The Empire Builder - Portland to Whitefish

After a quick transfer from the Coast Starlight, I'm seated on the Portland section of the eastbound 'Builder'.  Once the conductor's collected my ticket I'm heading to the lounge car and setting up my video camera.  We cross the Willamette and Columbia Rivers into Vancouver - that's Vancouver, WA, not the more famous one in Canada!
The train turns east and heads up alongside the Columbia River.  This is one of my favorite train rides - the Columbia River Gorge has so much to offer with towering cliffs on both sides of the river, waterfalls, small towns, dams and river traffic.  Tonight we also have a spectacular sunset and a great view of Mount Hood on the other side.  Wishram is passed as the sun sets and then we head towards Pasco and our last crossing of the Columbia River.  After a service stop at Pasco the train heads up towards Spokane and a meeting with the section from Seattle.
There's plenty of time to stretch my legs in Spokane while they join up the two sections of train before we head of into the night.  There are two station stops (Sandpoint, ID, and Libby, MT) before we arrive at Whitefish.  The train has to make three stops to unload the passengers because of the work on the platform.
I pick up my rental car from the Hertz agent at the station and then head south to Missoula.
The drive to Missoula takes me past the Big Arm State Park next to Flathead Lake.

I was hoping to see the Bald Eagles that I'd seen last year but there was no sign of them.  I stayed a while before heading off to Poulson which is located at the south end of the lake.  Time to stop for a spot of lunch before driving the last leg to Missoula.
Time to give some of my friends a surprise!