ALL ABOARD!!

In the early 1900's, one could by a round trip train ticket for fewer than sixty dollars. If you wanted to go to California, this was the way to go. This morning, while looking for train routes across America, the route from Fargo to San Francisco is sold out for December 29. On December 31, a ticket was available for $650.00 at which time one would ride the train for 50+ hours one way. The train is routed through Portland, Oregon. That would be to about where Bud lives. If I wanted to visit my daughter near Salt Lake, once again, to Portland, then down the state of California to Sacramento to Salt Lake for 65 hours one way. I can't get to Columbus, OH by train. I would have to get off at Cincinnati.

We know the Anderson's went to the west coast by train often. Ella had a sister who lived in Spokane. One of the children told me about going through Idaho and being in the dome car and how pretty it was to look out the window. Traveling by rail pass in the fifties and early sixties was the way to travel. It was the mode of travel.

There were no cars to travel the distance of Fargo to San Francisco in the early 1900's. For the sake of comparison, let's take the same trips by car today. Let's say you have a new blue Mustang that gets 25 miles to a gallon and gas is $3.00 a gallon.

Rounding off, it is 1,000 miles to Columbus. 1,000 divided by 25= 40 gallons of gas at $3.00 a gallon is $120 dollars for gas. Map quest states it is a 15+ hour drive. And guess what!? There is a road all the way.

Let's say we want to go from Fargo to Salt Lake City by car. That is 1200 miles and would take 17 hours driving time.

Or, if we were going to San Francisco, it is 1800 miles and 26 hours driving time.

We have shaved a lot of hours off the train time!

Now, this Christmas, our guests flew to Fargo. Round trip out of Texas was $850 per person. It took 13 hours to get here and they had to change planes in Dallas and Minneapolis. There luggage was lost. On the way back, they were delayed due to the weather and found themselves on stand by at Dallas to get back to Lubbock. There plan was supposed to leave Fargo at 6:40, it left around noon. The party called from the airport at 8:30 PM to say they were on the ground. We shipped boxes back because they had too much stuff. That means about 14 hours. Driving time is 18, distance is 1,250 miles.

Our other guest came from Columbus. Delay delay, hooray, hooray he made his connections. One can fly from Columbus to Fargo in 5 hours for about $400. Half of that is from Minneapolis to Fargo! On his way home, he routed through Chicago. He was on the ground in Columbus without delay and baggage loss.

Winter travel is based on weather conditions, regardless of the method of transportation. I have ridden the train twice. Once, the tracks were full of ice and they had to stop and chip it out. The privy froze up and it took us hours and hours to get to Minneapolis only to be delayed in the station. We made reservations on planes and got back to Kansas City and to Thief River Falls.

There is no perfection in air travel. Planes are late, connections are missed. Bags are lost. I knew that nearly forty years ago when Rachel, as a less than two year old, and I went north in the summer. Braniff was touching down as North Central was taking off. This Christmas, Ryen RAN to catch is flight. RAN.

So what about coming north in a car? Been there. The anti freeze was slush because it was so cold up here. Or kids get sick, the entire family gets sick, and everyone goes home by car as weaklings only to say, "Never again". But you don't loose your baggage.

My grand daughter went to visit her grandparents in Illinois for Christmas. One can fly non stop from Salt Lake to St. Louis. NON STOP, imagine that!!!!

It all boils down to tolerance and conditioning. in 1894, one had to take a horse and buggy to St. Hilaire to catch the tri weekly train service to Red Lake Falls. St. Hilaire is 8 miles from Thief River Falls; Red Lake Falls is 18 miles. Remember this is during a time when the schools in New Solum Township were built so kids didn't have to cross the swamp to get to school. It was also a time when people walked to St. Hilaire and carried the flour home on their shoulder.

Think about that. Think about how we really have come a long way. Think about airlines are run by people, although we expect perfection out of them, we aren't going to get it. No wonder they say put your underwear on your carry on, or if all else fails, sleep in Grandpa's T shirt.

For all of you that have ditched a car, have been delayed by ice on the wings, or snow on the tracks, I bid you a power nap.

e