AUNTIE C's ADVENTURE JUNE 2015
(these first bits will appear in each post -- scoll down to get to the new stuff)
ORL to WAS = Orlando, Fla., to Washington, D.C., on Silver Meteor 98; sleeper car roomette -- "Auntie C begins her grand tour"
WAS to CHI = Washington to Chicago, Ill., on Capitol Limited 29; sleeper car roomette -- "Auntie C gains perspective"
CHI to PDX = Chicago to Portland, Ore., on Empire Builder 27; sleeper car roomette -- "Auntie C beholds the Empire"
PDX to EUG = Portland to Eugene, Ore, on Coast Starlight 11 coach seat -- "Auntie C arrives at her destination"
return trip
EUG to SAC = Eugene to Sacramento, Calif., on Coast Starlight 11; sleeper car roomettte -- "Auntie C goes to California"
SAC to CHI = Sacramento to Chicago on California Zephyr 6; sleeper car roomette "Auntie C cuts through the middle"
Special edition: "Auntie C takes a detour"
CHI to WAS = Chicago to Washington on Capitol Limited 30; sleeper car bedroom
WAS to ORL = Washington to Orlando on Silver Meteor 97; sleeper car roomette
I'll not mention cars or rooms until after I've completed that leg of the trip. Nor do I intend to give the full names of Amtrak crew members -- the nametags state first initial and last name, but they tend to introduce themselves by first name.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
I picked these up from other trip reports, and will post atop each of mine to remind myself what terms I should use, adding as I learn more. (Then I'll forget and fail to use them.)
LSA-D lead service attendant - diner
TA-SC train attendant - sleeper car
TA-C train atendant - coach
waiter - other service attendants in diner car, as I'm not sure what the official name might be (I will probably end up calling most all diner staff something else, as I did not notice nametags on either attendant during the first leg of my trip -- likely under the aprons.) Non-gender specific.
Red Cap staff member at stations who helps travelers get to and from trains, the club lounges and, I assume, the outside world. Non-gender specific.
INTRODUCTION
I am a 45-year-old Floridian visiting relatives in Oregon after about five years with little contact and no other big vacations. I'm introverted, so comments about struggling to chat with other passengers should be viewed as my own hangup, not any character flaws on their parts.
I've taken two-plus weeks off work for this, my first Amtrak rail journey, to attend a life event for my niece -- hence my chosen moniker for this forum.
I trust the more knowledgeable members of Amtrak Unlimited will correct any errors I make in describing particuars of the trains, stations or other aspects of rail travel. Thanks in advance, and while I won't take such corrections personally, I also won't likely thank you individually.
My primary audience for this are my parents. Dad's a steam train enthusiast in theory, but as Mom doesn't travel well, they don't take vacations, either. I hope my descriptions help them travel vicariously with me to visit their only grandchild a continent away.
I do not intend to post photos, mostly as I can't figure out how to downsize the images my iPad takes with its cracked screen.
I'll slug all my posts with "Auntie C" this or that, for ease of finding (or avoiding) them.
FORMAT
I'm compiling these trip reports from emails I send to a handful of kith and kin, taking out the duller bits (I hope). For the first leg, I started typing while on the Silver Meteor, so real-time intrusions into the narrative are separated by ellipses and perhaps time signatures. If I continue to type as I go, this format might persist. It makes sense to me, an you are welcome to stop reading if it does not appeal to you.
My Bluetooth keyboard, as I discovered in my first email, tends to double some characters. I doubt I'll be diligent in proofing, so please forgive typos.
(11::17 p.m. Central time Saturday, June 13, somewhere outside of Chicago: I'm dumping this post into a new topic and flopping into bed. Apologies for more typos than usual. -Auntie C)
return LEG 2: SAC to CHI on California Zephyr 6, car 0632, roomette 7
BOY, THAT'S A LOT OF STEEL AND PLYWOOD
9:14 a.m. PST Thursday, June 11, 2015, in the slowly filling sleeper-car section of Sacramento station.
A couple who got off the Coast Starlight with me just returned to the station, having walked downtown to view the state capital and break fast at a recommended restaurant. They estimate the temperature at mid-70s when not in direct sun -- not bad. They will also go from Chicago to Washington, D.C., but said they're on the other route, the Cardinal.
I finally took the time to check comments on my prior trip reports, and respond briefly. Thank you to everyone reading -- I'm flattered. I'm also kinda loopy, though I closed my eyes by 10 p.m. and slept well enough, so I won't have much to say until I get lunch, shower and seat on the train. (Of course, you're reading this at least two days hence, after I post it.)
Having had time to study the station, and hear some drills past the temporary wall behind my couch, I'm more sure now the scaffolding in Sacramento is part of the station's renovations. It should look quite nice when completed, although gymnasts or Parkour freerunners might have more fun swinging from bar to bar on the current setup.
An automated female voice occasionally spouts advice -- "One ticket, one seat" -- pronouncing Amtrak oddly, more like "M-track." I wonder why they chose a computer voice rather than a prerecorded human? Perhaps they need to change the patter now and then.
SEATED AND SETTLED
11:35 a.m., seated in roomette on upper level, middle car of three sleepers.
I rode out to the platform in the cart of super-helpful Red Cap Chris and a family traveling with a 79-year-old woman (her birthday is today). I later saw Chris backing down the way so the lady would not have to walk as far to board her sleeper car.
TA-SC Eric dropped by just before we began moving at 11:38 a.m. to go over the roomette's amenities.
Various staff announced the lunch menus in the dining car and cafe, but those of us who just boarded must wait for the conductor to scan our tickets before we can line up for food. The meal bar I scarfed down this morning inthe station has worn off -- my tummy's grumbling!
11:44 a.m., volunteers Fred and Robin announced they will be in the lounge car as far as Reno, Nevada, to point out the historic sites.
The CZ begiins its run to Chicago in Emeryville, in the San Francisco Bay area. I thought an announcement on the Coast Starlight said Eugene, Oregon, was the westernmost point reached by Amtrak trains -- isn't San Francisco farther west than that?
1:45 p.m., climbing through (still Cascade?) mountains, I saw the grand views of the American River valley while eating lunch. (Fred the volunteer announced the best views over the PA for the whole train.) A full and busy train meant the service seemed slow, but my table did not feel rushed to finish dessert and leave. The series of medium-length tunnels tickled my 4-year-old tablemate, who exclaimed things like, "who turned out the lights?" each time it happened. Mom said they were trying the sleeper car for the first time in many coach trips from Colorado to California and back, as the upgrade was only about $80 for the pair. The girl was excited to get the upper bunk.
I see species of fir trees I cannot identify, intermixed with oaks and other trees. I'm curious about narrow earthen canals (someone said flumes?), obviously manmade in an otherwise dry region, moving water from uphill. The waterway comes and goes, passing under the tracks to the other side, possibly pooling at lift stations before following gravity's pull. The open canal makes me think this is water for livestock or agriculture.
Something about the wood styling of the towns we pass through would tell me we are in the mountains even if I did not see slopes all around. Steeply peaked roofs also indicate snowfall can be heavy.
... 1:57 p.m., as I tried to figure out where the easy listening music came from, an occupant from the roomette behind me popped in to say they would turn it down if it bothered me. I can always put in headphones. ...
Homes snugged up to the tracks surprise me, still. It makes sense there is a limited amount of more level slope amenable to building houese, so access roads running near the tracks make sense.
2:04 p.m. OK, seeing water ooze out between bouldres and trickly down their mossy flanks is a wee bit creepy to me. My Florida sensibilites say water comes from rainclouds or the aquifer, not from geology ranging above my head. Snowmelt during summer?
While it's fun for me to imagine I might camp in mountains, perched atop some of these scenic boulders, I do not for a moment delude myself into thinking I could actually climb those rocks -- without about a year's worth of upper-body strenght training and weight loss of 100 pounds. Those of you who do such things for recreation have my respect -- I can recommend some good urban fantasy books to read when you hit a summit
2:10 p.m. waterfall, in passing. Where does it come from? There does not seem to be that much more mountain above us. Tenacious purple flowers cling to the rock walls, soaking up sunlight.
Saw a man and two boys (Scouts?) waving at the train while standing beside a round hut. I sppose the train was as much a novelty to them as they were to us.
The sleeper cars attach to the end of the train and intersections this high up in the mountains are rare, so I've not hear the train's horn. The creaking of the cars and occasional squeal of brakes (and easy listening music) are the only sounds, as few passengers who have their doors openn to the corridor are conversing.
I've left door and drapes open for my neighbors across the hall, in case my view is better. Of late, their northern side of the train has a wider expanse of view.
2:46 p.m., as we emerge from a tunnel so long it had safety light every so often, a woman tells me the view when we exit another long tunnel yet to come is good for photos of Donner Lake. She said some of these tunnels sre so long, people have performed short marriage ceremonies as the train passes through.
... she called me over to the windows by the stairwell when Donner Lake came into view.
SHOWER AND TELL
3:46 p.m. ahhh, clean hair!
I might have missed some view, but the crags now are rockier, the stream more boulder-y and there's a long wooden trough paralleling the track. And a few large, rugged cattle -- all with horns, so I can't tell bull from cow -- grazing in fields on my southern side of the car.
I like this version of shower the best so far. The dressing room has a round vanity mirror over a long shelf for toiletries. The seat, as usual, is filled with the bags of clean towels. Unlike other trains, I could not find the red bag for used linens -- the bag I found inn the luggage-rack area had more clean towels in it, so I re-dumped the previous user's wet towles back in the far corner of the dressing room floor, adding my own after drying skin and shuffling aabout the small space to soak up any water that escaped under the etched-glass door.
... 3:58 p.m., I hear the LSA-D enter my car to make dinner reservations ...
The shower room behind said door has a seat/footrest in one corner. I did not quite make sense of the two-step water faucet: it states to turn the dial to one's desired temperature, then push the button to start. As soon as I turned the dial, the shower turned on. I later tried pushing the button, but it seemed to do nothing.
A shallow shelf with a crossbar held my shampoo bottles. What's the purpose of the odd little shelf below that? A cover rolls back so one may set things there, then can roll closed again to shield the shelf from the spray of water. My guess is soap can go there so it won't get slimy. The prior showerers today hadd not figured this out, leaving two bars on the unprotected shelf rather thann disposing of them after use.
The varigated daylight through the shower drain indicated that water, at least, still drops onto the tracks. I know the toilets no longer do (for years now, if not decades), and I'm happy about that.
Now I am set for a 5:15 meal -- early by my usual standards, but just about right for 3-hours-ahead East Coast timing.
HELLO, NEVADA
4:04 p.m. graffiti glimpsed on the concrete wall of a low, dry culvert. Weeds (sage?) covered much of the view. more followed on the block sides of buildings as we entered the outskirts of Reno, Nevada.
4:19 p.m., returning from stepping outside the car in Reno to say I've now been in Nevada (I wonder if they can tax me, now?), I helped a womman carry her bags upstairs to a bedroom. She said this was her first time on a sleeper, and she appreciated help from others who happened to be in the same car. When she dropped the bag she tried to carry, a tall dad I'd seen running along outside with his young son picked it up for her and got it up the steep steps.
Reno station impresses me: It is in a deep concrete canyon under the city, with spans of sky visible here and there between the overpasses. Smokers had to hug the walls to maintain the required 25-foot distance from the train, something I appreciated. I did not quite understand the man from a nearby roomette who chose to dress up in a dalmatian costume, but he seemed to have fun. I will look for him at other stops, which would indicate he's collection photos or videos during the trip. (I later saw the man with a hoodie frrom Motor City FurCon, so he's serious about his costume.)
Exiting Reno, I see a large, multistoried building with GSR inside a red circle -- hotel? Casino?
The mountains/big hills here are more arid: green with sage, but few trees visible. Not a lot of agricultural fields, either -- more like rock fields.
4:43 p.m. youths climb up the rock walls of a local swimming hole at a bend in the river. Graffiti stains a nearby portion of cliff face -- the part they can reach.
4:58 p.m., saw a man in denim overalls and bright shirt throw a swtich on the tracks just after the final car of a freight train halted near my window. The Amtrak CZ is on a side track in, um, Freely? Freshly? Finky? and the conductor just explained over the PA that we've lost electricity while waiting for the freight to pass us. I'm glad I've been charging all my tech these past few hours.
5:03 p.m. power restored. A plastic rooster is strapped to a nearby fence outside my window, with a smaller one dangling upside-down. someone in this town has a sense of whimsy.
6:33 p.m. throughout dinner, the landscape kept reminding me of something. I finallly decided it resembles the desert setting of the comedy/hoorror film "Tremors" but without the convenient rocky outcroppings. The view should get more interesting as we appraoch the Rocky Mountains, my tablemates said.
FRIDAY IN THE MOUNTAINS
7:50 a.m. Mountain time Friday, June 12, 2015, running about 1 hour behind schedule in western Utah.
I thought I was doing so well, waking early -- then I realized I'd once again faild to synch my watch with my iPad, so it was still on Pacific time. I bustled off to the dining car for breakfast as the train continued through mountin ppasses. The terrain certainly looks rocky, and arid, but more green than the Nevada side, with a greater number of trees.
The train tracks pass through some canyons not accessed by roads.
Just as I went to bed last night, 10:45 p.m. Mountain time, the conductor announced the train would stop to add on a unit, as one of the two Amtrak engines was underperforming. This morning, as we follow the curves of the track, I see a yellow freight engine in the lead.
I slept through all the overnight stops throughout Utah. Last night was my most comfortable: a combination of smooth track, cars at the back of the line and tiredness.
Despite attempting to charge it for a couple of hours yesterday, my cellphone decide to die overnight. I'll try a different power cord in a different USB slot on the power bar I have plugged into the roomette's one outlet.
REMOTE MEANS JUST THAT
8:31 a.m. MST hmmm, and where the highways don't run, neither do the utility lines or the cell towers, so I am now in a scenic dead zone for reception.
9:38 a.m. saw my firat prarie dog (gopher?) as the train gained speed leaving Green River, Utah -- same pale color as the soil, so I was not sure until we passed whether it was a rock, or a critter stading on its back paws, peering at the landscape.
The other side of the train had better scenery. I went to an empty roomette on that side to get some images.
10:21 a.m.: What are those darkened piled of dirt in otherwise bare patches along the sparse landscape? I'll guess anthills, and I'm too far away to view the ants. Memo for next trip: binoculars.
Puddles and patches of wet mud in the rutted trail beside the tracks indicate precipition, but I cannot gues whether it was yesterday or last week. The train passes small, weaving streambeds carved into the land some 3, 6, 10 feet deep, but none have flowing water, only more wet mud.
I see taller mountains ahead of the train -- ooh, and we just passed a long-dead cow carcass near the tracks -- so I will again guess we are on the mesas above/near Denver. (I'm lucky to navigate my own state sometimes -- I've forgotten much of any geography lessons from my school days.)
HI, COLORADO
11:21 a.m., having passed through the scenic Colorado River canyon and waved at rafters waving back and filming the train, we pull into Grand Junction, Colorado. Schedule states arrival time should be 10:23 a.m., so we're still an hour behind -- not that I care, as I ride the CZ all the way to Chicago tomorrow.
The things people dump in their back yards. I'm sure I saw a cello case, or possibly viola -- larger and more pear-shaped than a guitar case, whatever it held.
Shiny tents and a herd of porta-potties stand on my side of the train -- fairgrounds, perhaps? (A mile or two later, I saw aa sign stating this was Loma.)
11:26 a.m. oh, this is not yet Grand Junction. Conductor Jeff came on the PA to say there is a train stopped ahead of us, and we'll be here for 45 minutes to an hour. So this is how Amtrak trains fall so far behind schedule -- not the fault of the crew or dawdling passengers, but unpredictable things happening on the tracks. It's not like we can pull off onto the grass and drive around the obstacle.
There's an empty roomette on the other side of the car, across from the room for the TA-SC. Perhaps I will see if the outlet there works any better than mine, still failing to charge my cellphone.
11:38 a.m., slowly moving along the tracks about 16 miles west of Grand Junction (I saw a road sign while on the othe rside of the train). Not 5 minutes after the announcement, the train began to move again. Conductor Jeff or the Amtrak coordinators must have worked out a deal, as he again announced over the PA that our No. 6 train will pull past the GJ station about 12:20 p.m., wait a while for sister train No. 5 to pull into that station, then we will back into it once that train is gone. (Update: I thought I misheard when, hours later, we aagain passed the No. 5 -- it turns out that first No. 5 was running about 20 hours late.)
Conductor Chris, sounding rested and alert, took over in GJ to complete the run to Denver, when another conductor will take over.
CREEPY TREES
2:41 p.m.. so why are all the fir ttrees dead on parts of the otherwise green peaks in the scenic canyon before Glenwood Springs station? On another part of the same peak that looks as though it slid down, therre are green, healthy fir trees amid the dark red patches of bare soil. Then we go back to verdant, smooth slopes with ALL DEAD trees. Yes, this creeps me out. (Update: I learned at dinner the tree death is caused by a beetle. Sad, but less creepy.)
The diner is out of salad stuff, though they still had enough for my veggie burger. One of my tablemates asked, and the LSA-D (no attendant in the diner seems to wear a nametag) said only two cooks work down in the kitchen on the CZ run out from Chicago and back again. They must be really efficient.
I hope the longer Denver stop means they'll load supplies, including lettuce and Mountain Dew.
The schedule states we should have arrived in Glenwood Springs at 12:10 p.m., so we are now about 2.5 hours behind.
3 p.m. odd nooks and crannies in the slanted, striated cliff walls as we leave GS station have footpaths leading up to them. We've switched to thhe other side of the river, and the conductor said there's 43 tunnels between here and Denver.
Wow, and at least one sign halfway up a rock slope stating "explosives, keep out"
What do trains do if a boulder decides to bounce down onto the tracks?
3:13 p.m. Rocky Mountains: Aptly named. I better understand the appeal of rock climbing now. I'm getting a crick in my neck, trying to stare up to the top of passing mountains.
It's like nature's Jenga (if the stacking game were made up of irregular, friable strata of rock forced up through the earth millenia ago by the movement of tectonic plates): remove one wrong block and all those above come tumbling down.
3:31 p.m. Conductor Chris warns we're about to lose cell reception for a couple of hours as we leve the Colorado River valley.
3:38 p.m. another Floridian faux pas: as we move past vehicles parked in a field after passing under Interstate 70, I wonder why those personal watercraft have runners on the bottom of them. Then I realize they are snowmobiles, not JetSkis.
When the old fencing disappears under a pile of rock and sand, you know the area is geologically unstable. I wonder who dug all those postholes back in the day? Much of the barbed wire has rusted through and fallen, but some strings persist.
TOWEL T.M.I.
4:27 p.m. ew: I think the previous occupant of this room stuffed their used washcloth and face towel back on the shelf in the closet. I checked them for the first time since boarding Thursday, and they are damp.
I will take them down to the red bag later -- unless it remains unavailable. Last time I looked in the dressing room, the floor was littered with used towels. Another situation I hope Denver will remedy.
I received word from relatives paying attention to the news that Devener is under a flood watch until 7 p.m. today. Perhas it's good we're running late.
I notice more rafters on the wide river as we travel -- the waterway keeps switching sides, so those travelers must get to paddle under the trrain trestles. I wave back at them.
4:36 p.m., as a tributary joins the main river, I can see the difference in the water levels. The main runs higher, swollen with extra water.
4:38 p.m. carcass of deer (elk) caught on weeds at a fork in the river -- that, or a boulder with legs.
4:44 p.m. I think one of the rafters mooned us.
DESCENDING ON DENVER
7:05 p.m. as we emerged from the long, gassy (no, reeally: the conductor asked everyone not to open the doors between train cars, because some sort of gas builds up in that tunnel) Moffat Tunnel through the summit of the mountains, I saw patches of dirty snow under the shade or trees on the far side of the stream. The water itself now flowed eastward, downhill on this side of the mountain range.
A fly fisher stood in the icy water, casting her line with ease.
Moffat must be the tunnel the other woman told me about earlier in the day, the long one where people will get married passing through it.
I sat with the same Chinese-Canadian accountant at breakfast, lunch and dinner. She's using her vacation time to tour the United States, and she likes train travel so far. Nice lady, fond of the ice cream. Our server at dinner brought out one of the last cups to her as we drifted down the mountain toward Denver.
That section of track is beautiful, popping through tunnels dug through and under massive slabs of rock, using the turbines of a wind farm below as a reference point. We saw some deer grazing on the slopes, then cows, horses and llamas in cultivated fields once the terrain flattened into private property.
My ears kept popping, adjusting pressure as the train descended to the Mile-High City.
There are some lovely homes in the outskirts of Denver. The construction industry seems to be booming, judging by the large number of homes being build in new subdivisions.
8:30 p.m., about to pull past and back into Denver station, the conductor asked everyone to stay seated until we pull into the station, as the cars might jostle over the many switches in the tracks leading into the yard. Guess I am not yet brushing my teeth.
My cellphone, it seems, will not charge using any of the outlets in sleeper cars. I kept it pluggged in all afternoon, to no avail. The iPad and other tech charged just fine.
One stream/culvert we paused on did run swiftly, and an adjacent line of track running off to an industrial park was partly flooded. Other low-lying areas hold standing water, but it is not raining now.
9:03 p.m. stopped on the platform. Although 50 passengers disembark here, the conductor said more than 90 are expected to get on. Coach passengers will again be warned not to take up more than one seat.
9:10 p.m. brushing teeth is easier to do when the train is not moving.
The line of what must be coach passengers forms outside the window of my middle sleeper car, doubled up and extending back past the rear car as far as I can see. They can all see me, too -- better not change into my PJs now, even after closing the drapes.
We have 30 minutes as the train refuels and restocks. The waiting passengers still stand, not yet allowed to board. A couple seated on benches at a far platform thumb-wrestle. (Took me a while to figure out the body movements.)
Hey! A squeegee team just soaped and cleared my windows -- hooray. Perhaps photos will turn out more clear now, once the sun rises.
10:35 p.m. Central Time: ha -- we might not be there yet, but I remembered to set my watch ahead to the next time zone. We change overnight, when we enter Nebraska.
Must be partly psychological (and partly the cheesecake), but I'm really tired now.
CORNY AS NEBRASKA IN JUNE
8:59 a.m. Central time Saturday, June 13, 2015, about to pull ito Omaha, Nebraska -- on the printed schedule as a 4:59 a.m. arrival. So, although an announcement during breakfast said we were 3 hours behind schedule, we're 4.
I woke just after 7 a.m., dressed and corraled my hair into a scruffy bun. Two of my tablemates grew up in Ohio, so they could distinguish the fields og stubby greens as beans or corn at a glance. They will also travel on the Capitol Limited to Washington, D.C., and made the point that we might not make our connection in Chicago. The wife looked forward to shopping on the Miracle Mile should Amtrak have to put us up in hotels overnight. (Do they do that, still? Guess I will find out. If not, maybe the $17 trip insurance I bought will cover something, if I can find their original email from when I booked my trip back in March.)
We saw Lincoln, Nebraska, as we ate. Denver restocked the Mountain Dew, but the waiter greeted us with, "We're out of vegetables for the omlettes, Frosted Flakes and croissants." When the meals arrived, the whole-wheat biscuits everyone had ordered by default were really dinner rolls, which amused us all.
Showering after breaakfast, I noticed the airtight properties of the room whhen drops of cooler water rained down from the ceiling: although there's a ssmall air vent in the dressing room, the compartment was saturated with steam, which gradually coalesced on the ceiling as fat drops of water, no longer so warm. I swept my hand over all surfeaces I could reach, in hopes the next used would not get surprised by rain in the shower.
Someone left travel hair products and a plastic box of soap in the shower, so I carefully moved thhem to the vanity shelf in the dressing room to make room for my own stuff. A well-stuffed black bag held used towels today, to which I added my own after shuffling it over the floor to mop up drops. I thought I was doing well, bending down with backside in the shower area to dry off my feet in the dressing room -- until my hair left water pooling in my Crocs.
Cellphone still dead (I tried it, in hopes it had absorbed some juice during the hours I had it plugged in yesterday, I have emailed my ride to warn him I might be a day late.
Nothing I can do about to now, so I will take in the sights of Nebraska in the moorning light.
I ALWAYS CONFUSE THOSE TWO
Iowa, Idaho -- same vowels, smae number of syllables. One is knows for rolling hills, one for potatoes. I drove through Idaho back in 2003, visiting the same rellatives who spurred this trip. Now I get to see what Iowa looks like.
Smal birds appear to flit in and out of burrows in an earthen cliff just bbefore we cross a bridge/river. Again, wish I'd brought binoculars.
Corn in the fields that follow is high enough, even I can tell what it is.
... 10:03 a.m., a female voice (new conductor?) comes over the PA to explain the crew cannot yet provide information about missed connections -- we must wait until we get to Illinois. She explained we're running with a different type of engine that reduces top speed from 79 to 70 mph, and predicted we'll lose another hour. ...
The sky is overcast, and puddles of water indicate recent rains.
11:45 a.m., mechanical problem has the conductor outside, looking at whatever machinery malfunctions. While my sleeper car has lights, it does not have power -- or flushing capability.
11:48 a.m. aha -- power restored.
This was to be a quick stop in Creston, Iowa, but it will add to our delays.
1:22 p.m., waiting for my party number to be called to lunch, I fired up the myfi t check the AU boards about what happens when late trains cause one to miss connections. Have not yet found an answer, but II found a topic about the California Zephyr running late recently due to freight derailments ans bad weather in Iowa.
Someone there asked if the CZ was detoured or on its regular route, so I replied and gave an update to our 5-hour delayed status.
MUSICAL CHAIRS
3:04 p.m. CST During lunch -- they were offering burgers or the hot dog or mac and cheese off the children's menu -- we stopped at Ottumwa station. The conductor announced various transport solutions for certaiin passengers, calling last names to advise whether that person would exit the train at Galesburg, Illinois, to take a bus. Passengers on the Cardinal line will go this way, showing their claim ticket for checked baggage to help ID the bags before staff will put them on the proper bus.
She did not say what woud happen to the several people on the No. 30 Capitol Limited. My tablemates, more knowledgeable about the schedules, thought they might put us on the later train running in the same direction.
I asked mmy lunch companions about squashed pennies -- bad idea, as they can become projectiles if the wheels hit them just wrong -- and about my now-useless cellphone. They suggested my charger is at fault, so I'll have to check it from a land line.
3:16 p.m., we pulled into Mount Pleasant station (scheduled for 9:54 a.m.). I read more on the AU forum about today's No. 6 CZ getting stopped as a service disruption back in Nevada -- I'm glad my train made it through.
I've packed up my gear after a final tooth-brushing, in case I hear an announcement about leaving the train before Chicago.
3:43 p.m., connection information for those on train 393 -- they will exit at Galesburg.
6:06 p.m. a TA-SC from another car and my own car's TA-SC Eric moved through the half-empty car, passing out plastic-wrapped "snack packs" with shortbread cookies, cheese crackers, roasted almonds and a napkin. This mmight well be dinner for me, depending on what happens in Chicago in a couple more hours. I hope the coach cars got something similar.
Earlier, as he gathered pillow cases, Eric advised me to go straight to customer service upon arrival, if nothing is annnounced on the train.
To the south, distant wind turbines spinin front of a large storm front. I see rain and clouds too tall to see the sky, but no lightning or tornadoes. I would not know what to look for in tornado weather, anyhow, even though I've seen the movie "Twister" more than once.
7:38 p.m. we caght up to the rain outside Naperville, Illinois. I overheard smene say once we clear that stop, Chicago should be 1.5 hours away. I am getting nervous that the customer service desk will be closed by then. I should not borrow trouble.
8:35 p.m. a man's voice said we are almost there, and to wait in one's seat until we arrive.
8:50 p.m. the train stopsat Chicago's Union Station. the sleeper cars being at the end, it's a long walk up the platform and through the sttion to Passenger services to learn my fate.
More tomorrow. ....
(these first bits will appear in each post -- scoll down to get to the new stuff)
ORL to WAS = Orlando, Fla., to Washington, D.C., on Silver Meteor 98; sleeper car roomette -- "Auntie C begins her grand tour"
WAS to CHI = Washington to Chicago, Ill., on Capitol Limited 29; sleeper car roomette -- "Auntie C gains perspective"
CHI to PDX = Chicago to Portland, Ore., on Empire Builder 27; sleeper car roomette -- "Auntie C beholds the Empire"
PDX to EUG = Portland to Eugene, Ore, on Coast Starlight 11 coach seat -- "Auntie C arrives at her destination"
return trip
EUG to SAC = Eugene to Sacramento, Calif., on Coast Starlight 11; sleeper car roomettte -- "Auntie C goes to California"
SAC to CHI = Sacramento to Chicago on California Zephyr 6; sleeper car roomette "Auntie C cuts through the middle"
Special edition: "Auntie C takes a detour"
CHI to WAS = Chicago to Washington on Capitol Limited 30; sleeper car bedroom
WAS to ORL = Washington to Orlando on Silver Meteor 97; sleeper car roomette
I'll not mention cars or rooms until after I've completed that leg of the trip. Nor do I intend to give the full names of Amtrak crew members -- the nametags state first initial and last name, but they tend to introduce themselves by first name.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
I picked these up from other trip reports, and will post atop each of mine to remind myself what terms I should use, adding as I learn more. (Then I'll forget and fail to use them.)
LSA-D lead service attendant - diner
TA-SC train attendant - sleeper car
TA-C train atendant - coach
waiter - other service attendants in diner car, as I'm not sure what the official name might be (I will probably end up calling most all diner staff something else, as I did not notice nametags on either attendant during the first leg of my trip -- likely under the aprons.) Non-gender specific.
Red Cap staff member at stations who helps travelers get to and from trains, the club lounges and, I assume, the outside world. Non-gender specific.
INTRODUCTION
I am a 45-year-old Floridian visiting relatives in Oregon after about five years with little contact and no other big vacations. I'm introverted, so comments about struggling to chat with other passengers should be viewed as my own hangup, not any character flaws on their parts.
I've taken two-plus weeks off work for this, my first Amtrak rail journey, to attend a life event for my niece -- hence my chosen moniker for this forum.
I trust the more knowledgeable members of Amtrak Unlimited will correct any errors I make in describing particuars of the trains, stations or other aspects of rail travel. Thanks in advance, and while I won't take such corrections personally, I also won't likely thank you individually.
My primary audience for this are my parents. Dad's a steam train enthusiast in theory, but as Mom doesn't travel well, they don't take vacations, either. I hope my descriptions help them travel vicariously with me to visit their only grandchild a continent away.
I do not intend to post photos, mostly as I can't figure out how to downsize the images my iPad takes with its cracked screen.
I'll slug all my posts with "Auntie C" this or that, for ease of finding (or avoiding) them.
FORMAT
I'm compiling these trip reports from emails I send to a handful of kith and kin, taking out the duller bits (I hope). For the first leg, I started typing while on the Silver Meteor, so real-time intrusions into the narrative are separated by ellipses and perhaps time signatures. If I continue to type as I go, this format might persist. It makes sense to me, an you are welcome to stop reading if it does not appeal to you.
My Bluetooth keyboard, as I discovered in my first email, tends to double some characters. I doubt I'll be diligent in proofing, so please forgive typos.
(11::17 p.m. Central time Saturday, June 13, somewhere outside of Chicago: I'm dumping this post into a new topic and flopping into bed. Apologies for more typos than usual. -Auntie C)
return LEG 2: SAC to CHI on California Zephyr 6, car 0632, roomette 7
BOY, THAT'S A LOT OF STEEL AND PLYWOOD
9:14 a.m. PST Thursday, June 11, 2015, in the slowly filling sleeper-car section of Sacramento station.
A couple who got off the Coast Starlight with me just returned to the station, having walked downtown to view the state capital and break fast at a recommended restaurant. They estimate the temperature at mid-70s when not in direct sun -- not bad. They will also go from Chicago to Washington, D.C., but said they're on the other route, the Cardinal.
I finally took the time to check comments on my prior trip reports, and respond briefly. Thank you to everyone reading -- I'm flattered. I'm also kinda loopy, though I closed my eyes by 10 p.m. and slept well enough, so I won't have much to say until I get lunch, shower and seat on the train. (Of course, you're reading this at least two days hence, after I post it.)
Having had time to study the station, and hear some drills past the temporary wall behind my couch, I'm more sure now the scaffolding in Sacramento is part of the station's renovations. It should look quite nice when completed, although gymnasts or Parkour freerunners might have more fun swinging from bar to bar on the current setup.
An automated female voice occasionally spouts advice -- "One ticket, one seat" -- pronouncing Amtrak oddly, more like "M-track." I wonder why they chose a computer voice rather than a prerecorded human? Perhaps they need to change the patter now and then.
SEATED AND SETTLED
11:35 a.m., seated in roomette on upper level, middle car of three sleepers.
I rode out to the platform in the cart of super-helpful Red Cap Chris and a family traveling with a 79-year-old woman (her birthday is today). I later saw Chris backing down the way so the lady would not have to walk as far to board her sleeper car.
TA-SC Eric dropped by just before we began moving at 11:38 a.m. to go over the roomette's amenities.
Various staff announced the lunch menus in the dining car and cafe, but those of us who just boarded must wait for the conductor to scan our tickets before we can line up for food. The meal bar I scarfed down this morning inthe station has worn off -- my tummy's grumbling!
11:44 a.m., volunteers Fred and Robin announced they will be in the lounge car as far as Reno, Nevada, to point out the historic sites.
The CZ begiins its run to Chicago in Emeryville, in the San Francisco Bay area. I thought an announcement on the Coast Starlight said Eugene, Oregon, was the westernmost point reached by Amtrak trains -- isn't San Francisco farther west than that?
1:45 p.m., climbing through (still Cascade?) mountains, I saw the grand views of the American River valley while eating lunch. (Fred the volunteer announced the best views over the PA for the whole train.) A full and busy train meant the service seemed slow, but my table did not feel rushed to finish dessert and leave. The series of medium-length tunnels tickled my 4-year-old tablemate, who exclaimed things like, "who turned out the lights?" each time it happened. Mom said they were trying the sleeper car for the first time in many coach trips from Colorado to California and back, as the upgrade was only about $80 for the pair. The girl was excited to get the upper bunk.
I see species of fir trees I cannot identify, intermixed with oaks and other trees. I'm curious about narrow earthen canals (someone said flumes?), obviously manmade in an otherwise dry region, moving water from uphill. The waterway comes and goes, passing under the tracks to the other side, possibly pooling at lift stations before following gravity's pull. The open canal makes me think this is water for livestock or agriculture.
Something about the wood styling of the towns we pass through would tell me we are in the mountains even if I did not see slopes all around. Steeply peaked roofs also indicate snowfall can be heavy.
... 1:57 p.m., as I tried to figure out where the easy listening music came from, an occupant from the roomette behind me popped in to say they would turn it down if it bothered me. I can always put in headphones. ...
Homes snugged up to the tracks surprise me, still. It makes sense there is a limited amount of more level slope amenable to building houese, so access roads running near the tracks make sense.
2:04 p.m. OK, seeing water ooze out between bouldres and trickly down their mossy flanks is a wee bit creepy to me. My Florida sensibilites say water comes from rainclouds or the aquifer, not from geology ranging above my head. Snowmelt during summer?
While it's fun for me to imagine I might camp in mountains, perched atop some of these scenic boulders, I do not for a moment delude myself into thinking I could actually climb those rocks -- without about a year's worth of upper-body strenght training and weight loss of 100 pounds. Those of you who do such things for recreation have my respect -- I can recommend some good urban fantasy books to read when you hit a summit
2:10 p.m. waterfall, in passing. Where does it come from? There does not seem to be that much more mountain above us. Tenacious purple flowers cling to the rock walls, soaking up sunlight.
Saw a man and two boys (Scouts?) waving at the train while standing beside a round hut. I sppose the train was as much a novelty to them as they were to us.
The sleeper cars attach to the end of the train and intersections this high up in the mountains are rare, so I've not hear the train's horn. The creaking of the cars and occasional squeal of brakes (and easy listening music) are the only sounds, as few passengers who have their doors openn to the corridor are conversing.
I've left door and drapes open for my neighbors across the hall, in case my view is better. Of late, their northern side of the train has a wider expanse of view.
2:46 p.m., as we emerge from a tunnel so long it had safety light every so often, a woman tells me the view when we exit another long tunnel yet to come is good for photos of Donner Lake. She said some of these tunnels sre so long, people have performed short marriage ceremonies as the train passes through.
... she called me over to the windows by the stairwell when Donner Lake came into view.
SHOWER AND TELL
3:46 p.m. ahhh, clean hair!
I might have missed some view, but the crags now are rockier, the stream more boulder-y and there's a long wooden trough paralleling the track. And a few large, rugged cattle -- all with horns, so I can't tell bull from cow -- grazing in fields on my southern side of the car.
I like this version of shower the best so far. The dressing room has a round vanity mirror over a long shelf for toiletries. The seat, as usual, is filled with the bags of clean towels. Unlike other trains, I could not find the red bag for used linens -- the bag I found inn the luggage-rack area had more clean towels in it, so I re-dumped the previous user's wet towles back in the far corner of the dressing room floor, adding my own after drying skin and shuffling aabout the small space to soak up any water that escaped under the etched-glass door.
... 3:58 p.m., I hear the LSA-D enter my car to make dinner reservations ...
The shower room behind said door has a seat/footrest in one corner. I did not quite make sense of the two-step water faucet: it states to turn the dial to one's desired temperature, then push the button to start. As soon as I turned the dial, the shower turned on. I later tried pushing the button, but it seemed to do nothing.
A shallow shelf with a crossbar held my shampoo bottles. What's the purpose of the odd little shelf below that? A cover rolls back so one may set things there, then can roll closed again to shield the shelf from the spray of water. My guess is soap can go there so it won't get slimy. The prior showerers today hadd not figured this out, leaving two bars on the unprotected shelf rather thann disposing of them after use.
The varigated daylight through the shower drain indicated that water, at least, still drops onto the tracks. I know the toilets no longer do (for years now, if not decades), and I'm happy about that.
Now I am set for a 5:15 meal -- early by my usual standards, but just about right for 3-hours-ahead East Coast timing.
HELLO, NEVADA
4:04 p.m. graffiti glimpsed on the concrete wall of a low, dry culvert. Weeds (sage?) covered much of the view. more followed on the block sides of buildings as we entered the outskirts of Reno, Nevada.
4:19 p.m., returning from stepping outside the car in Reno to say I've now been in Nevada (I wonder if they can tax me, now?), I helped a womman carry her bags upstairs to a bedroom. She said this was her first time on a sleeper, and she appreciated help from others who happened to be in the same car. When she dropped the bag she tried to carry, a tall dad I'd seen running along outside with his young son picked it up for her and got it up the steep steps.
Reno station impresses me: It is in a deep concrete canyon under the city, with spans of sky visible here and there between the overpasses. Smokers had to hug the walls to maintain the required 25-foot distance from the train, something I appreciated. I did not quite understand the man from a nearby roomette who chose to dress up in a dalmatian costume, but he seemed to have fun. I will look for him at other stops, which would indicate he's collection photos or videos during the trip. (I later saw the man with a hoodie frrom Motor City FurCon, so he's serious about his costume.)
Exiting Reno, I see a large, multistoried building with GSR inside a red circle -- hotel? Casino?
The mountains/big hills here are more arid: green with sage, but few trees visible. Not a lot of agricultural fields, either -- more like rock fields.
4:43 p.m. youths climb up the rock walls of a local swimming hole at a bend in the river. Graffiti stains a nearby portion of cliff face -- the part they can reach.
4:58 p.m., saw a man in denim overalls and bright shirt throw a swtich on the tracks just after the final car of a freight train halted near my window. The Amtrak CZ is on a side track in, um, Freely? Freshly? Finky? and the conductor just explained over the PA that we've lost electricity while waiting for the freight to pass us. I'm glad I've been charging all my tech these past few hours.
5:03 p.m. power restored. A plastic rooster is strapped to a nearby fence outside my window, with a smaller one dangling upside-down. someone in this town has a sense of whimsy.
6:33 p.m. throughout dinner, the landscape kept reminding me of something. I finallly decided it resembles the desert setting of the comedy/hoorror film "Tremors" but without the convenient rocky outcroppings. The view should get more interesting as we appraoch the Rocky Mountains, my tablemates said.
FRIDAY IN THE MOUNTAINS
7:50 a.m. Mountain time Friday, June 12, 2015, running about 1 hour behind schedule in western Utah.
I thought I was doing so well, waking early -- then I realized I'd once again faild to synch my watch with my iPad, so it was still on Pacific time. I bustled off to the dining car for breakfast as the train continued through mountin ppasses. The terrain certainly looks rocky, and arid, but more green than the Nevada side, with a greater number of trees.
The train tracks pass through some canyons not accessed by roads.
Just as I went to bed last night, 10:45 p.m. Mountain time, the conductor announced the train would stop to add on a unit, as one of the two Amtrak engines was underperforming. This morning, as we follow the curves of the track, I see a yellow freight engine in the lead.
I slept through all the overnight stops throughout Utah. Last night was my most comfortable: a combination of smooth track, cars at the back of the line and tiredness.
Despite attempting to charge it for a couple of hours yesterday, my cellphone decide to die overnight. I'll try a different power cord in a different USB slot on the power bar I have plugged into the roomette's one outlet.
REMOTE MEANS JUST THAT
8:31 a.m. MST hmmm, and where the highways don't run, neither do the utility lines or the cell towers, so I am now in a scenic dead zone for reception.
9:38 a.m. saw my firat prarie dog (gopher?) as the train gained speed leaving Green River, Utah -- same pale color as the soil, so I was not sure until we passed whether it was a rock, or a critter stading on its back paws, peering at the landscape.
The other side of the train had better scenery. I went to an empty roomette on that side to get some images.
10:21 a.m.: What are those darkened piled of dirt in otherwise bare patches along the sparse landscape? I'll guess anthills, and I'm too far away to view the ants. Memo for next trip: binoculars.
Puddles and patches of wet mud in the rutted trail beside the tracks indicate precipition, but I cannot gues whether it was yesterday or last week. The train passes small, weaving streambeds carved into the land some 3, 6, 10 feet deep, but none have flowing water, only more wet mud.
I see taller mountains ahead of the train -- ooh, and we just passed a long-dead cow carcass near the tracks -- so I will again guess we are on the mesas above/near Denver. (I'm lucky to navigate my own state sometimes -- I've forgotten much of any geography lessons from my school days.)
HI, COLORADO
11:21 a.m., having passed through the scenic Colorado River canyon and waved at rafters waving back and filming the train, we pull into Grand Junction, Colorado. Schedule states arrival time should be 10:23 a.m., so we're still an hour behind -- not that I care, as I ride the CZ all the way to Chicago tomorrow.
The things people dump in their back yards. I'm sure I saw a cello case, or possibly viola -- larger and more pear-shaped than a guitar case, whatever it held.
Shiny tents and a herd of porta-potties stand on my side of the train -- fairgrounds, perhaps? (A mile or two later, I saw aa sign stating this was Loma.)
11:26 a.m. oh, this is not yet Grand Junction. Conductor Jeff came on the PA to say there is a train stopped ahead of us, and we'll be here for 45 minutes to an hour. So this is how Amtrak trains fall so far behind schedule -- not the fault of the crew or dawdling passengers, but unpredictable things happening on the tracks. It's not like we can pull off onto the grass and drive around the obstacle.
There's an empty roomette on the other side of the car, across from the room for the TA-SC. Perhaps I will see if the outlet there works any better than mine, still failing to charge my cellphone.
11:38 a.m., slowly moving along the tracks about 16 miles west of Grand Junction (I saw a road sign while on the othe rside of the train). Not 5 minutes after the announcement, the train began to move again. Conductor Jeff or the Amtrak coordinators must have worked out a deal, as he again announced over the PA that our No. 6 train will pull past the GJ station about 12:20 p.m., wait a while for sister train No. 5 to pull into that station, then we will back into it once that train is gone. (Update: I thought I misheard when, hours later, we aagain passed the No. 5 -- it turns out that first No. 5 was running about 20 hours late.)
Conductor Chris, sounding rested and alert, took over in GJ to complete the run to Denver, when another conductor will take over.
CREEPY TREES
2:41 p.m.. so why are all the fir ttrees dead on parts of the otherwise green peaks in the scenic canyon before Glenwood Springs station? On another part of the same peak that looks as though it slid down, therre are green, healthy fir trees amid the dark red patches of bare soil. Then we go back to verdant, smooth slopes with ALL DEAD trees. Yes, this creeps me out. (Update: I learned at dinner the tree death is caused by a beetle. Sad, but less creepy.)
The diner is out of salad stuff, though they still had enough for my veggie burger. One of my tablemates asked, and the LSA-D (no attendant in the diner seems to wear a nametag) said only two cooks work down in the kitchen on the CZ run out from Chicago and back again. They must be really efficient.
I hope the longer Denver stop means they'll load supplies, including lettuce and Mountain Dew.
The schedule states we should have arrived in Glenwood Springs at 12:10 p.m., so we are now about 2.5 hours behind.
3 p.m. odd nooks and crannies in the slanted, striated cliff walls as we leave GS station have footpaths leading up to them. We've switched to thhe other side of the river, and the conductor said there's 43 tunnels between here and Denver.
Wow, and at least one sign halfway up a rock slope stating "explosives, keep out"
What do trains do if a boulder decides to bounce down onto the tracks?
3:13 p.m. Rocky Mountains: Aptly named. I better understand the appeal of rock climbing now. I'm getting a crick in my neck, trying to stare up to the top of passing mountains.
It's like nature's Jenga (if the stacking game were made up of irregular, friable strata of rock forced up through the earth millenia ago by the movement of tectonic plates): remove one wrong block and all those above come tumbling down.
3:31 p.m. Conductor Chris warns we're about to lose cell reception for a couple of hours as we leve the Colorado River valley.
3:38 p.m. another Floridian faux pas: as we move past vehicles parked in a field after passing under Interstate 70, I wonder why those personal watercraft have runners on the bottom of them. Then I realize they are snowmobiles, not JetSkis.
When the old fencing disappears under a pile of rock and sand, you know the area is geologically unstable. I wonder who dug all those postholes back in the day? Much of the barbed wire has rusted through and fallen, but some strings persist.
TOWEL T.M.I.
4:27 p.m. ew: I think the previous occupant of this room stuffed their used washcloth and face towel back on the shelf in the closet. I checked them for the first time since boarding Thursday, and they are damp.
I will take them down to the red bag later -- unless it remains unavailable. Last time I looked in the dressing room, the floor was littered with used towels. Another situation I hope Denver will remedy.
I received word from relatives paying attention to the news that Devener is under a flood watch until 7 p.m. today. Perhas it's good we're running late.
I notice more rafters on the wide river as we travel -- the waterway keeps switching sides, so those travelers must get to paddle under the trrain trestles. I wave back at them.
4:36 p.m., as a tributary joins the main river, I can see the difference in the water levels. The main runs higher, swollen with extra water.
4:38 p.m. carcass of deer (elk) caught on weeds at a fork in the river -- that, or a boulder with legs.
4:44 p.m. I think one of the rafters mooned us.
DESCENDING ON DENVER
7:05 p.m. as we emerged from the long, gassy (no, reeally: the conductor asked everyone not to open the doors between train cars, because some sort of gas builds up in that tunnel) Moffat Tunnel through the summit of the mountains, I saw patches of dirty snow under the shade or trees on the far side of the stream. The water itself now flowed eastward, downhill on this side of the mountain range.
A fly fisher stood in the icy water, casting her line with ease.
Moffat must be the tunnel the other woman told me about earlier in the day, the long one where people will get married passing through it.
I sat with the same Chinese-Canadian accountant at breakfast, lunch and dinner. She's using her vacation time to tour the United States, and she likes train travel so far. Nice lady, fond of the ice cream. Our server at dinner brought out one of the last cups to her as we drifted down the mountain toward Denver.
That section of track is beautiful, popping through tunnels dug through and under massive slabs of rock, using the turbines of a wind farm below as a reference point. We saw some deer grazing on the slopes, then cows, horses and llamas in cultivated fields once the terrain flattened into private property.
My ears kept popping, adjusting pressure as the train descended to the Mile-High City.
There are some lovely homes in the outskirts of Denver. The construction industry seems to be booming, judging by the large number of homes being build in new subdivisions.
8:30 p.m., about to pull past and back into Denver station, the conductor asked everyone to stay seated until we pull into the station, as the cars might jostle over the many switches in the tracks leading into the yard. Guess I am not yet brushing my teeth.
My cellphone, it seems, will not charge using any of the outlets in sleeper cars. I kept it pluggged in all afternoon, to no avail. The iPad and other tech charged just fine.
One stream/culvert we paused on did run swiftly, and an adjacent line of track running off to an industrial park was partly flooded. Other low-lying areas hold standing water, but it is not raining now.
9:03 p.m. stopped on the platform. Although 50 passengers disembark here, the conductor said more than 90 are expected to get on. Coach passengers will again be warned not to take up more than one seat.
9:10 p.m. brushing teeth is easier to do when the train is not moving.
The line of what must be coach passengers forms outside the window of my middle sleeper car, doubled up and extending back past the rear car as far as I can see. They can all see me, too -- better not change into my PJs now, even after closing the drapes.
We have 30 minutes as the train refuels and restocks. The waiting passengers still stand, not yet allowed to board. A couple seated on benches at a far platform thumb-wrestle. (Took me a while to figure out the body movements.)
Hey! A squeegee team just soaped and cleared my windows -- hooray. Perhaps photos will turn out more clear now, once the sun rises.
10:35 p.m. Central Time: ha -- we might not be there yet, but I remembered to set my watch ahead to the next time zone. We change overnight, when we enter Nebraska.
Must be partly psychological (and partly the cheesecake), but I'm really tired now.
CORNY AS NEBRASKA IN JUNE
8:59 a.m. Central time Saturday, June 13, 2015, about to pull ito Omaha, Nebraska -- on the printed schedule as a 4:59 a.m. arrival. So, although an announcement during breakfast said we were 3 hours behind schedule, we're 4.
I woke just after 7 a.m., dressed and corraled my hair into a scruffy bun. Two of my tablemates grew up in Ohio, so they could distinguish the fields og stubby greens as beans or corn at a glance. They will also travel on the Capitol Limited to Washington, D.C., and made the point that we might not make our connection in Chicago. The wife looked forward to shopping on the Miracle Mile should Amtrak have to put us up in hotels overnight. (Do they do that, still? Guess I will find out. If not, maybe the $17 trip insurance I bought will cover something, if I can find their original email from when I booked my trip back in March.)
We saw Lincoln, Nebraska, as we ate. Denver restocked the Mountain Dew, but the waiter greeted us with, "We're out of vegetables for the omlettes, Frosted Flakes and croissants." When the meals arrived, the whole-wheat biscuits everyone had ordered by default were really dinner rolls, which amused us all.
Showering after breaakfast, I noticed the airtight properties of the room whhen drops of cooler water rained down from the ceiling: although there's a ssmall air vent in the dressing room, the compartment was saturated with steam, which gradually coalesced on the ceiling as fat drops of water, no longer so warm. I swept my hand over all surfeaces I could reach, in hopes the next used would not get surprised by rain in the shower.
Someone left travel hair products and a plastic box of soap in the shower, so I carefully moved thhem to the vanity shelf in the dressing room to make room for my own stuff. A well-stuffed black bag held used towels today, to which I added my own after shuffling it over the floor to mop up drops. I thought I was doing well, bending down with backside in the shower area to dry off my feet in the dressing room -- until my hair left water pooling in my Crocs.
Cellphone still dead (I tried it, in hopes it had absorbed some juice during the hours I had it plugged in yesterday, I have emailed my ride to warn him I might be a day late.
Nothing I can do about to now, so I will take in the sights of Nebraska in the moorning light.
I ALWAYS CONFUSE THOSE TWO
Iowa, Idaho -- same vowels, smae number of syllables. One is knows for rolling hills, one for potatoes. I drove through Idaho back in 2003, visiting the same rellatives who spurred this trip. Now I get to see what Iowa looks like.
Smal birds appear to flit in and out of burrows in an earthen cliff just bbefore we cross a bridge/river. Again, wish I'd brought binoculars.
Corn in the fields that follow is high enough, even I can tell what it is.
... 10:03 a.m., a female voice (new conductor?) comes over the PA to explain the crew cannot yet provide information about missed connections -- we must wait until we get to Illinois. She explained we're running with a different type of engine that reduces top speed from 79 to 70 mph, and predicted we'll lose another hour. ...
The sky is overcast, and puddles of water indicate recent rains.
11:45 a.m., mechanical problem has the conductor outside, looking at whatever machinery malfunctions. While my sleeper car has lights, it does not have power -- or flushing capability.
11:48 a.m. aha -- power restored.
This was to be a quick stop in Creston, Iowa, but it will add to our delays.
1:22 p.m., waiting for my party number to be called to lunch, I fired up the myfi t check the AU boards about what happens when late trains cause one to miss connections. Have not yet found an answer, but II found a topic about the California Zephyr running late recently due to freight derailments ans bad weather in Iowa.
Someone there asked if the CZ was detoured or on its regular route, so I replied and gave an update to our 5-hour delayed status.
MUSICAL CHAIRS
3:04 p.m. CST During lunch -- they were offering burgers or the hot dog or mac and cheese off the children's menu -- we stopped at Ottumwa station. The conductor announced various transport solutions for certaiin passengers, calling last names to advise whether that person would exit the train at Galesburg, Illinois, to take a bus. Passengers on the Cardinal line will go this way, showing their claim ticket for checked baggage to help ID the bags before staff will put them on the proper bus.
She did not say what woud happen to the several people on the No. 30 Capitol Limited. My tablemates, more knowledgeable about the schedules, thought they might put us on the later train running in the same direction.
I asked mmy lunch companions about squashed pennies -- bad idea, as they can become projectiles if the wheels hit them just wrong -- and about my now-useless cellphone. They suggested my charger is at fault, so I'll have to check it from a land line.
3:16 p.m., we pulled into Mount Pleasant station (scheduled for 9:54 a.m.). I read more on the AU forum about today's No. 6 CZ getting stopped as a service disruption back in Nevada -- I'm glad my train made it through.
I've packed up my gear after a final tooth-brushing, in case I hear an announcement about leaving the train before Chicago.
3:43 p.m., connection information for those on train 393 -- they will exit at Galesburg.
6:06 p.m. a TA-SC from another car and my own car's TA-SC Eric moved through the half-empty car, passing out plastic-wrapped "snack packs" with shortbread cookies, cheese crackers, roasted almonds and a napkin. This mmight well be dinner for me, depending on what happens in Chicago in a couple more hours. I hope the coach cars got something similar.
Earlier, as he gathered pillow cases, Eric advised me to go straight to customer service upon arrival, if nothing is annnounced on the train.
To the south, distant wind turbines spinin front of a large storm front. I see rain and clouds too tall to see the sky, but no lightning or tornadoes. I would not know what to look for in tornado weather, anyhow, even though I've seen the movie "Twister" more than once.
7:38 p.m. we caght up to the rain outside Naperville, Illinois. I overheard smene say once we clear that stop, Chicago should be 1.5 hours away. I am getting nervous that the customer service desk will be closed by then. I should not borrow trouble.
8:35 p.m. a man's voice said we are almost there, and to wait in one's seat until we arrive.
8:50 p.m. the train stopsat Chicago's Union Station. the sleeper cars being at the end, it's a long walk up the platform and through the sttion to Passenger services to learn my fate.
More tomorrow. ....
), and the descriptions of the passing scenery, and your attempt to video in the area of many tunnels... Sounds like that could be a you tube comedy hit!
