning brought several deep discussions with Emma and several long petting sessions with the family's cats. At 11am, Daniel took me to Eugene to catch an Amtrak bus to Portland.
The bus ride was not especially interesting, but I did meet 17-year-old Asjia, traveling from Eugene to Chicago, who would become my "train buddy" on the long 36-hour ride to Minnesota.
The Empire Builder departed on time at 4:45 pm with one engine and four cars, crossing the Columbia River before heading up the Washington side of the Columbia River gorge. I talked briefly with a guy from Granite Falls riding in my car, but mostly just watched the scenery and listened to my iPod.
Columbia River in Portland
High speed + nearby bushes + window reflection + Columbia River dam = art?
A better picture of the same damn dam
Mt. Hood (10,000+ ft) in the twilight + camera jiggle = definitely not art
I couldn't find a really comfortable position to sleep, even with two seats to myself, so I stayed awake until our arrival in Spokane just before midnight. We waited there until the other section of the Empire Builder arrived from Seattle, after which the two trains were combined into an Empire Builder of three engines and ten cars. I did manage to sleep a few hours before interesting scenery and increasing light had my face back to the window.
Morning began in far western Montana with forested hills and a long (5-7 mile?) tunnel before Whitefish. Lots of skiers joined our train in Whitefish, many bound home to Minnesota or points eastward.
The Whitefish Depot with passengers waiting to board
Soon after Whitefish, we entered Glacier National Park and began the long, hard climb to the top of Marias Pass (5,000+ ft).
The first mountains of Glacier Park
Click on the above picture for more photos from Glacier National Park.
Glacier Park was amazingly beautiful, as the clouds lifted while we chugged up the steady grade, passing freights powered by 5-7 engines with more pushing on the rear. Marias Pass is more of a gap than a pass, steep only on the west side. On the east side, the pass opens onto the high plains of Montana without a terribly steep descent. Shortly after the pass, the double track gives way to single track with sidings, and we had to wait a few minutes for a grain train to chug up the hill.
BNSF #7673, full throttle, on the point of a passing grain train. Autofocus didn't work fast enough, and the familiar window relections added to the problem.
Photos from high bridges don't look like much. The answer? Photos of shadows of high bridges (and the shadow of our train). The angle is a bit odd though.
Lone mountains in Canada north of our train and east of the main body of the Rockies
After a few more tight curves, we were rolling along the double-track main at 79 mph, passing most cars on the adjacent speed-limit-70 highway. Mid-afternoon put us at Shelby, Montana, where we were able to get out for a few minutes for some fresh air. (Technically the breaks are for smokers, but nonsmokers like them just as much.)
Out train at the Shelby depot
We were about a half hour behind schedule out of Glacier Park, but we made up time cruising on the straight double-track, and we rolled into Havre ("have-er," not "harve") on time.
Great Northern steam engine on display at Havre
Our train at Havre
Standing at the entrance to my car
Asjia, my train buddy
We hit a few more minor delays after Havre, as the double track ended and we followed a freight train for awhile. Later, before Williston, an automatic switch failed to throw and the conductor had to throw it by hand. In North Dakota, we followed a less-used route through Minot and Devils Lake, and the cars really rocked and bounced going 79 mph on the rough track. Dinner was good, if a bit expensive, and the waiter was entertaining. I settled into a deep personal conversation with Asjia that left us exchanging hugs and contact information. After a fresh-air stop in Minot, I had no trouble falling asleep. I woke to early dawn in Anoka, and we rolled into Minneapolis five minutes ahead of schedule. I said farewell to my train buddy, collected my bags, and hopped in the Matrix for a short ride to a hot breakfast.
This trip was a great adventure, overall, and it felt like it lasted much more than a week. Despite spending only four days in Corvallis, I already feel I have friends there and that I would be very happy in the land of friendly hippies, contra dances, good beer, bubble tea, and eternal green. I am somewhat less certain how well I will enjoy days in the lab, but from my limited experience I know that time goes fast and the results are satisfying. That and I am extremely excited about the bigger picture that is motivating the lab work. As long as I can manage to keep a balance between academic work and personal time, I should be happy at OSU. Now if I can just get accepted...
I leave you with four pictures of dusk on the rolling plains and badlands of western North Dakota.
