Washington State 2024 - A Forested Black Friday

My sister in law and niece drove us back to Kelso to catch the train which would return us to Seattle. The 40 or so minute drive, is, as I've mentioned before, beautiful. The road follows the shore line of the Columbia river. Virgin forest rises up mountain sides on one bank, the other is a scattering of bushes and trees which dazzled us with the colors of fall. Seals ply the river following the smelt that enter through it's mouth on the Pacific ocean.

The tiny train station is manned by a volunteer. The board with the photos of the other volunteers show them all to be seniors, I suppose looking for something to do to get themselves out of the house in retirement. The responsibilities of the position are non demanding and low key. A jigsaw puzzle sits, partially finished, on a table in the middle of the waiting room to help occupy the time of the passengers waiting for the trains. My husband mischievously suggests stealing a piece of it. 

The trains both ways were 100% sold out  Even taking into account the holiday it seems to me that, to paraphrase the old saying, if you build it they will ride. Almost every train I have taken in the U.S., and there have been several, have been full. From the feedback I've gotten over the years from customers visiting from the surrounding states a sizable number get to Chicago via rail. I believe developing rail service would be advantageous to our country. Alas, with the incoming administration I feel this would be a long way off. 

Near the urban Seattle/Tacoma area the scene outside is drab and industrial. But, riding through the area around Kelso, the scene out the window is beautiful. A bucolic world not seen from highways. Expansive waterfront homes are interspersed with farms that resemble Grandma Moses paintings. Cows graze in fields. Rivers, creeks and streams wind through forests, at this time of year still dotted with the colors of fall. Tall evergreens tower upward. Even a couple small waterfalls can be seen tumbling over rocky ledges. The train horn sounds as the tracks cross a 2 lane country road. The venerable train stations are beautiful and quaint, momentos of a time gone by. 

The towers of downtown Seattle come into view. For our dinner we share seafood appetizers at the restaurant in the hotel before spending a final night in our room overlooking the lights of the city.