I had packed my clothes and stuff yesterday by mid afternoon. Crazy to be packed so early! Usually I am packing well after midnight. I wasn't sure what to do since my packing was done. Never fear, I can finding ways to stay up late packing.
- After confirming Jan would drive me to the train station and chatting with Jan and Bob, I gathered my gopher traps. Three more caught for a total of 108 this year.
- I picked the rest of my ears of corn and zucchini from my garden. The zucchini I planted didn't grow; the zucchini I didn't plant grew; I barely watered them; I have much more zucchini than I knew what to do with.
- I got a ladder and picked the rest of my apples. I filled over three five gallon pails with apples. Lots of apple pies in my future.
- I watched the TV show, "Dancing with the Stars".
- I made sure all my dishes were washed and clean. Unlike when I had to come to ND for mom and then returned to a sink of dirty dishes.
I woke up before the alarm went off and after only four hours sleep. I was out of it when getting ready. Lack of sleep masked any unease at my leaving for ND.
The train was only five minutes late. I got the same annoying train attendant I had when traveling from Whitefish to Seattle. He also remembered me. This time he was clearer in his instruction on when to board the train. I waited at the right hand car while he opened the left hand car. Once he returned to the right hand car I learned he wanted me to get on the left hand car. *sigh* By the time I got on that car everyone boarding had boarded. Lots of people boarded at Whitefish. The only pair of seats open were seats reserved for couples.
I looked at boarding passes and selected a seat next to one for Essex. Nearby was a Glacier Park pass and an open seat. I asked the guy if his pass was for East or West Glacier and he said East. Essex is before East Glacier. When I attempted to take the open seat next to Essex an old man came and claimed that was his seat. Okay...
So I sat next to the guy going to East Glacier. Which turned out good as I spent the entire time traveling to East Glacier chatting with him. He and two other guys were planning on doing a 7 day backpacking trip in Glacier traveling from East to West Glacier. They had no idea of what trails to go on. Or anything else about the Park. They had a week off from a job clearing trails in the Cascade Mountains in Washington and decided to go on a backpacking trip.
Oh! To be in your early 20s again and live for hiking and camping! To go and do things without a clue.
I gave them suggestions on trails. I think more information that he could remember. I also rambled on about side topics like hiking in Europe and my travels in Communist Russia in the 1980s.
After he left the train at East Glacier I had a pair of seats to myself the rest of my journey. The train seemed to lose more people than gain at each stop until we got to Williston where lots of people boarded the train.
I chatted a while in the observation car with an old couple from Pennsylvania. We talked about our respective states, Minnesota, Washington state, camping and kayaking, and energy sources of wind, solar, coals, etc.
Then I slept for a while before reading old newspapers.
The trip breezed by and before I knew it I was in Minot. Taking the train is such an easier journey than driving.
The train was on time and my brother picked me up at the station. Wasn't I just here? It seems so, but also seems so long ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment