The train, a wonderful way to go

When you were kids, did you get to go places?  Did your parents take you to different cities and sights?  Have you ever travelled on a train?   Did you visit family and friends in places far away from your home?

We were lucky as kids to be able to travel.  We spent lots of time on the train back and forth to our old home town and our grand parents.  You see my dad worked for the railroad and we road for a very minimal cost, allowing us to travel often.  When I say often, I mean probably 3-4 times a year.  More often than most.

Now we road often enough that the conductor on the Budcar(as it was called) would bring us goodies from the local fruit stands.  Fresh strawberries, cherries and such throughout the summer months, berries, peaches, plums and apples in the fall. 

Now everyone thinks that the train is such a romantic way to travel.  I bet if you talked to my mom, she would say, not so much.  We would sit and count telephone poles and posts... before long, one of us would throw up, usually all over someones feet.  Yuck. 

Then there was the sleeping cars.  This is nice if there is just one of you, but two small and i mean little girls, a baby and a mother can make for some really cramped quarters.  No one really got much sleep... The really crappy time was when you had to change trains.  It was always in the middle of the night and the lay over was usually too long for us to sit and wait.  We would get a small hotel room close to the depot and sleep for a few hours and then back on the train(usually around 5am) to gramas house.

Today the train is a lot different.  Cars are not as busy or crowded.  Then, lots of people road the train.  It was fun, when it was not full and you didn't have to sit next to your sister all the time.  At least on the train you could get up and move around, and there was a bathroom(although not always the cleanest) to use.  Very necessary with three little girls, one of us always had to go. 

The train was a nice way for us to travel.  It did keep us occupied for long periods of time.  All mom had to do was to tell us to watch for a particular thing, and then we would be quiet and stare out the window for a time trying to find one. 

We did get to see some really great country.  We got to go through a place called Frank Slide.  This is where, while people of the town slept, the mountain gave way and slid down and covered a town.  No rocks have been removed.  It is a place of remembrance, and as a memorial you are discouraged from removing even the smallest of rock out of respect for the people that were buried.  It takes your breath away.  It is overwhelming to think that something like that could happen.

We got to go through the Rocky Mountains, the Plains and across many rivers.

It is awe inspiring to see the wheat of the plains when full grown.  Miles and miles of golden shafts waving in the wind.  It reminds me of ocean waves ebbing and flowing towards and away from the beach.  A golden sea of wheat as far as the eye can see.  The prairies life blood.  Every now and then a patch of green.  A small body of water that feeds the trees and grass surrounding it.  The hills and valleys that mark the landscape of the prairies.  It can be desolate and beautiful all at the same time.

We were lucky to be able to see as much as we did.  I know of people that have never been outside the area where they were born.  I have been blessed to have been so many places.  Today I still travel and drive as often as I can when doing so.  I love to see the different areas and how the terrain changes.  I wish the train system was more accessible to me where I live now.  I would spend a lot more time travelling via rail.  Sit back and let the train take you where you want to go.  The train, what a wonderful way to go.