Mon Oct 17, 3:00 pm: Allllll Aboard!

Leg 10:: Chicago -> Portland

Boarding was a bit of a snafu, but no big deal really. We just had to walk the length of the train because we were originally told to board in the front, but we are actually in the last car.

This train needs two engines to get over the Rocky Mountains, but it only needs one engine to pull it through the state of Washington. So in Spokane, the train splits into two. So the sleeper cars end up being the first and the last cars on the train, with the dining car up near the front sleeper cars. Since our car is the last one on the train, it has the window you can look out of to see where we have been. That window was amazingly clean when we left the Chicago station, but I don't know how long that will last.

I am an old hand at train travel now, so I was unpacked and all settled in no time at all. Because I expect this route to be chilly, I'm wearing my boots as "train shoes".

We left Chicago a couple minutes late, but we should be able to make that up without too much trouble.Read more