Year 4 Day 136 “Living the Dream”. Friday, 9/13/2024. Day 3 of 25-day Alaska to Las Vegas trip. Day 3 of 25-day Alaska to Las Vegas trip. Traveling from Montana to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is day 3 on the Amtrak Empire Builder in a roomette traveling from Montana to Portland, Oregon. In Portland, Oregon we switched trains to business class seats on the Amtrack Cascades and traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Last night we passed through Idaho and into Washington. Quickly after entering Washington state, we stopped, and the train sat for about two hours in the early morning hours.
They had to unhook the last few cars from the train and hook one of the engines to us. The train was 10 cars plus two engines. After that we are 4 cars and one engine. The other train is 6 cars and one engine. We proceeded on our way at 4:00 am. At 4:30am we are in Cheney, Washington. We will travel this morning down through Washington and into Oregon. Our final stop for this train is Portland, Oregon. Looking at the Amtrak app at 4:40am we should arrive at 10:42am. Earlier than scheduled. Steve took the first shower of the day in the sleeper car shower and the water was cold. There is one shower dressing area per sleeper car. I decided I would wait till tonight in our Vancouver, British Columbia hotel. We lost the dining car to the Seattle train because they had four sleeper cars. Today’s breakfast was from the cafe. It was microwaved breakfast sandwiches. The train to Portland, Oregon is a lot shorter now. Prior to the shortening we could not hear the train whistle. Since 4am we realize they blow the train horn a lot. Two new women engineers took over in Pasco, Washington. They like the horn. We ate breakfast and passed through the Columbia River Gorge in Skamania County, Washington.
The Columbia River gorge is a spectacular river canyon, 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep, that meanders past cliffs, spires, and ridges set against nearby peaks of the PNW’s Cascade Mountain Range. This Gorge was formed by volcanic eruptions, glacial floods, and landslides over millions of years ago. Our train was running on the Washington side of the water. We could see another train running on the other side of the water on the Oregon side.
We passed two dams that were providing power. From reading I understand there are three here. We sat in our roomette and enjoyed the gorgeous cliff views. On the horizon we could see the towering volcanic peak of Mt. Hood.
These are the best scenic views of the train ride. Mount Hood is located in northwest Oregon, about 50 miles east of Portland and 35 miles south of the Columbia River. It’s the highest point in Oregon and the fourth highest peak in the Cascade Range.
You can tell the salmon are running by the number of fishing boats in The Little White Salmon River. The Little White Salmon River is a tributary of the Columbia River in Washington state. It is about 19 miles long.
The closer we get to Portland, Oregon the larger the homes get and the more pine trees we see.
At 11am we are in Portland, Oregon. After disembarking the Empire Builder, we headed into Union Station and picked up our checked baggage and rechecked them for our 2pm train trip on the Amtrak Cascades up to Vancouver, Canada.
This is not a sleeper train, so we are in business class. We checked into the Metropolitan Lounge where they had some snacks. This is a very small quiet executive lounge.
On the train and heading to Vancouver, British Columbia at 2pm. We are into forest now. Lots of lush green tall trees.
This train appears very old and is like a wild mustang to ride. Hold onto that horn little lady!! We rode part of the Amtrak Cascades route from Seattle Washington to Vancouver, Canada in 2022. Here is a link to our day traveling that part of this route. https://deestimes.com/…/living-the-dream-year-2-day-155/ Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington is new to us. We are arriving in Vancouver around 10pm. Then onto our hotel to crash for the night. Tomorrow is a recuperation day before heading onto the next part of our journey. “The Cruise”.
Things to ponder today! Have to leave you thinking.
A19 LED Light Bulbs, 60W Equivalent, Efficient 9W: https://amzn.to/3ZiBMqe These are our go to light bulbs. We use them everywhere in our house. The soft white lighting they provide is exactly the light we like, and they last a long time. Oh, don’t let me forget to mention the price is awesome also.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #CommissionsEarned
To view the complete daily diary, click here – This starts at Year 1 Day 1: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count