Plains, Trains, and Automobiles

Plains.See, cause they're plain.

     You make think that I used the wrong form of "plain" for the title of this blog. Well let me disillusion you right away, I was being clever and you would realize this had you waited until the end of the blog to think that judgmental thought. For those of you who didn't think that thought, well good for you. Nice to know you have some faith in my grammar skillz.
     This last weekend I made a journey to Montana. Yes, a weekend trip to the great state of Montana (it was rough). Nestled between North Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming,  Montana is full of mountains. But before I get there, let's talk about North Dakota, shall we? I have never had any sort of love for North Dakota. It doesn't have Mount Rushmore, it doesn't have the Black Hills, it's flatter than a pancake hit by twelve trucks, and it's brown. When I think North Dakota, I think brown thoughts. It's like an old Western movie in Sepia....just all the brown.

Climbing is hard.

     Now that you know my true feelings, let me tell you about North Dakota since I've been across the whole entire state. It is flat, it is brown, BUT it does have some badlands and a lot of World's Largest Animals. I believe I saw the world's largest buffalo and a cow. There may have been more, but there is only so much room in my brain for these facts. The badlands my boyfriend and I saw were ones that helped give Teddy Roosevelt the idea for the National Parks system. It was pretty cool to think that the President had been where we were. Also, it was very obvious that several buffalo had been where we were not that long before us. We hiked down into the badlands and we realized how out of shape we were. It's a long way down, and it was hot outside. But we found a rock that was shaped like a chair, and realized that nature is prepared for people like us.
     Being in a car for upwards of 8 hours a day can really take its toll on you, but once you're in Montana you don't really notice. See, North Dakota has nothing for you to look at because (as previously stated) it's all brown. In Montana there are mountains, LOTS of mountains. And there are cool houses tucked away in the hills, steep roads that make you want to pee your pants, snow covered peaks, raging rivers, and old towns you'd swear you've seen somewhere before. The best part about driving through Montana was the mountains, there were so enormous some of their peaks were hidden in the clouds. You could see them from miles away and it was amazing to get to drive by these big ole' rocks.

Beautiful view, just don't look down.

     Once you get to the tippy top Northwestern edge of Montana, nature gets real. We drove to Whitefish and it is RIGHT on the mountain. Driving up Big Mountain Road in Whitefish made me very reminiscent of plane take-off...I do not care for that feeling. After your ears pop at least three times, you've reached your destination. Once you sit down, and then try to stand up, you realize that the altitude has changed, and standing up is harder than it seems. But once you get used to the altitude you can enjoy the view and the cool mountain air.
     Sadly, I was only in Whitefish for 12 hours before I had to get on the Amtrak back to Fargo.The train went right through Glacier National Park and it was gorgeous. I wish I could have explored it some, but we had to hurry, hurry, hurry(we were on a train after all). Most of the train ride I had this older lady sitting next to me and her name was Carrie. Her frank way of speaking made me laugh, and she insisted that I play "Revenge of the Beavers" on her Kindle. As we were traveling we ran into some delays. We were stuck for about two hours, and I was talking with her. Then she told me something that helped restore my faith in humanity, "You have a very optimistic attitude and a mellow disposition. You're starting to rub off on me! I think you need to write a book." I was surprised, but very flattered by her words. It is so rare to hear exactly what people think of you. I guess that's what is fun about meeting strangers, you can tell them these things and go on your merry way. It was a pleasure to sit next to Carrie, and I wish I had told her how much her comment really meant. But it isn't until we have the time to think about something that we realize what it means to us...and she wasn't really the mushy type.

All of them found out what happens in abandoned towns.
(Spoiler alert...it involves them dying)

     After she left the train I still had a long ride ahead of me. Little did I know that the train would end up being 5 hours late all told. See, a freight train had been going so fast that the breaks overheated and they locked. This meant we had to come to a standstill and wait for the trains that had been put behind schedule to pass us. What I got from this was: There is not enough room in all of North Dakota for two trains to be going two different directions. There are NOT plenty of wide open spaces. And there certainly is NOT anyway to create a more expansive system. (these fact are NOT supported by any sort of studious research, just sarcastic observation). During the night I kept waking up because the train would stop. I looked out my window once and saw abandoned freight cars midst the eerie glow of a yard light. Noticing how abandoned it was I thought: "This is where the radioactive people get on the train. This is how I'm going to die". I thought this because I had just seen "The Chernobyl Diaries" and knew that if you are stopped in an abandoned place overnight, you will die.

A lake...a big lake. And a mountain...also big.

     As you can tell I did not die. Surprisingly enough 41 hours of combined car and train travel didn't kill me. Nor did the desolate brownness of North Dakota, or even the pee-your-pants roads of Montana. What I hated most was getting these tantalizing glimpses of gorgeous scenery and just having to wave goodbye to it. Never fear though Montana! I shall return to you in July, ready for your beauty and horrifying roads.