Life moves pretty fast when you’re aboard an Amtrak train chugging along at 80 mph. Some sights — like Mount Rainier — are in view for long, delicious minutes while others — like the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland, Clark and Cowlitz counties — are here and gone in the blink of an eye.
“Yeah, you missed it,” Stuart Snyder, a volunteer with the National Park Service Trails & Rails program, chuckles as a passenger asks about catching a view of the lilacs.
Snyder is one of 46 volunteer guides who help turn certain trains into something like rolling national parks, complete with specialized stamps for your National Park Passport. The program is a partnership between Amtrak, the National Park Service and Texas A&M University, and 2025 marks the 25th anniversary…