Another trip back in time ...

After WORKING on the railroad (check out the Navigators Blog at http://seaburyschoolnavigators.blogspot.com to learn about the Great Trans-Classroom Railroad Project), we decided we'd earned a ride on one, too.

So we loaded up our time machine (our trusty school bus) and headed back in time to the late 1800s for a ride on an antique train at the Northwest Railroad Museum, where we learned that the RAILROAD CHANGED EVERYTHING (https://www.trainmuseum.org/index.php/the-railroad-changed-everything) -- talk about transitions!

 First we dressed up for a day out at Snoqualmie Falls, which had been a several-day trip until the train from Seattle made it an outing people could do in one day.

  Then we checked out the depot and boarded an old train car to learn a little about train safety (NEVER play on train tracks!)

 We designed our own bandanas, learning that the engineers wore them to keep from breathing the ashes, oil, and coal they burned to power the steam engines.

 And then, of course, we took a leisurely ride, enjoying the beautiful afternoon and a breathtaking view down from the top of Snoqualmie Falls. This was a different and interesting perspective!

 My parents even joined us for this trip -- they LOVED meeting the Navigators and Pioneers -- and the conductor, who shared a wealth of information about the train and museum.

Overall, we learned that the Transcontinental Railroad was a HUGE transition, and that the trains here in the Northwest carried a LOT of lumber that helped to build up all this new stations, cities and industries along the way. Our studies of American history this year have truly been an incredible journey!