The Starlight train heading south
I have probably driven over the hump at Shasta-Trinity a dozen times, on the border of CA and OR. This time I took the train. Most folks know about Mt Shasta. It is a gorgeous volcano, snow capped, and for the geologically inclined, a treasure trove of fumeroles, bombs and such. Then there’s Trinity with its old growth forest. Picturesque it may be but it’s a challenge to drive. The I5 helps, as long as the weather is nice.
Here I am in a Miata weighing as much as a loaf of bread and eager to hydroplane. It is raining hard enough that the pavement is in water an inch deep. Fortunately every other vehicle on I5 is a semi. I go in behind a trailer. Those heavy wheels shoved the water aside and I could drive on wet pavement. That’s my memory of Trinity.
Of course, then there was the train. Other than sitting for 30 hours, the train ride was uneventful. Well, except they threw a drunk off the train at Santa Barbara when he blew up on a Conductor. You don’t do that. And the LA to San Diego train was canceled so they put us on a huge crowded bus. Which subjected us all to a 20-minute traffic tie-up. But Wyndham, bless their heart, waited up for me. I went to bed at 2 am and didn’t even hear the pillow crumple.