I had so much fun on my train trip to Essex, MT over Memorial Day weekend that I decided to do it again. Surprisingly, I was able to get decent buckets on roomettes, and not bad rates at the Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier.
Seattle's King Street Station was busy on Friday afternoon, but the staff is continuing to improve how they manage departing passengers, so it was not the zoo that it had been a few weeks ago. The sound system for announcements still isn't great, so one guy was actually using a bullhorn...weird, but it works.
Train 8 left exactly on time, so we were able to enjoy the sun shining over Puget Sound, and the 6:00 dinner seating was done just as we got to the Cascade Tunnel. The seafood special was crabcakes instead of tilapia. I've had the crabcakes before, and prefer them anyway, although both are good. Cream puffs made an appearance for dessert -- something I haven't seen in a while -- and they were fresh, which was nice. Had a nice chat with a couple from Southampton, England, who were returning from an Alaskan cruise. There seem to be a lot of people on the EB who have package deals like that. A little kid behind us cried through the whole meal, which was a drag.
Our server was Donna, who I've met before. She's a hoot, and she recognized me. She actually lives in Boise, and flies to Seattle to work the Builder. Talk about dedication. She said she's moving to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks to be near family, but will continue to fly to Seattle. Flights from LV are cheaper than from Boise, apparently!
Annie was the SCA, and she's great, too -- she spends quite a lot of time coming around to each room to make sure that everyone knows how things work. She has a crazy sense of humor, like telling people that the dining car is actually forward than to the rear of the sleepers ... but then, she says, you have to walk on top of the cars and go back the other way...
We got to see the blue moon rising over Leavenworth and Wenatchee. There's nothing like watching the night sky from a train while singing "Moon Over Wenatchee..." I awakened at Spokane for the merging of trains 8 and 28, and then again at 3:30 (well, actually 4:30 MT) when we stopped for a couple of minutes to meet the four-hour-late train 7 at Bonners Ferry, ID. But then there was enough moonlight that it was reflected in the calm Kootenai River, which we followed for some miles -- a spectacular sight, but unfortunately, my camera couldn't pick it up.
I was up early for the start of breakfast at 6:30. Had the french toast, which was also perfectly cooked, plus some bacon, in honor of National Bacon Day (okay, I only found out about that later...). Had another nice chat, this time with a lady from the south who was a first-time Amtrak rider and also visiting Glacier for the first time. She seemed to be having fun.
We didn't stop at Essex -- it's a flag stop, after all -- and got to GPK three minutes early. There was quite a crowd, both getting on and getting off. Good thing Annie was there to help, as there's a huge gap between the tracks and the asphalt platform. The lodge's van was there to meet us, although it would be an easy walk.
Since we were on time, the rooms weren't ready yet, so I spent the morning walking around the area, having a good lunch, and chatting with interesting people in the lobby. Once I checked in, it was time for a nap, writing this, and probably an early bedtime, since I'm taking an all-day red bus tour tomorrow.
Like a lot of national parks, Glacier was originally designed to be accessed by train, and it's one of the few that still has direct Amtrak service. Wouldn't it be great if there were more such places?
I am posting some pictures on Facebook for those of you who are connected with me there. I'll add more after I get home.
Seattle's King Street Station was busy on Friday afternoon, but the staff is continuing to improve how they manage departing passengers, so it was not the zoo that it had been a few weeks ago. The sound system for announcements still isn't great, so one guy was actually using a bullhorn...weird, but it works.
Train 8 left exactly on time, so we were able to enjoy the sun shining over Puget Sound, and the 6:00 dinner seating was done just as we got to the Cascade Tunnel. The seafood special was crabcakes instead of tilapia. I've had the crabcakes before, and prefer them anyway, although both are good. Cream puffs made an appearance for dessert -- something I haven't seen in a while -- and they were fresh, which was nice. Had a nice chat with a couple from Southampton, England, who were returning from an Alaskan cruise. There seem to be a lot of people on the EB who have package deals like that. A little kid behind us cried through the whole meal, which was a drag.
Our server was Donna, who I've met before. She's a hoot, and she recognized me. She actually lives in Boise, and flies to Seattle to work the Builder. Talk about dedication. She said she's moving to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks to be near family, but will continue to fly to Seattle. Flights from LV are cheaper than from Boise, apparently!
Annie was the SCA, and she's great, too -- she spends quite a lot of time coming around to each room to make sure that everyone knows how things work. She has a crazy sense of humor, like telling people that the dining car is actually forward than to the rear of the sleepers ... but then, she says, you have to walk on top of the cars and go back the other way...
We got to see the blue moon rising over Leavenworth and Wenatchee. There's nothing like watching the night sky from a train while singing "Moon Over Wenatchee..." I awakened at Spokane for the merging of trains 8 and 28, and then again at 3:30 (well, actually 4:30 MT) when we stopped for a couple of minutes to meet the four-hour-late train 7 at Bonners Ferry, ID. But then there was enough moonlight that it was reflected in the calm Kootenai River, which we followed for some miles -- a spectacular sight, but unfortunately, my camera couldn't pick it up.
I was up early for the start of breakfast at 6:30. Had the french toast, which was also perfectly cooked, plus some bacon, in honor of National Bacon Day (okay, I only found out about that later...). Had another nice chat, this time with a lady from the south who was a first-time Amtrak rider and also visiting Glacier for the first time. She seemed to be having fun.
We didn't stop at Essex -- it's a flag stop, after all -- and got to GPK three minutes early. There was quite a crowd, both getting on and getting off. Good thing Annie was there to help, as there's a huge gap between the tracks and the asphalt platform. The lodge's van was there to meet us, although it would be an easy walk.
Since we were on time, the rooms weren't ready yet, so I spent the morning walking around the area, having a good lunch, and chatting with interesting people in the lobby. Once I checked in, it was time for a nap, writing this, and probably an early bedtime, since I'm taking an all-day red bus tour tomorrow.
Like a lot of national parks, Glacier was originally designed to be accessed by train, and it's one of the few that still has direct Amtrak service. Wouldn't it be great if there were more such places?
I am posting some pictures on Facebook for those of you who are connected with me there. I'll add more after I get home.
