Seattle

These photos were taken on a trip that I took with my dad in August of 2003. We took the Amtrak Empire Builder from St Paul through North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington into Seattle. We took the trip more for the experience of the train ride then for the destination.

The Empire Builder starts the trip West every morning from Chicago and takes about two days to get out to Seattle. On the Westbound trip it arrives in St Paul at about 10:30pm. After getting settled into our seats (much more comfortable and roomy then a plane) we went to sleep for the night ride through Minnesota.

We woke up going through the North Dakota plains in the morning.
Along the way the train stops in several cities. Some of the stops are long enough for everyone to get off and walk around. This gave me a chance to get a couple pictures of the outside of the train. These were taken while stopped in Minot, North Dakota.

The highlight of the train portion of the trip is going through Glacier National Park in Montana. We got to Glacier National Park a couple hours before sunset on the second day of our trip. The winding tracks follow the contour of the park so the train goes very slowly allowing for some time to get some decent shots. The only problem shooting while on the train is that the glass is very dirty and thick, which makes focusing difficult.

Once arriving in Seattle we stayed at The Warwick Seattle Hotel. It was a very nice hotel right in the heart of Seattle. We were only blocks away from the water and not far from the space needle either. We had a small balcony that had some nice views of downtown Seattle buildings too.
We spent two and half days doing the typical tourist things before heading back home on the train.

We of course had to take the elevator up to the observation deck of the Space Needle. From the top of the Space Needle you could see quite far and got a good look out over the water and the city. Businesses have obviously found a different way to advertise to people at the top also.I had to get some pictures from ground level too.
Another must visit area is Pike Place Market. It is a public farmers market that seemed to attract both tourists and locals.It is home to Pike Place Fish Co, they are famous for throwing the seafood over the counter to be wrapped after you select it from the case.

One of the most popular items to sell at the market seemed to be peppers in various states of drying. The peppers went from very vivid colors when fresh to some dull but still amazing colors as they dried.
We also went to the first Starbucks which is located at the market.

Along with the stores in the market there were several street vendors selling everything from pictures of Seattle to head massagers that looked like coat hangers. There were also several musicians and a guy with a trained bird wowing little kids.
Seattle seems to have a lot of parks and open spaces. Two of my favorite photos form the entire trip were taken in parks. The first photo was taken not far from Pike Place Market.

The second photo was taken at the base of the Space Needle. If I remember right the trees in the park were a gift from the Japanese government to the city of Seattle.

We also spent some time at a mall, they were having a festival out in the street including a sand sculpture contest.

After two busy days in Seattle it was kind of a relief to get back on the train to come home. On the trip back I decided that I had already taken pictures of what I wanted to on the way out. I sat back and enjoyed the view without a camera in hand which is rare for me on vacation.