Adventures On the Road

It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden a train other than Amtrak.  And it’s a whole different feeling to be riding a train for the enjoyment of the ride rather than for where it’s going to take you.  When I’m on an Amtrak train, usually I’m trying to decide how much time I have to fit in a quality nap.  Don’t want to fall asleep before they do their first rounds, but don’t want to leave it too late that I wake up and arrive groggy at my final destination.  Tough decisions I know.

Well, it appears that when I am riding scenic train rides, what I have to worry about is staying inside the car and not dropping anything and losing it halfway into the train ride.  Well, unfortunately for my polarized filter lens, I did not manage to succeed here.  And although it had me still hanging out the window on the way back, searching the train route for my missing lens, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride…..or taking photos.

We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon enjoying the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad tour, a steam train which took us from Elbe, WA to Mineral, WA, through the forest and foothills south of Mt. Rainier.

Like any seasoned traveler and sightseer, I made sure to make friends with a few people before boarding the train, to ensure that I had the best seat in house.

Unfortunately THIS seat was taken

But when the majority of riders were enclosed in A/C-cooled cars with views dulled by glass, I led my family to the front of the train to the open-air car, with plenty of fresh air wafting through the openings and plenty of room to hang out the window.  The only rule – don’t grab onto any tree branches.

The green landscape set against blue skies were wonderful to look at, but the real gem of the ride was the view of Mt. Rainier as we crossed over the Upper Nisqually River.

Overall, a great a way to spend a Sunday afternoon, get out of the city and buy some sun-warmed Rainier cherries from the roadside fruit stand.