Lunch with BNSF & Open Range in Oregon: Wednesday, July 6, 2011

My general path today was north.  I wanted to go north and then, eventually, start driving east towards Yellowstone.  On my way out of Carson City, I spotted a Subway and actually turned around to go back to it.  I am glad I did! 

When I pulled into the parking lot I noticed a Harley and that was it.  I wasn’t even sure if they were open.  Walking to the door, I noticed a BNSF train like 50 feet away.  It seemed cool.  It looked like it was waiting for another train to pass.  Inside Subway, I was surprised to see four people.  One was the biker.  Three other burley guys looked like they had just come from work.  Then I put it together.  They were from the train.  They stopped for food!  One of the careers that I am considering is something to do with the railroads.  It seems like there is a lot of potential there over the next decade+.  It started to peak my interest when Warren Buffet did an all-in wager (something like $35 billion) to buy BNSF several months ago.  So I struck up a conversation and sat and had lunch with these guys.  I believe two were conductors and one was the engineer.  These guys actually worked for a different railroad (Union Pacific) but had been in the industry for a long time (Cleveland is in his 39th year).  We discussed different ways I could come in to the industry, career paths, reasonable expectations, etc.  It was great. 

After lunch, it was a lot of driving.  The Nevada freeways are a big tease.  It has very open and straight roads but there are cops everywhere.  Not so in Oregon!  Just after I entered the state I saw a sign that said 'Open Range Next 122 miles'.  They weren't joking.  There was very little traffic and I didn't see a single police officer...big smile...enough said.  In fact, the bigger concern over cops shooting radar was cows and deer.  While I managed to avoid cows and deer the bugs didn't fair too well.

I have also finished adding photos and videos for past days.  Some new stuff is up for: Sunday in San Diego, Sea World, and The Price Is Right.

Mileage: Starting 76,415 & Ending 76,850 = 435 miles

Stayed in Burns, Oregon

States Visited: Nevada, Oregon

Open range:

Sunset with rain:

Sunset with rain:

The open range:

A rainbow:

Poor bugs...