Big Sky country

Montana calls itself "Big Sky Country," a moniker which becomes clear with an afternoon spent crossing it makes the reason clear. Most of it is very flat, so the scenery consists mostly of green grass and farmland juxtaposed with a big blue sky and puffy white clouds.

The BNSF tracks along the Great Northern route are paralleled by US Route 2. Not much traffic, though. Interstate 94 parallels the more southerly Northern Pacific route so as to reach the state capitals and major cities. In flat country with straight tracks, the train works up to the speed limit of 79 mph, confirmed by train enthusiasts in the lounge car with a GPS unit and a laptop. But we have to slow down for stops then accelerate back to track speed. It takes from noon to midnight to cross the length of Montana, and the state takes up an entire time zone. The railroad is busy carrying things other than people — we keep passing freight trains of 70 or 80 or 90 cars, filled with automobiles and other manufactured goods.

Here in the wide open spaces, National Park Service volunteers kept the passengers entertained by narrating the history of the region, of the Native Americans and the federal forts and the coming of the railroad. They stay on just long enough to meet the eastbound Empire Builder, repeat their program, then arrive home in time for supper. A well-thought-out program, of course it uses volunteers since neither the National Park Service nor Amtrak has any money.