An autumn spectacular!

by Nancy D.
(West Richland WA, USA)

In the fall of 1998, I took a train ride from Portland to the Tri-Cities (in southeast Washington). The first thing that was memorable was Portland's Union Station. It has the feeling of history, with its wooden benches and murals on the walls. If you have to wait somewhere for a train, it's an interesting place to be.

The ride home from Portland was about four hours of awesome! The fall foliage was near to peaking, and the ride through the Columbia Gorge was just beautiful. The train had a snack car and a viewing car, and I happily munched on a (surprisingly good) hot dog while watching the vast Columbia River roll by, the golds and oranges and reds and greens of fall, interspersed with waterfalls on the opposite shore and the rocky islands in the river, framed by the big picture windows of the viewing car. It was the kind of thing you see on a picture postcard, if anyone uses those anymore. Utterly amazing.

A plane may be a quicker way to go, and driving may allow you to set your own schedule, but to just sit back and watch the scenery without a care in the world, you just have to take the train.