Day 46 - "I think..." - nope, Day 47

I will leave the publish date as it is... I know in my head that it is Saturday, August 6. (OK, I left that as is... Now, after another 4 hours of sleep, I know in my head that it is Saturday, August 12. posted @ 12:04 PT) But I just spent 30 hours on a train, crossing 2 more time zones. It is 3:26am where I am, but my body is telling me it is time to get up, even though I only got a total of 4 or 5 hours of sleep "last night". : } Better share what's in my head and then go to bed (the rest of the house is there already...)

Out the window:

What a thrill to see some of these sights for the first time from the ground. I've flown over the country before, but have never been on the ground much past the Mississippi. Glad I was awake for most of it. I'll add some pictures eventually for you to see, but for now, you'll get my musings.

- deer, antelope, cows, horses, geese, eagle... supposed to be bison & bear, but i didn't see any

- trees and more trees, fields and more fields, rivers, gorges, mountains, rain showers in the distance, cliffs and even some wild flowers

- smoke from the wild fires showed up as a hazy mist

- sunrise and sunset

- waving tourists in Essex, MT

On the train:

I mentioned a few of them already in yesterday's blog. The thing about 30 hours is, there is plenty of time to get to know someone if you want.

- Josh, lives in Orlando, FL, works in Minot, ND and travels around the world in the 2-weeks-off sections of his working schedules. He was a wonderful tour guide of the western half of ND, as well as an eagle-eye for the wild life out the window

- Eric, finished his cross-country bicycle tour just before boarding the train. Lucky for him, he had two seats to himself for most of the trip. I think he slept most of the way. : )

- The siblings from France, although, he will tell you he's from Eugene. She's visiting for a few months in the States.

- Jason, heading to re-join his family at their cabin near Glacier National Park. He, too, was a wonderful tour guide of the stretch of Montana he joined me for. We talked local folklore and current politics with a little family added in.

- the woman and her mother finally made it to Whitefish to visit with the 3rd & 4th generation for a few weeks.

-volunteer Park Rangers sharing their expertise in the observation cars

- another cyclist leaving the train in Sandpoint, Idaho. He was going to bike to Spokane. I told him that's the next stop on the train if he didn't want to bother. He just smiled and said, "We'll see..." I am sure he will enjoy the ride on the road, just as I did on the train. : )

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner:

Enjoyed breakfast with Josh and Liz & John. The three of them are world travelers. My exploits this summer are a dip in the pool in comparison. Liz & John took off for a 7-month adventure around the equator when they were first retired. Now they were on a National Park group tour who all got off at Glacier to enjoy the rest of their adventures.

I snacked on the treats sent with me from Minneapolis throughout the day. My body and the clock were telling me different things about when it was time to eat, etc.

I took Eric out to dinner to celebrate his accomplishment and the siblings from France joined us. We heard stories of Eric's overnights by the train tracks and once, inadvertently in a horse pen. The siblings' wanderlust was a topic of conversation, she traveling alone through Europe, America and Australia, and he being stuck at a gas station in Shelby, MT for 3 days one winter because of the snow. I answered questions about my trip and we all commented on the beautiful vistas we saw out the window

Eric asked me, "So, what has been the best part?...I know, I hate answering that one, too!"

Again, I responded, without a doubt, "spending time with my family and friends, and meeting the people along the way." But, I handed him my card with the blog address. I told him this really does answer his question more fully. One day, when I get back home, I'll take the time to read through everything I have told all of you. But until then, I'm still making the memories and enjoying the experience. So, in that case, I need to get some sleep today. After all, it's Quinn's birthday, I'll need to be awake for that! ; )

#wildlifenature #PeopleMet