ryanrs posted:

About 20 years ago, I was freighthopping along the Columbia River, from Portland heading east towards Idaho.

Outside Hermiston, OR, my train entered Hinkle Yard. This is a big intermodal switching yard for Union Pacific. My train was heading into the heart of the yard to be broken up, so I bailed. I spent the afternoon watching yard operations and waiting for a likely-looking train heading east.

Here's where I spent the night. It was between a Calpine power plant and a Simplot chicken mcnugget processing facility.

It gets pretty cold in late September in eastern Oregon. That night, the chilly air condensed the moisture from the Calpine cooling towers. The wet clouds mixed with the exhaust from the chicken frying operation, producing a thick, oppressive fog of chicken mcnugget stench. It was horrible.