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Going Out West
By Gary Ferrington
Copyrighted 1997 - All Rights Reserved

For Joshua, visiting his grandparent's is always exciting. He doesn't get to see them very often because they live along the Hood Canal in Washington State and Joshua lives two thousand miles away in Chicago.

Every two or three years the whole family fly's to Washington. But this trip would be different. Joshua's grandparents have sent him an Amtrak ticket and he will be taking the train out west across Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington, all by himself! Traveling by train would be a whole new experience.

Chicago's Union Station is a lot different than the United terminal at O'Hare International airport that Joshua knows well from previous family trips. It is huge and was built at a time when most everyone traveled to distant places by train.

The waiting room has tall columns that seemingly rise upward forever from the marble tiled floor below. Such a large space with hard surfaces echoes with the sounds of hundreds of people coming and going. Conversations blend one with the other and you have to listen very carefully to the announcement of departing trains in order to hear if yours is being called.

Joshua's parents have driven with him by cab from their uptown apartment. Chicago isn't only a windy city, being right on Lake Michigan, it's also noisy. The blaring of car horns, the rumble of elevated trains, the loudness of trucks, and all the other sounds which mix together in a big city are a part of his Joshua's daily life.

What Joshua remembers the most about his grandparents home is how quiet it is out there along the canal. In fact he mentions this to his parents as they sit waiting for the 3:15 PM departure of the Empire Builder, the train Joshua will take to Seattle.

"Do you remember when I was five and we all flew out to grandma's house?" Questioned Joshua. "I think that was probably our first trip after you had learned to walk." Replied his mother.

"I remember our first night. It was late and Grandpa had put me down to sleep in the front bedroom. I was tired, but it was so dark and quiet. I couldn't go to sleep!" Joshua recalled.

"That was the night when you heard a squirrel running across the roof. It scared you stiff!" Recalled Joshua's father.

"It sure did." Joshua replied. "I got out of bed and stumbled through the dark trying to find you. At least here in the city there are streetlights that shine in through the windows!" I had no idea where I was going and I made so much noise tripping over everything! "

"Dad and grandpa came rushing out to see what was going on. I remember Grandpa laughing when he saw it was me making all the noise. He thought a deer had gotten into the house through a screen door he had left open for fresh air. "

Their conversation is interrupted by the first call for passengers. "Your attention please. Amtrak's train number seven, The Empire Builder is now receiving passengers through Gate B for Milwaukee, St Paul, Minneapolis, Havre, Glacier Park, Spokane, and Seattle! All aboard!"

"That's my train!" Said Joshua excitedly.

His parents went with him and made sure he located and boarded the right passenger car for Seattle. He would be traveling for three days and two nights across the country

"Bye mom, dad!" Joshua said with hugs for both. His father help him lift his bag aboard the train. Then it was a final good-bye for everyone. "See you in four weeks!" Said Joshua as he waved to his parents on the station platform. "Give grandma and grandpa our love." His mom said.

Joshua stored his bag in the luggage rack above his seat. Then he sat back put up his feet on the foot rest and waited for his trip to begin. This is great!" He thought to himself as he discovered how to recline his seat. "Just like Dad's Lazy Boy rocker!" He said to himself.

The engineer signaled that the train was about to depart with one long and two short blasts of the engine's air horn.

Joshua was close to the front of the train and could hear the engine's horn. It was something he would hear for the next three days. He would learn that engineers have a code they use when arriving or departing a station, or for warning cars when approaching a rail crossing. Engineers even had their own greetings for other trains when meeting and passing each other.

The Empire Builder began to move with a series of gentle thumps and jerks. What Joshua hadn't expected was the creaking and groaning he would hear as the train moved through a series of rail switches which guided it out of Union Station and on to the main track for Seattle. The sound of the swaying cars sort of startled him at first.

He recalled what it was like to first fly in an airplane with all the sounds planes make taking off and getting up into the air.

He could always spot other kids who were first time flyers. They were always asking their parents, "What's that sound? Did you hear that noise?"

Of course Joshua now knew what those sounds were because he had flown several times with his parents and had asked those same questions. But these train sounds were new for him. He was curious to know what they meant.

Having slept through the night Joshua awoke to find the train headed west through farm land and small towns.

Now in the early morning light he was in North Dakota. He could hear the train's wheels on the track, clickity-clack, clickity-clack, clickity-clack. He was fascinated by this sound and asked the Conductor what caused it.

The Conductor explained that railroads are constructed with lengths of steel track which are either bolted or welded together. Where tracks are bolted there is a small gap between each length of rail. As the train's wheels pass over these gaps there's a "clicking" sound made. The faster the train travels the quicker the pacing of clicks one hears.

Then the Conductor added that if you don't hear any clicks but the train is still moving, you are riding on welded rails. Welded rails have no gaps between track sections. This makes for a quieter ride. "But," the he added, "some people like to hear the clickity-clack and find it often puts them to sleep."

Joshua began to carefully listen to the clickity-clack he could hear. It seemed to have a rhythm much like that in music. He mentioned this to a lady at breakfast who was sitting at his table in the dinning car. She said that jazz musicians often liked the sound of the rails because of the rhythm. If fact, she said, the American composer George Gershwin was inspired by the sound and began to compose his famous piece, Rhapsody in Blue, while riding on a train.

The lady wrote down the name of Gershwin's composition and told Joshua he might enjoy listening to it sometime.

On the second evening, around 7:30, the train arrived at Glacier Park. This was a famous stop right at the edge of the Rocky Mountains of northern Montana. It was still daylight and Joshua could see the great mountains behind the railroad depot. Since the train always waited here for fifteen minutes people would get off to stretch.

Joshua decided to take a quick walk down a path leading to the East Glacier lodge a short distance from the depot. He wasn't too far from the train when he heard a bird in the sky above him. He looked up and there, against the setting sun, he saw a large eagle gliding in the warm air currents rising from the ground below. He watched it for awhile and listened to it's call. "Wow," he said. " You don't hear that sound in Chicago!" Nor would you hear the sound of frogs which were singing a chorus of "rig-get, rig-get, rig-get," along the path.

The engineer used his air horn to call everyone back to the train. Joshua scrambled back to his car and climbed aboard. He turned and looked up at the sky and could still see the eagle circling high above. "Someday I want to come back here!" He said out loud. This looked like a place to explore.

Night approached and Joshua knew that he would be arriving in Seattle the next morning. He was excited about seeing his grandparents. They would be meeting him at the King Street Station in the city. Then they would travel by ferry boat across Puget Sound and finally by car to their home on Hood Canal. But for now it was one more night of sleeping on the train.

Around 2:30 in the morning Joshua woke up. He couldn't hear the familiar clickity-clack. He looked out and noticed they were at the Spokane train station. Part of the train would be uncoupled and attached to a second engine. Then that section of the train would head south along the Columbia river to Portland. His section would continue on to Seattle.

In the quiet of his darken car Joshua could hear and feel the train being uncoupled and switched around. What added to the silence was the fact that the air conditioning was turned off during this process. He didn't realize how it's sound had become such a part of his environment until it stopped. He compared it to those days in Chicago when fresh snow would blanket the city and bring all traffic to a halt. You don't realize there is so much sound around you every day until it suddenly stops.

Soon the train began to move. It seemed the engineer was purposefully increasing the train's speed slowly so not to waken the passengers. Click.. clack ...click, clack, clickity-clack, clickity-clack, clickity-clack. The train gently headed out through the night under a star covered landscape. Spokane faded into a glow on the horizon and then disappeared from sight.

Every once in awhile Joshua could see a distant farm with a single pole light by the barn or garage. But everywhere else, he could see stars. They were so bright he thought. He could never see the stars like this in Chicago unless he went to the planetarium. It wasn't long before the rhythmic sound of the rails put Joshua back to sleep.

"Your attention please. In ten minutes we will be arriving in Seattle. Check above and around your seats for your personal belongings." Came the announcement over the loud speaker.

Joshua looked out the window and could see the Space Needle. Up ahead was the Kingdom stadium where he and his dad had once seen a Sea Hawks game. Then the train entered a series of tunnels under Seattle before arriving at the station.

"Seattle!" Announced the conductor. Everyone gathered their luggage and detrained.

Joshua entered the station and immediately spotted his grandparents. They all hugged and Joshua even got a kiss from grandma. Though he thought of himself being too old at twelve for kissing he enjoyed it anyway.

"Is that all your luggage?" His grandfather asked. "Yea!" Replied Joshua. "Well, lets go home." Grandma said.

"I think I wrote to you saying we would take the trolley to the Ferry terminal." His grandfather said. "It's getting a bit far for your grandmother and I to walk these days." The trolley was a neat idea, thought Joshua.

They didn't have to wait long until a forest green and creamy yellow trolley rounded the corner and came their way. It had the strangest horn. It sounded a little like the mooing of a cow and Joshua laughed.

There was also a clanging brass bell that the trolley conductor rang as it approached road crossings. He even rang it as the trolley slowed to a stop in front of them. "Welcome aboard the Waterfront Trolley." The conductor said as he collected tickets.

"What a strange old trolley!" Joshua observed.

His grandmother told him that several of these turn-of-the century trolley's had been purchased from a city in Australia and brought by boat to Seattle. They had to be rebuilt using old and new parts.

"What about the horn?" Asked Joshua. "Oh, that's original." His grandpa said. "And so is the bell."

The trolley lurched from side to side as it went from stop to stop to pick up people. Joshua thought he had learned all about clickity-clack sounds on his long train trip. But the trolley tracks in Seattle were much shorter and it created a whole different rhythmic pattern for him. "Neat!" He said. "What?" asked his grandpa. "The sound the trolley makes - clickity-clack, clickity-clack." He said, trying to imitate the sound.

"I like that sound too." Said his grandpa. " I used to take a trolley to school when I was about your age. It made the same sound. When I hear it, it brings back memories of being a kid." "Ah!" Thought Joshua. "Sort of like a sound memory?" He asked. " Yes, I suppose you could say that. A sound memory? That's a good way to describe it. When I think about it I have a lot of sound memories."

"Maybe you can tell them me about them, grandpa." Suggested Joshua. "Perhaps so. I imagine your grandma has some sound memories too." "Oh, I sure do." She said.

"Washington State Ferry Terminal. Next Stop" Announced the conductor.

Joshua's grandparents found it a lot less of a hassle to take the Ferry from Bremerton to Seattle than driving all the way around Puget Sound. They also enjoyed the time on the water without having to be on the freeway. Grandpa would always say, "Leave the sailing to someone else." meaning he could sit back and relax for the one hour trip.

The ferry had just arrived at the terminal. An endless stream of buses, cars, trucks, motorcycles, and pedestrians were unloading. Joshua wondered how all those vehicles and people could fit on this ship.

He and his grandparents were able to get aboard before the crew began to load cars for the trip to Bremerton Joshua stood on the deck and looked down at the vehicles as they began to drive aboard. Big trucks and buses would roar as they drove down the ramp and onto the ferry. What was especially noisy were the motorcycles. It seemed as though the riders enjoyed reviving up their engines to impress other passengers.

With the car decks loaded it was time to depart. Grandpa told Joshua to cover his ears. "Why?" He asked. It's a good thing he didn't wait for an answer as the ship's captain blew the horn to signal the ferry's departure. It was such a loud sound Joshua could hear it even with his fingers in his ears

When he uncovered his ears he could still hear the horn echoing between the tall buildings lining Seattle's downtown waterfront. "Well, I'll remember that horn." Joshua said, somewhat shocked by the suddenness of the sound.

Slowly the ferry moved away from the dock and headed out across Puget Sound. It wasn't long before it had reached it's crossing speed and it was getting a bit windy on the observation deck.

"Joshua, your grandmother and I are going to go inside where it is warmer. If you'd like to stay out here and explore, you can." Said his grandpa. "Sure, that'd be great!" Responded Joshua. "I'll come in and find you in a little while." He added.

"What a big ship." Joshua thought as he began walking from one end to the other. As he neared the center of the ferry he saw two large smoke stacks. The closer he got the more he could hear the throbbing of the engines several decks below him. Standing right next to the stacks was difficult to do because of the engine noise. So he moved on.

What was now the bow of the ferry had been the tail end when it docked in Seattle. The ferry boats on Puget Sound can load or unload from either end and so they never have to turn around. He stood up front with the sea breeze now blowing in his face.

The cries of sea gulls could be heard as they followed the ferry. Joshua watched as one man tossed small pieces of bread up into the air and the gulls would dive to catch it Sometimes two birds would seemingly scream at each other as they both tried to get the same piece.

Joshua looked down at the water from his high advantage point. He could see how fast the ferry was moving and could hear the water splashing against the ship's hull. Sometimes the ferry would cross the wake of a large container ship heading into the Port of Seattle. The ferry would plunge right through the wake but the waves slapped loudly against the bow.

Joshua decided to check-in with his grandparents. They weren't on the same level and so he walked down the metal steps to the next deck. He could hear his foot steps echoing in the stairwell as he went down. " I wish I had my spiked football shoes on right now." He said to himself. "I could really make an interesting sound on these steps!"

His grandparents were having coffee at a table next to a big window from which one could see Mt. Rainier in the distance. "Are you enjoying your trip?" Asked Joshua's grandmother. "I sure am." He replied.

He decided to have a cup of hot chocolate and sat and visited with his grandparents. It had been a long time since they were last together.

As the crossing continued Joshua's grandfather mentioned how foggy it was getting, Joshua looked out the window and could see the ferry was approaching a thick fog bank. At about the same time he could hear a change in the rhythm of the engines and the boat began to slow. "This time of year we always get fog just outside of Bremerton." His grandfather said.

Joshua decided to go back up to the observation deck and "walk in the fog" as he explained it to his grandparents.

It wasn't windy at all as the ferry had slowed to a crawled. It was cooler here in the fog bank and he could feel it's moistness against his face.

The captain blew the ship's horn every minute or two. It had a deep sound and bellowed like an animal. It reminded Joshua of a walrus Joshua had seen on a National Geographic TV special.

The reason the captain sounded the horn was so that others would know the ferry was approaching. The ship had the latest radar and could see through the fog spotting any boats which might lay ahead. But little sailing and motor boats didn't have such sophisticated instruments. The ferry's horn was blown for their benefit.

As Joshua stood on the deck he thought he could hear a bell clanging in the distance. "What could that be?" He asked himself. It seemed to get louder as the ferry moved through the fog.

It wasn't long before he could make out the shape of a buoy bobbing in the water. It had a bell attached which rang as it rocked back and forth. The ferry turned to the right as if responding to the sound.

It wasn't long before he could begin to see the outline of a jetty of piled rock to one side. They were approaching the entrance to Bremerton's harbor and as they did the fog began to clear.

Joshua's grandparents joined him on the observation deck. "Well, we're just about there." His grandfather said.

The ferry slowed even more while the Captain sounded the ship's horn to let people at the landing know the boat was arriving. "I don't think I could ever get used to that horn!" Joshua said having tried to cover his ears but doing so just a bit too late to block out the sound.

It took about an hour to drive from the ferry dock to his grandparents home on Hood canal. Joshua recognized the driveway from the main road down to his grandparents house along the water. It passed through tall fir trees thick with underbrush. It always smelled so good.

What a day this had been. Arriving in Seattle after a three day train trip. The ferry boat ride across Puget Sound. And now the peace and quiet of his grandparent's home.

His grandfather suggested Joshua take a nap before dinner. "You can have the front bedroom." He said. "And remember there aren't any ghost in there!" Grandpa reminded Joshua. " I know. I know. It's only a squirrel!" Joshua replied,

After dinner Joshua went out on the front porch and sat back in one of several old wood chairs from which he could see the canal.

His grandparent's home had been in the family since it was built in 1906. In fact his grandmother had grown up here as a little girl. It was made of logs, had two big rock fireplaces, and a large porch running the full length of the house. From the porch you could look out over the water and see the Olympic mountains on the other side.

Hood canal wasn't like a canal one might find on the east coast. Those were constructed for barge traffic in the last century. This canal was created by an ancient glacier thousands of years ago. It was many miles wide, really long and deep. A great place to go boating in the summer.

What Joshua liked was the view of Mt. Olympus. It's the largest mountain in the Olympic National Forest. And, from Joshua's viewpoint, it seemed to be right there in front of him and still covered with snow. "It's so beautiful!" He thought to himself.

He went back to his room picked up a journal he had been writing in ever since he left Chicago. He had wanted to keep track of his journey just like Lewis and Clark id when they first explored the west in the last century.

He had read excerpts from their journal on the World Wide Web and saw pictures of the places they had explored. He thought he would do the same and record his thoughts, observations, and make drawings of his trip. This would give him something to share with mom and dad when he returned to Chicago.

As the days passed his journal began to fill with experiences. One of the things he notice when reading through each day's observations, was the amount of time he had spent listening to the sounds around him. There always seemed to be new sounds and he had kept journal notes about them. Maybe it was the clickity-clack of the train that had started him listening to new sounds. Obviously traveling by himself had given him the opportunity to be an attentive listener.

Some of his journal notes about listening included these:

July 22.

I sat on the boat dock today listening to the lapping of the water below. The canal is very quiet and smooth unless a storm blows in from the west. A pair of Mallard ducks landed near by and seemed to carry on a conversation unaware that I sat there listening.

July 24

Grandpa and I took the boat out on the canal today. He's never owned a power engine and prefers to row the boat. The sound of the oars in the water seemed very pleasant. Sometimes grandpa would stop rowing and we would just quietly sit there looking at the mountains.

Toward evening Grandma came out on the front porch and called to us. It was so quiet that her voice traveled out across the water and we could hear her. It was time for dinner. Grandpa let me row as I could get us home faster. We both were really hungry.

July 25

It was noisy on the canal today. The Navy was testing one of it's Trident submarines. It went up and down the canal from the Bangor submarine base. There were two motor boats accompanying it and their engines sounded really loud against the usual quietness of the canal.

July 27

Grandma asked me what I was writing about everyday. I told her I was recording my vacation in a journal like Lewis and Clark. I also told her I seemed to be writing a lot about the things I hear as well as do.

She said I was keeping a "sound journal". I thought that was an interesting idea. She said that the journal would help me later recall sound memories from my visit. That reminded me that grandpa had spoken about sound memories when we rode the trolley.

Tonight, at dinner, I asked both grandma and grandpa to tell me some of their sound memories.

Grandma said that when she was a little girl the freeways had not yet been built and that not that many people had cars. On Sundays, her dad would take the whole family for a car ride in the country.

One Sunday they stopped to visit family friends who had a beautiful home by a lake. The people owned peacocks that freely roamed the shore.

Grandma had never heard peacocks before and when she did for the first time it really scared her. She thought they were screaming at her with their shrill cries. She ran to her mother. Her mother said they were only talking to each other and asked her to look at the peacocks. They had unfolded their beautiful tail feathers which glistened in the afternoon sun. It was so beautiful that she forgot how scared she had been.

My grandfather said he lived on a farm one summer with his uncle John's family. He remembers his uncle's work horse named Queenie. She was a very strong horse which his uncle would use to pull the plow and hay wagon.

What he liked was the sound of the Queenie's whinny after a long day's work. She knew when it was time to quit and that uncle John would let her graze in the grassy field before returning to the barn for the night.

She'd always whinny as the day came to a close and uncle John would reply, Yeah, Queenie, it's time to call it a day." When set free of her harness she took off running to roll and graze in the field beyond the barn.

Grandma also said she could remember the logging rail road that wasn't too many miles from her house. The Kamilche Valley Railroad used Shay locomotives to haul logs from the hills to the terminal.

Shay's were special engines that made a very unique sound. They were driven by steam but instead of the usual chug, chug, chug we expect they made more of a row, row, row sound. Grandma said there aren't any of these engines around anymore. This was a sound that has disappeared.

It's interesting to think about sounds that have disappeared. I wonder what other sounds no longer exist that grandma and grandpa have heard? I wonder what sounds my great grandparents would have heard that no longer exist?

July 28

It became stormy in the afternoon. Mostly rain. By bed time it was beginning to lightening and thunder. I went out on the porch to watch. I took a blanket to wrap myself and sat there as bolts of lightening flashed above the canal and the thunder crashed about my ears. I could see the snow on Mt. Olympus in the lightening. Grandma was worried about me and made me come inside. I laid in bed watching my room light-up as the storm passed. What a night!

July 30

I heard a squirrel on the roof last night. I didn't even get out of bed this time.

Joshua's grandparents had taken an interest in the observations he had been making about sounds. Perhaps it was their own interest in listening they saw reflected in his discoveries.

They had lived here on the canal for so many years. There had been opportunities to sell the house and move. But they had always preferred the beautiful scenery and the quiet of their home.

They only had a TV when Joshua's father and sister were growing up. But when it wore out they never replaced it. Now they only listen to the radio for the news. Otherwise the only sounds in the house are those of their own conversations, which they enjoy, or those of the natural world outside.

On the last evening of Joshua's visit his grandfather brought down f an old tape recorder from the attic he had purchased back in the late 1950's. Joshua had never seen anything like it.

"What is that?" Joshua asked. "It's a reel to reel tape recorder we had when your dad and aunt were just kids." His grandfather answered.

"It sure is a big old thing isn't it?" Joshua observed thinking about the little pocket cassette recorders of today.

His grandfather sat the tape recorder on the kitchen table and piled a few small reels of tape next to it. He took one of the reels and threaded the tape through the record/playback heads on the machine.

"What are we going to hear?" Asked Joshua.

"Well, I thought you might like to hear your father when he was six years old back in 1968." His grandpa answered.

"Geeze! That was a long time ago!" Said Joshua realizing how old his father was.

"Listen to this Joshua. This is your dad."

"Hi. My name is Steve and I want to sing a song." Joshua's father could be heard saying in a very high squeaky voice. Joshua couldn't believe it and began to laugh. Then he really rolled with laughter when he heard his father sing, "London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London bridge is falling down. My fair lady."

"What a geek!" Joshua declared.

Joshua's grandfather expected all this laughter. It would be funny for any boy or girl to hear their father as a kid.

He then played a tape in which Joshua's aunt Kim and dad were just talking one evening. Joshua noticed that his dad mentioned his being out on the canal with his dad and how much he enjoyed hearing the oars splashing in the water.

"Gee, dad liked listening too, didn't he?" Asked Joshua. "That he did." Said his grandfather. "In fact let me play you this." his grandfather said as he put on the last reel of tape.

"What's this tape about." Joshua asked.

"It's a tape your dad recorded one day." Grandpa replied.

They listened to the tape Joshua's father had made when he had set the tape recorder out on the front porch and recorded the birds singing in the morning. It was a wonderful sound to hear.

"You know grandpa, I haven't heard birds sing like that while I've been here." Joshua commented.

"I know." His grandfather replied. "It seems like over the years there have been fewer and fewer birds. When I was young the forest was full of bird song in the morning. "

"Why do you think that is?" Asked Joshua.

"I've been told that as the peninsula becomes more populated the bird population has declined. And, of course, there is all the pollution as Seattle and Bremerton have grown over the years." His grandfather observed.

"That's too bad." Joshua said. "Someday it may sound like Chicago out here. You won't be able to hear any birds!

"Well, I hope that doesn't happen." Grandpa replied.

"Joshua. I think its time you went to bed." His grandmother interrupted. "We have to get up early tomorrow so you can catch the plane home."

"It's going to be hard to go home." Joshua said. "It's so nice here."

"Well, you can come back anytime." His grandmother assured him.

That night Joshua reviewed his journal. He had made all kinds of notes about the sounds he had heard and the things he had done on his vacation. He had learned so much about using his ears to really hear. He wondered how it would be to return to the noise of the big city.

Joshua's grandparents drove him to the SeaTac airport to catch a United Airline's flight home. While they were waiting a promotional video for the airline was played on an overhead TV monitor. Joshua watched and listened. "Grandma." He said. " What is the music they're using for that commercial?" His grandmother listened. " I think that's the Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin." She answered.

"Really!" Joshua said. " Imagine that! Music inspired by the sound of a train being used to promote an airline!"

In three hours Joshua would be home in a different time zone and worlds away from the quiet of the Hood Canal.

He said good-bye to his grandparents and enjoyed another kiss from his grandma.

Then instead of the clickty-clack of wheel on rail it was the thunderous roar of a 747's set of engines and Joshua was off into the morning sun heading home.