So by the time you read this I’ll be in Seattle. I took the Empire Builder from St Paul / Minneapolis after CONvergence – it was one of the long-distance train journeys I absolutely had to take while I was out here. The train left Chicago 45 minutes late. Then the engine that provided electricity for the train broke down near Milwaukee. Then there was a medical emergency at Wisconsin Dells. This is all before I got on the train, you understand. It was due in St Paul at 11:15pm on Monday, finally turned up 3:30am Tuesday. Then the crew changeover in North Dakota took an extra hour, due to the already late schedule and a miscommunication over Mountain Time.

We were due to get to Seattle around 10:30am today. As I write, it’s 9:15am and we’re sat at Whitefish, and when we get to Spokane in around 5 hours’ time we’ll be put on express coaches to Seattle or Portland (the train would normally split at Spokane, but they’re just calling it quits at that point). Oh yes. And there’s no wifi on the train, and virtually no phone data coverage for most of the route. Completely off the grid until I get to Seattle, whenever that turns out to be… And this will be the case for the 50-hour journey LA-Indianapolis for GenCon, too.

So why, some people ask, don’t I just fly instead? Here’s a few reasons:

The sheer beauty of the forests up here is almost overwhelming. Quite literally breathtaking – I looked out of the window a minute ago and just stopped. I’d have come all this way, delays and all, just to see this.

(1) Dear Amtrak: if Greyhound can put wifi on their coaches, could you pretty please with a cherry on top just try it on your long-distance routes? Yes, OK, coverage will be spotty unless you make it a satellite service, but still…

(2) The ridiculous duty-free catalogue on the plane to New York had a pre-pay MiFi equivalent for £70 including $30 credit. Why, dear sweet squidgods, WHY did I not buy it? Might be worth me looking for one in Seattle.

[Posted from Seattle, a day later, finally got wifi again…]