The railroad that did

Today I took a railroad tour of the area around Hood River, Oregon.  It happens to be a very pretty part of the country.  There are tremendous numbers of orchards in the hills around the area.  They are pear and apple trees for the most part and you can still see smudge pots or heaters spread out among some of the trees.  Bee hives are also placed in strategic places as well as out in wooded areas along the tracks.  There has been the same problem with hive die off out here as there was out East.  As we traveled along we did get some good looks at Mt. Hood.  Unfortunately the clouds had started to settle  so you couldn't see the top but it was still a beautiful sight.

I thought I was going on a two hour railroad tour because that is what the AAA book said the Saturday tour was.  It turns out it was four hours, not that it made any difference.  I booked first class so that I could sit upstairs in the domed part of a car.  I was seated at a table with a very pleasant couple and we talked all the way through the trip.  It made the trip go faster which helped, there are just so many trees that you can get excited about.  One orchard does look like the next one.  We stopped at one fruit distributor who also had a small retail shop.  As usual everyone went mad buying fruit and jams and things they didn't need.  I was very disciplined and bought nothing.  I am getting very good at this.

The end of the line was in Parkdale where everyone got off to have lunch.  There was also a small eclectic museum in town that we could visit for free because we were on the train.  They had walrus tusks and odd coins, old tools, but the most interesting things were tiles inset with arrowheads in artistic patterns.  Some of the patterns were pictures: a Conestoga wagon, insects, star bursts and mountains with trees.