Bits and Pieces ~ On and Off the Tracks

Last night, as I crawled up to the rather compact top bunk of our roomette, I found a large webbed strap lying across the bunk, which was obviously there for me to strap myself in. My Mom informed me that it was actually supposed to clip to the ceiling to form a saggy gate across the edge of the bunk. Either way it would have served the purpose of keeping me in, in case the train ride got too bumpy.
The bed sheets and blanket were also obviously fitted and tucked to keep a person from falling out of their bed, because mine were so tight that I couldn’t pull them up over my shoulders or turn without feeling like I was in a straitjacket. Still, it didn’t bother me too much, as I didn’t expect to get a lot of sleep on the train. It’s more exciting to feel the movement of the train and hear the clickety-clack, clickety-clack (among many other squeaking and howling noises), and wonder what area you might be riding through.

 This morning we made a very important stop in Shelby, Montana, in order to search for some good cold coffee, since they only have black coffee with plain creamer here on the train. Not thinking about how cold it would be at our stop, I left the train with thin socks in my shoes, a thin sweatshirt, and no coat or gloves. My mom wasn’t wearing a coat or gloves either.
“Aren’t you cold?” The attendant asked, as we stepped down from the train onto the yellow metal stool.
But we weren’t cold at the time, because our roomette had been so warm that we got overheated. The sharp air was refreshing.
As we stepped into the Shelby train station, I instantly spotted the enticing looking vending machines near the back. Alas, they had the very coffee I was hoping for! I ripped open my wallet and found that I had the exact amount of change for the coffee, with none to spare. Had I not found a quarter in my bunk earlier that morning (which definitely did not fall out of my own purse), I wouldn’t have been able to afford the coffee. Mmmmm, I could taste that coffee before it even came out of the vending machine.

In the train station packed full of people who had just stepped off the train for a stretch (including a man wearing chili pepper pajama pants, who laughed about the fact that this was his first time wearing pajamas in public), we also found an old telephone booth. Telephone booths have become such a rare item these days. Upon opening the accordion-fold door of the phone booth, my Mom found that there was no phone, but instead a phone book and a sign that clearly stated, “No phone.”

 

Since we still had a few minutes to spare before we had to be back on the train, we walked to the front of the train, and back to our sleeper car, which was at the very end of the train. By that time I had realized just how cold it was outside. My fingers were frozen stiff, and the cold coffee I held in my hand suddenly felt like warm coffee. But the coffee and atmosphere were worth the cold voyage!

When I woke up at around 6:00 this morning, my Mom invited me to sit on her bunk and take a peek out the window.
“It’s winter out there!” She said. Expecting to see a dusting of snow and winter barren trees, I climbed down from the top bunk. Instead, I was surprised by banks of snow that were several feet deep, and a beautiful winter sun coming up in the distance.

 

Along the way, I also saw many cozy cabins and barns tucked under snowy evergreen trees, creating a serene image that one might find on a postcard. It was magnificent.

 

One thing that’s different about eating on trains is that they’ll often seat you across from total strangers, due to the limited seating in the dining car. Fortunately, the people we sat across from this morning were the same two that are in the roomette across the hall from us. With the narrow hallways and less than private roomettes, we practically knew them already. I was just thankful that we didn’t get seated across from the man we heard at lunch today, who talked about where he’s been and loudly proclaimed how much he knows about everything, including Amtrak.

The drive is very peaceful now, with the sun peeking through our window, and the train gently bouncing along the tracks through the flatlands of the middle of Montana. We can see peaks of the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

 

The grass is waving in the wind near the frozen, glassy lakes and ponds, and occasionally I can see fields of adorable cows somewhat near the train. Oh, how I wish I could take at least one of those home with me! During lunch, I made a comment about Angus cows being my favorite, as we passed by a field full of them.

“Yeah, I guess they’re my favorite too,” my Mom said, as she pointed to her juicy burger.

In the words of my niece Fiona, “Oh, cows.”