Sleeping on Night 2 was easier. I decided not to use the matress that they supply for the lower bunk. On night one, it felt harder than what I needed, so going without it seemed like the correct call. Even though the car was moving faster and rocking pretty hard, I slept much better with the softer surface and a backlog of missing sleep from night one.
We had pulled into Minot early (about an hour early). So we had a stationary break for about 2 hours. It’s amazing how much you get used to the constant motion on a train. At times it’s a balance challenge to walk around. I found that using different martial arts stances kept me from getting thrown into the wall a few times.
I found myself wishing that I’d packed lighter. I had packed 5 holiday themed shirts (part of a tradition that I started in 2019 of wearing a holdiay shirt for every day of December), 5 waffle pattern shirts (for warmth under some of the shirts), 5 days of underwear and socks, and one pair of pants. This wasn’t much, but, when you factor in the toiletry kit, charging pack, and CPAP, my backpack was pretty packed. I needed to carry the CPAP in a separate bag that I connected to the backpack synch straps.
I didn’t even bring a laptop. The blog posts that I’ve been typing have been created on my tablet with a foldable keyboard that I purchased on TEMU. It is really convenient to be able to type, but the ‘T’ and ‘V’ keys are a little thin, which causes type-os sometimes.
I like the backpack for the ease of carrying. I brought my cane to use as a walking stick (taking the strain off my knees with the weight of the backpack). I wore a hoodie and heavy jacket, which initially saves space in the pack. However, when I’m carrying my pack on subsequent days the hoodie has to go in the pack. Also, expecting cold weather, I brought my heavy gloves, which take up non-trivial space.
This setup is working, but could be better. I may try going with some Ex-Officio garments next time so that I carry less (but launder more).
At this point, I am thinking that there will be a next time. This has been a reflective experience. I’ve looked at several towns and thought, “this reminds me of…” which led me to write this down this morning:
As I look out the windows of the train, I’m reminded of all the places I used to live. Sometimes it’s a large industrial town like Poughkeepsie, while others are small towns like Halfway, OR or LaGrande, OR. There’s something familiar about these places, though I’ve never been to them. This path through the country is literally and figuratively a slice of America.
The eastern portion of this trip seems a lot faster. The stops are closer together, and the towns are more continuous. I’ve had 5G service for most of the trip. The observation car is much more crowded, as there are more coach passengers for this last stretch than there were for the sparser part of the country. There’s a lot of industry here. Factories and storage facilities seem to be in every town. And, as we’re on the tracks and these facilities are typically by the railroad, I get to see a lot of them.
Daniel Gregson 
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