March 20-21, 2006
from the journal archives
1) Midnight -- March 20 2006 -- somewhere past the Bay Area
from the journal archives
1) Midnight -- March 20 2006 -- somewhere past the Bay Area
Riding the train in the dark Northern California night is giving everything an air of intense, foreboding mystery. I wish I had the speed or energy to write down the words as soon as they dropped into my head. From the moment I got to the station (in Emeryville, CA) I felt like I'd entered an intense ambient groove and vividly painted dreamscape where the darks compliment and outnumber the lights. SF was everything that I wanted it to be and was begging for a return visit, so I hope that a return could be arranged for some time. (and it will be at the end of this month!)
2) later -- early the next morning
The train is passing through a snowy landscape thick with fir trees and I thought we were in Oregon already until we went right by an onramp for I-5 that still had CA destination points, and are now passing cars that still have CA license plates. We've also been officially declared to be running three hours late and have had to pull over for several freight trains, including one where I counted 66 cars were attached to the frame of the carriage. This all feels like worlds away from home and even from SF, which is why I was surprised to have it still be in CA with all the snow. There's something appealing, yet mysterious about traveling by train here in the northwest. To me it feels like entering a foriegn landscape only special visitors can enter, with the implicit understanding that you won't disturb it...
3) 11:30am 3/21/06
Have made it into Oregon at this point and the scenery has become spectacularly dramatic, with snow-covered mountains backing a large lake. The train is still running three hours behind schedule (and eventually it would arrive in Portland five hours late) and people are starting to grumble a bit about the length of time. Colin was right to warn me, but I am glad to have gone on north this way anyway, rather than a plane flight or a monotonous highway bus drive.
4) 1:45pm
Quite a bit of snow has fallen here in the southern OR woodlands and the train just made it's second stop of the state in a place called Chemault, FOUR hours later than scheduled. We are going through the most snow I have seen all winter; there must be between 1-2 feet of whiteness sitting alongside the tracks. I think we might be past the "freight train gets the right of way" part of the trip, and would enjoy seeing some more varied landscapes beyond just the woods.
5) 5:00pm
Am feeling a bit claustraphobic since I've been on the train much longer than I was originally anticipating to be. However, we just passed Eugene, and Portland is next. So we're in more metropolitan areas, relatively speaking. We passed the southbound Coast Starlight which was just pulling into Eugene as this train was leaving. The train staff is getting way too excited about the dinner reservation part of the trip and having people come to the dining car in stages to have their food; it's very silly. I'm relieved that Portland is just an hour or so from here.
2) later -- early the next morning
The train is passing through a snowy landscape thick with fir trees and I thought we were in Oregon already until we went right by an onramp for I-5 that still had CA destination points, and are now passing cars that still have CA license plates. We've also been officially declared to be running three hours late and have had to pull over for several freight trains, including one where I counted 66 cars were attached to the frame of the carriage. This all feels like worlds away from home and even from SF, which is why I was surprised to have it still be in CA with all the snow. There's something appealing, yet mysterious about traveling by train here in the northwest. To me it feels like entering a foriegn landscape only special visitors can enter, with the implicit understanding that you won't disturb it...
3) 11:30am 3/21/06
Have made it into Oregon at this point and the scenery has become spectacularly dramatic, with snow-covered mountains backing a large lake. The train is still running three hours behind schedule (and eventually it would arrive in Portland five hours late) and people are starting to grumble a bit about the length of time. Colin was right to warn me, but I am glad to have gone on north this way anyway, rather than a plane flight or a monotonous highway bus drive.
4) 1:45pm
Quite a bit of snow has fallen here in the southern OR woodlands and the train just made it's second stop of the state in a place called Chemault, FOUR hours later than scheduled. We are going through the most snow I have seen all winter; there must be between 1-2 feet of whiteness sitting alongside the tracks. I think we might be past the "freight train gets the right of way" part of the trip, and would enjoy seeing some more varied landscapes beyond just the woods.
5) 5:00pm
Am feeling a bit claustraphobic since I've been on the train much longer than I was originally anticipating to be. However, we just passed Eugene, and Portland is next. So we're in more metropolitan areas, relatively speaking. We passed the southbound Coast Starlight which was just pulling into Eugene as this train was leaving. The train staff is getting way too excited about the dinner reservation part of the trip and having people come to the dining car in stages to have their food; it's very silly. I'm relieved that Portland is just an hour or so from here.
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