Some notes from a trip north:

12/9/04

We're sitting inside a stationary train in Klamath Falls, OR, awaiting our appointed time of departure from the station. Breakfast this morning consisted of leathery scrambled eggs, potatos, a croissant, orange juice (bottomless), and coffee (also bottomless). I'm still thankful that I didn't order grits like M and G did - they resembled (the grits, that is) congealed cream of wheat, which G maintained tasted like rubber.
Breakfast was on the train, of course, because the journey started last night, with the train arriving an hour late to the station in San Jose where M and I and a number of other hapless travelers waited. When the Amtrak Coast Starlight finally showed up, we found seats upstairs and headed north. G joined M and I in Berkeley, but unfortunately left the train door open long enough for some deranged folk singer to get in. Thankfully, once inside the train she refrained from singing, opting instead to steal G's seat while he stood talking to us.
Again the train continued northwards. We all tried to sleep, except for the folk singer, who compulsively walked back and forth between cars for several hours.
The cough I had at the beginning of the week is mostly gone, but has been replaced by a snot faucet of such proportions that I have already used up a whole packet of tissues. Despite this, I did get some sleep, waking up every so often to peer into the darkness and rearrange my arms and legs. Trains, if this one is indeed typical, allow much more leg room than planes, which is nice because I've never been able to sleep while flying due to inadequate space and the fact that some flight attendant always manages to whack me in the elbow or foot with the service cart.
Morning found us towards the top of CA. The ground was blanketed in white and the trees marched greyly southward. Mt. Shasta loomed on the right for a time, striped with snow and snuffed with morning mist. The cold barrenness of our surroundings was and is a beauty to behold. It makes me wonder what it would be like to live way out here amongst these leaning shacks and slushy farmyards.
Hell, we even saw some Llamas.




10:21 am

We were delayed for around an hour in Klamath Falls due to bureaucratic miscommunication (track report sent to the wrong place... or was it wrong track report sent to right place... or was somebody just inspecting belly button lint instead of the tracks...?) and inclement weather. We have since passed Upper Klamath Lake, where I saw a Bald Eagle perched in a tree (first time I've seen one in the wild), and are currently squeaking and clacking our way through silent, snow covered evergreen forest. The sky is close and uniformly grey.
We've just stopped for some reason. Hmm... G and M appear to be sleeping.




5:50 pm

In Portland it's drizzling and dark. Many miles still to go. G and I had a spirited discussion with a fellow passenger in the dining car about revolution and what idiots Bush and his cronies are. Whether or not they're idiotic enough to be the catalyst for a revolt was the point of debate. I maintained that people are too comfortable in this country and have too much to lose (in most cases, anyway). Our fellow traveller wasn't so sure.
I've finished one book, The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman by Louis De Berneires (hilarious and tragic at the same time), read another, I Wake from a Dream of a Drowned Star City by S.P. Somtow (Oedipal!) cover to cover, and started a third - The Human Chord by Algernon Blackwood (musical!).
I've also spent a lot of time watching the scenery whip past. The Cascade Range, all mist wreathed and snow clad, was beautiful despite occasional evidence of logging activity.
We're hoping the train gets going soon. M and G are both reading. I think I'll follow suit.

12/10 11:30 am

We're staying at the house of William and Leslie, owners of The Electric Heavyland record store and of the Enterruption record label. William picked us up in the rain last night and we took most of our musical stuff over to Electric Heavyland where we're scheduled to play at 6 pm today. They've both proven to be excellent hosts and have the good taste to share their home with a couple of cats, one named after a cool japanese punk band.
Really nice store too. I wish I had more money.

Continued later...