It was another beautiful day when I left Chicago and I was sad to be leaving all my friends but, to quote Arnie, "I'll be back!"
Chicago Union Station was its usual bustling self when I arrived early afternoon to board the "Chief" for the seven hour ride to Kansas City. One advantage of being a senior citizen is that I get priority boarding so I was able to get a good seat on the train. Once the conductor had come round and collected my ticket I was heading for the lounge car and setting up my camera. It's always a problem, on this route, deciding which side of the train to sit. The last time I rode this train I sat on the left, so this time I chose the right (looking forward) which turned out not to be the best decision (more on this later).
The train was delayed at Aurora for a freight train and the late running California Zephyr and so we were about 25 minutes behind schedule at the next four stations. The scenery, once you get out of the Chicago suburbs, is amazing: Rolling fields; small towns; farms and houses tucked away. One question kept crossing my mind: would we make the crossing of the Mississippi River before it got dark? The sun was sinking lower and lower and there was no sign of the river. Finally, it came into view but we were still not at the bridge! Then the train slowed down and I knew that we had arrived but it was too dark to take pictures. Then I looked on the other side and there was the sun reflecting off the water in a beatiful shade of red - but it was too late for me to do anything.
Fort Madison, Iowa, was a designated smoke stop but it must have been one of the shortest on record as the poor smokers (who had been deprived of their habit for a whole four hours) had time to only step on the platform, light up, take one drag on their cigarette and then get back on the train. There was not much sympathy from me on this one!
The train arrived at Kansas City on time and Dan, and his brother Josh, were there to meet me. Dan works at Fort Leavenworth and his company were organizing a 'cook out' for families of the employees so we headed there to start getting the ball rolling. Sleeping on a air bed is not my idea of a good night's sleep and so, when I woke up the next morning I was still feeling shattered. However, there was work to be done!
Food, glorious food....
There were ribs to be smoked, chicken to be marinated and cooked, pork to be pulled and not a burger or sausage or dog in sight!
The guys did an amazing job and once everyone started to arrive, they were greeted by the sight and smell of amazing food. To go with the meat, there were salads and rice, coleslaw (hand made hawaiin style), and sauces of every flavor under the sun.
Once the eating was over, there were games to be played:
One of them was called the 'Helium Stick' game. In theory, it sounded quite simple: Four people have to keep a stick resting on their fingers without losing contact and without holding it. But in practice it's not all that easy - trying to keep your fingers in contact means that the stick starts to rise and, unless everyone stops lifting at the same time, contact is lost by someone.
Saturday at the Thomason's house was a very relaxed affair - we were all too tired to do anything, especially Dan and myself.
Dan was more worried about keeping warm than what he looked like!
Sunday morning came around all too quickly for my liking. I went early with Dan and Andrew to the Northlands meeting of the Kansas City Church of Christ where I met up with Josh. After the service I went with Josh back to his place and had a great time as we built a friendship. The two of us met up with Dan and another brother for dinner (Chinese 'eat as much as you like') before Dan and I left to do some shopping. I ended up with a fleece at a price that would have been impossible in the UK. It was great to get time with Dan as we shared about our lives. Then it was back to Dan's and time for me to pack and get ready for the next leg of my Amtrak adventure: Kansas City->Los Angeles->Oakland->San Francisco.
The "Chief" left on time at 10.45 pm and, after a refueling stop, headed west across Kansas. The sun rose just as we crossed the state line into Colorado, not that you could see any difference in the landscape, which was flat and featureless. The John Martin Reservoir State Park came into view not long after we left Lamar and it was obvious that there had not been much rain with the level of the water lower than I'd ever seen it.
La Junta was a service stop and crew change point with not much to see or do. The train then headed towards Trinidad (the one in Colorado) and as it got closer the Rocky Mountains slowly rose above the horizon. From Trinidad we headed south over Raton Pass into New Mexico. If you've heard the expression, "If you snooze, you lose", well it originated in this area. On February 26th, 1878, the construction crews from the Denver and Rio Grande and Santa Fe railroads both arrived at the town of El Morro. The D&RG crew headed to the hotel to sleep but the Santa Fe crew went to Raton Pass and purchased the right-of-way over the pass from Dick Wooton and started construction of the railroad. The citizens of Trinidad even helped the crew of the Santa Fe because they were not happy with the D&RG for building the rival town of El Morro! The distance between Trinidad and Raton is 24 miles but it takes the train an hour to cover that distance. Raton Pass has some of the steepest grades of any railroad in the US and so the train cannot exceed 25 mph for the entire distance.
Once past Raton and into the desert the train was able to make good progress. Las Vegas with its Harvey House (Castaneda Hotel) was the next calling point. The Harvey House chain was the precursor to the modern day dining cars. Orders were telegraphed through from the previous station for collection when the train arrived.
Between Las Vegas and Lamy the train climbed and crossed Glorieta Pass before going through Apache Canyon. Apache Canyon has one wall which is only 6 inches from the side of the train at its closest point. The train then made a spirited run from Lamy to Albuquerque for an early arrival. It was getting dark as the train left Albuquerque and headed west into Arizona. The only 'excitement' was a delay leaving San Bernardino because of 'operational difficulties'. The 'operational difficulties' turned out to be two freight trains which had clipped each other and derailed some cars.
On arrival at LA Union Station I left the "Chief" and then waited for the Coast Starlight to take me up to San Francisco. The Starlight follows the California coast for over 100 miles and there is so much to see. Highway 1 also follows the coast and it's interesting to see the number of RV's which are parked along the shore. Santa Barbara station has the largest fig tree in the US and its branches spread over 60 feet!
My favorite part of the ride is north of Santa Barbara and before the train reaches the old Vandenburg Air Force Base.
I will post some videos of the ride when I get back home.
Saturday at the Thomason's house was a very relaxed affair - we were all too tired to do anything, especially Dan and myself.
Dan was more worried about keeping warm than what he looked like!
Sunday morning came around all too quickly for my liking. I went early with Dan and Andrew to the Northlands meeting of the Kansas City Church of Christ where I met up with Josh. After the service I went with Josh back to his place and had a great time as we built a friendship. The two of us met up with Dan and another brother for dinner (Chinese 'eat as much as you like') before Dan and I left to do some shopping. I ended up with a fleece at a price that would have been impossible in the UK. It was great to get time with Dan as we shared about our lives. Then it was back to Dan's and time for me to pack and get ready for the next leg of my Amtrak adventure: Kansas City->Los Angeles->Oakland->San Francisco.
The "Chief" left on time at 10.45 pm and, after a refueling stop, headed west across Kansas. The sun rose just as we crossed the state line into Colorado, not that you could see any difference in the landscape, which was flat and featureless. The John Martin Reservoir State Park came into view not long after we left Lamar and it was obvious that there had not been much rain with the level of the water lower than I'd ever seen it.
La Junta was a service stop and crew change point with not much to see or do. The train then headed towards Trinidad (the one in Colorado) and as it got closer the Rocky Mountains slowly rose above the horizon. From Trinidad we headed south over Raton Pass into New Mexico. If you've heard the expression, "If you snooze, you lose", well it originated in this area. On February 26th, 1878, the construction crews from the Denver and Rio Grande and Santa Fe railroads both arrived at the town of El Morro. The D&RG crew headed to the hotel to sleep but the Santa Fe crew went to Raton Pass and purchased the right-of-way over the pass from Dick Wooton and started construction of the railroad. The citizens of Trinidad even helped the crew of the Santa Fe because they were not happy with the D&RG for building the rival town of El Morro! The distance between Trinidad and Raton is 24 miles but it takes the train an hour to cover that distance. Raton Pass has some of the steepest grades of any railroad in the US and so the train cannot exceed 25 mph for the entire distance.
Once past Raton and into the desert the train was able to make good progress. Las Vegas with its Harvey House (Castaneda Hotel) was the next calling point. The Harvey House chain was the precursor to the modern day dining cars. Orders were telegraphed through from the previous station for collection when the train arrived.
Between Las Vegas and Lamy the train climbed and crossed Glorieta Pass before going through Apache Canyon. Apache Canyon has one wall which is only 6 inches from the side of the train at its closest point. The train then made a spirited run from Lamy to Albuquerque for an early arrival. It was getting dark as the train left Albuquerque and headed west into Arizona. The only 'excitement' was a delay leaving San Bernardino because of 'operational difficulties'. The 'operational difficulties' turned out to be two freight trains which had clipped each other and derailed some cars.
On arrival at LA Union Station I left the "Chief" and then waited for the Coast Starlight to take me up to San Francisco. The Starlight follows the California coast for over 100 miles and there is so much to see. Highway 1 also follows the coast and it's interesting to see the number of RV's which are parked along the shore. Santa Barbara station has the largest fig tree in the US and its branches spread over 60 feet!
My favorite part of the ride is north of Santa Barbara and before the train reaches the old Vandenburg Air Force Base.
I will post some videos of the ride when I get back home.
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