Day 27- March 9, 2009
Arrival into Martinez
16,038 miles down
The train was stopped in Winnemucca, Nevada. Winnemucca is a small desert town out in the middle of Nevada with not much around it. I always wonder what people do in a town like this. It was also still dark and it was snowing a lot. I’m glad I was warm in my bed and not out there. After leaving Winnemucca, I slept for bit longer, then went for breakfast. Somehow again I ended up sitting alone. Soon we go to the town of Sparks and then stopped in Reno. By then it had stopped snowing and the skies were clearing out. This was good because the climb through the Sierra Nevada’s and Donner Pass was next.
After departing Reno I took another seat in the lounge car to watch the climb up the pass. Donner Pass is part of the original transcontinental railroad that was finished back in 1869. It’s pretty neat to think of all the hardships those men had while building the railroad through the mountains and cutting tunnels. In a few places the train takes a slightly newer route, that ended up being more straight. In a few places you could still see the old snow sheds. But the newer route isn’t exactly new either. It was carved in the early 1900’s I believe.
We made it over Donner Pass while I got a few shots of Donner Lake. This is a beautiful glacial lake sitting way below the tracks, and it looks like a really nice place to visit. The train also stops in Truckee, California which a cool mountain town with skiing and recreation. I’ll have to come back and stop there too. After the pass the train starts coming down the mountain and goes from about 6000 feet to an elevation of less than 200 by the time you hit Sacramento. I stepped off for a bit in Sacramento and then we went down the rails to the Bay Area. Off to left I could see the mothballed Navy ships sitting Suisun Bay. The train crosses over the tressel of the bay and soon pulls into Martinez, California.
I got off in Martinez, because I would be staying in a town called Crockett. Alice, another one I had met at the LA gathering was kind enough to let me stay in a house she owned in Crockett, which is a town just down the road and sits on a big hill overlooking San Pablo Bay. The house has a great view from the hillside over looking the bay as well as the Interstate 80 suspension bridge, which was just finished not to long ago.
After getting to the house, Alice offered to drive me around the Bay Area and drive through San Francisco, crossing the Oakland Bay Bridge and the famous Golden Gate Bridge. We drove through Oakland Jack London Square as well as stopped on Treasure Island. This is the island that’s in the middle of the Oakland Bay Bridge. After that we drove to San Francisco and went down Embarcadero Street around to the Golden Gate Bridge. By this time is was dark and Alice drove me to the top of the hill near Sausalito. This is probably the best spot to view the bridge and get the city in the background. I was able to get some great night shots. Soon we continued the drive and crossed the Richmond Bridge to take us back to Crockett.
Arrival into Martinez
16,038 miles down
The train was stopped in Winnemucca, Nevada. Winnemucca is a small desert town out in the middle of Nevada with not much around it. I always wonder what people do in a town like this. It was also still dark and it was snowing a lot. I’m glad I was warm in my bed and not out there. After leaving Winnemucca, I slept for bit longer, then went for breakfast. Somehow again I ended up sitting alone. Soon we go to the town of Sparks and then stopped in Reno. By then it had stopped snowing and the skies were clearing out. This was good because the climb through the Sierra Nevada’s and Donner Pass was next.
After departing Reno I took another seat in the lounge car to watch the climb up the pass. Donner Pass is part of the original transcontinental railroad that was finished back in 1869. It’s pretty neat to think of all the hardships those men had while building the railroad through the mountains and cutting tunnels. In a few places the train takes a slightly newer route, that ended up being more straight. In a few places you could still see the old snow sheds. But the newer route isn’t exactly new either. It was carved in the early 1900’s I believe.
We made it over Donner Pass while I got a few shots of Donner Lake. This is a beautiful glacial lake sitting way below the tracks, and it looks like a really nice place to visit. The train also stops in Truckee, California which a cool mountain town with skiing and recreation. I’ll have to come back and stop there too. After the pass the train starts coming down the mountain and goes from about 6000 feet to an elevation of less than 200 by the time you hit Sacramento. I stepped off for a bit in Sacramento and then we went down the rails to the Bay Area. Off to left I could see the mothballed Navy ships sitting Suisun Bay. The train crosses over the tressel of the bay and soon pulls into Martinez, California.
I got off in Martinez, because I would be staying in a town called Crockett. Alice, another one I had met at the LA gathering was kind enough to let me stay in a house she owned in Crockett, which is a town just down the road and sits on a big hill overlooking San Pablo Bay. The house has a great view from the hillside over looking the bay as well as the Interstate 80 suspension bridge, which was just finished not to long ago.
After getting to the house, Alice offered to drive me around the Bay Area and drive through San Francisco, crossing the Oakland Bay Bridge and the famous Golden Gate Bridge. We drove through Oakland Jack London Square as well as stopped on Treasure Island. This is the island that’s in the middle of the Oakland Bay Bridge. After that we drove to San Francisco and went down Embarcadero Street around to the Golden Gate Bridge. By this time is was dark and Alice drove me to the top of the hill near Sausalito. This is probably the best spot to view the bridge and get the city in the background. I was able to get some great night shots. Soon we continued the drive and crossed the Richmond Bridge to take us back to Crockett.
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