During a solstice weekend on the BNSF's Scenic Subdivision at Gaynor, Washington (MP 1696.5), lupines are still hanging on to their late spring blooms on June 22nd, 2014 as a westbound Seattle section of the Empire Builder climbs up Nason Creek Valley in the Cascade Mountains. It's mid-day and an on time schedule would have put this train through here about 8:20 AM, but #7 has been reliably late by several hours recently, mainly due to an ongoing line capacity problem with the BNSF in North Dakota
This train, which runs between Chicago and Seattle and Portland, takes its name from James J. Hill, who founded the Great Northern Railroad and extended it from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast.
With two sections of the Empire Builder, the Coast Starlight, Seattle, the Cascade Mountains, Columbia Valley and Puget Sound, Washington state offers rail buffs plenty of variety and beauty.
