Chicago

Well as the old adage goes, a late train only becomes later. Outside of Naperville, we had to wait for the westbound California Zephyr to pass on a stretch of single track. So we sat for around 45 minutes until it blazed past us and we continued on our way. Here are some pictures of the rural countryside west of Chicago. I think it's a mix of Iowa and Illinois. 

And then the city of Chicago:

I waited in the Metropolitan Lounge for a but and then decided to explore. I headed over to the Great Hall which was hosting an event and closed to the public. 

They let me take that picture of the ceiling - but you can see the pipe and drape blocking access. As you exit the great hall there is this sign:

And the best thing on the left - a counter with beer and cocktails to go!! 

My friend Noelle picked me up for dinner and we went to a Greek restaurant. I had a big yummy Greek salad and a gyros platter. It was a welcome respite from the amChow I had all week. 

We had a fabulous dinner catching up - I have missed her since she moved out here - and I was back in the metro lounge by 8 pm to wait for them to call the Lake Shore Limited, my third and final leg of my cross country odyssey. 

I got this nice shot of Union station when I returned:

The Lake Shore Limited is actually two trains in one - the 48 and the 448. It splits in Albany with the longer portion going to Penn Station in New York an a little train going to Boston. I have a room in the Boston sleeper, car 4820.  

The LSL normally boards around 8:15. We got an announcement that the train would be a little late and they called us at 9 pm to board. We were all led out of the lounge together and directed to our train. The Boston sleeper was at the very front of the train and it was a LONG walk to it. 

I boarded, dropped my stuff in my room and headed down to the dining car. I has to walk through two coaches, the lounge, three or four more coaches, and finally the dining car. My reward was a very nice cheese plate and a glass of wine. 

This is one of the amenities that Amtrak is cutting so this is the last week of the wine and cheese reception. I'm not sure what they will offer - if anything - on this train starting April 1st in place of this. 

Day 4: Nebraska, Iowa & Illinois

I went to bed a little outside of Denver and slept soundly, rocked to sleep by the train and of course with my ear plugs. 

I woke up as we pulled to a stop aroun 7:15 am. It was Omaha, NE. I pulled out the time table and quickly discovered that our record of early arrivals had been broken and we were now running two hours late. I was still in bed so I didn't get out to look - which is too bad because apparently there is a beautiful old station there. 

I also learned that we lost another hour overnight as a semi-truck hit a train overpass. We has to wait for the bridge to be inspected and declared safe before we could cross it. 

I headed to the dining car for breakfast, where I was sat with a 72 year old man. He didn't tell me his name but I did learn his entire life story. He was in the Air Force, then went to college, then went to Vietnam, then retired after 20 years from the Air Force. Then he worked at the IRS, then was a salesman, and now he is retired but works for Winnebago transporting RVs. So he was taking the train from Salt Lake City to Iowa and then driving an RV back. Winnebago pays him six cents a mile plus gas to do this. 

The only question he asked me during our meal as I let him chatter away was where I was from. I told him I grew up in NJ and now lived in Providence. "A liberal city in a liberal state!" he exclaimed. I shook my head yes and said that was why I lived there instead of Texas (where he grew up). He asked me what I thought of Chris Christie - and I guess he didn't like my answer - because he went back to regaling me with his stories. :)

We passed into Iowa. We saw lots of fields!

We went along the Des Moines River for a while and I thought this little campground was interesting. 

I took a shower and took a little nap. We stopped for a few minutes in Ottumwa. 

Then we stopped at another little town. This was where my car stopped (the station is to the left). 

Around 12 I headed to the dining car for lunch. I was seated with Barry again and two young guys from California. The three of them chatted about San Francisco and Barry regaled us with stories about when he was in Vietnam in 1965-1966. We also lamented that good bagels were hard to find in places other than New York! 

We passed through the town of Burlington, on the banks of the Mississippi River. The town seemed to have a heaviness to it that I couldn't put my finger on. I imagine that 100 years ago it was bustling with the train and the river, but it is one of those places that the modern era has not been kind to. 

Here we are approaching the river:

And here we are crossing it on a rusty drawbridge:

And here is Burlington from the eastern side of the river:

After lunch I headed back to my room to pack up all my stuff. If we don't lose any more time we should arrive in Chicago around 4 pm. 

Colorado

After we pulled out of Grand Junction we continued along the river for a while. We passed a dam and some farmland. 

We even passed a school with the mountains behind them. 

Right before lunch we pulled into Glenwood Springs a few minutes early so we had time to get out and walk along the platform again. There were some big box stores tucked under the mountain. 

The stop also had a cute little station. 

I got back on the train and headed to the dining car for lunch. I was seated with the same couple from yesterday traveling to upstairs NY and an elderly man from Iowa. 

Once seated at my table I spotted a hotel with hot springs across the river. 

It's kind of hard to see but there was a big pool behind the hotel with a giant water slide and lots of people swimming. 

For lunch I had the cheeseburger. It was actually warm and juicy. The chef on this crew is actually pretty good and I continue to be pleasantly surprised. 

We continued along the river. There was a walking trail with lots of people on it running along the other side of the river and along the road. 

You will also notice that the river was down to a trickle at points. This is the mighty Colorado River so it seems to be a little disconcerting to see it so low. 

We passed a dam and then the river picked up a little. 

This little development was tucked between the mountain and the river. 

Above I noticed some cows grazing on the field. 

We pulled into Dell Canyon and started going slowly as we needed to wait for the westbound zephyr #5 on a siding. I saw a bald eagle fly by. This is a low canyon. 

You can sort of see the front of the train as we went along this curve. I noticed a little waterfall on this side. 

The conductor said that in the summer many people raft or canoe and that this spot underneath the tree is one of the best camp sites along the Colorado. 

We waited in the siding for about ten minutes before the westbound zephyr barreled past us in a blur. 

As we headed deeper into the mountains there was some more snow. 

We passed some more little ranches an farms. 

Then it got snowier. 

These guys were fishing. 

We continued through the canyons and the mountains. 

The train was hugging the cliff at this point and going very slowly. I turned on my scanner to find out what was up, and I heard the engineer of my train talking with dispatch. There are wires along the hills that are activated when there is a rockslide and they has gone off. We want slowly through the entire area but did not encounter any rocky debris on the tracks. 

We emerged from the canyon to beautiful  vistas. 

We proceeded at full speed towards out next stop of Granby, CO except now we were running a little late. 

We then headed into Beyera (deyers?) canyon and I heard on the scanner that the slide detector had gone off. We came to a halt as there were indeed some rocks in the way. Some staff members detained to check it out and see if they could move it. I heard the engineer speak with the dispatcher about the situation on my scanner. The dispatcher said she should send something out to help if necessary. 

I was about to bust out the Xanax when I heard the chatter on the scanner. The guys were able to move the rock out of the way and there was no dage to the rail. We proceeded at a SLOW speed through the slide area and continued on our way to Granby past the frozen river. 

We passed a clear signal, the conductor (Brad) said highball on the radio, and with some loud horns of the train we proceeded. 

Ruby Canyon and the Colorado River

We came into Ruby Canyon and the Colorado River was suddenly on the right hand side of the train surrounded by steep red canyon walls with rock formations. 

The sun was also blaring so unfortunately the pictures aren't the best. 

We then came out of the canyon and passed through some small towns and ranches. 

Yes that is a boat! 

Before the canyon we also went through a ghost town. 

Around 9:50 am we arrived in Grand Junction, CO and had time to get off the train for a few minutes. I visited the station store, Daves Depot, which was doing a brisk business. There was a gorgeous old station building surrounded by construction fencing. I wonder if anyone is going to renovate and restore it?

This was an extended station stop where the conductors and engineers switch to a new crew. They also watered the train and took out the trash here. 

I also took this time to get a selfie with our amazing sleeper car attendant Lamar. He is from Chicago and does whatever trains they call him for. He does everything with a smile and I keep seeing him hustling around the car making sure everyone is comfortable. I sent him my blog so if you are reading this Lamar, thanks for being awesome. I have had an assortment of attendants that range from curmudgeon to fabulous - and Lamar is on the fabulous end. That is our car - the 632 - behind us.