Day 1

Arrived in Seattle after a long train ride (34 hours). I'm now convinced that Amtrak is short for "Amateur Track." (It was 5 hours late getting to St. Paul and then we were transfered to a bus in Spokane WA). First, some thoughts from Montana:

We just stepped out to refuel in the middle of Montana right before dusk. Everyone got out of the train--the old folks to have a cigarette and reminisce about past train trips, and the younger families to get the kids out for a minute before continuing on.

I paused next to the platform to consider the relic on display of an era passed: a locomotive of the Great Northern Railway, the signage under it boasting "The finest, most powerful steam passenger locomotive up to this time." My photo of the beast was almost interrupted by a John Deere tractor pulling 2 carts of checked baggage into the station.

I slept most of the way from St. Paul to Devil's Lake ND, and when I awoke, the landscape had changed to the plains--expansive, extending to the horizon, ending only when too much atmosphere got in the way. Why build anything small in an area that seems to go on forever? Building in a clustered fashion would only be seen as defense against the landscape.

And while the city and the rest of the civilized world gets caught up in limiting resources and moving ahead, here in Montana, such concerns are either dismissed or do not exist as concerns at all in the seemingly limitless landscape. It is totally cool to cling to a time when the railways were the "fastest and most powerful" and baggage can be transported with farm equipment.

Enough about the train…Today I showed up at the doorsteps of a fellow NASCO co-op, and they allowed me to stay for bit! I haven't traveled that far at all, it turns out, as this place is on frat row, something I am quite familiar with. There was a record store in the University district where I found a few records and spoke with a really talkative store owner. Back at the co-op, I discovered that people from the Seattle/Oregon/NorthCali area know a helluva lot more about handmade record covers than I do. Rory, a soon-to-be phD student was generous enough to show me his formidable collection of The Microphones singles, (including a pop up 12" !) and to fill me in on some places to go (Olympia and Portland may have to join the other cities on the itinerary).

Turns out I have a lot of places and people to visit…and homebrew to drink (Vince and Rory make it in a closet upstairs).