Friday, July 6, 2018

Amtrak Empire Builder (Portland to Fargo)

This summer I am taking two long-distance trips on Amtrak: Empire Builder and Southwest Chief. I took a plane from Los Angeles to Portland and the Amtrak from Portland to Fargo. My sister sold her house there and I spent a week with her, helping her move.
It was fantastic to take the Metrolink from Northridge to Burbank Airport. Starting the trip with a train ride put me in a good mood.

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When I arrived at Portland airport, I boarded the light rail there to get to the Amtrak station. The light rail (MAX) in Portland was easy to navigate.

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The Portland Amtrak station is totally cute! There are bikeshare bikes there (and probably in most major cities by now) but the Portland bikeshare bikes are branded with a Nike swoosh.

Empire Builder simultaneously originates in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR in the late afternoon. The individual trains merge in Spokane, WA in the middle of the night. Fresh air stops like this allow you to disembark and stretch your legs. Have a coke, smoke and a joke as my art teacher used to say.
There's a dining car, which is kind of like a restaurant on wheels. There's a cafe car, which is kind of like a coffee shop on wheels. Above the cafe is the observation car, which has floor to ceiling windows. When people gawk at how much time it takes to get somewhere by train, I show them this.
The next fresh air stop is Whitefish, MT which is the following morning. From there, expect breathtaking views of Glacier National Park. I saw lots of people white water rafting and I have to say the smells of the people boarding the train here were more fresh & clean than any detergent.
I met a white water rafting guide who talked me through some of the sights. He pointed out tiny waterfalls and docks where native people fish for salmon using traditional fishing poles made of wood. You get to have great conversations with strangers on Amtrak trips.
Abruptly, you are in a flat part of Montana. Two fresh air stops, Shelby and Havre, may be cut short if the train is running behind schedule. Havre has an antique steam engine at its station, which is an impressive display, particularly popular with train enthusiasts.
In my experience, the dining car is first-come first-served. If you want to be served a sit-down meal in a formal setting, you need to get there right when the meal begins and let them know you will be 'dining' and they will schedule you a time to come back and be seated.
I would not expect the staff to ask you if you want a seated meal, there were a few unhappy 'sleeper car' passengers that missed out on a seated meal because they thought their porter would assist in making their reservation. Nonetheless, they got a hot meal from the cafe car.
As for myself, I brought a variety of items listed below so that I didn't have to partake of the dining car on this particular trip. I highly recommend taking Empire Builder if you get a chance. I saw a couple with loaded touring bikes at the Glacier Park station, and I thought 'I would like to try that.'

This is what I brought in a cooler
*2 bags (florets) broccoli
*1 bag (8oz) mushrooms
*8 C honeydew melon
*1 bag (2C) mixed nuts
*1 bag (30) dried apricots
*1 bag (8) small pancakes
*1 bag (4oz) beef jerky
*1 flat cake (900g) banana bread
*3 medium yellow nectarines
*Empty ziploc for ice
*Cooler bag
*Empty water bottle

This is what I purchased at the station or on the train
*2 cans soda
*1 bag each: combos, gardettos
*2 cups coffee: $2 each
*1 tuna sandwich on wheat
*1 Greek yogurt cup: $2.50
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