Views From the Train

I have arrived home from my train journey to California.

I have always liked traveling by train.

Main train station in Seattle

I like the relative slowness of it, which gives you time to see the world of new places glide by.

Of course, going in the car is very similar, but I don't get to really see things when I go by car because I have to pay attention to traffic and staying on the road... and on long trips, that becomes exhausting.

Going by plane is allegedly faster but by the time you figure out going to the airport, then standing in line for security and so forth, a 1 1/2 hour flight suddenly becomes eight hours.

Inside the station...

But that's not really all of it. I never find that I can actually sit down and just chill out when I'm going anywhere by plane, even if it's a transatlantic flight.

When you're on a flight, you are invariably on a forced schedule that involves lunch, and entertainment, and then dinner, and then sleep time, and it's all managed for you. On a train, you're pretty much left alone to do your own thing on your own schedule. And I like that!

But I digress!

One of my greatest joys of going by train is the fact that I get to watch the landscape roll by.

Kelso/Longview station, Washington state

When you're on a long distance train trip, at least here in the USA, every three to four hours you have what they call a "long stop" at a station where you have enough time that you can actually get off the train, walk around and get some fresh air, and get back on the train during a 10-15 minute stop.

One of the things I noticed the most during this trip — and this probably holds true for pretty much anywhere in the world — is the extraordinary amount of graffiti everywhere.

Of course, Graffiti Writers are very fond of surfaces facing train tracks because they have a captive audience to see their work. And the fact that train tracks typically run through industrial areas of cities and towns, likely adds to the prevalence of this colorful type of street art.

But then there are also the vast open spaces we pass through, a reminder that even though the world seems full of people there are also huge areas that have practically nothing at all.

Central Oregon

The other thing I could not help but notice — with some sadness — is the overwhelming presence of extreme poverty and homelessness, all the way from Seattle, Washington to San Jose, California.

In urban areas, along the train tracks running next to industrial areas, under bridges and overpasses, as well as in more rural areas in small thickets of trees and bushes, they were lots of tent encampments and people basically living in cardboard boxes. Some of these were abandoned, some of them were actively occupied.

Granted, this particular trip went through a number of larger cities of the US West Coast, which has the largest homeless population in North America. Given current economic conditions in this country, we are approaching one million unhoused individuals!

Not very good optics for a country that is supposedly the wealthiest on the planet!

Arrival in San Jose

It was a short trip for me, because it basically involved going to one appointment and then turning right around and getting on the train back home.

The homeward leg was slightly different than the outbound one because of the time of the day, which allowed me to see different parts of the country during daylight.

This included a long slow climb over the top of a mountain range covered in snow. This is also the part of the trip that is most susceptible to delays due to weather. However, we were lucky in that respect.

Nearing the Cascades summit in Oregon, about 5,500 feet (1,675m)

As I got back home, I remembered one more reason why I like traveling by train. Unlike plane journeys, which often leave me drained and exhausted, I was not really feeling all that tired after 24 hours on a train.

Even so, it was nice to be back in a place with solid ground under my feet rather than a moving train!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

How about YOU? Do you enjoy traveling by train? Have you gone on any long distance teain journeys? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2026.03.13 15:49 PST
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