loveliness.

I wrote this on the train from Whitefish, MT to Minot, ND a few weeks ago. These pictures don’t really do it justice, as I was taking them through a window on my phone, but trust me, it was absolutely breathtaking.

———

I’m writing this from seat 61 of car 31005 on a train bound for North Dakota. I left at 7:30 this morning from Whitefish, MT, and the trip is supposed to take about 12 hours.

I’ve never taken this train before, I’m probably the only one in my family that hasn’t, but I did take an overnight train in Thailand from Koh Samui back to Bangkok.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but so far, I’m in love. I have a window seat all to myself, and each seat has an outlet so I can re-charge my kindle and computer.

I had breakfast in the dining car with one of the nicest couples I’ve ever met, I thought that even before they bought me breakfast when the credit card machine wouldn’t work.

But the best part about this trip is the view. We’re going through the mountains, and the sun is shining through the trees, and it’s completely stunning and distracting. I downloaded two books and a bunch of show episodes on iTunes to watch since it’s such a long way, but so far I can’t break myself away from the window long enough to do anything but take pictures.

I saw bear grass for the first time as we wove through the mountains, which is exciting because for the last few years I’ve heard about it a lot, and had to just nod along like I knew what people were talking about, but never again.

Also, the food is actually really good, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of their entrees are vegan or vegetarian, with the option to add meat or dairy.

So basically, I’m well provisioned, completely entertained, and entirely comfortable. I’m starting to worry that 12 hours is not going to be long enough. This is kind of my ideal situation, left alone with nothing to do but read or write for hours at a time. I might just stowaway.