Making Tracks on Amtrak's Empire Builder

There is something about train travel that is very alluring these days. Perhaps it's the way in which a train allows us to view the world in an ever changing, unclutered way from the luxury of a comfortable seat. Or it could be the fact that while the train is rumbling over miles of track, friendships are struck up (and made) in places like the glass domed observation car, the dining car, or even more likely, the hallways of the sleeping car where passengers greet each other at the coffee station, or on their way to a meal. Whatever it is, I'm convinced that train travel is the best kind of travel because it is a hassle free, much roomier alternative to the harried travel in which we have become all too accustomed. Train travel takes us back to a time when we knew how to appreciate the journey as well as the destination. There is nothing like it, which is why I was excited to take my first trip on board Amtrak's Empire Builder.

After climbing onboard, getting settled into my room and meeting our car attendant, Gregory, I was thrilled to feel the movement of the train as it pulled away from Union Station in Chicago, and begin to pick up speed. To my surprise (and delight) Gregory soon showed up at my door with a bottle of champagne and a couple of Amtrak specialty wrapped pieces of dark chocolate. He took my reservation for dinner and gave me a verbal tour of the sleeping car before heading to the next room. Since I had two full days of travel ahead of me, I shut my door for awhile and gazed out my window in quiet solitude. One thing I noticed, and always do on the train, is the great expanse of scenery devoid of civilization. There's no people, no signage, no cars, buses or automobiles. Nothing but wide open fields, mountains and sky all the way from one end of the country to the other, and plenty of time to enjoy it all along the way.

Train travel isn't for everyone, and I'd be the last person to tell you it was. Authenticity runs in both directions when you're onboad for several days at a time. You're likely to experience some discomfort at times, and there's always a possibility of delays, but one thing you won't experience is the feeling of missing the journey on the way to your destination. My grandmother used to say it wasn't the easy, good times that made for the best memories in life, but rather it is the difficulties mixed with joys that are most remembered. I find that to be true, which helps me embrace the trip as a whole rather than in segments of what went well and what didn't.

When I fly, I have very few expectations. I know the drill, and the only thing that ever changes is that the leg room keeps getting smaller along with the food portions (if there is any food offered at all). But, from the moment I walk down the station platform in search of my sleeper car on the train, I am swept away by expectation. It's fair to say that I'm not one to sit in my room for the entire trip, never stepping out even for a meal in the dining car. You're more likely to find me anywhere but in my room for most of a day. And, it's due to the fact that I don't mind going to look for my surprises, that I suddenly found myself sitting beside a man playing his harp in the observation car. It was my first day on the train, and the sun was just beginning to set over the western landscape when I entered the car and noticed him right away. A man with a harp is, after all, very hard to ignore. These happy incidences are the very kinds of things that make a train trip so endearing. You'll meet all kinds of interesting people who have all kinds of interesting lives, on a train. Riders create a unique culture of travel that no fast paced airline can produce, or for that matter, reproduce. And, thankfully, it's a culture that isn't camera shy. From authors to national park service volunteers, to musicians, and more. The possiblities are as varied as they are numerous.

Amtrak doesn't slouch in the event planning department either, and the wine and cheese tasting event on the Empire Builder was proof of that. This event was a "sleeper passenger" only service, and you had to sign up early or risk missing out. I had heard whispers, from time to time, on other passenger trains, that such an event existed. But, I was, I admit, a doubter until Gregory put out a sign up sheet. Someone once said that "seeing is believing, but doing is seeing", and when it came to this event, I'm terribly glad I "did it" because the wine and cheese along with the view (and some new friends to share it all with), was so worth it.

The wines were all northwest labels such as Chateau St. Michelle and Columbia Crest. The cheeses were varied, and were almost a meal in themselves. Our car attendants poured while chatting with the attendees. They also prepared a "Jeopardy" style game quiz that netted the winners bottles of fine wine. One participant shared her bottle with anyone who came to the observation car after the event, to sip wine with her and visit. These are the kinds of things that elevate train trips to the level of the old glory days of travel, and why so many people feel the tug to go again and again. I can't think of a more enjoyable way to travel..

Making tracks onboard the Empire Builder, all cozy and warm in my little roomette with the pretty blue curtains, means making new acquaintances, seeing new landscapes, and gaining new insights into a more relaxed way of traveling. I can't wait until my next adventure, and even now I'm scouring the amtrak website for my return tickets. Could I fly between Chicago and the westcoast? You bet, and often times I have since it's the quickest way to family and friends who live far from me. But, given the choice, I would book all my trips by train.

As it turned out, the best part of this trip was, ironically, the last part. Our train reached the mighty Columbia River just as the sun peeked over the coastal hills that rose above the clouds like a magnificent backdrop to the city of Vancouver, Washington. Breathtaking views passed by my window, leaving me gawking with each advancing mile. Sadly, it was over all too soon. I could have kept on going, and indeed, I found myself wishing I'd taken the trip all the way to Seattle. My disappointment of journey's end, however, was happily tempered with blissful thoughts of the future. A future where I dared to hope that I might, sometime soon, find my way making tracks once again on one of Amtrak's premier long distance trains, the amazingly wonderful "Empire Builder".