Today started slower as brunch was served mid morning. We had time for showers first. We had earlier snack options but I settled for coffee and headed for an observation car. My first try failed as the panorama car was no longer part of the train. It was there when I went to sleep!
I enjoyed a higher perch in one of the bubble view cars and watched the many migrating birds swirling in the clear skies. This is the first day of fall and it seems many of the waterfowl are still here with the mild weather and ample water sources. I made a bird list but it was hard to be sure at train speeds and clear but wavy glass. We saw a pair of coyotes hunting in tall grass and later I noticed a herd of buffalo that were certainly domesticated. I enjoyed thinking about how this vast area supplies the central flyway. There are huge fields similar to what we have in the Central Valley but also a lot of water and patches and edges of habitat as far as the eye can see on such a bright clear day. The sunlight shimmered across these small to large ponds as the train rolled by eating up the kilometers in our mobile hotel which is now 22 cars long.
There was lots of time for reading and writing notes and we continued to have good discussions with others over meals and other informal opportunities. We crossed another time zone sometime during the day and the train is now hours behind due to high volumes of freight traffic. We got off for a few moments in one small town and have roamed around the train. Winnipeg was supposed to be an early night stop where we change crews but it is past midnight and we had yet to reach it. We were looking forward to the planned break of nearly two hours to download some news. We are two hours ahead of our normal time zone but that would still be very late. We'll see.
Laurie joined another felt workshop and is increasing her skill. We both finished a book today and immediately dug into another one with the extra down time we have now. As we get closer to finishing this leg of the trip we partly wish it wold last a little longer. There is so much more to see and do ahead though and today has been a near perfect start to fall as the grand tour is now well underway.
Can this really be a low carbon high calorie trip? It feels that way with long stretches of sitting mixed with wobbly frequent trips to the dining car. News of the climate march in NYC, Scotland's vote and various routine activities are less available. The main sources of news comes from a few old papers and station stops where wireless networks are available with more reading, thinking, talking, EATING, photo taking and such make up for these "deficiencies". It takes a few days on a trip like this to make the change to the slower pace.
This is our last day with the friendly crew that accompanied us from Vancouver. They had a good attitude about the late schedule even thought reduced their rest before going back to work on the returning train. Laurie has a good cash tip planned for Johan who covered our coach and she leaves tips with each meal which is optional but deserved.
Long freight trains of grain and some oil trains like this one slowed our progress
Large flocks of waterfowl in the distance
Laurie was nearly alone in the Winnipeg station at 2 AM
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