The Lounge Car on the train provides for awesome views of the Cascade Mountain Range.  There is a cafe downstairs with quick snack foods.  Also, they have local newspapers here too.

The trip through the Cascades reveals snow covered mountain peaks.

Surprisingly, I got Blackberry coverage throughout a lot of the trip.

Here is a picture of me in the lounge car right before we had lunch in the dining car.  The food was not that good.

We could see why Oregon is known for their lumber industry.  There are trees everywhere.

    In February of 2009, my friends and I took a train trip from Sacramento to Portland on Amtrak's Coastal Starlight Express.  The Coastal Starlight Express goes from San Diego to Seattle with stops at major stations along the way.   Surprisingly, the trip was comfortable and fun despite a 15 hour journey.  We boarded at midnight so we got to sleep during most of the trip.  In the morning, we saw the scenery through the Cascade Mountain range.  The train goes through Chico, Redding, Dunsmir, Klamath Falls, Eugene, and Salem before reaching Portland.  The food was not that good on board.   Also, I got cell and internet coverage for most of the trip even during remote mountain areas so I was able to keep in touch with friends via AIM and email on my Blackberry.  I also took my portable DVD player to have something to do on the train.