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  • Amtrak Cascades Trek – Part 1, Mount Vernon to Vancouver

Amtrak Cascades Trek – Part 1, Mount Vernon to Vancouver

Posted on May 21, 2018 By Tom 1 Comment on Amtrak Cascades Trek – Part 1, Mount Vernon to Vancouver
Photography, Rambling, Travel, Washington Sabbatical

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-44

For years I’ve observed the railroad tracks that hug the base of Chuckanut Mountain. The line crosses the Samish Flats from Mount Vernon then curves along the coast right at the waterline. From the tracks you can see across Samish Bay toward the San Juan Islands. Even more intriguing to me was the fact that Amtrak runs along these rails. I knew this was something we had to do while we were out here, and we got that chance this past Tuesday.

We made plans for our trip. This would be a day trip to Vancouver, BC, leaving from Mount Vernon. We would head north on the Amtrak Cascades in the morning and return later that evening. That wouldn’t give us much time to explore Vancouver, but the point of the trip was to ride the train.

We arrived at Skagit Station in Mount Vernon in plenty of time. The parking lot was busy with parents dropping off groups of students. I was a bit worried as to how crowded this train might be.

Skagit Station in Mount Vernon
Students on a Field Trip to Seattle

As we entered the station waiting room I got another surprise. There was a plaque commemorating construction of the station in 2003. It turns out that my friend and fellow Scottish musician Skye Richendrfer was mayor of Mount Vernon at that time. I had no idea.

Skagit Station in Mount Vernon-001

We need not have worried about the crowds of students. The sixth graders were headed the opposite direction – south to Seattle for a field trip. When our train arrived we were the only two boarding. The conductor stepped off and called, “Tom? Laura?” It felt special being called by name like that.

Skagit Station in Mount Vernon-002
Skagit Station in Mount Vernon-003

We were directed to seats at the very back of the train. Fortunately these were on the left side where we would have the best views of the coast as we headed out. We crossed the Skagit then headed out over the farms.

Skagit River from the Train
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-11
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-13
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-14

At Colony Creek the scenery changes dramatically. The rails hug the coastline at the base of the mountains. In addition to the coast there are curves, tunnels, and rocky outcrops. From our seats we could see the San Juans and ships in Samish Bay and had a close up view of the oyster farms at Taylor Shellfish. The tide was quite low as we passed.

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-15
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-18
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-19
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-21
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-25
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-29
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-30

We had a brief stop at the Fairhaven Station, then continued on up through Bellingham.

Bellingham from the Train-002
Bellingham from the Train-003
Bellingham from the Train-005

The train leaves the coast for a bit north of Bellingham. It crosses the Nooksack River at Ferndale and continues through rural land in Whatcom County.

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-40
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-41
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-42

At Blaine the tracks regain the coast just in time to cross the border into Canada. The town of White Rock is just on the Canadian side, and it looked like a quaint seaside town with interesting shops.

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-44
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-46
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-48
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-50

Past White Rock the track heads north, then turns east along the coast. It was still low tide and at this point eagles had gathered along the rocks, hunting in the tide pools. We lost count, but we’re sure it was over a hundred eagles.

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-52
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-53
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-55

Around the cove the tracks headed north, then west toward Vancouver. Soon we were heading east along the banks of the Fraser River. I’ve taken several train rides, a couple through Europe and the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad in North Caroline. The rails tend to run through the back sides of properties, spaces generally not meant to be seen by the public. Especially going through a town you don’t necessarily get the best views. That was definitely the case along this stretch.

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-60
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-61

There were some dramatic bridges over the Fraser. First was the CA 91 Bridge…

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-59

…then the Skytrain Bridge and BC Parkway Bridge. The train crossed the river just beyond those two bridges. The water was ripping through here with strong currents. This was run-off from snow pack melting. This was also causing flooding on the other side of the Cascades.

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-62
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-64
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-63
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-66
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-65
Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-67

The next miles were a slow trek through greater Vancouver. Eventually we arrived at Pacific Central Station and passed through customs.

Pacific Central Rain Station
Pacific Central Rain Station-003

It was a gorgeous day in Vancouver, and time for us to get one with the second part of our trek. Next up, we visit the Telus Science Museum.

Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver-44

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Paddling Lake Whatcom
Next Post: Amtrak Cascades Trek – Part 2, Telus World of Science ❯

One thought on “Amtrak Cascades Trek – Part 1, Mount Vernon to Vancouver”

  1. Alan says:
    May 21, 2018 at 8:41 pm

    Great photos!

    Reply

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