Close to the coast

   My cross country train ride was interesting and enjoyable.  Train travelers seem to be a breed of their own; people who are relaxed and friendly.  The train isn't as crowded or uncomfortable as the bus and isn't as hyper paranoid as flying. 

   I got to see, very up close, the flooding that is taking place in the northern part of the country.  The Mississippi is being unruly in Wisconsin and Minnesota, which I understand isn't too uncommon this time of year, but I got the impression that the water is somewhat higher than usual.

   North Dakota was hit with four feet of snow about two weeks ago, so there is an awful lot of water there with nowhere to go.  At times the train had to slow down to avoid creating a wake...well, not quite, but we did slow down for safety reasons, as the water was literally up to the ties, almost the tracks themselves.  At one point, we could see tracks next to us which were under water, which causes some slow downs, because not all of the tracks were usable.

   Even though we left Rochester almost 45 minutes late and were behind schedule until Spokane, somehow we made up time and arrived in Portland half an hour early.  Upon arriving in Portland, the first thing I did was head off to look for a room for the night.  Although the seating on the train is more spacious than either a bus or a plane, they still don't make for very good sleeping.  Rather than head east to the less expensive side of town, I decided to ride west to Beaverton, which means riding up and over a fair sized mountain.  Not a big mountain, but big enough that the route I rode has signs saying that chains or snow tires are required on the road I took.

   It's been almost ten years since I've been in this area, and I was shocked and a bit disoriented by the amount of development there has been.  I didn't even recognize where I was until this morning when I was asking for directions.  At that point, I realized that I had stayed in the same motel, probably twelve years ago when I moved out of the house I was sharing with my then girlfriend.  

   This morning I pedaled as far as Forest Grove and am now trying to decide whether to push on or call it a day.  I've ridden almost twenty miles, which isn't much...if I didn't have my trailer to pull along.  I'm also looking at the coastal range and the rain clouds.  

   I guess I shall twiddle my thumbs for a few minutes, see if the rain starts and make up my mind.